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Mulready Postal Stationery

Introduction

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Exhibit provided by
Chris Jarvis
Competition
R. A. G. Lee Cup
In December 1839, William Mulready – a distinguished Royal Academician – was commissioned by Henry Cole to produce a 'poetic' design for the postal stationery. Rowland Hill's diary documents the approval for the drawing and subsequent submission of proofs. He expected the envelopes and letter sheets to be more popular than the penny black and twopenny blue adhesive stamps, however this proved to be incorrect.

They were placed on sale on the 1st of May 1840 and became valid for use from the 6th. The adhesives were not immune from criticism, but the lyrical nature of the Mulready design was poorly received and attracted a hostile campaign in the newspapers.

We may deduce that the Victorians desired sentimentality in their songs, books, religion and art but not in their postage envelopes. Hill wrote "I fear we shall be obliged to substitute some other stamp for that designed by Mulready, which is abused and ridiculed on all sides". His loss was philately's gain since this resulted in the immediate publication of a large number of caricatures and subsequently pictorial and propaganda envelopes.

The envelopes were withdrawn from sale in 1841 and new plain envelopes produced, however the letter sheets remained on sale until 1844 and were frequently used for advertising purposes. The returned unused stock was destroyed in 1862 by a punch type machine removing the figure of Britannia, the value, and the Postage One Penny inscription. They were then sold as pulp to paper manufacturers. The Mulready stationery was not demonetised until June of 1901.

Scope

The display covers early use, contemporary criticism, distinctive, coloured & London Maltese Crosses, contemporaneous pen and ink additions & re‑used examples. In addition an example with erroneous postage due charge and higher rate items with additional adhesives.

References

Reform of the Post Office Vol 1 Fryer & Akerman – 2000
Encyclopaedia of the Maltese Cross Volumes 1‑3 -Professor David Rockoff & Mike Jackson – 2006 to 2011
Queen Victoria Specialised Stanley Gibbons Volume 1 Part 1 – 2020
May Dates – Mike Jackson – 1999
British Pictorial Envelopes of the 19th Century – Bodily, Jarvis & Hahn – 1986
The Mulready Postal Stationery – Huggins & Holyoake – 2015
The Mulready Caricatures – due publication by the RPSL in 2024 – Robin Cassell & Richard Hobbs personal communications

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Frame 1

  1. Introduction
  2. First Official Day of Use
  3. First Sunday of Use
  4. Maltese Crosses of Unusual Colour – Brown – Newport IoW
  5. Enhanced Mulreadies – Contemporary Pen and Ink Additions
  6. Enhanced Mulreadies – Contemporary Pen and Ink Additions
  7. Two Pence Rate
  8. Four Pence Rate
  9. Six Pence Rate
  10. Distinctive Maltese Crosses – Plymouth and Norwich
  11. Distinctive Maltese Crosses – Brighton and Coventry
  12. Distinctive Maltese Crosses – Manchester 'Fishtail'
  13. Distinctive Maltese Crosses – London Number 2 in Maltese Cross
  14. Unusual Cancellations – TP Stoke Newington and Bodmin Double‑arc CDS
  15. Turned and Re‑used
  16. Late Use – Erroneous Postage Due Charge