Curious stories, personal passions and behind-the-scenes exclusives await in our museum blog:
Blog
Enter the world of The Postal Museum!
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Creating The Jolly Postman
Janet and Allan Ahlberg's The Jolly Postman or Other People’s Letters celebrates its 40th birthday in 2026 – but what inspired this much-loved children’s picture book?
- Design
- Exhibitions
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Slavery, Abolition and Steam Packet Ships
We explore how two White men, central to the development of the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, were involved in smear campaigns against two Black abolition leaders, Robert Wedderburn and Mary Prince, as part of their efforts to maintain slavery.
- Exhibitions
- Human Stories
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Shipwrecks and Steam Packet Ships
Shipping in the 1800s could be a dangerous undertaking. The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company found their ships caught up in conflicts, political unrest, disease, storms, and at least one tsunami.
- Exhibitions
- Human Stories
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Meet the Maker: Tabara N’Diaye
Meet the artist behind La Basketry, created as a way to reconnect to her Senegalese roots and celebrate the traditional craft of basket weaving.
- Design
- Exhibitions
- Human Stories
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The coal workers of St. Thomas
Royal Mail Steam Packet ships transported mail across the Atlantic via its main coaling site in St. Thomas. In this article we tell the story of the enslaved people who fueled them.
- Exhibitions
- Human Stories
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The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company
In the 1800s, a steam shipping company formed, carrying mail around the world. Its operations exploited enslaved people on the Caribbean island of St. Thomas, by forcing them to re-fuel the ships.
- Exhibitions
- Human Stories
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Why do we have postcodes?
Postcodes - codes with letters and numbers. Read about the groundbreaking technology that changed the post forever.
- Exhibitions
- Post Office
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Identifying a Button
Learn how to recognise and label historical buttons with Deputy Curator Georgina
- Archive & Collections
- Design
- Exhibitions
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Telegram Messengers
Archivist Susannah uncovers how Telegram Messengers went about their daily duties by exploring one of their first-hand accounts.
- Archive & Collections
- Exhibitions
- Human Stories
- Post Office
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Postal Uniforms: The case of Sant Singh Shattar
Archivist Helen explores how a 1960 application changed who could be employed as a postal worker.
- Archive & Collections
- Exhibitions
- Human Stories
- Post Office
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Delivering Comfort: maternity clothing and the postal service
To mark International Women’s Day, Senior Curator Corinne looks at history of postal maternity uniform.
- Archive & Collections
- Design
- Exhibitions
- Human Stories
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Dressed to Deliver: How postal workwear has changed over time
From smartly dressed Victorians in formal frockcoats to modern posties and their all-weather activewear, uniforms have helped make postal workers an iconic feature of life in the UK.
- Archive & Collections
- Exhibitions
- Human Stories
- Post Office
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World’s rarest stamps
There are some stamps in the world that are so rare they are priceless, but what makes a stamp rare in the first place?
- Exhibitions
- Stamps
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A Day in the Life of a Coding Desk Operator
Step into the shoes of Coding Desk Operator Matthew and find out what it was like to work with sorting machines in the 1980s.
- Archive & Collections
- Exhibitions
- Human Stories
- Post Office
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12 Interesting Facts about Postcodes
In this blog, we reveal some interesting facts you probably didn't know about postcodes.
- Archive & Collections
- Exhibitions
- Post Office
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David Gentleman’s Wood Engravings
At the London 2022 International Stamp Show we showed a display of David Gentleman's wood engravings.
- Archive & Collections
- Exhibitions
- Stamps
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Frank Musgrave Postcards
Discover remarkable examples of postcards exchanged between Frank Musgrave and his wife during the First World War.
- Archive & Collections
- Exhibitions
- Human Stories
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Postcards from the First World War
Assistant Curator Jane showcases a selection of First World War postcards that have recently joined our collection.
- Archive & Collections
- Exhibitions
- Human Stories
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Postcards from the Front: Harry Brown
Curator Georgina tells the story of a soldier and his journey through the First World War.
- Archive & Collections
- Exhibitions
- Human Stories
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Postcards from the Raj
Author Omar Khan explores how the postcard was one of the first accessible formats that allowed people to send and receive text and images globally.
- Exhibitions
- Human Stories