{"product_id":"w-reginald-bray-the-man-who-posted-himself-and-other-strange-objects-9781568988726","title":"W. Reginald Bray: The Man Who Posted Himself and Other Strange Objects","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe first impression of W. Reginald Bray (1879-1939) was one of an ordinary middle-class Englishman quietly living out his time as an accountant in the leafy suburb of Forest Hill  London. A glimpse behind his study door  however  revealed his extraordinary passion for sending unusual items through the mail. In 1898  Bray purchased a copy of the Post Office Guide  and began to study the regulations published quarterly by the British postal authorities. He discovered that the smallest item one could post was a bee  and the largest  an elephant. Intrigued he decided to experiment with sending ordinary and strange objects through the post unwrapped  including a turnip  abowler hat  a bicycle pump  shirt cuffs  seaweed  a clothes brush  even a rabbits skull. He eventually posted his Irish terrier and himself (not together)  earning him the name \"The Human Letter.\" He also mailed cards to challenging addressessome in the form of picture puzzles  others sent to ambiguous recipients at hard to reach destinationsall in the name of testing the deductive powers of the beleaguered postman. Over time hispassion changed from sending curios to amassing the worlds largest collection of autographs  also via the post. Starting with key British military officers involved in the Second Boer War  he acquired thousands of autographs during the first four decades of the twentieth centuryof politicians  military men  performing artists  aviators  sporting stars  and many others. By the time he died in 1939  Bray had sent out more than thirty-two thousand postal curios and autograph requests. The Englishman Who Posted Himself and Other Curious Objects tells W. Reginald Brays remarkable tale for the first time and includes delightful illustrations of some of his most amazing postal creations. Readers will never look at the objects they post the same way again.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45495902765109,"sku":"ByrdShop_1568988729","price":30.8,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9781568988726.jpg?v=1780902836","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/w-reginald-bray-the-man-who-posted-himself-and-other-strange-objects-9781568988726","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}