Sub-series consists of records relating to the provision of ocean mail service. Some documents appear to have been selected to comprise this subject, rather than having been created by the Post Office as part of its operational files. The sub-series includes correspondence and returns, 1858- 1890 (Vol. 1010), letterbooks, 1861-1878 (Vols. 1011-1012 and 1126) and scrapbooks of newspaper clippings and broadsides, 1858-1893 (Vols. 1013-1014) relating to ocean mail service and some "notes" on the early Atlantic Mail Steamship Service (Vol. 3298).
Canada. Post Office Dept. Ocean Mail Branch : After Great Britain relinquished control of the Post Office in Canada in 1851, one of the first important decisions made by the Canadian authorities was to establish its own line of mail steamers to transport the mails between Great Britain and Quebec fortnightly in the summer and to Portland, Maine, monthly during the winter. Awarded to McKean, McLarty and Company of Liverpool in 1852, the first Canadian Government contract was not a success. The firm was ill-prepared and provided poor and irregular service. In 1855, the government signed a contract with Hugh Allan, agent for the Montreal Ocean Steamship Company later known as the "Allan Line," which called for fourteen fortnightly trips to Canada in summer and five monthly trips to Portland, Maine, during the winter months. The inaugural run left Liverpool on April 23, 1856 and began a successful first year. Eventually, in 1859, the service became weekly. With increased sailings came the need for better handling of the mail. To accommodate the new service, the Ocean Mail Branch was created in April 1860; the Branch continued until its dissolution in 1887. RG3 General Inventory
