I just came across a great New York Times piece on the mail service in the Victorian era. It’s full of trivia: for example, did you know that in 1889 London, mail was delivered TWELVE TIMES A DAY? Read this:
In Victorian London, though service wasn’t 24/7, it was close to 12/6. Home delivery routes would go by every house 12 times a day — yes, 12. In 1889, for example, the first delivery began about 7:30 a.m. and the last one at about 7:30 p.m. In major cities like Birmingham by the end of the century, home routes were run six times a day.
“In London, people complained if a letter didn’t arrive in a couple of hours,” said Catherine J. Golden, a professor of English at Skidmore College and author of “Posting It: The Victorian Revolution in Letter Writing” (2009).
And, not unlike us, most Victorian letter writers seemed more concerned about getting a rapid response than a long one. “Return of post” was an often-used phrase, requesting an immediate response, in time for the next scheduled delivery that day.
Read the rest for more postal goodness!
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As a child, my favorite thing to get in the mail was peeps. My mom used to order her baby chicks by mail and they came in a box delivered by the mail carrier.
posted by Hyacinth on 3-1-2010 at 3:15 pm
I have often wondered, especially when watching movies about the Victorian era, whether it was true that the mail traveled so fast within the city…That accounts for much of the plot intrigue in several of those films.
Speaking of Victorians and mail…My great-grandmother was a Victorian and asked everyone who visited to send her a postcard as they traveled, so that she could travel also…It is now in the blood of all of us. First stop on any trip…shop for postcards for family and friends…although we often arrive home before they do.
posted by M. Forrest on 3-1-2010 at 3:47 pm
The greatest mail-delivery story ever has to be that of Lysander Spooner.
Spooner founded the American Letter Mail Company to compete with the government monopoly (the United States Post Office). The latter was corrupt and unethical. He quickly brought the price down from the absurd 12 1/2 cents the government was charging to 5 cents. After outcompeting the USPO, cutting the price to a fraction of what it was, and delivering to more people faster and more competently, the government forced his company to shut down in 1844.
posted by Karen on 3-1-2010 at 4:27 pm
Karen, I just researched Lysander Spooner after reading what you wrote. What an incredible man. He’s a genius. I think I may have to buy some of his books.
posted by Jeff W. on 3-1-2010 at 11:34 pm
When I was young (in the early 1950′s) mail was delivered twice a day in the United States. Those were the days of 3 cent first class postage and penny postcards.
posted by Not THAT Old on 3-2-2010 at 12:10 pm