Objective:

Based on a letter exchange between individuals in Buenos Aires and Santiago de Chile, this article analyses the material conditions for the circulation of letters and printouts between both capital cities at the moment of the great postal expansion, in the late 19th century.

Methodology:

The study relies on the statistical evidence produced by the Argentine Postal Service, as well as the Universal Postal Union. This information is interpreted and contextualized through a wide range of qualitative sources produced by contemporary observers, as well as administrators and users of the system.

Originality:

In the frame of the expansion of studies about transnational "circulations" and "networks" in the late 19th century, the study offers a view of the conditions that made these exchanges possible in the region, while expanding the universe of practices considered until now.

Conclusions:

Besides describing the system that made possible the cultural and informational approach between Buenos Aires and Santiago de Chile, the article explores the implications of such a process in the relationship between these capitals, within the emergence of Buenos Aires as a distribution node and journalistic and cultural pole in the region.