The General Post Office, One minute to Six. Oil on canvas. The chaotic rush to catch the last post at the General Post Office in St Martin's-le-Grand became such an event in Victorian London that people came to watch. With the introduction of the Penny Post in 1840 and the removal of the stamp tax on newspapers, which encouraged the growth of a cheap daily press, many more letters and newspapers were sent by post. This scene came to symbolise the ever-increasing pace of the modern city, and the importance of London's communications with the rest of the world.
