In the beginning…

The six month period from December 1839 to May 1840 witnessed a series of major innovations in GB postal administration that revolutionised communication and made the world a little smaller. In this special guide, Dr Nick Amor describes the period leading up to the arrival of the postage stamp

First, a few words of context. In 1840 the City of London was the commercial centre of the world, and in an age before telephone or email, heavily dependent upon postal communication. Between 1800 and 1850 the rate of GB population growth was higher than at any other time in recorded history. In that half century GB industrial output increased four fold. This meant migration from the countryside to towns, particularly of younger people. New railways facilitated such mobility – the famous locomotive, The Rocket, won the Rainhill trials in 1829, so launching the railway era. It all served to pull extended families apart. The literacy rate, especially among women, was rising fast and the output of printed books rising even faster. Ordinary people had