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This is the back of a wrapper mailed from London to
Cumberland in the mid-1750s. The encircled “16/DE” is the
Bishop Mark. The encircled “WW” is the handstamp of William
Wainwright, a London letter receiver.
Receivers were established in London in 1652 to collect mail
from the public and deliver it to the General Post.
Receivers were existing businesses, generally shops and
inns. The receivers were paid a salary by the post office.
They gathered the letters, sorted them into paid and unpaid
batches and brought them to the post office along with the
postage for the paid letters. (Unscrupulous receivers were
known to destroy paid letters and keep the postage, one
reason why unpaid mail remained popular.) In 1675, receivers
started marking their items with one or two initials of
their names.
The “WW” marking on this wrapper was used during the period
1754 to 1758. There is no way to determine exactly which
year this item was mailed.
Wainwright’s shop was located on Holborn street and he
brought his letters to the Holborn General Post Office. The type
of business he had and its exact location is unknown.
The front of this cover is shown on the next page.
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