The PeaceHavens Project

PeaceHavens is normally for the identification of 18/19th century Russian Flax/Hemp Lead Bale Seals

 by Ged Dodd, Director of the Project, however he has been press-ganged into listing Post Office Seals.

Post Office Seal Identification

 For identification please send large photos of your seal, both sides, your name and where found to

This site has two pages  (Page One)

Click here for Page Two - Photos of Post Office Seals found to date

 

-History of the Post Office Charles I opened up his royal mail to the public in 1635 Oliver Cromwell establishing the General Post Office in 1657. In the early 1700s, a letter could take weeks or months to reach its destination if it ever got there at all.  In 1784, John Palmer of Bath introduced the first horse drawn mail coach, which  also carried paying passengers. Click here for an overview of  British Postal History .   In the early days the parcels were chiefly packed in wicker hampers with heavy fastenings, but the weight and cost of these receptacles rendered it necessary to find something lighter. Many experiments were made, & at last a receptacle was adopted with a wicker body and a canvas top, which required no metal fastenings, as the canvas top was tied with string and sealed with wax. The use of wax seals by the Post Office prior to 1905 is confirmed by the following quote, "Even in the heating of the wax used in sealing the mail bags electricity is brought into use. The wax is placed in small copper pans which rest on electrical hot plates." His Majesty's Mails by Edward Bennet. The latest improvement on this is the substitution of a leaden seal for the old wax sealing.  Even this much lighter receptacle is considered too heavy & costly for the conveyance of ordinary parcels, & canvas sacks of extra durability are now being generally used for the conveyance of parcels across London & to and from provincial towns. Parcels of a fragile nature when sent by railway are still packed in wicker receptacles for security.  In 1911 the post office finally replaced wax seals used in smaller post office regions with lead ones for sealing letter and parcel sacks, although lead seals were probably used in the larger post offices since Charles I.  In 1916 they made the seals thinner reducing the amount of lead by 19% thus saving £1,770 per annum. The Post Office Controller of Stores supplied the lead to the seal manufacturers directly. These manufacturers were, Dunham White & Co Ltd., J.N.Lyons Ltd., The Lead Seal Manufacturing Co. and Walkens, Parker & Co. Ltd. (ref. The British Postal Museum & Archive) A stylised version of the St Edward's Crown - probably post 1953   A Square Post Office Letter Sack Seal found on the Thames Foreshore by Christine Fernbank. Types of Post Office Seals Square Round Eagle/Dolphin/Griffin

	Square Seals are more modern and are  usually about 16-19mm & 9-10 grams.  Tubular, deeply crimped seal used by the General Post Office for sealing letter sacks.
	Round Seals have G.P.O or Crown and a very rough cloth marked reverse. Used by the General Post Office for sealing letter sacks. (16-19mm & 9-10 grams.)
	Round Seals with a Crown and an arrow and with a very rough cloth marked reverse are not Post office seals but are War Department seals for ammunition boxes and sacks.
Eagle & Dolphin Round (1691-1708). A Post-Medieval Post Office lead sack seal from the reign of William III (1689-1702) and Anne (1702-14) of the House of Stuart. An Eagle displayed and Dolphin enbowed (two saltires in chief) in separate ovals that terminate in ornate scroll work above and to a much lesser extent below, three leaf design at the base, all in a rope border.  The arms are those of the joint post masters from 1691-1708, Sir Robert Cotton & Thomas Frankland.                     (19-20mm & 9-10 grams.)          Reverse:- usually a Crown above G.POST, with a Tudor rose beneath.
Dolphin & Griffin Round (1708-1715). A Post-Medieval Post Office lead sack seal from the reign of Anne (1702-1714) of the House of Stuart. Two oval shields: 1st bearing a dolphin enbowed, on a canton an open left hand; in chief two saltires: 2nd shield bearing a griffin passant; in chief blank (colour): scroll work above, quintefoil below, all in a line and rope circular border. The arms are those of the joint post masters from 1708-1715, Thomas Frankland & John Evelyn.   (19-20mm & 9-10 grams.)  Reverse:-  a Crown above G. POST with a Tudor rose beneath.
Foreign Postal Services with seals from Russian and other European Countries  Russian Post        Riga Bridge Post Office 1915  Post Office Signs from Poland - Kaliska & Bobowo     Peter the Great enacted reforms and in 1714 the first general post offices opened in Saint Petersburg and Moscow.  “Regular post service” was established along the Moscow and Riga routes. In February 1714, the postal service started biweekly runs from St. Petersburg to Riga; in June it started runs from St. Petersburg to Moscow. The earliest known Russian postmark dates from July 1765; it is a single line reading "ST.PETERSBOVRG" (in Latin letters)

 

IDS 1207		ПЕЧАТЬ / C:ПБУГ П:АМTA SEAL / ST PETERSBURG POST		blank	ПЕЧАТЬ  C:П(ETEP)БУГ П(OЧ)АМTA the Seal of St Petersburg Postal Service
IDS 1982		ПОЧТАМТЪ 11 ОТА (POST OFFICE dept 11)		С.ПЕТЕРБУРГЪ S.PETERBURG	St.Petersburg Post Office
IDS 2037		ТИФЛИСЪ (TIFLIS) Modern day TBILISI in GEORGIA		*ПОЧТОВ. ТЕЛЕГР. КОНТОР. Post & Telegraph Office	Tbilisi Post Office

Pictures from Times Past
When railways were in their infancy part of the journey    of a  mail was sometimes performed by coach and part    by train. At the point where the railway began the    coach was placed on a truck,  coupled to the  train.	Bullion in large quantities landed at Falmouth by the     mail packets for despatch over land to London.  It was     placed on wagons, which journeyed the whole distance    to London at a walking pace whilst guarded by soldiers.