{"product_id":"postal-intelligence-rachel-midura-9781501779923","title":"Postal Intelligence: The Tassis Family and Communications Revolution in Early Modern Europe","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePostal Intelligence\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e connects and situates histories of the post and government intelligence alongside print technology and state power in the wider context of the early modern communications revolution.\u003c\/b\u003e In the sixteenth century, postal services became central to domestic governance and foreign policy enterprises, extended government reach and surveillance, and offered new control over the public sphere.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRachel Midura focuses on the Tassis family, members of which served as official postmasters to the dukes of Milan, the pope, Spanish kings, and Holy Roman emperors. Using administrative records and family correspondence, she follows the Tassis family, their agents, and their rivals as their influence expanded from northern Italy across Europe. \u003ci\u003ePostal Intelligence\u003c\/i\u003e shows how postmasters and postmistresses were key players in early modern diplomacy, commerce, and journalism, whose ultimate success depended on both administrative ingenuity and strategic ambiguity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Rachel Midura\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1501779923\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781501779923\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Cornell University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/15\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 336\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback","brand":"Rachel Midura","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":46334388797695,"sku":"9781501779923","price":31.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_cbc3f107-c9a0-4dea-9cf5-b1c683b0a146.jpg?v=1731466715","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/postal-intelligence-rachel-midura-9781501779923","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}