Publisher's Synopsis
In 1982, the former Federal Minister of Postal Services, Gscheidle, stated in a portrait of the Deutsche Bundespost that the postal service was vital, but of no interest to most people. This observation can also be applied to the interest of historical scholarship in this subject. It is therefore not surprising that many analyses of postal history come primarily from non-university philately. In historical studies, on the other hand, philately and postal history are considered marginal. This is particularly astonishing, as post (communication) has a special significance in history. Because, according to Gscheidle, almost all citizens have to deal with the post every day. However, people would only notice the highly complex construct of the postal service if its function were disturbed.
