Doctor Dolittle’s Post Office was published by Frederick A. Stokes in 1923, the third in the series and one of its most inventive entries. The Doctor, stranded in Africa after the events of the previous book, establishes an international postal service using birds — swallows, swifts, and other migratory species — as mail carriers. The Swallow Mail, as it becomes known, allows animals (and eventually humans) across the world to communicate with each other.
The conceit is characteristically Lofting: it takes the series’ central fantasy (that language barriers can be overcome) and extends it into a practical system. The postal service requires organization, logistics, and diplomacy — the Doctor must negotiate with different bird species, establish routes and relay stations, and solve the problems of weather, predators, and bureaucracy that any postal system faces. The adventure plot involves the Doctor being captured by slavers, rescued by his animal allies, and establishing himself as a respected figure in West African politics.
Lofting’s illustrations — spare, witty, and perfectly integrated with the text — are particularly good in this volume, depicting the various bird species with an affectionate precision that reflects his genuine interest in natural history.
Collecting Doctor Dolittle’s Post Office
First edition (Frederick A. Stokes, New York, 1923): Cloth binding with Lofting’s illustrations.
Market values:
- First edition in dust jacket: $300–$1,000
- Without jacket: $40–$120
- Later editions: $10–$30