STAMPLESS COVERS OF GREAT BRITAIN

1830 SCARCE UNLISTED PIMLICO 3 PENNY POST PAID RED CANCEL
 ON DILKE LETTER TO J PAYNE OF NEW KENT ROAD.
THE EDITOR OF THE ATHENAEUM LITERARY JOURNAL ASKS FOR A CRITICAL REVIEW

A Literary Treat as the Editor of the Athenaeum Literary Journal inquires
 about a Critique of the Society for the Diffusion of Knowledge
 on a lovely unlisted Pimlico 3 Penny Post Paid Cover

COVERED BY OUR 5 YEAR PHILATELIC GUARANTEE OF AUTHENTICITY

Charles Wentworth Dilke, as Editor of the Atheneum, writes to Mr. J Payne (one of his reviewers)
 requesting the status of a book review in a letter using an unlisted Pimlico 3 Penny Post Paid cancel


Nothing to note on Reverse of Cover

DILKE, CHARLES WENTWORTH (1789-1864). —Critic and writer on literature, served for many years in the Navy Pay-Office, on retiring from which he devoted himself to literary pursuits. He had in 1814-16 made a continuation of Dodsley's Collection of English Plays, and in 1829 he became part proprietor and ed. of The Athenæum, the influence of which he greatly extended. In 1846 he resigned the editorship, and assumed that of The Daily News, but contributed to The Athenæum his famous papers on Pope, Burke, Junius, etc., and shed much new light on his subjects. His grandson, the present Sir C.W. Dilke, pub. these writings in 1875 under the title, Papers of a Critic. (A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature by John. W. Cousin) His son and grandsons (both Charles Wentworth Dike)were made baronets and held high political positions. Payne was one of the many independent reviewers that the Athenaeum relied upon for critiques of essays and books which it published in its pages.

                                                                             9 Lower Grovesnor Place
                                                                                Saturday Morning

Dear Sir,

I am anxious to hear from you respecting the Article on the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge and about which I wrote some time since – I have deferred the subject longer than I had intended, & wish therefore to know if it suits you to write the Notice & if so when I may expect it., In your ????

Your obedient Servant
C W Dilke

The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, founded in 1826, was a Whiggish London organisation that published inexpensive texts intended to adapt scientific and similarly high-minded material for the rapidly expanding reading public. It was established mainly at the instigation of Lord Brougham with the objects of publishing information to people who were unable to obtain formal teaching, or who preferred self-education. The Society was sometimes mentioned in contemporary sources as SDUK.

SDUK publications were intended for the working class and the middle class, as an antidote to the more radical output of the pauper presses. The society set out to achieve this by acting as an intermediary between authors and publishers by launching several series of publications. It was run by a committee of eminent persons, and had a close association with the newly formed University College London, as well as the numerous provincial Mechanics' Institutes. Its printers included Baldwin & Cradock who was succeeded by Charles Knight. The Society commissioned work and dealt with the printers, and finally distributed the publications.

One significant set of publications by the SDUK was the Library of Useful Knowledge; sold for a sixpence and published biweekly, its books focused on scientific topics. The first volume, an introduction to the series by Brougham, sold over 33,000 copies. However, attempts to reach the working class market were largely unsuccessful; only among the middle class was there sustained interest in popular science texts. Like many other works in the new genre of popular scientific narratives—such as the Bridgewater Treatises and Humphry Davy's Consolations in Travel—the books of the Library of Useful Knowledge focused on natural theology and imbued scientific fields with concepts of progress: uniformitarianism in geology, the nebular hypothesis in astronomy, and the scala naturae in the life sciences. According to historian James Secord, such works met a demand for "general concepts and simple laws", and in the process helped establish the authority of professional science and specialised scientific disciplines.

While conceived with high ideals the project gradually failed, as subscribers fell away and sale of publications declined. Charles Knight was largely responsible for what success SDUK publications did have; he engaged in extensive promotional campaigns, and worked to improve the readability of the sometimes abstruse material.[1] Nonetheless many of the titles had little interest to readers, though the Penny Magazine at its peak had a circulation of around 200,000 copies a week. The Society eventually wound up in 1848, though some of its works apparently continued to be published. Its beautiful World Atlas of 1844 is still available on CD

PAID 1830 1 October Evening 4
Jay Type L 493

An Unrecorded 3 Penny Post Mark for Pimlico
Jay Type L 508a but unrecorded for Pimlico

[ Please note that stampless cover catalogue numbers come from the following reference works: R. M. Willcocks, England's Postal History to 1840 with Notes on Scotland, Wales and Ireland (1975); R. M. Willcocks & Barrie Jay, The Postal History of Great Britain and Ireland 1981; Willcocks & Jay, The British County Catalogue of Postal History - Volumes 1 & 2, 2nd Ed. (1996); Barrie Jay, The British County Catalogue of Postal History Volume 3 London, 2nd Ed.(2005); Willcocks & Jay, The British County Catalogue of Postal History - Vol 4 (1988), Willcocks & Jay, The British County Catalogue of Postal History - Volume 5 (1990); American Stampless Cover Catalogue 2nd Ed. (1997); J.C. Arnell, Atlantic Mails - A History of the Mail Service between Great Britain and Canada to 1889 (1980); F. Jarrett, Stamps of British North America; W. S. Boggs, The Postage Stamps and Postal History of Canada; Hargest, History of Letter Communications between US and Europe 1845-1874, Starnes, US Letter Rates to Foreign Destination 1847-GPU; Tabeart, United Kingdom Letter Rates 1657-1900; Moubray, British Letter Mail to Overseas Destinations 1840-1875, J.J. MacDonald, The Nova Scotia Post, Its Offices, Masters and Marks (1985) ]

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