Figure 1.--This American boy wears a checked sailor suit. Notice his peaked cap. He is sitting on an Irish Mail. The portrait is undated, but we would guess was taken about 1910. |
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We notice American boys playing with push cars in the early 20th century. The rider on these push carts sat on a bar or more comfortable pltform. The cart was moved forward by pushing forward and pulling bacl on the handle. It was steered with the feet. We use the term "push cars", I think at the time these vehicles were popular, the term "Irish Mails" was more widely used. We use the term "push cars", I think at the time these vehicles were popular, the term "Irish Mails" was more widely used. They seemed to have been called Irish Mails. They seem to have evolved from vehicles used on early railroads and called at first velocipedes. The orogin of the term "Irish Mail" is not fully understood. Sears offered various models in its 1919 catalog. Most of our information is American. We know that they were popular with American children in the early 20th century. We are less sure about Europe.
The rider on these push carts sat on a bar or more comfortable pltform. The cart was moved forward by pushing forward and pulling bacl on the handle. It was steered with the feet.
We use the term "push cars", I think at the time these vehicles were popular, the term "Irish Mails" was more widely used. They seemed to have been called Irish Mails. They seem to have evolved from vehicles used on early railroads and called at first velocipedes. They were ridden by railroad inspectors who went along the rails at slow speeds in an effort to detect any problems. There were many bad accidents in early railroads and this was a very important activity. Railroad handcars were larger and could carry a small crew to actually make repairs. I am not sure just how the term "Irish Mail" was popularized.
Some believe it was serived from the railroad handcars or velocipedes. Railroad work camps in the East included many Irish immigrants. Perhaps this is the "Irish" association. Or perhaps it was the Irish Mail, the train that delivered mail in Ireland. The Germans referred to them as "Dutch Mails". Another report suggests that mailmen at the tirn of the 20th century used Irish Mails. The mail they delivered was carried in a box in back of the seat. I cannot yet conform this. A reader tells us, "I think these hand cars were called Irish Mails because an adult version was used in Ireland for transporting mail. I used to see such trucks in railroad stations in London years ago, and I think they were used for mail. But I'm really guessing here." Another reader writes, "I've been thinking about the term "Irish Mail" and am now a bit more doubtful about my suggestion of the adult version being used to transport mail, because there isn't any space to carry stuff. Could such a car have been used for delivery of special mail? Or does the term "mail" simply suggest speed? Certain trains had "mail" in the title, I think, a designation that suggested something like "express". But again I'm just groping for the significance. I'll try to look up the term in the Oxford English Dictionary, which may give us a clue." A reader writes, "As a matter of facr these were used for the Irish mail. In the movie "The Quiet Man" starring John Wayne, you can see an Irish mail delivery man on a similar cart."
The major manufacturer appears to have been Hill-Standard. They went out of business during the depression.
We notice American boys playing with push cars in the early 20th century. They seem to have been popular for a time (1900s-10s).
Sears offered various models in its 1919 catalog. Some were called Irish Mails.
Most of our information on Irish mails comes from America. We also see some in Germany. We know that they were popular with American children in the early-20th century. And the same seems to be the case for Germany. We are less sure about the rest of Europe. We note indications that they were used in Emgland and Ireland. One might think that the Irisj mails were popular in Ireland, but this name seems to come from America and may reflect the large number of Irish immigrants employed by the raulroads. It is on the railroads that the Orish mils evolved, being used for track inspection and other purposes. We are not sure, however, they were children's toys in those countries or how popular they were. We have found few photographs outside of America and Germany. We do note one undentified German boy riding an Irish mail. This is one of the relatively few European boys wehave found riding one. These fonds may simply represent are very large American and German archives. They may have been popular in othervcountries, but our limited archives just do not pick them up.
We have very few photographs showing children with them. Of course there are dangers in making popularity judgements on the basis of the available photographic record, but we do believe the relative rarity of images is a strong indicator that they were not very popular. We have noted, however. a few photographs. One such photograph is an American father and son, probably in the 1910s. We note an American boy in 1912.
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