The mailman delivered all my mail that they had held while I was done, today.
There were the usual pieces of junk mail, such as flyers from Norwegian Cruise Lines trying to entice me to go on a cruise again, and a few items I had purchased on Ebay just before I left.
Check out this envelope that was sent from South Africa to Seattle in 1929.
As a rule, I don’t collect envelopes— just stamps— but this one was too interesting to pass up.
Upon its arrival on U.S. shores in New York City, US Postal Services levied 4c of additional postage on the piece of mail (the two red stamps on the left).
I imagine that Mrs. Nightingale received her mail in Seattle some time later, after paying the 4c postage that was due.
P.S. As of today, the cost of a standard “First-Class Mail” letter (up to 1 ounce) is $0.73 with a Forever stamp. The 73c is almost exactly what 4c from 1929 would came to, with inflation figured into it.
This neo-classical building was completed in 1912. Wells Fargo used to occupy the building, but closed its branch there in 2018.
The building was sold to Hunters Capital in fall of 2020.
The main space inside the building has since been turned into a gym dedicated to indoor climbing (a so-called bouldering gym).
[Photo from seattle.gov, and taken around 1925]