Penny Black

Penny Black Stamp History

Because of the problems before the Penny Black, people like Rowland Hill demanded postal reform. Hills published his book Post Office Reform: its Importance and Practicability suggesting a pre-paid postal system in 1837. It also called for a uniform postage rate instead of the archiac system used previously. This propsal gained support and these reforms to postal system were officially presented in the United Kingdom later that year.

Hill partnered with Henry Cole to run a contest to see if anyone had ideas for the best way to prepay postage. The contest got a total of 2600 entries, but were all set aside in favor of the simple adhesive postage stamp.

The stamp itself was designed by William Mulready, featuring the image of the reigning monarch of the time. It was based on an earlier design by William Wyon, which depicted the Head of Queen Victoria on a medal. The stamp had the words postage on the top and the words one penny on the bottom to denote its value. Its back used the simple but repetitive pattern of engine turnings.

This tradition of using the monarch's head on postage stamps continued to this very day. In 1840, Charles and Fredrick Heath used Cole's designs to engrave the plate that is to print the Penny Black Stamp. The engraved plates were then turned over to Perkins Bacon, who used them to print the stamps. A more in depth description of the plates can be found at Penny Black Rarity.

The stamps were sold on May 1, 1840, but were not supposed to be used until May 6, 1840, which was the official starting date of the new postal system. Technically, it would've cost 2 pence to send a letter on May 1-5, but there have been instances of letters bearing only the Penny Black with those cancellation dates. The stamps were very well accepted by the general public and it took a while for the supply to catch up with the demand.