Page 109 - 148 Years of the Royal Philatelic Society London
P. 109
In 1974: President Nixon resigns over the Watergate scandal; India tests its first atom bomb;
Stephen King's Carrie published; Charles Lindbergh+ Ed Sullivan die; Leonardo DiCaprio born
At the RPSL: Membership fees rise to £12 plus V.A.T. for Town Members, £10 plus V.A.T. for
Country Members and £8 for Overseas. Meeting displays include Afghanistan and Serbia.
RPSL President was Lt Col S.E. Hands. Patron H.M. Queen Elizabeth II.
Membership 1215-1446.
SPECIAL DELIVERY CARD TO GERMANY
From the collection of Hans van Dooremalen FRPSL.
Member since 2005. Lives in The Netherlands .
. /J~;,7
3 <( "JKl)1-l(4,,, s-~
t. Y4#/, 4"#55
The special delivery service was introduced in the U.S.A. in 1885. Its purpose was to immediately
deliver mail after arriving at the destination post office. Special delivery mail to overseas destinations
is quite rare as there is little time to gain compared to the usual transit times. After 1950 there was a
rapid decline in the number of postal cards sent by special delivery, making cards from 1970 onwards
modern rarities. If a short message had to be delivered without delay, the telephone was a more
appropriate instrument. The service was stopped all together in 1997.
