Description

A brisk, revealing journey through numbers, policies and public life. A study that turns a corner in how we understand government finance, tariff policy history, and the everyday life of postal services. The Development Of Rates Of Postage surveys how rate-making shaped Victorian Britain and the wider British imperial era. In clear, accessible prose, A. D. Smith treats postage as more than a service: a window into state strategy, economic constraint, and social change. This historical analysis unfolds as an academic monograph with wide appeal, connecting meticulous tariff history to the lived experience of readers seeking context for late Victorian Britain and its global reach. The work reads as both policy history treatise and scholarly reference, inviting both curious readers and specialists to explore the evolution of postal tariffs and the methods by which governments balanced revenue with public need. Its significance endures: a measured landscape of historical finance and public policy that speaks to collectors of classic literature and to readers seeking a reliable anchor for such topics. Out of print for decades, Alpha Editions brings it back restored for today's and future generations. More than a reprint, this edition is a collector's item and a cultural treasure, a signpost in the study of government finance history and the long arc of postal reform-an indispensable addition to any serious library.