IDENTITY STATEMENT
Reference code(s): GB 0813 POST 110 Series
Held at: British Postal Museum and Archive: The Royal Mail Archive
Title: Post Office Publicity
Date(s): 1934-present
Level of description: Series
Extent: 2567 items
Name of creator(s):
Not given
CONTEXT
Administrative/Biographical history:
Not available.
CONTENT
Scope and content/abstract:
When Stephen Tallents became GPO (General Post Office) Public Relations Manager in 1933, he decided to adopt the use of posters to carry information from the Post Office to the public. The bulk of POST 110 consists of over 6000 posters produced by the Post Office from the creation of its Public Relations Department in 1934 up to the present day.
Posters were initially produced for distribution to schools as an educational aid, or for display on mail vans, but soon the decision was taken to produce posters specifically designed to be displayed inside public offices; subject matter included public information and sales of philatelic items.
Posters for internal purposes were also produced by the Joint Production Council from the 1950s, these variously encouraged staff to be industrious, vigilant and to be thrifty.
Many well-known artists and designers have been commissioned by the Post Office (particularly in the 1930s-1950s) to produce posters. These artists include Peter Huveneers, Hans Schleger (Zero), Abram Games, Austin Cooper, Eric Fraser, Jan Lewitt, George Him, Tom Eckersley, Edward McKnight Kauffer, Harold Sandys Williamson, Frederic Henri Kay Henrion, Hans Arnold Rothholz, Ronald Searle and Barnett Freedman.
POST 110 also includes POPOS (Post Office Point of Sale) display instructions produced for branches, giving information on the display material they should obtain and display for particular periods. It also includes other publicity material such as leaflets and calendars.
There is an ongoing project to catalogue POST 110, with the main focus currently on the posters; there are 1,837 posters catalogued and available for viewing via our online catalogue, the majority of these records also include images of the posters.
ACCESS AND USE
Language/scripts of material: English
System of arrangement:
Post 110/1 is divided according to the publication code on each poster; for example, 'PRD' posters form a sub-series, as do 'RMN' and 'S&C'. Within each sub-series posters are arranged numerically by publication number; posters without publication numbers are listed in the 'unnumbered' sub-series.
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
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information:
National Savings posters are included up to 1969, when NS became a government department separate from the Post Office.
Many posters which are displayed in post offices do not advertise post office services (for example advertising Department of Society Security benefits, or promoting charitable collections) and these are not retained.
Archival history:
Immediate source of acquisition:
Please contact the Archive for further information.
ALLIED MATERIALS
DESCRIPTION NOTES
Date(s) of descriptions: EAD validated May 2011