The Penny Black, the First Stamp
Sir Rowland Hill's Postal Reforms and the First Postage Stamp
Nov 4, 2008
Even before Roland Hill introduced the world’s first Universal Penny Post in 1840 there were local letter delivery services, operating in the UK that cost only one penny per letter or package carried but these services were limited to very confined locales. Some interaction and exchange was possible between neighbouring towns but this usually meant a further small charge.
Pre-Penny Post
Sending letters before Sir Rowland’s Universal Penny Post could prove to be expensive and frustrating as the cost of sending a letter depended upon its number of sheets and the distance travelled. The greater the number of sheets and the greater the distance travelled the greater the charge.
Another frustration was that unlike the modern postage system the recipient paid the carriage fee. If the fee was hefty many could not afford to pay and they refused to accept the letter the postman (or Letter Carrier as he was known then) had no option but to return the letter to the sender. This method of delivering letters was obviously expensive and inefficient and a better and more efficient method was required.
MPs lost benefits
Although the public and academics had campaigned for a reform of the system the British Post Office was a profitable concern and used as a cash cow by the government. Additionally members of parliament benefited from a system called the “Free Frank” this allowed MPs to send mail free of charge. A privilege often exploited and abused as MPs sold their franking rights to commercial concerns and to family and friends then merely applied their signature to the envelope allowing free use of the postal system.
Although there are other contenders it is Sir Rowland who was the primary antagonist for an overhaul of the postal system that he called the Uniform Postal Rate. This system revolutionised the postal service in Great Britain and eventually the world.
Penny Black
Rowland Hill’s idea was a simple one the sender and not the recipient should pay a fee to send a letter, the flat fee based on the weight of the letter and not how far it would travel. The sender would receive a receipt as proof of payment for the letter. There was a great deal of debate on the nature of the receipt, the most popular being an adhesive stamp to be affixed to the letter, this in turn would result in the world’s first postage stamp the famous Penny Black and its less well known sister the two pence blue.
The Penny Black was valid for letters up to half and ounce and a sister stamp the two pence blue was to be used on letters above that weight. Because of problems with the black ink used to cancel the stamp the penny red replaced the penny black in 1841.
Other Benefits
The Universal Penny Postage would was also responsible for other innovations:
- The introduction of letter door boxes– because the recipient need not be at home to receive a letter
- The widespread use of envelope - as previously envelopes were considered a separate sheet which had to be paid for
- Greetings cards – sending Christmas and Valentines cards became affordable and led to the introduction and popularity of these and other greetings cards.
- The growing popularity of writing boosting literacy levels in Victorian Britain.
I doubt if Sir Rowland Hill could have foreseen the popularity of the penny post but the added benefits that this simple system initiated throughout the world.
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