world's first stamp Dr (Mrs) Anjali Dutta MD |
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When I began to collect stamps two
decades ago, the country I wanted to begin was Great
Britain, since it was the world's first country to issue
adhesive stamps. As with me, there are collectors all
over the world who want at least one copy of the Penny
Black simply because it is the world's first stamp. The Penny Black and Penny Post were the brain child of Sir Rowland Hill often called the father of modern post office. The introduction of Penny posts revolutionized the letter service making it possible to send a letter anywhere in Britain for a pre-paid postage. In 1837 Sir Rowland Hill, a school master, published a pamphlet entitled "Post Office Reform: Its Importance and Practicability". In this he claimed that the true cost of delivering a letter from London to Edinburgh was only about 1/36 of a Penny. If the post office charged one penny postage on every letter, more people would write letters and the post office would make more profit. Helped by wide spread public support Hill eventually persuaded the post office to adopt his plan. Until Rowland Hill introduced his reform the postage on a letter was usually paid by the person who received it, not by the person who posted it .The postman had the task of collecting the postage when he delivered the mail. Hill proposed that letters be prepaid either in cash at the post office or by prepaid letter sheets and envelopes and almost as an afterthought "a bit of paper just large enough to bear the stamps showing that tax had been paid and covered at the back with a glutinous wash which the bringer of the letter might by applying a little moisture attach to the back". There was initially much reluctance for such a proposal as postage rates were rather high. During the early part of the 19th century postal charges rose rapidly and by the year 1814 a letter cost four pence for a distance of seven miles. Over seven miles and under fifteen miles the charges were six pence. At that time a labourer's wage was four pence a day. Further, members of parliament were entitled to free postage, which was much misused. However as the public support for Rowland Hill's suggestions grew, he was appointed to the Treasury on 16th September 1839 to begin work on postal changes. First reform was the introduction of uniform Penny Postage on 5th December 1839, which was reduced to one Penny on 9th January 1840. The Treasury invited the public to submit suggestions for the design of the gummed labels which Hill proposed that the Post Office should issue at one Penny each. More than 2600
suggestions were submitted but only 49 related to
adhesive stamps. One suggestion from Benjamin Cheverton
of Casinden Town answered the fears of Treasury
officials that unscrupulous printer might may be able to
forge the labels and so defraud the Post Office.
Cheverton suggested that the labels should bear "a
female head of great beauty" because a portrait
would be more difficult for forgers to copy than any
other design. Awards for innovative suggestions were made
to Benjamin Cheverton, Henry Cole, Charles Whiting, James
Bogardus and Francis Coffin. |
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The Penny Black, the first ever adhesive
postage stamp was issued on 1st May 1840 though it became
valid for postage on 6th may 1840. Usages before this
date is known (see image below). It was issued in sheets
of 240 (rows of 12). It had a water mark of a small
crown, and was black in colour. These stamps were not
perforated and had to be cut and sold. The ink used for
the printing consisted of lamp black in linseed oil. The
gum was applied hot with brushes. Whose colour varied and
in some sheets were almost colourless. Total plates used
were eleven (Nos 1 to 11). About 72 Million stamps were
issued and remained valid for usage till 1841.
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Of the 72 million
copies of Penny Black which were sold, only 16800 were
from plate II, which comes to just 700 sheets. These are
the rarest of the Penny Black. Over ten million copies
were printed from plate la / 1b. Yet even a medium poor
copy of a plate 1 stamp is expensive. Strips of Penny
Black are scarce and blocks very scarce. Forged Penny Blacks first appeared in 1840, which are crude counterfeits made from a wood engraving. An electrotyped forgery was discovered in March 1841, which led to the first prosecution and conviction for stamp forgery. Hill's stamp system was eventually adopted in some form by every country starting with Brazil in 1843. It revolutionized the postal system in the world. As a bonus it also kicked off the world's most popular hobby philately. References: |
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