Britain is said to be a nation of animal lovers, so it’s no surprise to see the 150th Anniversary of Battersea Dogs & Cats Home celebrated on a new set of commemoratives released by Royal Mail today.  Established in 1860 by Mary Tealby as the Temporary Home for Lost and Starving Dogs, in Holloway, north London, the charity moved to its present home in Battersea in 1871, and in 1883 started taking in cats. Its motto is simple –... 

by Terry Kirkman, Hon. Secretary, Ferndown and West Moors Philatelic & Postcard Club With the support of the Bournemouth Library we at the Ferndown and West Moors Philatelic & Postcard Club are putting on a changing display of stamps and postcards from Monday 15th March to Saturday 10th April 2010 in the exhibition area of the Bournemouth Central Library . One of the postcards to be on display: …  Read More →

Today is International Women’s Day (IWD), a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. The theme for IWD 2010 is “Equal rights, equal opportunities, progress for all”, so in celebration here’s a look at how female equality campaigners have been represented on British stamps.  50th anniversary of Votes for Women stamp (1968) Fittingly, the …  Read More →

The following blog was written for us by Mary Jeffery, Manager of the Rowland Hill Fund. The Rowland Hill Fund is a registered charity founded in 1882 as a memorial to the great postal reformer and founder of the modern postal service Sir Rowland Hill, who retired as Secretary to the Post Office in 1864. Sir Rowland Hill Rowland Hill adapted the postal system of the 1830s from one which was slow and inadequate to…  Read More →

For the next 10 days we’re offering 15% off all orders over £10 at our online shop . So if you’ve had your eyes on something but not got around to ordering it, do it now and save.  Night Mail t-shirt Products recently added to the online shop include greetings cards and postcards featuring our collection of GPO posters , but a range of other items are also available including t-shirts based on the Night Mail poster, a range of publications... 

The poster for Night Mail designed by Pat Keely Sir Stephen Tallents, the innovative public relations man responsible for creating the GPO Film Unit , establishing poster design as an important part of the Post Office’s marketing activities and introducing the Valentines telegram (among other things), was the subject of a talk given at the BPMA on 29th October 2009 by Dr Scott Anthony, Director of the MA in Modern British History at Manchester... 

This year is the 350th anniversary of The Royal Society , the world’s oldest scientific academy in continuous existence. In celebration, Royal Mail has today released ten 1st class commemoratives featuring significant Royal Society figures whose portraits are paired with dramatic and colourful imagery representing their achievements.  The Royal Society 350th Anniversary stamps The “brainstorming” design was the idea of Hat-trick Design... 

Merchandise on display at the Friends of the BPMA stall at Spring Stampex 2010. The 2010 Spring Stampex opened today at the Business Design Centre , Islington, London. The BPMA Friends can be found at stand 20 this year. They will be happy to tell you more about the BPMA, and you can also become a Friend yourself. Next door at stand 18 is Bletchley Park Post Office , who will be hosting an event as part of the London 2010: Festival of …  Read More →

Next month the BPMA will host the panel discussion Stamps in the 21st Century , which will look at the use, design and future of the postage stamp. The panel will be chaired by Brian Goodey, Chair of The Postal Heritage Trust and Professor Emeritus in the Joint Centre for Urban Design at Oxford Brookes University. Brian Goodey will speak about Architecture as Public Art – Buildings on British Stamps at the BPMA in December. The 4d Carmine,... 

An Air Mail cover on display at the exhibition. As part of the London 2010 Festival of Stamps , the Bath Postal Museum’s King George V Exhibition opened on 1st February.  The overall Festival marks the centenary of the accession to the throne of King George V, and Bath’s display shows through stamps and other memorabilia the important events of his reign and how these were either affected by the postal service or influenced the post.  ... 

Pillar boxes at the British Postal Museum Store Throughout the year we open up our Museum Store to visitors. The Store is a working space, where our curators look after our collection of large objects – everything from pillar boxes and cycles, to mail vans and sorting equipment. There are also some interesting surprises, like the desk of Sir Rowland Hill and a Post Office (London) Railway (or Mail Rail) car. Join us throughout 2010 for an... 

Today is International Darwin Day , a global celebration of science and reason held on or around the birth anniversary of evolutionary biologist Charles Darwin. Last year Royal Mail released a set of stamps and a miniature sheet to mark the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth, but Darwin or Darwin’s achievements have featured on three other stamp issues, making him one of the most celebrated non-Royals on British stamps. 200th Anniversary... 

Who Do You Think You Are? Live Just like last year, The British Postal Museum & Archive will have a stand at Who Do You Think You Are? LIVE 2010 , the country’s biggest and most comprehensive family history event, taking place on 26 – 28 February 2010 at Olympia in London. Family History records at the BPMA The British Postal Museum & Archive is the best place to find out more information on postal ancestors. Royal Mail Group is... 

To commemorate Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Trans History Month , BPMA Archivist Helen Dafter examines the Post Office’s past attitudes to homosexuality and homosexual employees. When thinking of The Royal Mail Archive most people immediately think of stamps, or how letters got from one place to another. It is less common for people to consider how the materials in the archive might reflect wider social history. One aspect of this social history... 

by David Rossall, Stamp Active Network Stamp Active Network is the national organisation, under the auspices of ABPS, which endeavours to encourage young people to take up stamp collecting as a hobby. Once called the National Youth stamp Group, it comprises a small core team of dedicated volunteers to coordinate actions. It works primarily through Federation Youth Officers, plus publicity in the philatelic press, federation and society newsletter,...