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Description: | Pencil drawing by Stanley Leighton (1837-1901) of the Tonga or mail cart running from Jabalpur to Nagpur, in Madhya Pradesh, dated 2nd January 1869. The image is inscribed on the mount and picture in pencil: 'Special mail cart. Jubbulpore to Nagpore. Sat 2 Jan, 1869.' Before 1837 there was no general postal system in India and official letters and parcels were transported to principal towns from Calcutta, Madras and Bombay via a few mail routes which then existed. In 1837 the Government was granted the exclusive right to carry mail and the public postal service was established. A Tonga was a two-wheeled covered cart, drawn by two ponies which was the method of carrying local and parcel mail across India. Sometimes, if space and weight permitted, they also carried passengers. The Tonga drivers were considered 'a class of men apart' who often risked their lives to deliver the mail. | License: | http://www.bl.uk/services/copy/permission.html | Rights holder: | British Library | Source: | Collect Britain | Creator: | Leighton, Stanley (1837-1901) | Identifier: | http://www.collectbritain.co.uk/personal... | Language: | en-GB | Go to resource |
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