Thurn and Taxis postal service

According to the Bath Postal Museum, "In 1505, the Imperial Emperor Maximilian I established a postal system to cover the Holy Roman Empire. To run it, he appointed Count Francis of Taxis, whose family had long been involved in the organisation of Imperial posts, earning a formidable reputation for efficiency."

"From its start the Taxis posts were open to the public. Despite their heavy fees, correspondence grew, because of unrivalled scope, speed and efficiency of the service. As the network developed over the following century it crossed territories and set up links with other countries, including France and England. Thus, the idea of international posts began to take shape."

Shown above is one of the stamps issued between 1850 and 1867 used on mail transported by the Thurn and Taxis family. In 1867 the family had to sell the postal rights as a result of supporting the loosing party during the war between Prussia and Austria.

Want to learn more about postal history, then check out the Bath Postal Museum's History of the Post timeline by clicking here.