POS2 - The Postal History of Iceland 1873-1935 (only in Icelandic)

The Postal History of Iceland 1776-1935 (Volume I and II) tells the story of the postal services during this period and is also a comprehensive history of transport and communications in Iceland. The first volume deals with the rudimentary beginnings of mail services up until 1873, which marks a new era in postal communivations with the appearance of the first postage stamps.

The postal infrastructure developed as mail carriers on foot or horses were replaced by cars, ships and planes, carrying postal items of all kinds along with people and cargo. Postal communications between Iceland and other countries developed by leaps and bounds during the fist decades of the twentieth century with Icelandic and foreign companies competing for passengers.

The book is richly illustrated with pictures from the period featuring mail carriers, postal vessels and cars along with a wealth of manuscripts and charts which throw new light on this subject. The research shows that domestic postal communications were far behind other European countries whereas navigational communications were comparable to those in the neighbouring countries.

Heimir Þorkelsson is an Icelandic historian who has written a number of renowned books on various historical subjects, among them the development of telecommunications in Iceland.