TPO & Seapost Society - How to contact us

Contacting the Society

All enquiries to the society are welcome by e-mail. Please select the email link below to send your request to our central email address. Please go to the Membership page for information about joining the Society. For a list of society officers please see the Committee page.

Our cover of the month:

Please scroll through our picture gallery to see what else our members collect.

November 2024

An example of Ambulantes Marítimo marks of Spain covered in the Autumn and Winter 2024 Journal.

March 2024

Cover with 2 x USA stamps, an over-printed Philippine stamp, and 5 x Japanese stamps to make up the required rate for a “SPECIAL DELIVERY” mailed on board SS PRESIDENT PIERCE. The oval cancel “U.S SEA POST” is number TA 20 in Roger Hosking's Seaposts of the USA, published by TPO & Seapost Society in 2008. Now we can see the mark on cover.

March 2023

Celebrating the Centenary of the first TPO

The stationery card above which celebrates the centenary of the first TPO is cancelled by two strikes of the single circle Midland TPO / * / 6 JA / 1938 / Going South (W224b). Discussed in the Spring 2023 Journal.

September 2022

Netherlands – A Rotterdam Brievenbus Mark

The two line ROTTERDAM / [BRIEVENBUS] marking is on a cover with a cancelled stamp and the datestamp of the International TPO, ROTTERD – ANTWRN III (Rotterdam- Antwerp RPO) for the 14th May 1875. Discussed in the Summer 2022 Journal.

June 2022

PAQUEBOT applied in land-locked Warrington!

Unusual places in which to find the application of PAQUEBOT marks as discussed in the Spring 2022 Journal

March 2022

GB BASSET LOWKE illustrated cover addressed to Manchester with 2 x GVI penny red stamps cancelled 'HOLYHEAD-LONDON T.P.O./ NIGHT (W184r) 1 JY 38 '. Sold in our Spring 2022 auction.

December 2021

Post card mailed from Bermuda to Watkins, NY, and sorted on board America Line's St Paul in February 1909. Paid 1d postcard rate: 'HAMILTON BERMUDA 15 FE 09' and 'UNITED STATES * SEA P.O. * FEB 20 duplex 4' [Hosking type TA23 without year] and 'MISSENT'. The Times of 19th Feb 1909 reports that mails are due from the USA via Plymouth on Feb 20th on the St Paul.

June 2021

Posted on the H&K Packet boat Munster without paying a late fee

Postal card mailed on board SS Munster in 1906 (M2) with the boxed 'POSTED WITHOUT LATE FEE' mark and the '1^D' postage due mark used for underpaid mail on the Holyhead and Kingstown Packet boats.

March 2021

Rare item posted at Hinton, New South Wales on 21st September 1864. This was stamped 'C R' in London on 16th November 1864, en route to Langholm, Dumfriesshire, via the Day Mail. Discussed in the Spring Journal 351.

December 2020

September 1930 cover by the Norddeutscher Lloyd Europa on the first voyage using her catapult aircraft. Cancelled on board the westbound voyage and flown to New York.

October 2020

Germany "DEUTSCHE SEEPOST / LINIE / HAMBURG / NEW YORK / 12.1 .. / VII" on 'Radio Ocean Brief' cover to Scotland (Posted on the Milwaukee in service during 1929), from the July Auction

September 2020

Christmas comes early - every year - in the southern pacific ocean.

September 2019

Excitement at the TPO & Seapost Society Table at HAMPEX 2019 as we search for another book! Photo courtesy of Eddie Mays of Southampton DPS.

June 2019

Chinese "FROM STEAMER LETTER BOX (3)" of Hankow, discussed in TPO 344, Summer 2019

March 2019

Gibraltar Paquebot (A New Mark) applied during the 2008 farewell cruise of the QEII and discussed in TPO 343, Spring 2019 [Mike Dovey]

December 2018

Commemorative postal stationery: the Pochta Rossiya postal wagon route postmark is of Rostov-on-Don to Khabarovski/i 04/09/2015, back stamped Moskva 25/09/15. A listing of POCHTA ROSSIYA era marks is included in the Winter 2018 Journal. [P Densham]

September 2018

Picture postcard mailed in Punta Arenas, Chile, addressed to London and sorted on board America Line's New York in March 1908. Postage paid: 6 centavos international postcard rate. 'BRITISH SEA POST OFFICE SOUTHAMPTON - 4 - MR 7 08' and 'MISSENT TO / U.S.SEA P.O. NO 1'. America Line's New York departed Southampton 7th March and arrived in New York 14th March 1908. Mails from South America arrived by RMSP steamers in Southampton on April 30th and March 7th

April 2018

Our Treasurer Clive Jones giving a recent display about GB TPOs to Telford Stamp & Card Club.

January 2018

BALTIMORE, MD R.R. Aug 16, 1838 red, two line railroad route agent hand stamp and manuscript 12½ cent rate [80 - 150 miles] on folded cover from Baltimore, Maryland, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Discussed in TPO Journal No 339. (Permission of Richard Frajola, source www.philamercury.com/covers.php?id=19420 16th April 2012.)

July 2017

SWINPEX 2017: Mike Dovey, Rick Martin (not behind the camera) and Julian Jones with our Society Table. Photo courtesy Clare Green and Tina Robins, Swindon Advertiser.

June 2017

British Wireless Marine Service Ocean Letter

This image from the draft Ocean Letter catalogue is an Ocean Letter sent to the future President of the USA, Franklin Roosevelt, cancelled at Hyde Park, New York on 9th February 1933. The format is in the new more functional design after Marconi had changed the name to British Wireless Marine Service.

January 2017

Latvia: RIGA - PLAVINAS-GULBENE TPO mark

Latvia: RIGA - PLAVINAS - GULBENE; Train number P.V.No 5; Trip date 16.10.42 paid at Reich Local Postage Post Card Rate 6Pf on Michel Ganzaschen P 299 Type I postal stationery card. Discussed in Spring Journal 2017

December 2016

Franked 1d, cancelled by 'UNITED STATES SEA P.O. / 18' dated JUL 19 1916 and 'PAQUEBOT'

'UNITED STATES SEA P.O. / 18' [Hosking Type 7/TA39] and 'PAQUEBOT' [H4009/TA40] used on a US ship in July 1916. The possible ship identities are discussed in Winter 2016 Journal 334.

September 2016

Letter addressed to San Francisco with Australian stamps cancelled by a AUCKLAND NZ LOOSE LETTER circular date stamp, discussed in Journal 333 [C Tabeart].

July 2016 - Pictures of the July AGM and London Meeting

Dominique Wickremasinghe with TPOs of Saxony
Beverly King showing New Zealand Marine POs
Rob Wheeler with his display of Russian River TPOs
The chairman addressing the assembled multitude
Steve Ellis and his English Channel routes
Geoff Ellerton with his Tin Can Mail

June 2016

Sea Post Office Taxe mark on cover posted on NDL Columbus

US 3¢ used on board Nord Deutscher Lloyd's Dampfer Columbus from Bremen to New York where the sea post office applied the taxe mark 'SPO T / 5' [Hosking TA / X11] in 1936. USA stamps were not allowed westbound. In New York the US Post Office cancelled the 3¢ and charged double deficiency of 10¢ less credit for the 3¢ paid for a total of 7¢ postage due.

February 2016

TPO mark CAIRO - ALEXANDRIA / T.P.O. / 29.1.1912 T33

Cover containing a 1927/28 message from the outbound steamship San Ugen transmitted by radio to the inbound ss Metagua for mailing on arrival at Avonmouth. Discussed in the Spring 2016 Journal 331 [Colin Tabeart]. Also, see Ocean Letters in this website.

December 2015

Egyptian printed stationery envelope with added stamps and four strikes of the circular cancel "CAIRO - ALEXANDRIA / T.P.O. / 29.1.1912 T33".

September 2015

London and Queenborough Sorting Carriage Taxe Mark

1903 letter sent from Germany to New Zealand bearing a 5d Taxe mark ('5^D / L.01' Wilson 513 type) applied on the London and Queenborough Sorting Carriage, discussed in Journal 329. This is a new find courtesy Ken Snelson, Postage Due Mail Study Group.

July 2015

Some of the committee talking to a member at MIDPEX 2015

Another successful meeting: the Society Table at MIDPEX where we also held our AGM. [Rik Martin behind the camera, again!]

June 2015

A GB parcel bill dated at 'Keith AP 24 1905' with a single circle cancel of the “ABERDEEN & ELGIN S.C. / U / AP 24 1905” (Wilson 830)

May's Special Image

Philatelists at work, your committee advertising their wares!

Your hard working committee at the Salisbury Stamp Fair 2015 - held in Andover! Photographer: Rick Martin; from left to right: Journal Managing Editor, Keith Morris; the then Auction Manager, Mike Dovey; and Chairman, Julian Jones. [The webmaster couldn't resist this opportunity].

February 2015

New Durban paquebot mark discussed in Journal 327. Stamps canceled by “NAVIGAZIONE LIBERA TRIESTINA - Piroscafo Brenta”, dated 29 DEC 36; on reverse, arrival cancel “SIMONSTOWN 2 JAN 37”. Check out Peter Schultz’s website at www.paquebot.info – worth a look for all maritime collectors.

December 2014

Hamburg-America Line Albert Ballin - Deutsch-Amerikanische Seepost Hamburg to New York 1931

Cover posted on the way to New York with the special German cancellation for the joint German-American sea post service on board Hamburg-America Line's Albert Ballin. On the way to New York stamps of Germany should have been used. The American postage was not accepted, even though it was correctly franked with 5 cts. Therefore the tax-mark was added and the stamps were not cancelled, but treated as being invalid. In Italy the receiver had to pay 2.50 Lire postage due.

September 2014

TAMSUI (Taiwan) envelope with boxed Paquebot H3415

Envelope with boxed TAMSUI (Taiwan) Paquebot mark (H3415) and Hong Kong stamp cancelled with TAMSUI TAIWAN JAPAN cancel in 1916. Offered as lot 253 in the Autumn 2014 auction.

June 2014

The Ghana Eastern TPO Cancellation clearly showing the mark as “TPO ESTERN DN” with the “A” missing. Discussed in Journal 324.

February 2014

LONDON & HOLYHEAD UNITED.STATES.MAIL T.P.O DE 21 95 and K.48 duplex

Letter paid 4½d sent from London to Boston, USA, sorted on board the TPO between London and Holyhead, bearing clear strikes of ‘LONDON & HOLYHEAD UNITED.STATES.MAIL T.P.O DE 21 95’ AND K.48 duplex. The franking pays the 2½d UPU single rate to the USA and the 2d Late Fee for posting at Euston. Early usage of W191 and W189. Image courtesy Alexios Papadopoulos.

December 2013

Deutsche Seepost cancel on German postal stationary card mailed on route from Hamburg to New York. The cancelation with roman number IX was used in 1892 on board of HAPAG-steamship SUEVIA, a typical ship of that time for Third-Class-Passengers, mostly emigrants. See the survey of German and American ships on the North Atlantic route to check cancels against lists of ships.

September 2013

Two strikes of the Birmingham SHIP mark on one cover!

Discussed in our Autumn Journal, this cover is paid 5c UPU surface postage plus a 5c supplementary late fee for posting at the dockside before the ship's departure. How come a letter for Germany was cancelled as a SHIP letter in Birmingham, England? [See census of BIRMINGHAM SHIP marks.]

June 2013

Bordeaux to Irun

French envelope addressed to Villagarcia in Spain with 40c Emperor stamp cancelled by a diamond 'BI' strike, with added double ring circular “BORDEAUX A IRUN / 2 SEPT 1870” French TPO mark. It was lot 74 in the Summer 2013 auction. At the centre of the lozenge of dots are the letters BI (abbreviation for Bordeaux Irun). Obliteration of the stamp and application of the date stamp were made in the travelling post office with the letter having been posted at Bayonne station. All French ambulances (travelling post offices) have a diamond with the initials of the line # in both directions. Irun is located on the border between Spain and France. It is an important railway interchange between the French SNCF and the Spanish RENFE railway systems of differing rail gauge.