Gallows letter explained
In postal history, a gallows letter was a letter with a "gallows" mark meaning "very quickly".
Gallows letters were official letters or dispatches used by the Privy Council of Elizabeth I of England. To express an extreme degree of urgency of delivery, the letter had on the address panel a rough drawing of a gallows. Sometimes the picture included a hanging body. These drawings could also have repeated written directions as "haste haste", "post haste", "haste for life", "for life haste", etc.[1]
There are also modern forgeries of such letters. This is when counterfeit gallows marks have been applied onto original letters.[2]
See also
Notes and References
- Book: Beal, P.. A Dictionary of English Manuscript Terminology: 1450 to 2000. https://web.archive.org/web/20150924120357/http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199576128.001.0001/acref-9780199576128-e-0444. 2015-09-24. 2015-05-14. 2008. Oxford University Press. Oxford, UK. 9780199576128. 169–171. Gallows letter. http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199576128.001.0001/acref-9780199576128-e-0444. dead.
- Vollmeier, P.. 2002. Forgeries of handwritten indications on old letters. Fakes, Forgeries & Experts. 5. 2015-05-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20081201094435/http://www.ffejournal.com/articles.php?book=FFE+%235. 2008-12-01. dead.
