Parcel Collection (#5)

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

Brighton Parcel Mail Coach. early 19th century

Christmas card in the shape of medicines -- Seidlitz Powders and Liver Pills (back). (2 of 2) Date: circa 1890s

Occupations 1882 - Parcel Delivery Man. 1882

Poster, Post That Parcel. 20th century

Delivery man with parcels on a Victorian Christmas card
Delivery man with parcels on a Victorian cutout Christmas card. circa 1890s

Greetings card in the shape of a footman with a parcel
Greetings card in the shape of a footman delivering a parcel. Date: circa 1890s

Woman with holly and present on a Victorian Christmas scrap
Woman with holly and a present on a Victorian Christmas scrap. Date: circa 1890s

Snowman and snow woman on a New Year postcard
Snowman, snow woman and their snow dog on a New Year postcard. Date: circa 1900s

Cupid and piglet on a French New Year postcard. Date: circa 1890s

Father Christmas on a Victorian scrap
Father Christmas with tree and presents on a Victorian scrap. Date: circa 1890s

Father Christmas and girl on a Victorian scrap
Father Christmas and a little girl on a Victorian scrap. Date: circa 1890s

Industrial Revolution. Enclousure. Process that ended the ancient system of arable farming in open fields. It changed into fenced land entitled for one or more owners

Around Fier. Rural scenary. Republic of Albania
Rural scenery around the ruins of Apollonia. Fier. Republic of Albania

Little Folk Misfitz - Daffy Dawn Dilly. circa 1910

Christmas card with dogs and fireplace
Handmade Christmas card with dogs and fireplace, and a string to pull to make Santa Claus appear. (2 of 2) circa 1890s

Addressing a Parcel
If you have occasion to write an address on a parcel, it will prove much easier and less prone to error if it is written in pencil first. Date: 1940s

Gpo Parcel Sorting
The General Post Office, London : sorting parcels at Mount Pleasant Date: 1939

Delivery man on a Christmas card, holding a large basket upside down and spilling the contents, including a goose, a bottle of wine and several apples. Date: circa 1890s

Cartoon, the Christmas parcel, WW1
Cartoon, the Christmas parcel. A woman writes a note to go with her Christmas parcel to her husband, away fighting at the Front

The Strand Magazine - Christmas Crackers
Two pages from The Strand, part of an article about the manufacture of Christmas Crackers at Messrs Tom Smith and Co, of Wilson Street, Finsbury, London

Girl with an Xmas parcel. Merry Christmas. Girl in red in snowy Xmas scene with a large parcel, surrounded by rabbits. Artist: Agnes Richardson Date: circa 1917

Scouts landing food, Argostolion, Kefalonia, Greece
Scouts landing food at Argostolion, Kefalonia, Greece. Four earthquakes hit the island in August 1953, destroying many buildings; the scouts helped with clearing up and humanitarian aid activities

Daddys Christmas Dinner by Samuel Begg, WW1
Illustration for the ILN 1916 Christmas number showing a mother and her children packing a special parcel to be sent to her husband at the front

Comforts for the Royal Flying Corps, WW1
Ladies forming an aid committee, headed by Lady Henderson, the wife of the Commander of the Royal Flying Corps, packing comforts for flying men

Distribution of cigarettes at the front, WW1
A battery commander distributing the contents of a parcel of cigarettes amongst his men at the Front at Christmas time. According to The Sphere

Knitting humour, WW1
The Sentimentalist (who has received socks from England). " She loves me; she loves me not. A British soldier, on receiving a pair of badly made socks from a sweetheart in England proceeds to

Scouts with Coronation programmes
Two Scouts with supplies of Coronation programmes and collection tins at the time of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953

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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.