Satchel for city collection
The canvas satchel stamped with “U.S. MAIL CITY COLLECTION” has a steel frame bound in oak-tanned, russet leather. The top opens to reveal a deep interior void of dividers or pockets. Two buckle straps are attached on the front insert through slots on the back. They wrap over the top to close the satchel securely. It can be carried near the rim of the front with the one cut-out hand hold at the center, which is edged in leather on the interior and exterior. A shoulder strap can be attached to the two D-rings secured to the back by double-thick leather strips. An additional leather handle is fastened to the base.
The leather, over-the-shoulder satchel was preferred for city delivery service from the 1860s to the 1980s, but letter carriers also used satchels of other forms and materials that met official specifications—this version, for instance—on their delivery and collection rounds. Carriers used this canvas satchel primarily for collecting large volumes of mail from street-side mailboxes.
