Across the oceans : development of overseas business information transmission 1815-1875 /Seija-Riitta Laakso.

"In the early 19th century, the only way to transmit information was to send letters across the oceans by sailing ships or inland by horse and coach [...] Starting in the 1930s a network of steamships, railways, canals and telegraphs was gradually built to connect different parts of the world. This book explains how the rate of information circulation increased many times over as mail systems developed."--Back cover.