London to Aberdeen 1815
...in which the Leith people are dismissed as ’vile’
These letters graciously have been shared with the Victorian
Web by Eunice and Ron Shanahan; they have been taken from their website.
The letters give an insight into the daily lives and concerns of 'ordinary'
people without whom history would not exist. The letters are a wonderful example
of how much history may be gleaned from such sources.
The
postal markings are very interesting, and the illustration shows :-
- a clear, boxed ‘LATE FEE’ date stamp in red. The 'Late Fee'
system was in use from 1790 at the Chief Office of the General Post in London.
It cost 6d (six pence) and had
to be paid when the letter was lodged and only between 7pm and 7.45pm to ensure
despatch of the letter in that night's mails. The mail counter closed at 7
pm, but the mails were actually despatched at 8 pm. There were three different
postmarks while the system was in effect. First a square frame, then a circular
frame and then a square frame again. This square one was used from 1813 until
the early 1850s. As they were pre-paid, they were usually applied in red ink.
This example showing the date as 2 MA 2 1815 left London that night, and travelled
to Aberdeen via Edinburgh.
- The Scottish Additional Halfpenny tax - stamp applied in London, of the
type in use from 1813-1817. This was one of three types used in London, the
other two being a framed ½, and an unframed ½ - without the
wording ‘Addl’.
- The transit datestamp applied in red in Edinburgh - this is octagonal with
MAR at the top 1815 at the bottom and the day 5 in the centre. The initial
M on the right signifies it was a morning duty stamp and the W at the left
is the identifying letter for the stamp.There is no arrival stamp for Aberdeen.
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Last modified
22 December 2004