For many years the postal service in the United Kingdom was a very expensive service for ordinary people where a single letter would sometimes cost a working person's full day's wages. In January of 1837 Rowland Hill, a teacher and inventor, published a pamphlet, 'The Post Office Reform' with his main intention to introduce a uniform postage rate of one penny per half ounce in weight. The final pamphlet was published in in July 1839, 'On the Collection of Postage by means of stamps'. The Penny Postage Bill was passed by Parliament on 17 August 1839, without opposition and was granted the 'Royal Assent' by the young Queen Victoria.
The new stamps went on sale on 1 May 1840, and were valid for postage from 6 May 1840 and the world's first postage stamp, 'The Penny Black' was born. Hill’s idea reduced mail handling costs in Great Britain and transferred the responsibility of payment to the sender rather than the receiver. The stamp was only used for one year because the red cancellation mark was hard to see on the black background. As a result of this, the Treasury reprinted the stamp as a red stamp so that the black cancellation marks that are later used are easier to see and harder to remove.
The new stamps went on sale on 1 May 1840, and were valid for postage from 6 May 1840 and the world's first postage stamp, 'The Penny Black' was born. Hill’s idea reduced mail handling costs in Great Britain and transferred the responsibility of payment to the sender rather than the receiver. The stamp was only used for one year because the red cancellation mark was hard to see on the black background. As a result of this, the Treasury reprinted the stamp as a red stamp so that the black cancellation marks that are later used are easier to see and harder to remove.
Source: http://www.thetenoclockshow.co.uk/content/view/357/43/
No comments:
Post a Comment