Pope, a postal and labor historian, joined forces with Dwight Bowers, a historian of American popular music and a program coordinator at the National Museum of American History. Pope oversaw research, while Bowers produced the performance. Both were committed to presenting the historical significance of mail themes in music, highlighting its ubiquitousness through different musical eras. The research turned up postal music from as far back as 1857. The mail, according to Bowers, is simply well-suited to music.
Letters are intensely personal statements.
The medium of one matches the other. Letters can reveal longing and despair between loved ones who are not together. Songwriters have turned to this theme for good reason, producing a myriad of sad, moving pieces. The postman depicted on the cover of the 1924 sheet music is carrying a letter edged in black. During that time, envelopes edged in black were used to send death announcements.