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was a long-time employee of the office, responsible for the redirection of an estimated 1,000 letters a day. In 2006, approximately 90 million undeliverable-as-addressed (UAA) items ended up in the dead-letter office of the U.S. Postal
Service; when the rightful owners cannot be identified, the
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At a DLO, mail is usually opened to try to find an address to forward to. If an address is found, the envelope is usually sealed using tape or postal seals, or enclosed in plastic bags and delivered. If the letter or parcel is still undeliverable, valuable items are then auctioned off while the
167:
The term "dead mail" is perhaps a misnomer, and several jurisdictions have opted for the use of the term "undeliverable mail" as more clearly representing the status of the item whose transmission has been impeded. As it is performed by internal departments within postal administrations, little
175:, ostensibly to search for clues as to the letter's origin or destination. Countries must also set up regulations for the disposal of dead letters, particularly when they contain items of value. Some very valuable items have turned up in undeliverable mail, including a stolen painting by
1191:
353:
198:, have issued special labels for envelopes that have travelled through the dead letter office. Genuinely used examples are highly prized by collectors, although mint labels, because they have no postage value, are often fairly common.
325:
and those that did not go to London. No postage was charged for returns, which were made after six months, where an addressee was found. From 1790, a charge was made for returned letters but the time was reduced to two months by
163:
when both correspondents move before the letter can be delivered. Largely based on the
British model that emerged in the late eighteenth century, many countries developed similar systems for processing undeliverable mail.
385:. Since April 2013, the postal auctions have been held online and include not only material lost in the U.S. but also material from other national postal authorities who consign them to the USPS for auction.
460:
issued a 29c Elvis
Presley stamp. Many fans of Elvis sent letters to fictitious addresses so that they would receive their letters back, marked with the words "return to sender", a homage to the song "
168:
information about the dead letter office function has ever been made public. A few journal articles and at least one recently published book (Canadian) dealing with this topic have appeared.
1192:"Martha Williamson Begins a Highly Anticipated Return to Television with 'Dead Letters' (Working Title), a Hallmark Channel Original Movie of the Week and Potential New Primetime Series"
547:
titled "Cruller's
Correspondence" is an abstract representation of an old-fashioned post office, which includes both a "Dead Letter Office" and an "International Dead Letter Office".
289:. Domestic mail which is still undeliverable after passing through NUMO is then destroyed, while incoming international undeliverable mail is returned to the country of origin.
247:
where undeliverable mail is processed. Mail is considered to be undeliverable when the address is invalid so it cannot be delivered to the addressee, and there is no
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that cannot be delivered to the addressee or returned to the sender. This is usually due to lack of compliance with postal regulations, an incomplete address and
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mail now in the dead letter office to the courthouse, where a man calling himself Kris
Kringle is facing a mental competency hearing. The man's
365:, as it was known then, started a dead letter office in 1825 to deal with undeliverable mail. By 1893, it handled about 20,000 items every day.
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994:
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has a department called "Dead
Letters," where they receive correspondence from across the country that may hint at a supernatural situation.
321:
A Dead Letter Office was first established in 1784 for dead and missent letters that had reached London. The bye-letter offices dealt with
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963:
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episode "The Male in the Mail" (season 7, episode 4) featured a decomposed body turning up at the dead letter office in
Washington D.C.
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uses the huge volume of mail as evidence that the federal government recognizes his client as "the one-and-only Santa Claus".
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correspondence is usually destroyed. Despite this practice, in the past some undeliverable envelopes were acquired by
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Dead letter offices go by different names in different countries. In many
English-speaking countries they are called
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visits their local Post Office and are treated to a piece of undeliverable mail from the dead letter office as a
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Returned censored airmail cover from
Greenwich, Connecticut, United States to France stamped 24 September 1942.
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1017:"A document of unquestioned historical importance that only the most devoted genre fans will read for fun"
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Classification as a dead letter is one of the few instances where postal personnel are allowed to violate
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531:", it is suggested that Bartleby had been employed as a clerk in the "Dead Letter Office at Washington".
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correspondence is destroyed to protect customer privacy, and enclosed items of value are removed.
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498:, who works in the dead letter office in Los Angeles, California, responds to letters written to
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1066:"Could the U.S. Post Office Really Help Prove Santa Exists, Like in 'Miracle on 34th Street'?"
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is based around the unrequited love and unfulfilled dreams of characters at an
Australian DLO.
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These facilities are now known as mail recovery centers (MRC). Other former names include the
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883:"The lost post: Secrets of the warehouse where 20 MILLION undelivered items have ended up"
8:
398:, is partially set in the Dead Letter Office in Washington, DC. The book was written by
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591:(2nd ed.). Surrey, BC: British North America Philatelic Society. p. 148.
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sends mail which is not deliverable to the Undeliverable Mail Office (NUMO) at
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In the UK, undeliverable mail is processed in the National Returns Centre in
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2008 Russian letter with affixed return label and reason for return checked
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The dead letter office in Canada, 1830-2002: an illustrated postal history
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This section is about the postal facility. For the album by R.E.M., see
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which holds 20 million undeliverable items, or in a smaller office in
313:. Various postal markings were used at the facility from 1889 onward.
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In Malta, undeliverable mail was sorted in the General Post Office in
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The History of the Post Office from its establishment down to 1836
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takes place in a fictional dead letter office in Denver, Colorado.
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1167:"Movie Review: Dear God (1996) Where Do Dead Letters Go? Heaven"
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released a compilation of B-sides and rarities in 1987 entitled
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785:"Ever lose anything in the mail? Here's where it all ends up"
939:"Patti Lyle Collins, Super-Sleuth of the Dead Letter Office"
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658:
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995:"Post Office moving Atlanta unclaimed mail auction online"
1414:
Dead Letter Office fees at different points in US history
499:
449:
features segments centered on the dead letter office in
1088:"The Complete Clive Barker's The Great and Secret Show"
844:. London: Richard Bentley & Sons. pp. 307–308.
357:
1901 illustration of the Washington Dead Letter Office
1372:
Smithsonian Arago — People, Postage and the Post
1116:
Elvis The #1 Hits: The Secret History of the Classics
1341:
1090:. Literal Remains. 8 September 2010. Archived from
856:"What happens next when we can't deliver your mail"
56:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
16:
Mail that cannot be delivered or returned to sender
684:
19:"Dead letter" redirects here. For other uses, see
424:, two mail sorters handle a letter addressed to "
1420:
755:"Dead letter office gave rise to official seals"
394:The first full-length American detective novel,
1247:. New York: Dover Thrift Editions. p. 34.
381:. The USPS mail recovery center is located in
305:, but later on it was also referred to as the
565:, the fictional government agency called the
402:under the pseudonym Seeley Regester in 1866.
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432:courthouse, and decide to deliver all the
301:. The facility was initially known as the
1220:. TV.com. 1 December 2011. Archived from
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116:Learn how and when to remove this message
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251:so it cannot be returned to the sender.
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1305:. Level/area: Cruller's Correspondence.
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722:"Officially Sealed Mails of the World"
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817:: Proud-Bailey Co. Ltd. p. 250.
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538:released a song titled "Dead Letter".
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201:
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683:Patrick, Douglas & Mary (1973).
330:. Upon hearing of the return charge
54:adding citations to reliable sources
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937:Lovejoy, Bess (12 September 2021).
13:
1316:Stratton, David (17 August 1998).
782:
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443:Horror writer Clive Barker's book
14:
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1165:Maslin, Janet (1 November 1996).
913:"People send the funniest things"
911:Mann, Natasha (27 January 2003).
881:Mayll, Steve (13 February 2013).
783:Lu, Vanessa (29 September 2011).
316:
1281:from the original on 2021-12-12.
1145:"Script - Sunday, Cruddy Sunday"
1064:Carr, Kevin (16 December 2013).
719:
541:The level in the 2021 videogame
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227:Dead letter office, probably in
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1406:Mail Recovery Center Guidelines
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695:: Musson Book Company. p.
41:needs additional citations for
997:. Atlanta Journal-Constitution
964:"2006 Comprehensive Statement"
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479:Springfield Elementary School
661:. March 2002. Archived from
534:In late 2019, the rock band
400:Metta Victoria Fuller Victor
181:United States Postal Service
21:Dead letter (disambiguation)
7:
1355:. Level/area: Dead Letters.
1269:"Soul Asylum - Dead Letter"
1113:Humphries, Patrick (2003).
811:The Postal History of Malta
687:The Musson Stamp Dictionary
505:The 2014 television series
10:
1455:
1245:Bartleby and Benito Cereno
620:Allison, Sue (July 2000).
205:
190:Many countries, including
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1243:Melville, Herman (1990).
1121:Andrews McMeel Publishing
809:Proud, Edward B. (1999).
567:Federal Bureau of Control
508:Signed, Sealed, Delivered
446:The Great and Secret Show
287:North Sydney, Nova Scotia
269:
243:) is a facility within a
173:secrecy of correspondence
587:Plain, Brian C. (2006).
494:, a character played by
488:In the 1996 comedy film
292:
838:Joyce, Herbert (1893).
559:In the 2019 video game
529:Bartleby, the Scrivener
264:returned letter offices
1439:Philatelic terminology
1388:National Postal Museum
1218:"The Male in the Mail"
1019:. Kirkus. 15 June 2021
970:. 2006. Archived from
550:The 1998 feature film
421:Miracle on 34th Street
358:
334:rescinded the charge.
307:Returned Letter Office
303:Returned Letter Branch
232:
159:, or the inability to
141:
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1068:. Film School Rejects
475:Sunday, Cruddy Sunday
356:
226:
179:which turned up in a
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1402:magazine, July 2000)
1377:Remembering The Dead
1348:Control (video game)
1343:Remedy Entertainment
1318:"Dead Letter Office"
1040:"Dead Letter Office"
655:USPS Memo to Mailers
213:. For the film, see
50:improve this article
1277:. 5 December 2019.
622:"No Return Address"
1383:2019-12-10 at the
1370:Dead Letter Office
651:"The Real Chagall"
553:Dead Letter Office
412:Dead Letter Office
389:In popular culture
379:dead parcel branch
375:dead letter branch
367:Patti Lyle Collins
359:
311:Dead Letter Office
237:dead letter office
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216:Dead Letter Office
209:Dead Letter Office
202:Dead letter office
183:sorting center in
149:undeliverable mail
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65:"Dead letter mail"
1394:No return address
1303:Xbox Game Studios
525:Herman Melville's
418:In the 1947 film
187:in January 2002.
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383:Atlanta, Georgia
363:U.S. Post Office
231:; September 1922
229:Washington, D.C.
161:forward the mail
145:Dead letter mail
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1345:(2019-08-27).
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1295:(2021-08-25).
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1325:. Retrieved
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1226:. Retrieved
1222:the original
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972:the original
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946:. Retrieved
943:Mental Floss
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932:
920:. Retrieved
917:The Guardian
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894:. Retrieved
891:Daily Mirror
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864:. Retrieved
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792:. Retrieved
789:Toronto Star
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667:. Retrieved
663:the original
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634:. Retrieved
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496:Greg Kinnear
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470:The Simpsons
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48:Please help
43:verification
40:
1399:Smithsonian
1293:Double Fine
1001:30 December
626:Smithsonian
536:Soul Asylum
434:Santa Claus
328:John Palmer
323:bye-letters
279:Mississauga
275:Canada Post
1423:Categories
860:Royal Mail
824:1872465315
815:Heathfield
726:poseal.com
706:0773700064
669:2009-10-17
636:2017-02-17
574:References
343:Portsmouth
76:newspapers
1353:505 Games
1202:April 14,
794:28 August
473:episode "
428:" at the
106:June 2013
1381:Archived
1279:Archived
978:25 March
948:10 March
922:21 March
896:22 March
866:22 March
759:Insights
731:21 March
607:84985892
491:Dear God
483:souvenir
438:attorney
377:and the
299:Valletta
194:and the
1327:17 July
1322:Variety
1274:YouTube
1228:12 June
1150:17 July
1049:17 July
1023:17 July
887:UK News
768:12 June
693:Toronto
562:Control
339:Belfast
283:Ontario
211:(album)
90:scholar
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1176:21 May
1127:
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1072:21 May
862:. 2015
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407:R.E.M.
270:Canada
218:(film)
192:Canada
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293:Malta
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1230:2014
1204:2014
1178:2014
1152:2014
1125:ISBN
1100:2014
1074:2014
1051:2022
1025:2022
1003:2013
980:2009
968:USPS
950:2022
924:2015
898:2015
868:2015
819:ISBN
796:2012
770:2023
733:2015
701:ISBN
659:USPS
603:OCLC
593:ISBN
514:The
458:USPS
361:The
153:mail
69:news
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