Franks and Friendship: Eighteenth-Century Postal Practices in The Mary Hamilton Papers

Eighteenth-century postage was comparatively expensive, and usually paid for by a letter’s recipient, although Members of Parliament could post free of charge by adding their signature to the address (a ‘frank’). This privilege was intended only for MPs; nevertheless, franking fraud was widespread. This article uses evidence from letters in The Mary Hamilton Papers to explore how postage and franking aided correspondents’ politeness and identity work. It finds that Hamilton and her correspondents exploited their social networks to get free postage, and that ‘frank talk’ (discourse about obtaining and using franks) played an important role in promoting and maintaining friendships.