H. Bentley Hahn (#92)

An Inventory of His Personal Papers, 1953-1983
In the John F. Kennedy Library
National Archives and Records Administration

Administrative Information
Biographical Note
Collection Overview
List of Series
Collection Description

Administrative Information

Abstract
Papers 1953-1983
Post Office Department employee; developed the ZIP Code for mail addressing. Materials relating to the development and implementation of the Zone Improvement Plan (ZIP Code).

Access
Open.

Usage Restrictions
According to the deed of gift signed December 19, 1986, copyright of these materials has been assigned to the United States of America. Documents in this collection that were prepared by officials of the United States as part of their official duties are in the public domain. Users of these materials are advised to determine the copyright status of any document from which they wish to publish.

Copyright
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law. The copyright law extends its protection to unpublished works from the moment of creation in a tangible form. Direct your questions concerning copyright to the reference staff.

Provenance
Received from H. Bentley Hahn of San Antonio, Texas, in December 1986 (Acc. 1987-010).

Extent
About 200 items (5 linear inches, .504 cubic feet).

Items Separated
Items separated include audiovisual materials (AV-92).

Date Opened
1987.

Finding Aid Prepared by
Stacie Parillo.

Revisions
Finding aid updated in 1987, by Megan F. Desnoyers.
Finding aid updated in 2009, by Stacie Parillo.

Related Collections
J. Edward Day Papers, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library
Third Assistant Postmaster General Files, Smithsonian National Postal Museum Library

The Personal Papers of H. Bentley Hahn (1910-1998)

Biographical Note
Henry Bentley Hahn, Sr. was born on March 14, 1910 in Beaumont, Jefferson Co., Texas. Hahn served in the military from 1942 to 1946 in the U.S. Air Force, where he attained the rank of colonel. In 1953, Hahn, a postal inspector in Baltimore, MD, proposed a plan for coding mail by zones to expedite mail delivery. After the approval of his plan he served on the Postal Service’s working committee to further develop and implement what would become the ZIP Code, which became available for use on July 1, 1963. During the late 1970’s Hahn served as the postal consultant for the Bank Stationers Association. Hahn, who resided in San Antonio, Texas, died on November 23, 1998.

Collection Overview
The Personal Papers of H. Bentley Hahn document his role in the development of the ZIP code system employed by the United States Post Office for mail addressing. Files include material relating to the development of the Zone Improvement Plan (ZIP Code) including correspondence, presentation materials, promotional and instruction publications, surveys and reports as well as newspaper clippings.  The collection is organized into one series entitled Postal Files, 1953-1983.

List of Series
Series 1. Postal Files, 1953-1983

Collection Description

Series 1. Postal Files, 1953-1983.
About 200 items (5 linear inches, .504 cubic feet).
Arrangement: alphabetical by type.

This series consists of correspondence, marketing and business publications, and reports generated by Hahn during his work on the Zone Improvement Plan (ZIP Code) and is arranged alphabetically by type. The bulk of the material is from the initial development and marketing of the ZIP code in the 1960s, but also includes a small amount of material on the twentieth anniversary in 1983.