night telegraph lettern.
/ˈnʌɪt ˌtɛlᵻɡrɑːf ˈlɛtə/, /ˈnʌɪt ˌtɛlᵻɡraf ˈlɛtə/, U.S. /ˈnaɪt ˌtɛləˌɡræf ˌlɛdər/ British. Now historical.
A cheap-rate inland telegram delivered overnight. Cf. lettergram n.The service was suspended early in the 1940s. The similar overnight telegram service was introduced in 1955.
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society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telegraphy > [noun] > telegraphic message > types of
telotype1850
cablegram1868
cable-message1877
phonogram1880
cable1883
ticking1888
aerogram1890
T.T.1893
petit bleu1898
Marconigram1902
radio-telegram1902
radiogram1903
wireless1903
news flash1904
teleflash1904
lettergram1908
day letter1910
night letter telegram1910
night telegraph letter1912
radio1915
printergram1932
teletype1933
greeting telegram1937
telemessage1941
overnight telegram1955
telex1957
1912 Post Office Guide Apr. 94 A service of night telegraph letters is in operation between London and Aberdeen and between London and Belfast. The rate is 6d. for 36 words or less and ½d. for every 3 words beyond 36. Night Telegraph letters are delivered (except on Sunday) by the first post next morning.
1912 Times 29 May 3/4 Night telegraph letters may be posted prepaid at the rates given above.
1938 E. T. Crutchley G.P.O. vii. 146 There are various by-products of the telegraph system about which the ordinary man-in-the-street remains strangely ignorant. For instance there is the Night Telegraph Letter which provides a means of communication after the usual posting hour, and at a cheaper rate than by the ordinary telegraph service.
1953 H. Robinson Britain's Post Office xix. 258 A successful effort was made [in the 1930s] to give the public a knowledge of the advantages of night-telegraph letters.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1912