File:2¢ Horse & Rider.jpg

English: This stamp was severely criticized for its design. The horse appears to be leaping rather than galloping. The first mounted courier service in this country was instituted in 1693, between Portsmouth, NH, and Philadelphia. Posts were extended to Annapolis, MD, in 1727; Williamsburg, VA, in 1732; and Montreal and Quebec in 1763. At that time all were under British control. The U.S. Constitution mandated the establishment of post offices and post roads, and Congress made the U.S. post office an organ of the federal government. Early mail principally was in the form of folded sheets of paper (envelopes were a later invention) and a post rider could carry many with ease. When Samuel Osgood was appointed Postmaster General by President George Washington in 1789, the 13 states had only about 75 post offices and 2,400 miles of post roads. Within a decade, both numbers had increased by more than 400 percent.