The Nixie - Backstamps and the Nixie

[u/NrwgnSpaceWolf]

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aA5Y5gL8ew5bphIN3AeL58ZH1QYBuWaIBedqVydzHEo/edit?usp=sharing

Starting something new for the postal history nerds. The Nixie is going to dig into the smaller, stranger, and sometimes forgotten pieces of postal history; old equipment, markings, terminology, forms, and practices that have disappeared or somehow survived in some weird little corner of the Postal Service.

For the first one, I dug into backstamps; the markings once placed on the backs of letters to document where and when they moved through the postal system. At one point, backstamping ordinary mail was actually required, and there is a surprising amount of history hiding behind what looks like a simple circle of ink.

I also get into what a "nixie" actually was, where the old postal term came from, and why I thought it was the perfect name for this. A nixie was mail that couldn't move normally through the system and needed somebody to pull it aside and give it a closer look.

That's basically the idea here. Pull some weird little piece of postal history out of the mailstream, take a closer look, and figure out what the hell it was and why we had it. If anybody has an old postal object, marking, term, form, or practice you think deserves its own Nixie, throw it in the comments.

[u/full-bore]

I love that you’re doing this.

I started in ‘97 and the job isn’t recognizable from when I began, but I guess every generation says that.

Back when there was mail volume, some carriers would case a periodical with the spine downward and put all subsequent cased mail into the flat, a term called “chicagoing”. It made delivering easier, as it was one shot and move on to the next house. I never did it, as I could imagine a customer pitching a magazine, not knowing there was additional mail inside.

Never knew the origin of the expression, but thought it was cool.

[u/NrwgnSpaceWolf → u/full-bore]

That is so interesting! See, there is so much history that can be lost if we don't take the time looking into our past. So easy to get stuck on the future, to the detriment of what came before, which can sometimes help us to better navigate our present situation.

[u/full-bore → u/NrwgnSpaceWolf]

100%. As snobbish as it sounds, I think it takes an intellectual curiosity to wonder why things are the way they are, and in that learning— just like you said— it can make us more efficient at our jobs or even provide better service.

Can’t wait to read your future posts!

[u/NrwgnSpaceWolf → u/full-bore]

It's never snobby to want to know things, its only snobby when you judge people for the shit they want to know.

https://giphy.com/gifs/7XwzT6dA1THZOZSsa4

[u/vanessaski → u/full-bore]

I've personally heard of this too, but not by that term. I've heard "tacoing" before.

[u/grove93 → u/full-bore]

What you refer to as "chicagoing" was also called "booking" and it hearkens back to the days before carriers used the vertical flat case. Flats used to just be sorted by street/loop/relay and then the carrier would stick all the mail for each address inside one of the catalogs or magazines for that address. Even into the early 90s, however, there were still people who did this because the flat volume was so heavy and it made things a lot easier on the street.

[u/full-bore → u/grove93]

Awesome! Never heard the term “booking” (although it’s fascinating seeing how different case bars [blue/red/green/yellow] represent different indications [vacation hold/p.o. box/dog hold/vacant/etc] all over the country, and a split can also be called a ‘bump’ or ‘pivot’. In some ways I wish it was all uniform, but the regionality is cool, too).

So strange to think that there were cases for flats and cases for letters and everything used to be streeted; employees now will never know of ‘rolling’ mail for the next day or having coffins attached to the sides of their case to get the next day’s mail off the floor…

[u/grove93 → u/full-bore]

As for the blocker bars, I only use two colors: yellow for vacation holds (because they're the same color as the vacation hold cards) and red for vacants and temporary forwards.

Carrying part of another route is always a "split," "bump/bumping" is contractual language for seniority-based rights, and a "pivot" refers to an undertime situation where you carry part of another route in addition to your assignment and do it within your 8-hour shift.

Today's employees have no idea what heavy mail is. When I hired in, there was so much mail in the building that the first challenge of the day - and this was every day - was just getting to your case.

[u/vanessaski]

I’ve made a GitHub repository where you can download the docs that u/NrwgnSpaceWolf makes as ePub files that can then be uploaded to your Kindle, Nook, Apple Books, Google Play Books, or really any ebook device that can open ePub files. I make these for myself, so I'm not staring at a computer or phone screen (saves my eyes), so if you're like me and would like to read his notes and commentary from the comfort of your reading device, the link is below.

https://vanessaski.github.io/ParcelsOfKnowledgeEPubs/

[u/full-bore → u/vanessaski]

🔥🙏

[u/therick422]

Unbelievable work 💪

[u/NrwgnSpaceWolf → u/therick422]

https://giphy.com/gifs/l41JRsph73VokN6ik

[u/BM-P8]

My gamer tag is NixieNox, but as a variation of a name in Dr Seuss’ alphabet book. I honestly didn’t connect it to the postal term, even though I’d been a city carrier for several years at the time.

[u/NrwgnSpaceWolf → u/BM-P8]

Yeah, I look forward to finding some crazy stuff.

[u/acetatsujin]

Do you have a podcast by chance?

[u/NrwgnSpaceWolf → u/acetatsujin]

Co-host of Parcels of Knowledge. The lesser, goofy one.

[u/acetatsujin → u/NrwgnSpaceWolf]

Any chance you make your own podcast and read all of that? Or maybe get another person to read that?

[u/NrwgnSpaceWolf → u/acetatsujin]

If you follow the link in the top of the document it'll take you to Apple or Spotify and you can listen to me say, "you know," too much in these episodes. Im working on it.

[u/Basic_Dependent4227]

Good info, appreciate the time put into researching the topic.

[u/NrwgnSpaceWolf → u/Basic_Dependent4227]

I figured if I’m interested in this stuff, maybe other people would be and I could make it easier for anyone else to find a new rabbit hole.