1912 1d Wilkinson Post Machine, Parliament Postcard

1912 Wilkinson Penny Post Machine on a Houses of Parliament, Judges Ltd postcard. Red Wilkinson franking plus the sender has added a 5d King Edward VII stamp which has been cancelled by the London EC time dated CDS postmark on 1^st February 1912. Hand addressed to Brockley View, Honor Oak Park in London. An unusual item, we assume that the sender didn’t understand that they had already paid postage by using the penny machine.

This machine was the forerunner of meter mail having been invented by Mr F.Wilkinson and placed on trial at the General Post Office at King Edward Street, London from January 25^th. In the three months up to April 24^th, a total of 8491 letters were postmarked, with daily numbers varying from a peak of 1060 on the first day to just 21 on 5^th April. By the middle of March, daily usage was rarely over 50 letters. The trial was stopped on August 31^st and the GPO did not proceed with any further trials.

The machine operated by customers inserting a 1d coin, putting the letter in a special opening and then turning the handle twice. This would apply the special Postage Paid postmark and drop it into a sealed compartment. A postal clerk would then retrieve the mail at daily intervals and apply a time-dated CDS postmark.