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Auction: 12016 - The Collector's Series sale
Lot: 1036

Great BritainPostal History1890-1915 five Post Office record books, contained in a carton, all relating to Basingstoke and Winchfield head offices and their sub-offices; one an absence record, two cover allowances/expenditure including the cost of making deliveries, buying telegraph equipment, cleaning post office bicycles, lists of staff with dates of births, history of service, promotions and salary of every sub-postmaster, town postman, rural postman and a list of persons in that area licensed to sell stamps; one covers general matters medical officers and mail cart contracts; the most interesting covers misconduct giving the name, rank, offense, punishment, date and observations for each case, the more interesting includes drunkenness with Eli Taylor rural postman in 1900 was found, "drunk in charge of the mails and observed sleeping at the bottom of his cart", and James Foster, a rural postman in 1905, noted as intoxicated when he came on duty and endeavoured to cover up his appearance with deceit and falsehood, a few months later he returned from his rounds late, said he had hurt his foot but was again found to be drunk. After he was found drunk again a few months after this, for the third time, he was dismissed., stealing from the mail, "embezzling £12 1/- from the stamp draw", betting transactions, assault while in uniform, telegraph boys stealing stamps off letters awaiting despatch, "rudeness in changing a banknote for Lady Cust"; a sub-postmaster in Fleet who seemed to commit a variety of unusual offenses, including, " unseemly conduct towards his two female assistants" and "circulating a rumour to the effect that the King was dead on 24th June 1902". A most interesting lot of great historical importance, well worth careful examination

Estimate
£350 to £400