Inked date stamps were at first called 'Bishops marks' after their inventor, Henry Bishop, Postmaster General, 1660-1663. The post office was receiving complaints about late arrival of the post. Bishop claimed: 'a stamp is invented, that is putt upon every letter shewing the day of the moneth that every letter comes to this office, so that no letter Carryer may dare to detayne a letter from post to post; which, before, was usual.' As we now know, this did not actually solve the problem, just provided more evidence that the problem existed.
This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
First postmarks in the world
Commemorated ati
General Letter Office
Near this spot the General Letter Office stood in Post House Yard, 1653 - 166...
Other Subjects
Jahncke Ltd
From National Archives: "Tin box manufactures of Canonbury Works, Dorset Street, Islington {later renamed Dove Street}. Founded in 1873 by Ernest Jahncke and incorporated in 1893. Bryant and May ac...
1 memorial
John Farrell
Worked for the Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society. Was on the building committee for the Abbey Wood branch in 1912.
1 memorial
Crocketts Leather Cloth Company Ltd
Odd that the monument does not use the name "Crocketts" but all the sources give that name for the Leather Cloth factory on this site. More information at London's Ghost Acres. The catalogue of th...
1 memorial
William Bethell
Worked for the Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society. Was Assistant Manager of the Abbey Wood branch in June 1912. Probably a cousin of the RACS architect Frank Bethell.
1 memorial
1 memorial
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