The Village Post Office thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

The Village Post Office

Oil Painting
1849 (painted)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The first regular pre-paid postal service in the world began in England in 1840, and paintings such as this exploited popular interest in sending and receiving letters. In early years, a village post office often had its home in the local inn, which was, (and still is in some places), with the church, the focal centre of the community. The people on the left are reading a copy of the Times which carries the news of victory for Britain in the first Sikh War of 1845/6, another topical reference of the kind the mid-century exhibition audience so much enjoyed, while the other group, a woman with her children, have received a letter - sealed with black wax to indicate a death - presumably with the news that the family have lost their husband and father in the battle.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleThe Village Post Office
Materials and techniques
Oil on panel
Brief description
Oil painting, 'The Village Post Office', Frederick Goodall, 1849
Physical description
Oil painting
Dimensions
  • Estimate height: 20.3cm
  • Estimate width: 29.2cm
  • Approx., framed height: 30cm
  • Approx., framed width: 40cm
Dimensions taken from Catalogue of British Oil Paintings 1820-1860, Ronald Parkinson, Victoria and Albert Museum, London: HMSO, 1990
Styles
Marks and inscriptions
'F. Goodall/1849' (Signed and dated by the artist, lower left)
Credit line
Bequeathed by John Jones
Object history
Bequeathed by John Jones, 1882
Subjects depicted
Summary
The first regular pre-paid postal service in the world began in England in 1840, and paintings such as this exploited popular interest in sending and receiving letters. In early years, a village post office often had its home in the local inn, which was, (and still is in some places), with the church, the focal centre of the community. The people on the left are reading a copy of the Times which carries the news of victory for Britain in the first Sikh War of 1845/6, another topical reference of the kind the mid-century exhibition audience so much enjoyed, while the other group, a woman with her children, have received a letter - sealed with black wax to indicate a death - presumably with the news that the family have lost their husband and father in the battle.
Bibliographic reference
Parkinson, R., Victoria and Albert Museum, Catalogue of British Oil Paintings 1820-1860, London: HMSO, 1990, pp. 112-13
Collection
Accession number
512-1882

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdDecember 15, 1999
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest