Existing comment:
Local carrier and delivery services are operated by companies that have legal rights to perform postal service on a defined route, within a specific geographical district, or for a particular service. In the mid-1800s, many such delivery companies operated in the United States. Some of them began using stamps in 1844 to show payment of fees. The stamps that these companies privately design and print are normally not valid for general use within a country, nor are they allowed for international use. Some local posts have even operated their own street corner mail deposit boxes.
Today, Rattlesnake Island, a private resort in Lake Erie, is served by the only local post office air mail service operating in the United States.
Rattlesnake Island is a private resort in Lake Erie off the coast of Ohio. The US Post Office did not provide service to the island.
Rattlesnake Island Local Post issued its first stamps in 1966. However, the rectangular stamps were declared illegal by the US Post Office Department. In 1967, they were reissued as triangular stamps. The applicable USPS rate needed to be paid in addition, with US postage. |