The Penny Post: Wi-Fi for the Victorian Era?

Dr. Catherine Golden will discuss her new book, Posting It: The Victorian Revolution in Letter Writing on Sunday, January 10, 2010, the 170th anniversary of the Penny Post.

The Smithsonian Institution points out in a recent announcement about the upcoming talk, which it is sponsoring, "As you type out a text message and receive a speedy response, you may not realize how much you have in common with the Victorians."

It goes on to say, "When the Penny Post began in Great Britain on January 10, 1840, it meant that anyone could send a letter within the UK for only a penny. The Penny Post was today’s equivalent of an unlimited text message plan or free Wi-Fi—suddenly, communication became cheaper and faster than ever before."

If you would like to submit a question for Dr. Golden, you can send them to her at NPMprograms@si.edu or tweet them to @SmithsonianNPM.

You can view the event live at the Postal Museum’s UStream channel on Sunday, January 10th at 1 p.m. EST or watch the recorded event on the museum’s YouTube channel.

To view a previous talk by Dr. Golden,Object Lessons from Victorian Postal Culture, click here.

Shown above, print of a postboy galloping en route to London, circa 1800.