History
In the turbulent political and religious climate during the reign of Mary Tudor is found the earliest reference to a registration system in the Kingdom of England in London in July 1556 whereby: that the poste between this and the Northe should eche of them keepe a booke and entrye of every letter that he shall receive, the tyme of the deliverie thereof unto his hands with the parties names that shall bring it unto him, whose handes he shall also take to his booke, witnessing the same note to be trewe. This was likely for state security rather than mail security. In 1603, another Order of Council was made whereby all letters had to be recorded. This system was in effect a registration system although it applied to all items sent via the post.
William Dockwra's 1680s London Penny Post also recorded all details on letters accepted for onward transmission but unlike the general post office, gave compensation for losses.
The registration of letters as known today was introduced in 1841 in Great Britain. The letter had to be enclosed within a large sheet of green paper. The green sheet was addressed to the Post Office where the recipient lived. The green sheet was then used as a receipt and was returned to the office of origin after delivery. On 1 July 1858 the green sheet was replaced by a green silk ribbon and shortly afterwards by a green linen tape. In 1870 the tape was replaced by green string. On the introduction of postal stationery registration envelopes in 1878 the string was replaced by printed blue crossed lines. The blue crossed lines have survived on registered letters to the present day.
In the United Kingdom, until the 1990s, the Royal Mail provided a "Registered delivery" service now replaced by "Royal Mail Special Delivery", which provided extra security and insurance against loss (often using special stamps, postmarks and blue lines).
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“History has neither the venerableness of antiquity, nor the freshness of the modern. It does as if it would go to the beginning of things, which natural history might with reason assume to do; but consider the Universal History, and then tell us,—when did burdock and plantain sprout first?”
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