Ripley's Mail
It is said that Robert Ripley holds the record for the most mail received by a single person in U.S. history. From letters from fans, to people's own drawings of oddities, to bizarrely-addressed envelopes, here is a small selection of some of Ripley's mail.
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Robert Ripley promised to provide proof of anything depicted in his ‘Believe It or Not!' cartoons upon request. He received an average of 3,000 letters a day for over 20 years.
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In 1929, Ripley was considered to have broken all records for mail received by one person. One news report claimed he received more mail than Will Rogers, Rudy Vallee, and Herbert Hoover.
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In September 1929, this envelope arrived on Ripley's desk bearing only a photo with no address. King Features, the publisher of Ripley's column, ran a story featuring the envelope and awarded the sender a cash prize.
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Ripley received an influx of cleverly coded mail after the King Features reward. This envelope from Oak Park, IL reads, “Believe It or Not Ripley” in sign language. March 1930.
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In an early Vitaphone film, Ripley thanked mail carriers for delivering so much of his mail. He then showcased several creative envelopes, including one done in Braille, and another torn envelope with a drawing of Robert E. Lee -- "Rip + Lee."
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In 1929, Robert Ripley received a million letters from his "Bonfans" and "Rip-O-Maniacs."
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Several fans used the cartoonist's nickname -- "Rip" -- in addressing their letters, as seen on this envelope from Houston, Texas. November 1930.
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According to friends, Ripley once threw a heap of unopened letters over the African plains from an airplane window to see how long it would take for them to get back to him.
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Some fans waxed poetic about their love of all things Ripley: “We cannot believe all he says is true, but he’ll prove it is, if we ask him to.”
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The high volume of coded mail intended for Ripley overwhelmed the U.S. Postal Service so much that in 1930, Postmaster General Walter Brown announced the USPS would no longer spend time decoding undecipherable addresses.
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Despite Brown's announcement -- or perhaps because of it -- fans continued to send uniquely-addressed letters. "Bee-leaf-it-oar-knot!"
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