Thailand Post

Prior to the operation of Thailand Post, there was limited mail service, mainly for the royal family. Traditionally, messages between the government in Bangkok and provincial outposts had been carried by a herald or by fast boat. During the reign of King Chulalongkorn (r. 1868–1910), the Ministry of Interior maintained a schedule which specified that messages between Bangkok and Nong Khai took 12 days, between Bangkok and Ubon Ratchathani, 12 days, and between Bangkok and Luang Prabang, 17 days outbound and 13 days inbound. Domestic mail traveled by messengers while international mail traveled by steamboat to post offices in nearby countries, such as the Straits Settlements.

The earliest recorded mail from Bangkok dates back to 1836 when American missionary Dan Beach Bradley sent a letter to his father in a stampless cover. The British Consular Post Office in Bangkok was established by Great Britain in 1858 as a consequence of the Bowring Treaty signed between Great Britain and Siam (now Thailand) on 18 April 1855, in response to a demand by expatriate merchants and missionaries. It ceased to provide service on 1 July 1885, the day Siam joined the Universal Postal Union and started its own international postal service. During that time most of the mail from Bangkok was sent by diplomatic pouch to Singapore for forwarding. On 4 August 1883, the first stamp was issued in Siam.