The Victorian Post Office

the long version

Among 19th-century government departments the Post Office was a bureaucratic giant. By the eve of the First World War it managed a complex set of responsibilities, from the conveyance of mail around the empire and the world to the sale of life insurance, and its staff accounted for one third of the entire civil service. Perry's book examines the important process by which the Post Office grew and evolved, took on new tasks such as the promotion of savings banks, and participated in the first two cases of nationalisation in British history--the 1870 purchase of the telegraphs, and the 1912 take-over of the telephone. Other topics explored include the background and quality of the managers, the Post Office's relations with politicians and the press, its approach to staff issues and labour difficulties, and its contractual negotiations with two private industries, steamship lines and railways. Throughout the book the particulars of Post Office history are related to larger themes in modern political and economic history, such as the origins of the 19th-century revolution in government and the continuing debate over private initiative versus public control. Perry's book makes a significant contribution to the history of the period, firmly placing the Post Office within the context of the emergence of the modern corporate state and the creation of a mixed economy.