XIII Stamps of the Philadelphia Postmaster
From 1845 to 1849, Dr. Geo. F. Lehman was postmaster of Philadelphia. It is asserted that he adopted for use in the post office at Philadelphia, a number of peculiar devices of his own, which appear to have been a substitute for postage stamps. They are described as bands with the names of the persons who mailed the letters upon them, which were fastened around the letters, and upon receipt at the post office, were removed by the clerks and kept as vouchers, the amount of postage due being charged to the account of the sender, and collected with the quarterly bill. There are also said to have been in use several other designs in the form of stamps, printed and sold by the post office, which when fastened upon the letter indicated that the office had received postage, and such letters were then forwarded and marked as paid.
Although several varieties of these are said to have been in use, none of them have yet been found.
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