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Auction: 17020 - Autographs, Historical Documents, Ephemera and Postal History
Lot: 834

Autographs
The State of the Case About the Post Office
1680 (c.) manuscript folio covenant between his Royal Highness and the Lords Arlington and Berkeley. This lengthy, four page document relates to which letters were to be conveyed free franked, with a note on how this differed from the contract with Col. Whitely, the previous Postmaster. It continues by requiring the Treasury to investigate whether Arlington had been "damnified" by the operation of the free franking. There is a list of the Charge (£28,825.12.01) which is likely to be the amount advanced by the Exchequer and a list of the discharge which lists 20 items "which were not contained in the Covenant". There is some minor damage on the right hand edge with the loss of some part words. With transcript. A fascinating document giving some insight into the running of the Post Office at this time. Photo


Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington (1618 – 1685) was Postmaster General between 1667-1685

Colonel Whitely was Deputy Postmaster General between 1672-77

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Sold for
£450