AS the Christmas mail rush gets underway, the history of the postal service in Chippenham has gone on show.
The exhibition, at Chippenham Museum and Heritage Centre, catalogues postal history since the 17th century.
Museum and centre manager Mike Stone said the display, which can be seen until the end of January, features one of the largest collections in the country of Chippenham postal paraphernalia by museum warden Don Little.
The collection tells the story of how the postal system developed in the town. A collection of letters shows the different postal marks, stamps including an 1840 Penny Black, and unusual franks.
Post Office Counters and the Chippenham Sorting Office have lent a large collection of franking machines, one-day covers, old telegram forms and badges from uniforms from the last 200 years. The Post Office education service has loaned the museum eight mannequins wearing uniforms from 1793 through to 2000.
Mr Stone said: "We have had a lot of visitors, including stamp collectors and people who used to work in the post office. It has proved very popular."
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