Help with London Receiver "AR" and "Miss Bagust" publication

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leamphil
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Help with London Receiver "AR" and "Miss Bagust" publication

Post by leamphil »

I have an undated legal letter from London to Ilminster which has a General Post receiver's mark of what looks like "AR" in a circle. The "A" is quite clear, the "R" less so.
AR receiver.jpg
I have been trying to track down the "AR" mark by looking at editions of the London Postal History Group "Notebook" which are available on this website at https://www.gbps.org.uk/information/dow ... tebook.php. There are not many receivers that have a first name beginning with "A" and most of those have surnames that begin with letters that don't match.

I have found two references that match "AR" being Abel Roper, the first in Vol.19 [Oct 1974] says as a footnote that the list of receivers were taken "from the publication by Miss Bagust, the original of which gave both the location of the office and the authority for the allocation". Can anyone please point me to this publication ?

The second reference is in Vol.75 [Dec 1985] which lists "Roper" under the General Office with a date of 1774.

Interestingly the name "Abel Roper" does not appear in the Hugh Feldman list in Vol.107 [Mar 1993].

Further research had unearthed that Miss F. Bagust published "Some Notes on the Small Post Offices of London in the 17th and 18th Centuries" in 1937. Anyone got a copy ??
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Ilminster 1774 AR receiver.jpg
Mike Jackson
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Re: Help with London Receiver "AR" and "Miss Bagust" publication

Post by Mike Jackson »

I have Miss Bagust’s book but am on holiday for another week or so. If you still need me to check it I will when I get back
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leamphil
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Re: Help with London Receiver "AR" and "Miss Bagust" publication

Post by leamphil »

Mike Jackson wrote:I have Miss Bagust’s book but am on holiday for another week or so. If you still need me to check it I will when I get back
Thank you that would be great - I'm interested to see if (a) Abel Roper is in the book and (b) whether there are any details provided.
Mike Jackson
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Re: Help with London Receiver "AR" and "Miss Bagust" publication

Post by Mike Jackson »

The entry in the list in F. Bagust's book is:
A.R - Abel Roper - Fleet-street - Post Office advertisement 1652
It's the only AR listed, although the list is not claimed to be anywhere near complete.
According to the Ipswich Journal of Sat. 5 Feb. 1726, 'Saturday last died, Mr. Abel Roper, formerly a Bookseller in Fleet-street, and a Proprietor of the Post-boy'.
Winston W
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Re: Help with London Receiver "AR" and "Miss Bagust" publication

Post by Winston W »

leamphil wrote: Interestingly the name "Abel Roper" does not appear in the Hugh Feldman list in Vol.107 [Mar 1993].
Neither does Hugh list him in his 1998 publication.

British Newspapers have the Abel(l) Roper that Mike mentions going back to 1711, so that does not help shorten the period in which your cover was used.
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leamphil
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Re: Help with London Receiver "AR" and "Miss Bagust" publication

Post by leamphil »

Mike, Winston,
Thanks very much for the info.

I think there could be a few Abel Ropers (possibly even related as it seemed to be a habit to name a son after the father).

Active in 1652 is 74 years before a potential death in 1726 (at age 94 if 20 when mentioned in 1652). And then there is the mention of 1774 in the London Postal History Group Notebook No.74 (I don't know where this date came from, the LPHG Notebook didn't say).

Based on the postal rate of 8d for London to Ilminster, I reckon the cover must date from 1711-1783 as a 4d double rate letter (an 8d single rate is too late). And the Bishop Mark dates it to 1713-1787.

So I think I'll just raise these dates as possibilities !
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