By awarding the European post monopoly to the Thurn & Taxis family 500 years ago, a truly continental postal service was born. Moreover, 1516 also saw the early birth of the Royal Mail. The perfect occasion to celebrate this milestone in history with a wonderful history book, aimed at both philatelists and laymen with an interest in world history. Written by a world-class expert with unrivalled access to unique documents, this book brings together storytelling with high quality reproductions of rarely seen objects. The letter in which Emperor Charles V confirms the monopoly of the Thurn & Taxis family; the first transatlantic letter of 1512; the very first postage stamp and envelope... Read all about those and 47 other historical objects in this ambitious book, which covers the entire history of the postal service in Europe from 1516 until the founding of the Universal Postal Union in 1875, as well as important milestones before and after. Lose yourself in the captivating history of the postal service and get to know the role of Belgium and other European countries in this book, filled with amusing anecdotes and important facts. AUTHOR: Vincent Schouberechts (1965) is a professional philatelist and the author of several acclaimed books on postal history. He is an expert on the pioneering Thurn & Taxis family and on horse post. Schouberechts is a fellow of The Royal Philatelic Society London and a member of the Association Internationale des Journalistes Philateliques. SELLING POINTS: . A richly illustrated overview of the history of the postal service, centred around the birth of the European post 500 years ago . A captivating historical story filled with drama, interesting facts and anecdotes. For both philatelists and history enthusiasts 120 colour, 150 b/w