175th Anniversary of The Penny Black

In general circulation for little over a year the Penny Black is something of an iconic stamp.

“…A bit of paper just large enough to bear the stamp, and covered at the back with a glutinous wash.”

This was the first mention of what became the world’s first adhesive postage stamp. The quote came from Rowland Hill as he was answering the questions of a parliamentary enquiry into the Post Office service in February 1837.

Hill had recently published a pamphlet Post Office reform; Its Importance and Practicality, where he had challenged the expensive and extremely complex postal rates that were then in force.

His suggested solution was a low, uniform rate of prepaid postage based on weight.

At the time the postal service was prohibitively expensive for most people to use. Sending a single letter could cost as much as a working man’s daily wage.