The straight-line ‘PACKET LETTER / SOUTHAMPTON’ or the circular ‘SOUTHAMPTON PACKET LETTER’ (both ‘SPL’) handstamps (Figure 1), were applied at that southern English port on mails arriving on packet boats.
I have not been able to find much documentation or literature as to the raison d’être of this stamp. In Willcocks (1975, p. 146), Alan W. Robertson, the great British maritime postal history expert, wrote:1
With the establishment of steamship mail contracts, in cases where the mail was sorted at the post of entry, packet datestamps were issued to the postmaster at some of the larger ports.
One of the ports was Southampton.
Donning my postal history cap, I speculate that incoming mails were sorted at Southampton for one or more of the following reasons:
- When they arrived at that port, unusually, in an open bag or as loose letters
- When they arrived as loose letters and were destined for delivery to nearby addresses in the southern part of England
- When in transit via that port, for instance from one of the countries in West Indies or South America to someplace in Europe
The ‘SPL’ saw usage for quite a long period of time – from 1844, when Southampton became a major port of arrival/departure for packet steamers, to 1917, well into World War I.
In this article, I will focus on letters from India with this mark; they are very rare.2
Overland Route between India and GB
Before diving into the meat of this article, I will talk about mails from India travelling by the overland route
At this time, mails from India3 to Great Britain (GB) were sent by packet steamers of the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) to Suez and then overland across Egypt to Alexandria.
From Alexandria, there were two main routes through which mails were carried to London:
- From Alexandria to Southampton via Gibraltar and Malta (the ‘all sea’ route) on P&O steamers, and then to London
- From Alexandria to Marseilles via Malta on P&O steamers, and then overland across France and through the English Channel to London
The two routes are illustrated in the upper panel of this famous map by John Tallis (Figure 2). The Southampton route is titled ‘The Mail Steam Packet Route’ (brown line) and the Marseilles one is titled ‘The Marseilles Overland Route’ (green line) in this.
‘SPL’ on Letters from India
Figure 3 shows one from Calcutta datelined 7 November 1849.
Lack of Calcutta markings indicate it never went through the Indian Post Office. Martin Hosselmann, who owns this, thinks it was posted on board the steamer leaving Calcutta i.e. handed over to someone in-change of the mails.
Hence, it arrived as a loose letter at the Southampton Post Office where it received a blue ‘PACKET LETTER / SOUTHAMPTON’ (Type P1). At London, it was marked with a red ‘COLONIES / &c. ART. 13.’ (referring to Article 13 of the 1843 Anglo-French Postal Convention as modified by the additional articles of November 1845) and sent, via Calais, to its destination of Bordeaux in France.
Loose Letter addressed to south England
Mail bags landing at either Southampton or Marseilles, would be sent straightaway to the London Post Office. There they were opened and the letters processed and dispatched to their respective addresses, whether they be in Britain or places beyond.
Going by the addresses on the known items (see Figures 5-7), it seems (some) letters routed viaSouthampton and to be delivered in or around that place were not sent to London. These were the ones which received the ‘SPL’ since they were sorted there.
Now, it would have been impossible for someone at Southampton to open the incoming mail bags and pull out the relevant letters from the tens of thousands; it would be like searching for a pin in a haystack! Further, London would never allow bags to be opened in this fashion – both for reasons of security and timeliness.
So how did these letters reach the Southampton Post Office?
Beginning March 1859 until May 1870 mails from the East, including India, were sorted in the Mediterranean aboard P&O packets steaming between Alexandria and Southampton / Marseilles – the Mediterranean Sea Post Office (SPO).
My first theory is that the Mediterranean SPO sorted letters meant for delivery in and around Southampton into a separate bag. On docking, the bag were sent to the Southampton Post Office where letters got the ‘SPL’. However, if this is indeed what happened, a lot more letters with this stamp should be expected to exist.
A more plausible explanation is that they were missed being put back into the bags after the Mediterranean sorters had finished their work. Sorting was a tedious business with tight timelines. And in SPOs, space was limited while loose letters were everywhere (Figure 4). It is easy to visualise a situation wherein a letter or two could have fallen under the table or left behind in one the cubbyholes, only to be found after the bags had been sealed.
These loose letters would be handed over to the authorities. Ones destined for nearby towns and villages would be sorted by the Southampton Post Office while others would be sent to London.
This theory had the advantage of being able to explain why the ‘SPL’ is found on just a few covers.
Let us now look at actual examples. Figures 5, 6, and 7 illustrates three, all going through the Indian Post Office. These are three out of four that I know of from India on which the ‘SPL’ (Type P2) was applied.
Figure 5 is an entire datelined 22 July 1864. It correctly paid 4 annas, the rate on single letters weighing ½ oz.4
Once P&O Poonah docked, the letter was taken to the Southampton Post Office, where it received a ‘SPL’ of 1 September 1864. Sent to Bishop’s Waltham, just about 10 miles to its north-west, the letter reached the next day.
Another similar is a cover posted on 9 August 1864 (Figure 6). It was stamped 7 annas 8 pies, much more than the required 4 annas.5
Why? First, the sender, Wiseman Snead & Co., unnecessarily paid 6 annas 8 pies for the rate via Marseilles6 even though it was endorsed ‘Via Southampton’. Second, an extra 1 anna was the ‘After Packet’ rate, payable because it was handed over to the Calcutta GPO a day later on 9 August.7 The normal mail packets for dispatch by the P&O Rangoon had closed at 6 PM on 8 August.8
At Southampton, the cover received a ‘SPL’ of 20 September 1864. As it was addressed locally, it was probably delivered the same day.
In this particular case, since the addressee was a gentleman in the P&O Office, the Mediterranean sorters may have deliberately kept the cover aside. Of course, we will never know for sure.
Finally, Figure 7 shows a cover posted 11 June 1868 at Neemuch in central India. By now, the rate from India to GB via Southampton had risen to 6 annas.9 However, it was stamped only 4 annas since was an ‘Officers’ Letter’. Between 1 January 1868 and 31 December 1869, i.e. for 2 years only, British army officers were eligible for a concessionary rate of postage on letters sent by/to them.
The letter was sent by Brigadier-General George Samuel Montgomery (Figure 8), Commanding 2nd Class Brigade at Neemuch. The cover has been signed by him as the sender and then countersigned as the commanding officer. In other words, it has been signed by him twice, as required by the rules governing Officers’ Rates.
A ‘SPL’ of 22 July 1868 was impressed on the rear. It was delivered the same day at Sandown, a town in the Isle of Wight, some 25 miles to the south of Southampton.
Acknowledgements: Malcolm Montgomery and Max Smith for their comments on Southampton and Indian postal history aspects respectively; they both made me think harder! Martin Hosselmann for sharing his 1849 cover. I realise that this article has many conjectures, but I felt it was better to put out a theory than just wonder and forget about it. I will be very interested to hear from my fellow postal historians; please send your emails to abbh [at] hotmail.com.
References
Kirk, R. 1981. The P&O Bombay & Australian Lines 1852-1914. Vol. 1. 4 vols. British Maritime Postal History. Heathfield, East Sussex: Postal History International (A Proud Bailey Division).
———. 1982. The P&O Lines to the Far East. Vol. 2. 4 vols. British Maritime Postal History. Heathfield, East Sussex: Proud-Bailey Co. Ltd.
Proud, Edward B. 2003. The British Sea Post Offices in the East. Vol. 4. 4 vols. British Maritime Postal History. Heathfield, East Sussex: Proud-Bailey Co. Ltd.
Tabeart, Colin. 1997. Robertson Revisited: A Study of the Maritime Postal Markings of the British Isles Based on the Work of Alan W Robertson. Limassol, Cyprus: James Bendon Ltd.
———. 2002. Admiralty Mediterranean Steam Packets 1830 to 1857. Limassol, Cyprus: James Bendon Ltd.
Willcocks, R. M. 1975. England’s Postal History to 1840, with Notes on Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Perth, Scotland: The Author.
Notes
- While Martin Willcocks wrote almost the entire book, the final chapter on ‘Maritime Postal History’ was contributed by Alan Robertson. In his preface, Willcocks writes, “…may I think Alan Robertson for providing such an interesting maritime section for this book: after twenty years work Alan knows so much more that it would be sheer impertinance for me to attempt it.” ↩︎
- A 1866 letter from USA to Southampton is discussed in an 2024 post by Rob Faux. It has inputs from that great postal historian of transatlantic mails – Richard F. Winter. It seems that letters from the US bearing this mark are quite rare too. ↩︎
- The P&O also held contracts for carrying mails from many other places in the East viz Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Straits Settlements, and Ceylon, among others. ↩︎
- The rate of 4 annas (equivalent to 6 pence) on single letters weighing ½ oz from India to GB viaSouthampton was in force for more than 12 years i.e. from 1 February 1856 to 31 March 1868. ↩︎
- To elaborate on Indian currency of that period, 12 pies made up 1 anna and 16 annas comprised 1 Rupee. In terms of exchange rates, 1 anna was equal to 1½ pence. ↩︎
- The rate of 6 annas 8 pies (10 pence) on single letters weighing ½ oz from India to GB viaMarseilles was effective 15 July 1863 to 31 March 1868. ↩︎
- Merchants would often use the ‘After Packet’ service and thereby delay posting their letters, even if for a few hours; this way they could include the latest available commercial information. ↩︎
- Calcutta GPO did not announce an ‘After Packet’ for 9 August in the Calcutta Gazette, as they usually did. Nevertheless, this cover proves that such a packet was indeed made up. ↩︎
- This rate of 6 annas on single letters weighing ½ oz from India to GB via Southampton was applicable from 1 April 1868 to 30 June 1876; India joined the General Postal Union (GPU) from 1 July 1876 and the rate was reduced to 5 annas. ↩︎
