Welcome to the TPO & Seapost Society Website for collectors of TPO and RPO postmarks and covers, sea post and paquebot marks, ship and packet letters, and other maritime postal history. Our membership is world-wide and so are the topics covered. Please enter our site by means of the navigation bar or the site map and site search facility.
Seaposts of the U S A by Roger Hosking is now available, details are located on our publications page or from Leonard H. Hartmann in the USA.
| The following are some typical covers that our members collect. |
|---|
|
| This is the only known copy of the Newcastle-upon-Tyne (Hosking 22D) paquebot mark where the mark itself is in RED. Unless you also have a copy and are reading this. If so, then please let us know. |
|
| This envelope, dated in 1924, shows the as yet unrecorded paquebot mark used at Yokohama. It is further enhanced with a "U.S. Transpacific Sea Post / Jul 24 1924 / East / S.F. No.16" cancel on the reverse. |
 |
| Normanton & Stalybridge T.P.O. - From East cancel, (Wilson 135) in use from 1877 onwards and rated H in Wilson's book. This envelope backstamped with circular YORK cancel dated 1883. |
 |
| Edinr. & Newcastle Sorting Tender TPO mark, (W. 780 rated D) on PPC from Calcutta to Edinburgh also bearing a Sea Post Office mark for its journey from Bombay to Aden in 1905. |
|
| US SEA P.O. / T / 19 Taxe mark, on PPC mailed on board White Star Line's Olympic and sorted in the TRANSATLANTIC POST OFFICE No. 5 during the voyage to the USA. At New York the card was also marked for 3 CENTS due. |
The Society welcomes everyone interested in world-wide Travelling Post Office and Maritime (sea post / paquebot / naval / ship letter) philatelic material, whether as their main collection or as part of another collecting field. See our list of TPO and Seapost articles introducing these topics to new visitors.
The Society issues an award winning quarterly Journal full of news and interesting information on TPO and Seapost matters. We offer direct Sales of maritime and TPO covers and Postal Auctions are held four times during the year. The exchange of news, views and information between members is encouraged through the Journal and by means of meetings held periodically in UK regional centres and in London.
The navigation bar will guide you through our web site. To contact the Society, please go to the Contact page. To join, go to the Membership page. We have a large Reference Library and list of Publications for sale.
Travelling Post Office terminology around the World
While Great Britain and countries from the British Commonwealth use the term TPO, other countries with TPO systems gave their operations different names. Canada and the USA used the term RPO while other countries used the terms Ambulant, Ambte, Amb., Ambu, and Ambulancia. Further terms include Bahnpost, Fahrend, Postamt, Messagieri, Postvagon, Vagon Postal, Jernbanebureau, Postekspedisjon, Jernvagens postkupéexpedition and Postkupéer. All of these terms mean the same thing: they all signify a Travelling Post Office. Refer to the TPO introduction page for more explanations of terms.
Maritime terminology around the World
Compared with TPO names, seapost, ship letters and maritime mail terms are relatively easy to manage, so just watch out for Ligne, Sea Post, Schiffs Brief, Schiffspost, etc.
