Parcel Collection (#4)

Scene outside Downing Street, London, 30th November 1982. The Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, has left to the building due to security alert after one of her staff, office manager Peter Taylor

Pensioners reading the newspaper whilst enjoying the afternoon sun in Embankment Gardens 3rd June 1968

Torn in Transit, ca. 1890-1895. Creator: John Haberle
Torn in Transit, ca. 1890-1895

Boeing 727 N490US
Boeing 727-51C N490US (msn 18898) of Northwest Airlines, last used by United Parcel Service (UPS), from 1992, before being withdrawn from use and scrapped. Date: 1970s

Plate 8 from the Disparates : The men in sacks, ca. 1816-23 (published 1864)

Sorting At Mount Peasant
Postal workers sorting mail for overseas destinations in the run-up to Christmas at the GPO (General Post Office) main sorting office at Mount Pleasant, London, 28th November 1929

Camellia Flower and Yokan (a sort of bean jelly) Wrapped in Bamboo Skin, 1811. 1811
Camellia Flower and Yokan (a sort of bean jelly) Wrapped in Bamboo Skin, 1811

London Parcels Delivery Company 1862
London Parcels Delivery Company, head office in the Rolls-building, Fetter-lane, London. The yard with uproar of bustle and activity, lie waiting for their turn of duty. Date: 1862

Errand Girl - circa 1905
An errand girl Date: circa 1905

WAREHOUSE IN LONDON / DORE
Working in the warehouses at Pickle Herring Street, London. Date: 1870

Tortoises and Crabs, 19th century. Creator: Shibata Zeshin
Tortoises and Crabs, 19th century

The French Horn Inn, Holborn, London, 1851. View showing packages, carts and figures

Fountain Court, Aldermanbury, City of London, 1830

The Atlas of the Landed Interest, 1784. Thomas Powys, MP for Northamptonshire, carries a large bale representing the interests of the landowners

The mail arrives during the Battle of the Somme, France, World War I, 1916. Artist
The mail arrives during the Battle of the Somme, France, World War I, 1916

Sorting parcels at the Post Office, Mount Pleasant, London, 20th century. The largest sorting office operated by the Royal Mail, Mount Pleasant Sorting Office in Clerkenwell opened in 1889

Christmas presents from home, to the troops with Methuen at Modder River, South Africa, 1900. Stereoscopic card. British troops serving in the Boer War receiving Christmas parcels

French refugee children waiting for a train, 20 January 1918. From a private collection

Princess Elizabeth and her sister, c1936. The future Queen Elizabeth II (right), with Princess Margaret Rose. Illustration from George V and Edward VIII, A Royal Souvenir, by FGH Salusbury

Merchant, 1828. Artist: Marlet et Cie
Merchant, 1828. A lithograph from L Inde Francais, 1828. From the collection of Jean Claude Carriere

Christmas card in the shape of a parcel, with a delivery boy carrying a basket of geese. Date: 1890

Village carrier out on deliveries with his horse and cart, also women with child receiving groceries possibly at Kelsham Farm, Petworth, c1931

Goods Depot, South Lambeth, 1909
Horses are prepared for the transportion of parcels to and from the stations

Westbourne Park Motor Depot, 1920
GWR battery powered Express Parcels lorry see here recharging

Petrol driven Karrier on Platform 5 at Paddington Station, c. 1935
A three wheeled mechanical horse driven by a GWR porter helps with the movement of parcels on Platform 5 at Paddington Station, c.1935

GWR Tractor and trollies on Paddington Station, c1936
A view of a GWR tractor pulling trollies that are transporting parcels at the far end of Paddington Station, c.1936. The GWR Parcels Fowarding Depot can be seen in the background along with various

Parcel handling at Paddington Station, c. 1920s
Staff at Paddington Station sort parcels in The Lawn during the inter-war period. This images illustrates the lack of parcel handling space at the time

Mitchelstown, County Cork, Ireland

Cupids examining red hearts on a New Year postcard. Date: circa 1890s

Boatman Old Alick rows the holly-topped Christmas boxes from the families ashore out to the lighthouse December 1943

Old Bill and Co. October 1940
" I ll let yet get away with it this time, but remember! I got a front door, h and a knocker!" Bruce Bairnsfather jokes that the damage inflicted on homes by German air raids has made it

Princess Elizabeth and Margaret Rose
Princess Elizabeth (future Queen Elizabeth II) and Princess Margaret leaving a Forfar bookshop during a shopping outing with their mother in August 1935. Date: 1935

Parcel delivered, c. 1800
Delivering a parcel to a man in the street, c. 1800. Date: C.1800

Pears Soap advertisement, WW1
Advertisement for Pears soap showing a mother and her daughters wrapping up a bar of the famous soap to be sent to her boy at the front. Date: 1915

Fortnum & Masons advertisement, WW1
Advertisement for quintessential British department store, Fortnum & Mason and its service for sending boxes of food to the front during the First World War

Decca gramophone advertisement, 1917
Advertisement for Decca gramophones, ideal for use at the Front during the Great War due to it being self-contained, portable and having no loose parts

Carter Paterson & Co. stables and depot. Parcel deliveries

Swiss Postman
In an Alpine village, the postman hands a parcel to two women in regional costume

Stuffed pasta shaped

Merry Christmas

A Wells Fargo messenger from their Express Delivery service via the Isthmus of Panama, 1875. Wells Fargo & Co was founded in 1852 by Henry Wells (1805-1878) and William George Fargo (1818-1881)

Loading up horse-drawn vans at the Wells Fargo general office, New York, USA, 1875. Wells Fargo & Co was founded in 1852 by Henry Wells (1805-1878) and William George Fargo (1818-1881)

The Man for the Post, 1882. Artist: Joseph Swain
The Man for the Post, 1882. This cartoon depicts the blind Postmaster General, Henry Fawcett, weighed down with parcels containing all sorts of objects and of all shapes, sizes and weights

Christmas Train
circa 1865: The Christmas train on the Eastern Counties Railway being loaded up with Christmas parcels and luggage by passengers, helped by porters

Parcels Delivery Cart - Metropolitan Parcels Delivery Company. circa 1830

French Railway Alphabet - E for Enregistrement des colis (registration of packages). 19th century

The Postman by Charles Robinson
The Postman heavily laden with a sack on his back and holding a parcel as he arrives at a gate greeted by two young girls. Date: 1906

The War Budget - Christmas 1915
Front cover of The War Budget, Christmas 1915, showing a British soldier sitting in a trench next to a brazier as he opens a parcel of Christmas food sent from home. Date: 1915

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"Delivering smiles and surprises, one parcel at a time. 📦✨" Step back in time with the Penny Farthing Post, where postmen on Pennyfarthings brought parcels to your doorstep. Even the Taiwanese snowman couldn't resist receiving a special package from afar. Traveling through history, we stumble upon the Great Western Railway Horse Drawn Delivery Van, c1910 - a true symbol of efficient parcel transportation. During WW1, Wrights Coal Tar Soap advertisement reminded us that even amidst chaos, cleanliness was essential - and what better way than with a conveniently delivered parcel? The Music Hall Song about parcels had everyone tapping their feet and dreaming of exciting deliveries. Watch out for the cheerful postman with his trusty parcel in hand - he's always ready to bring joy to your doorsteps. In France during Christmas 1913, a French parcel delivery man made sure no gift went undelivered. The spirit of giving was alive and well. Pedaling through busy streets on their Parcel Delivery Tricycle, these dedicated couriers ensured timely deliveries all around town. Addressing a Parcel may seem like an ordinary task but it holds endless possibilities for surprise and delight once it reaches its destination. A heartfelt postcard from WW1 reminds us of Le Paquet de L'Orphelin's benefits - providing comfort to those affected by war through carefully curated parcels. Stepping into the Victorian period Post Office Parcel Sorting Room takes us back in time when meticulous organization ensured every package found its rightful place.