The Postmarks ofMitford’s Letters,

including sample images and

TEI markup

Version 1.1By Greg Bondar

University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg

Typical Mitford address leaf, with the usual stamps and “folded by nines”

Typical Mitford address leaf, with the usual stamps and “folded by nines”

MileageDelivery

Franking

Sample TEI Describing Postmarks

<p>Folio sheet of <material>paper</material> folded in half to form four quarto pages, with correspondence on 1-3 and address leaf on page 4, then folded in thirds twice more and sealed for posting.</p>

<p>Address leaf bearing the following postmarks: 1) black circular mileage stamp <!-- Applied upon deposit of letter at local PO -->

reading <stamp>READING<lb/><unclear><gap quantity="1" unit="chars" reason="illegible”/></unclear></stamp>.

2) Red double circle duty stamp Applied upon arrival in London --> reading <date when="1821-11-01"><stamp>B<lb/>1 NO 1<lb/>1821</stamp></date>.

3) Sepia-inked oval Delivery stamp <!-- Applied upon transfer from Inland Mail to London's local Penny Post for delivery. -->reading <stamp><time>10 o'Clock</time><lb/><date>* NO * 1 *</date><lb/><date>1821</date> F.N<hi rend="superscript">n </hi></stamp></p>

<p>A large 7 denoting the fee for a single-sheet letter has been written in black ink by the postal service across the address leaf.</p>

<teiHeader> <sourceDesc> <msDesc> <physDesc> <objectDesc> <supportDesc> <support>

See this letter imaged on the next slide

DeliveryDuty

Mileage

Fee

Mileage Stamp1) black circular mileage stamp

<!-- Applied upon deposit of letter at local PO ie. This stamp bears the date the letter was mailed -->reading <stamp>READING<lb/><unclear><gap quantity="1" unit="chars" reason="illegible”/></unclear></stamp>.

42 miles from Reading to London April 14, 1818

October 22, 1819

Mileage StampThe distance, or mileage, a letter travelled determined the

postage, multiplied by the number of sheets, paid by the recipient.

Rates for 1812: (after Staff 1964, page 72)

Distance Rate

Up to 15 miles 4d.

15-20 miles 5d.

20-30 miles 6d.

30-50 miles 7d.

50-80 miles 8d.

80-120 miles 9d.

120-170 miles 10d.

170-230 miles 11d.

230-300 miles 1s.

300-400 miles 1s. 1d.

Over 400 miles +1d. for every 100 miles

Duty Stamp2) Red double circle Duty stamp

<!--Applied upon arrival in London --> reading <date when="1821-11-01“><stamp>B<lb/>1 NO 1<lb/> <!--Day MONTH Day-->1821</stamp></date>.

NOTE: The date on this stamp is usually later than the date on the Mileage Stamp! Also, Letters that have been franked will not receive a Duty Stamp [which indicates that payment is owed?]

Duty Stamp• As unpaid mail arrived by mail coach at the Chief

Office in London in the morning, it was stamped with a morning duty stamp, including the date of arrival and a letter designating the sorting table. Mail left London on mail coaches in the evening and received the evening duty stamp. Morning and evening duty stamps were introduced in 1795 in order to identify the individual clerk who stamped a specific piece of mail.

Duty Stamp

Alcock & Holland 1940:22 , Fig. 28, call these examples morning duty stamps, while Cameron 1961:919 calls them evening duty stamps (with the double rim). According to Paterson 1811:533, the mail coach both arrives and departs Reading at 1:20am, presumably as a result of a morning arrival and an evening departure from the Central Office in London. As a result, these are most likely to be morning duty stamps.

Mitford writing to London: Are these morning or evening duty stamps?

Evening duty stamps fromTalfourd in London sendingto Mitford in Reading.

Evening Duty stampfrom MRM in London

writing to mother at Bertram House

Irish Duty Stamp• Special stamp for unpaid letters

passing through Dublin

Bound for Castle Martyr, Ireland via Dublin

Mileage Stamp(From Reading)

Irish DutyStamp

Irish Mileage Stamp(Dublin to Castle Martyr)

Frank

Delivery Stamp3) Sepia-inked oval Delivery stamp

<!-- Applied upon transfer from Inland Mail to London's local “Twopenny Post” for delivery. -->reading <stamp><time>10 o'Clock</time><lb/><date>* NO * 1 *</date><lb/><date>1821</date> F.N<hi rend="superscript">n </hi></stamp></p>

Abbreviations of Delivery times:F.N.n = Forenoon

N.T = Night

Delivery Stamp• Usually stamped in red ink, rarely black.• “PAID” indicates that the postal fee was paid by the sender.

The absence of “PAID” on the Delivery Stamp indicates an “Unpaid” stamp and the fee is to be paid by the recipient upon delivery.

• When a letter was transferred from the Twopenny Post to the General Post Office for delivery, an additional fee was owed as indicated by:

Delivery Stamp• 1794-1834:Chief Office=Mo Day; Westminster= Day Mo

• 1795-1824:Westminster= Indented rim

• 1801-1819:Chief Office=single-rim; Westminster=no border• 1819-1834: Chief Office=dbl-rim; Westminster=single-rim

Delivery Stamp(Charge Marks)

• Letters not prepaid were liable to an additional charge when entering London’s Twopenny Post system for delivery:

Here a 2d. Charge Mark has been crossed-out and replaced with one for 3d.

Receiving House Stamp• Stamped when a letter was submitted at a

Receiving House of the Two-Penny Post, either to be mailed or delivered.

Franking stamps, Fees, and indications of payment

<p>A large 7 denoting the fee for a single-sheet letter has been written in black ink by the postal service across the address leaf.</p>(42 miles from Reading to Londonwould have cost 7d.)

Franking Stamps

This letter cost Haydon 7 pence to read

Ireland

Some of Mitford’s seals

1825

1835

Mitford’s “Mary” seal

1819

1824Jan 1812

Dec 1811

Dec 1812

July 1813

Oct 1813

Mar 1814

Mitford’s “Familie” seal

1823

July 1811

Aug 1813Jan 1814

Oct 1806 Jan 1811

Jan 1816

Mar 1818

Mitford’s ‘Sword & Dog’s-head’ seal

Feb 1810

Mar 1814

Mitford’s ‘Cupid’ seal“UN ME SUFFIT” = “ONE IS ENOUGH”

Jan 1812

May 1815

References

• Alcock, R. C. and F. C. Holland. The Postmarks of Great Britain and Ireland. Cheltenham, England: Alcock, Ltd., 1940.

• Cameron, Kenneth Neill. “Postmarks and the Dating of Manuscripts”. Shelley and his Circle, Volume 2: 914-25. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1961.

• Peterson, Daniel. A New and Accurate Description of All the Direct and Principal Cross Roads in England, Wales, and Part of Scotland, 15th edition. London: Longman, 1811.

• Staff, Frank. The Penny Post 1680-1918. London: Lutterworth Press, 1964.

Jan 1814

June 1814

Aug 1810

Dec 1820

July 1815