A Brief Postal History of Chicago

A Brief Postal History of Chicago & An Introduction to the Leonard Piszkiewicz Collection

1833 Chicago manuscript postmark, only about a dozen known

Large-format Chicago datestamp known only from July 1851

1. "Half Hour Drop Letters Delivery" (1861) 2. "Steamboat (1862-1870) 3. "Forwarded 3" (1862-1863) 4. "West Branch P.O." (1863-1864) 5. "Forwarded" (1856-1860) 6. "Chicago Supplementary Mail" (1861-1863)

1

2 3 4

5 6

An Introduction to Chicago’s Past Compared to the urban centers of the eastern United States, Chicago’s history is relatively young. First visited by Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette in 1673, the area was not settled for another one hundred years and would not be incorporated into a town until 1833. At that time Chicago was home to about 300 people, whereas Baltimore and Philadelphia had populations of over 80,000 and New York City topped 200,000. Chicago had a lot of catching up to do in becoming one of the nation’s largest and most important cities, a fact reflected in its postal history.

Chicago’s post office was founded in 1831, and in those early years it was housed in a number of different stores and hotels before a dedicated building was erected in 1860. Growth was rapid with the arrival of steamboats, stage coaches, and railroads, and soon Chicago became a major postal hub in the Midwest.

With the increase of mail volume came a proliferation of handstamps and postal markings, which have long been the focus of Leonard Piszkiewicz’s collection.

This brochure is intended to serve as a very cursory introduction to the postal history of Chicago, as well as providing a jumping-off point for those who would like to learn more in the lead-up to the sale of this remarkable collection at auction. High-quality Chicago material has traded hands quite infrequently in recent years, so this is a wonderful opportunity to enter a new and exciting collecting area.

Timeline of Chicago’s History

Postal History 1803

Fort Dearborn is built at the mouth of the Chicago River on Lake Michigan

1812 The Battle of Fort Dearborn, between the US and Potawatomi Native Americans, destroys the fort

1816 A new Fort Dearborn is constructed on the site of the original fort

1818 The state of Illinois is admitted to the United States on December 3

1830 James Thompson creates the first plat of Chicago, establishing the grid system still in use today

1833 Chicago is incorporated as a town, with a population of about 300 residents; it will become a city in 1837

1848 The Pioneer of the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad becomes the first locomotive in Chicago

1871 The Great Chicago Fire devastates the city and kills an estimated 300 people

1820 The Post Office Department establishes a monthly mail service between Fort Dearborn and Fort Wayne, Indiana

1831 The first Chicago post office is established on March 31 with Jonathan N. Bailey as postmaster

1843 Wells & Co. begins a triweekly private express service from Chicago to the eastern United States

1855 Chicago’s first local post office is established by William McMillan

1855 The experimental “Chicago perforations” predate federally-perforated stamps by two years

1862

The first branch post office is established at the corner of Randolph and Halsted Streets

1864 Carrier service is inaugurated in the city of Chicago

Locations of Chicago Post Offices 1. Kinzie House (1831-1832) 2. John Hogan’s Store (1832-1837) 3. Bigelow Building (1837-1841) 4. Sherman Hotel (1841-1850) 5. 49-51 Clark Street (1850-1854) 6. 84-92 Dearborn Street (1854-1860) 7. First Post Office (1860-1871) 8. Burlington Hall (1871) 9. Methodist Church (1871-1874) 10. Second and Third Post Offices (1880-1905, 1905-1934) 11. Fourth Post Office (1934-1997)

State of the Market Over the last few years we have sold a number of properties containing high-quality Chicago postal history, and the hammer prices have demonstrated that this is a city with an active and dedicated following. Below are just a few of the attractive and important items which have passed through our hands recently.

A Wells Letter Express local post stamp used on a folded letter dated September 10, 1844, making this the earliest recorded use of an adhesive postage stamp from the city of Chicago.

Hammer price: $7,000

The only example of the 1860 3c+1c Compound die postal stationery envelope known to have been used in Chicago.

Hammer price: $3,500

Civil War patriotic envelope showing Jefferson Davis "seeing the elephant", used from Chicago to Camp Butler outside of Springfield, Illinois.

Hammer price: $3,750

The finest example of Chicago's "Old Stamps Not Recognized" handstamp, which was used at a time when stamps were being demonetized and replaced at the onset of the Civil War. Hammer price: $45,000

Recommended Reading: For those interested in learning more about the postal history of Chicago, Leonard Piszkiewicz’s own Chicago Postal Markings and Postal History is the ideal place to start. Copies are available for purchase from the American Philatelic Society. If you want to dig deeper still, a number of other resources are available. The Illinois Postal Historian, published by the Illinois Postal History Society, contains dozens of articles about all aspects of Chicago’s postal history and postmarks. Additionally, we have identified seven other books which have proved useful in the preparation of our auction catalogue. Although most are out of print, all can be requested from the American Philatelic Research Library.

Abt, Henry E. The Tale of One City: The Private Posts of Chicago. American Philatelist, 1957.

Berg, Paul K. Chicago Blue Postal Markings 1870-1877. Self published, 1992.

Karlen, Harvey M. Chicago Postal History: Selections That Honor the Collecting Interest of Richard McP. Cabeen. Collectors Club of Chicago, 1971.

Karlen, Harvey M. Chicago’s Crabgrass Communities: A History of the Independent Suburbs and Their Post Offices That Became Part of Chicago.

Collectors Club of Chicago, 1992.

Karlen, Harvey M. Chicago’s Mail: An Anthology of Postal History Articles Focusing Upon the Community’s Growth, Its Interests, and Its Attitudes.

Collectors Club of Chicago, 2002.

Karlen, Harvey M. Chicago’s Great White City: A Postal History Panorama of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. Berk-Hill Publishers, 2003.

Mason, John R. & Raymond A. Fleming. Street Car R.P.O. Service in Chicago. Mobile Post Office Society, 1983.