Books, &c.—Printed books, pamphlets, magazines, reviews, &c. whether British, foreign, or colonial, may be forwarded by post between places in the United Kingdom (made up in the same manner as newspapers), if prepaid in stamps, at the following rates:—
| Under 4 oz., prepaid | 1d. |
| „ 8 oz. ,, „ | 2d. |
| „ 16 oz. ,, ,, | 4d. |
| „ 24 oz. ,, ,, | 6d. |
| „ 32 oz. ,, ,, | 8d. |
and 2d. for every additional 8 oz., or any less weight; no pared to exceed 24 inch any way, but may contain more than one book, &c.
A Book Packet may contain writing (when not of the nature of a letter), and any number of separate books or other publications, prints, or maps, and any quantity of paper, parchment, or vellum (to the exclusion, however, of letters, whether sealed or open). And the books or other publications, prints, maps, &c., may be either printed, written, or plain, or any mixture of the three. Further, all legitimate binding, mounting, or covering of a book, publication, &c., or of a portion thereof, will be allowed, whether such binding, &c., be loose or attached; as also rollers, in the case of prints or maps; markers (whether of paper or otherwise), in the case of books; and, in short, whatever is necessary for the safe transmission of literary or artistic matter, or usually appertains thereto.
Inland Pattern and Sample Post.—For a packet of patterns or samples—
| Under 4 oz. | 0s. 2d. |
| Over 4 oz. but under 8 oz. | 0s. 4d. |
| „ 8 oz. ,, ,, 16 oz. | 0s. 8d. |
| „ 16 oz. „ ,, 24 oz. | 1s. 0d. |
The postage must be prepaid in stamps, or it will be charged double. If the postage be over 24 oz. in weight it will be charged as a letter. There must not be any writing or printing, except the address, trade mark, number or price of the articles, which must not be on loose paper, but firmly attached to the samples or bags containing them. Any loose inclosure will be taken out, and charged as an unpaid letter, with an additional rate of 1d.
The patterns or samples must be in covers open at the ends, so as to be easy of examination. Samples of seeds, &c., may be enclosed in boxes of cardbord, or bags of linen or other material, but so fastened that they may be readily opened, otherwise they will be treated as a letter.
Scissors, knives, razors, forks, steel pens, nails, keys, watch machinery, metal tubing, pieces of metal or ore, and such like, as samples, may be sent, provided they be packed in so secure a manner as to afford complete protection to the contents of the mail bags and the officers of the Post Office, while at the same time they may be easily examined. Any packet containing such articles as these, which is found not sufficiently guarded will be stopped, and notice given thereof, but it will be charged with a fine equal to the postage to which it was liable as a packet of patterns.
A packet of samples or patterns may be kept back by any head postmaster for twenty-four hours when requisite, to prevent any delay to the regular transmission of letters.