In London in 1860 - almost two hundred years before the introduction of a modern postal system - William Docwra set up a "Penny Post" for the collection and delivery of letters within the limits of London City, which was a model of efficiency even to this day.
Docwra established letter boxes at designated points throughout the city as well as various branches.
Letters would be collected from the boxes every hour and would be stamped at the branch office the exact time of their collection.
This post proved so popular and so lucrative that Docwra became involved with the Duke of York who claimed royal prerogative for the delivery of mail.
In due course Docwra's post was taken over as a government function. It continued in operation until 1980 when it became "The Two-Penny Post."
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Up to this point the postal systems of the ancients and even of the "moderns" had left no visible trace of their existence except through accounts of historians. Also, there are desultory evidences of some of the previous posts like clay tablets of Sargon's time preserved in the museums and similar souvenirs. But it was not until the establishment of a truly public system of posts that we have collectible evidences in the form of letters.
More particularly, it was not until the introduction of postage stamps that these evidences became of general interest throughout the civilized world.
There are exactly thirteen examples of Docwra's post known to stamp collectors.
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