I have joined the ranks of home delivery – groceries and other household items. And of course there is ordering online and then the postman or a private delivery service leaves the item at your door. Oh joy. Years ago my mother had groceries delivered to our home. The milkman and the iceman came regularly, and the knife sharpener. And of course the U.S. Postal Service has a long history going back to the 1800’s.
So my great recent discovery of the present day version of the convenience of home delivery shouldn’t come as such a surprise.
coal delivery in Windsor England, years ago
Lyme New Hampshire, Market wagon
Janet's thread 
So true! Now if we could only get doctors to make housecalls again….
Janet – When I was growing up, we had milk delivered twice a week, I believe, and I remember having the glass bottles broken on a few exceptionally cold morning. We had the Charles Chip delivery truck also.
Where I live now, there is a doctor who makes house calls, and ONLY HOUSE CALLS. He charges $100 and I don’t think that includes prescriptions, but he seems to do quite well.
The knife grinder was still touring the local villages when I can to live here in the late 1970s. Milk was delivered every day (and still is in some areas).