Postans, Robert Baxter, prob. I Postans I, 1787–1892, naval man, journalist. In naval service of East India Co. to 1840. Associated with the founding of Punch; contributed prose and verse to the periodical; also pen and ink sketches. Contributed to Bentley's Misc. Was close friend of George Hodder and Henry Mayhew.
The first item ["Chip: Red Rockets", XIII, 534–35. June 21, 1856] urges improvement of the rocket-signal system to help prevent casualties at sea; the second ["The Shingle Movement", XIV, 322–24. Oct. 18, 1856] states the various theories accounting for shingle movement and discusses shingle beaches. The interest in ships and the sea indicates that the contributor is probably a naval man.
Boase