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British Postal Museum and Archive: The Royal Mail Archive

Post Office: Packet Reports: Volumes


IDENTITY STATEMENT

Reference code(s): GB 0813 POST 41 Series

Held at: British Postal Museum and Archive: The Royal Mail Archive

Title: Post Office: Packet Reports: Volumes

Date(s): 1807-1837

Level of description: Series

Extent: 6 volumes

Name of creator(s):

No further information available

CONTEXT

Administrative/Biographical history:

Please contact the Archive for further information.

CONTENT

Scope and content/abstract:

The Packet Report series (POST 39 and POST 41) comprise reports to the Postmaster General, from the Secretary to the Post Office, on the Packet Boat service and overseas mail arrangements.

POST 41 consists of indexed volumes containing a copy of every report submitted to the Postmaster General (including those which have since been destroyed) and is the only guide to the contents of POST 39 (Packet Service Report Papers). The Postmaster General's decision on each case is also recorded. POST 39 consists of those actual reports which are still in existence, with any enclosures.

In 1811 a parallel series entitled Packet Minutes (POST 29 and POST 34) was created. Cases for the attention of the Postmaster General were sometimes recorded in both series, but at other times in only one of the two series. Upon the cessation of the Report series POST 29 and POST 34 continued alone.

For further details of how this class relates to the other report and minute classes, see the following section 'Related Material'.

ACCESS AND USE

Language/scripts of material: English

System of arrangement:

Please contact the Archive for further information.

Conditions governing access:

Public Record

Conditions governing reproduction:

Please contact the Archive for further information.

Finding aids:

Please contact the Archive for further information.

ARCHIVAL INFORMATION

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Please contact the Archive for further information.

ALLIED MATERIALS

Existence and location of copies:

Some of the items in this series are available on microfilm for viewing in the Search Room.

Related material:

GENERAL GUIDE TO REPORTS AND MINUTES:

POST 41 is one of several POST classes that contain reports and minutes that have been generated at Headquarters level, usually for the purpose of bringing a variety of Post Office matters to the attention of the Postmaster General. Records can relate to people, places or subjects. The various POST classes that hold these records cover the years 1790-1973. The reason there are numerous classes for such records is that organisational changes have occurred within the Post Office through the decades and different and sometimes overlapping systems have been put in place for such record keeping. For a fuller understanding of central records and how the POST classes that they can be found in relate to each other, readers are advised to consult the 'Guide to Reports and Minutes', which includes a timeline that illustrates what periods and subjects are covered by the various POST classes and how they relate to each other. This can be viewed in the BPMA search room or online. For now, here are two pointers.

1. As a rule of thumb, there are two POST classes for each run of records. One class contains the full paperwork for each case ('papers') and the other class is likely to contain an index or series of précis to this material ('volumes'). This means that the indexes of a 'volume' class will often list the material in the corresponding 'papers' class by subject, name, or place.

2. There are a number of POST classes that address issues such as Packet Service minutes, Scottish minutes, Irish minutes and miscellaneous matters. However, the principal classes likely to address central issues of general importance for England and Wales are:

1790 - 1840: POST 40 (POST 42 volumes)

1840 - 1921: POST 30 (POST 35 volumes)

1921 - 1955: POST 33 (POST 38 volumes)

(1941 - 1948): POST 102 (overlaps with POST 33)

1955 - 1973: POST 122 (also POST 35 volumes)

POST CLASSES SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO POST 41:

POST 39 (Packet Service Report Papers) contains many of the actual papers that POST 41 refers to.

POST 34 and POST 29 (Packet Service Minutes) are a parallel series of Packet Service minutes that were kept from 1811 and contained the same sort of material as POST 41 and POST 39. POST 34 and POST 29 became the main run records relating to overseas matters after 1837 when POST 41 and POST 39 finish.

For minutes concerned with overseas mail arrangements before 1807, see POST 42 and POST 40 (Postmaster General's Reports).

POST 48 (Overseas Mails Letter books) is a class that spans the period 1703-1938 and it contains records mainly concerned with Newspaper Post transported by packet ships.

DESCRIPTION NOTES

Archivist's note: Entry checked by Barbara Ball

Rules or conventions:

Compiled in compliance with General Internation Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G) second edition 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997

Date(s) of descriptions: Entry checked June 2011


INDEX ENTRIES
Subjects
Packet boats | Boats | Vessels | Vehicles | Transport
Postal services | Communication industry
Postmasters | Communication personnel | Personnel | People by occupation | People
Shipping | Maritime transport | Transport
Water transport

Personal names

Corporate names
Post Office

Places