The Penny Post is any one of several

postal system The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal syst ...

s in which normal letters could be sent for one

penny A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is t ...

. Five such schemes existed in the United Kingdom while the United States initiated at least three such simple fixed rate postal arrangements.

United Kingdom

London Penny Post

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, the postal service, from 1660

General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Before the Acts of Union 1707, it was the postal system of the Kingdom of England, established by Charles II in 1660. ...

, had developed into a monopoly, affirmed by

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

in 1654, for the collection and carriage of letters between post towns, however, there was no delivery system until

William Dockwra William Dockwra (c. 1635–1716) was an English merchant who along with his partner Robert Murray (financier), Robert Murray created the first London Penny Post, Penny Post in London in 1680. In latter 17th century London there was no official p ...

and his partner Robert Murray established the

London Penny Post The London Penny Post was a premier postal system whose function was to deliver mail within London and its immediate suburbs for the modest sum of one penny. The Penny Post was established in 1680 by William Dockwra and his business partner, R ...

in 1680. They set up a

local post A local post is a mail service that operates only within a limited geographical area, typically a city or a single transportation route. Historically, some local posts have been operated by governments, while others, known as private local p ...

that used a uniform rate of one

old penny The British pre-decimal penny was a denomination of sterling coinage worth of one pound or of one shilling. Its symbol was ''d'', from the Roman denarius. It was a continuation of the earlier English penny, and in Scotland it had the same mo ...

for delivery of letters and packets weighing up to one pound within the cities of

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

as well as in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

. Several deliveries took place a day within the city, and items were also delivered to addresses up to ten miles outside London for an extra charge of one penny. In 1683 Dockwra was forced to surrender the Penny Post to the English Monarchy for circulating what were considered seditious newsletters sharply criticizing

the Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was D ...

, who was in charge of and directly benefited from the General Post Office.

Local Penny Post

In 1765, Parliament authorized the creation of Penny Posts in any town or city of the kingdoms of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The single postage rate of one penny was charged within the area, calculated by weight. By the beginning of the 19th century there were many of these, identifiable on covers, with markings such as "PP", "Py Post", or "Penny Post" along with the name of the town. The early penny post system in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, founded in 1773/4 by Peter Williamson, known as "Indian Peter," usefully combined it with one of the world's first street directories. He circulated mail to 17 shops in the city (effectively

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

s) and employed 4 uniformed postmen. Their hats read "Penny Post" and were numbered 1,4,8 and 16 to make the business look bigger.

Uniform Fourpenny Post

On 5 December 1839 the Uniform Fourpenny Post was introduced by the

but lasted only 36 days until 9 January 1840 when the Uniform Penny Post was introduced.

Uniform Penny Post

In 1835

Rowland Hill Sir Rowland Hill, KCB, FRS (3 December 1795 – 27 August 1879) was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer. He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of Uniform Penny Post and his soluti ...

published a pamphlet entitled 'Post Office Reform' which led to various reforms and the introduction of the first postage stamp and convinced Parliament to implement much needed reforms in the current postal system. On 10 January 1840, the

Uniform Penny Post The Uniform Penny Post was a component of the comprehensive reform of the Royal Mail, the UK's official postal service, that took place in the 19th century. The reforms were a government initiative to eradicate the abuse and corruption of the e ...

was established throughout Great Britain and Ireland, facilitating the safe, speedy and cheap conveyance of letters, and from 6 May could be prepaid with the first

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...

, known as the

Penny Black The Penny Black was the world's first adhesive postage stamp used in a public postal system. It was first issued in the United Kingdom (referred to in philatelic circles as Great Britain), on 1 May 1840, but was not valid for use until 6 May. ...

Ocean Penny Post

Elihu Burritt Elihu Burritt (December 8, 1810March 6, 1879) was an American diplomat, philanthropist and social activist.Arthur Weinberg and Lila Shaffer Weinberg. ''Instead of Violence: Writings by the Great Advocates of Peace and Nonviolence Throughout Histo ...

proposed that a fixed rate of one penny be established for all mail throughout the entire

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

as a means of facilitating international interaction and international unity. This was known as the Ocean Penny Post.

Imperial Penny Post

On Christmas Day, 1898, the Imperial Penny Post extended the rate throughout the British Empire except for Australia and New Zealand, who would not benefit from it until 1905. In 1908 it was extended to America. The Penny Post rate ended in Great Britain in 1918.

United States

In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, Spaulding's Penny Post operated in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

from 1847 to 1850. Davis' Penny Post operated in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

for several weeks of February 1856, leaving behind a handful of rare stamps. ''The Penny Post'' is the journal of the Carriers and Locals Society, and was also the original name of ''

The Cincinnati Post ''The Cincinnati Post'' was an afternoon daily newspaper published in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. In Northern Kentucky, it was bundled inside a local edition called ''The Kentucky Post''. The ''Post'' was a founding publication and onetime ...

''.

Notes

Citations

Sources

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External links

Siegel Auctions info on Spaulding, with pictures

Postal history Postage rates Postal history of the United Kingdom Postal history of the United States