“The box that arrived in Philadelphia that day was the plain-looking sort typically used to transport dry goods. Just over 3 feet long, it was 2 feet 8 inches deep and not quite 2 feet wide. Written on the side were the words “this side up with care.’

’Safe to say, the recipient of the box was not fully prepared for what was inside: a 200-pound man named Henry Brown.

As an African-American living in the South, Mr. Brown was a slave when he left Virginia on March 23, 1849, concealed in the box he had designed for this purpose.

When he arrived in Pennsylvania a day later, by express mail, he was a free man….”

via When Special Delivery Meant Deliverance for a Fugitive Slave – City Room Blog – NYTimes.com.