Editing Penny Post (section)

===Local Penny Post===
In 1765, Parliament authorized the creation of Penny Posts in any town or city of the kingdoms of [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] and [[Kingdom of Ireland|Ireland]]. The single postage rate of one penny was charged within the area, calculated by weight.<ref name="Provincial Penny Posts"/> By the beginning of the 19th century there were many of these, identifiable on [[Cover (philately)|covers]], with markings such as "PP", "Py Post", or "Penny Post" along with the name of the town.<ref name="Provincial Penny Posts"/><ref name="Dockwra Family Research Center"/>

The early penny post system in [[Edinburgh]], founded in 1773/4 by [[Peter Williamson (Indian Peter)|Peter Williamson]],<ref name="Provincial Penny Posts"/><ref name="Dockwra Family Research Center"/> known as "Indian Peter," usefully combined it with one of the world's first street directories.<ref name="A Man Called Indian Peter">{{cite web |url=http://www.digitalsilver.co.uk/TimeGun/indian_peter.html |first=David |last=Dobson |publisher=University of Georgia Press |title=A Man Called Indian Peter |access-date=6 April 2017}}</ref> He circulated mail to 17 shops in the city (effectively [[post office]]s) and employed four uniformed postmen. Their hats read "Penny Post" and were numbered 1, 4, 8 and 16 to make the business look bigger.