Talk onpostal history ofScotland

The speaker was Mr J M McGrath, who surprised his audience by telling them of the large amount of material available, some of which is very rare.

Some postmarks of the 1880s show that extra was charged if the mail coach had to go through a toll gate and all the letters at first were charged accordiing to the distance they had to travel. A charge for weight was added later.

Each town and city had its own mark and in the early days, to ensure the post got to its destination, it was the recipient who had to pay.

It wasn't until much later that the prepay system was introduced.

Some of the letters that were shown were the only known copies.