Subjects
The American Postal Network, 1792–1914
Editor: Richard R John
978 1 84893 115 2: 234x156mm: £350.00/$625.00
In recent years the nineteenth-century American postal system has attracted sustained scholarly attention. Much of this attention has focused on the centrality of the institution to the mid-nineteenth-century ‘communications revolution’ in business, politics and public life. The postal system is also widely regarded as a precursor for several large-scale business and government organizations.
This four-volume collection documents the history of this remarkable institution by locating it in the communications network that coordinated the circulation of people, information and goods. This nineteenth-century network linked the postal system to the major political parties (Democrats, Whigs and Republicans); several modes of transportation and communication (steamboats, railroads, telegraphs); various voluntary associations committed to expanding popular access to communications (especially cheap postage and parcel post); and the many mass distributors of print media and consumer goods.
The focus of this collection is on pamphlet literature, a source that has never before been brought together in a publication of this kind. The pamphlets document specific nineteenth-century controversies over communications policy and link the postal system with public debates over cultural values, economic development, political corruption and public finance. It is organized chronologically by topic, edited with full scholarly apparatus, including a general introduction, specific volume introductions, headnotes, endnotes and a consolidated index. All of the pamphlets are reset and most are reproduced in their entirety. All are rare and some are privately held. The collection will be of interest to specialists in law, business, politics, communications and history.
- Examines a topic of growing scholarly interest
- Relevant to specialists in law, business, politics, communications, and history
- Includes rare documents, some held in private collections
- Reproduces most documents in their entirety
- Provides full scholarly apparatus
Contents
Volume 1: Administration
Volume 2: Contracting – Steamships, Railroads
Volume 3: Cheap Postage
Volume 4: Postal Telegraphy and Parcel Post