Philatelic Prankster Tests Royal Mail

UK's Daily Mail website posts an article about one of Britain's greatest pranksters -W. Reginald Bray.

According to the piece by reporter David Leafe, Bray enjoyed "attaching address labels to the strangest objects imaginable and sending them, unwrapped, through the post. Some, like an old slipper or a half-smoked cigar, were small enough to be slipped anonymously into the letterbox."

Leafe goes on to say,  "He not only posted his family’s pet dog but also, extraordinarily, himself"

"Bray began collecting stamps as a schoolboy and may have made him curious as to what could be carried through the post," writes Leafe, "Few would have been much interested in the intricate workings of Britain’s postal system, yet in 1898 Bray bought a copy of the quarterly Post Office Guide, a weighty tome that outlined in detail the regulations governing its operation. Bray viewed these rules as challenges — opportunities to see how far the Post Office would go in complying with its own red tape."

Shown above, Bray being delivered by registered post to his home. His father Edmund Bray is seen standing in the doorway accepting the receipt from the postman.

To read the entire article, click here.