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The Penny Post is any one of several postal systems
in which normal letters could be sent for one penny.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, the London Penny Post was
established in 1680 by William Dockwra, who established a local post
that used a uniform rate within London. The concept worked well for local mail, and in
1764 Parliament authorized the creation of Penny Posts in any town or city of the UK. By
the beginning of the 19th century there were a number of these,
identifiable on covers, with markings such as "PP", "Py Post", or "Penny Post" along with
the name of the town.
On 10 January 1840, the
Uniform Penny Post was established throughout the UK, and several months later could be prepaid with the
postage stamp known as the Penny Black.
In 1898, the Imperial Penny Post extended the rate throughout the
British Empire.
United States
In the United States, Spaulding's Penny Post operated
in Buffalo, New York from 1847 to 1850.
Davis's Penny Post operated in Baltimore,
Maryland 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.
Reference
- Frank Staff, The Penny
Post: 1680-1918 (Lutterworth Press, 1993) ISBN 0-7188-2878-X
External links
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