Est. MDCCCLXXIII By Appointment to the Postmaster General Lofts at London · Bruges · Boston

Columba & Sons

Pigeon Messaging Service

✦

No. 4,721  ·  —  ·  Price 2d

The Aerial Post

When the wire fails,
the wing prevails.

Hand-trained carrier pigeons, lofted in three countries and flown daily. No poles, no cable, no clerk to lose your envelope. Just a bird, a ribbon, and a very good memory.

Dispatch a Message View the Rate Card
12,400 Birds in active service
99.2% Arrival rate, last quarter
3d 4h London to New York
152 Years unbroken

Schedule of Charges

The Rate Card

All rates are per bird, per flight. Messages must be written on the tissue paper supplied. Anything over one ounce travels by parcel post, not by wing.

Columba & Sons — Aerial Tariff

Effective 1st January · Revised annually
Service Range Time Rate
Local DispatchWithin the parish and adjoining 0–20 miles Same day 2d
DomesticKingdom-wide, loft to loft 20–300 miles 6–14 hours 6d
ContinentalChannel crossing included 300–900 miles 1–2 days 1s 3d
TransatlanticWeather permitting, and it often permits Over 900 miles 3–5 days 4s 6d
Express PairTwo birds flown; one is certain to arrive Any distance Priority 3s 0d
Light ParcelRings, keys, a single tablet. Up to one ounce Any distance +1 day 8d
Terms strictly cash on dispatch · No refunds for acts of hawk, storm, or providence
Standing accounts welcomed from houses of good character · Rates quoted in £ s d

Procedure

How a Message Flies

I.
Send for a Boy

Call at any of our lofts, or ring the bell and a uniformed lad will attend within the half hour with a basket and a blank slip.

II.
Write It Plainly

Twenty-eight words to the slip, in ink, no crossings-out. Illegible messages are flown anyway, but arrive illegible.

III.
Release at Dawn

Birds depart with the first light. They will not fly in heavy rain, nor into a headwind, nor for anyone they dislike.

IV.
Confirmed by Return

The receiving loft telegraphs us the moment the bird is in hand. You will have your confirmation the same evening.

Received with Thanks

Word From Our Clients

Received The telegraph office was shut for the funeral and I had a shipment of herring going off in the yard. Columba's bird was in Dover by noon. I have not used the wire since. Mr. E. Halloway
Fishmonger, Billingsgate
Received We fly the express pair every quarter, and in eleven years not one message has gone astray. I cannot say the same for the post, the railway, or my own staff. Lady A. Pemberton
Wiltshire
Received Cheaper than a courier, quicker than a train, and considerably better company. The bird waited on the windowsill until I had finished my breakfast. Dr. J. Fennimore
Corresponding Secretary, The Linnean Society

Form No. 9

Dispatch a Message

Complete the slip below. A clerk will read it aloud to the bird, which is the traditional method and has never been improved upon.

Columba & Sons

Message Slip · Twenty-Eight Words · Write Legibly

Cash on dispatch · No refunds for hawk, storm, or providence

Your message is away.

A bird has been selected, briefed, and released from the nearest loft.

Expect confirmation by return this evening. Do not follow the bird. It finds this discouraging.

Ref. No. C&S — 0000