DKPA : Origin of Stamp

Stamp issued in commemoration of the India - 80 International Philatelic Exhibition held in New Delhi from 25 January to February 3, 1980. It shows Sir Rowland Hill and his house in the background.

On May 6, 1840 the first adhesive stamp "Penny Black" was officially issued. If you notice you will see that the stamp does not have the name of the country. None of the British Stamps have the name of the country on them. The Penny Black was made available on May 1 and made valid from May 6, 1840.

Over 68 million Penny Black were printed by Perkins, Bacon & Petch. Charles and Frederick Heath were the engravers for the stamp.

There were no perforations between stamps as seen today. That is the stamp was imperforate.

There was a postal system in existence before the introduction of the Penny Black. People receiving the letters had to pay for it. The rate depended upon the distance of travel. Rowland Hill, a school teacher brought out a reform where the person sending the letter had to prepay for it. The minimum cost for a letter anywhere in England was 1 penny and it was based on the weight of the letter. This is the system being followed all over the world to this day.

The "little bit of paper covered at the back with a glutinous wash so that the bringer might attach it to the letter" changed the world. A statue of Sir Rowland Hill was erected outside the London Post Office with the inscription "He created uniform postage".

The story of the first postage stamp is retold in an interesting article by Dr Anjali Dutta here.