In May 1840, the world’s first adhesive postage stamps came into circulation, changing the postage system forever. But how did this revolutionary idea come into existence?
By the time Victoria ascended the throne in 1837 sending mail had become unaffordable to many, with the cost of postage being worked out by the amount of pages the letter had and the distance it had travelled. Unfortunately this method also meant that it was usually the recipient that was responsible for paying the postage costs. In February that same year, a man named Rowland Hill shared the idea of creating a new postal system, with “low and uniform rates” in his pamphlet ‘Post Office Reform: its Importance and Practicability’. The new concept of prepaid postage immediately captured the interest of Hill’s readers, who spent two years pressuring the government to take action.
In 1839 a Parliamentary Select Committee was formed under MP Robert Wallace, who himself backed Hill’s idea. In August that same year, a law was passed to create affordable rates, with Hill being appointed to the Treasury. With so much national interest, it was decided that a competition would be held to come up with ideas on how the prepaid aspect should be displayed. In total there were around 2,600 entries, but it was fellow postal reformers Henry Cole and Charles Whiting that were crowned the winners, with ideas such as adhesive labels, stamped lettersheets and envelopes.
The lettersheets and envelopes were designed by William Mulready RA and showed representations of Britannia and the British Empire. However, released on 1st May 1840, the stationary was instantly criticised due to its risk to other stationary manufacturers. As a result, the special postal envelopes were pulled from production within a year.
Meanwhile, the adhesive labels (stamps) consisted of a much simpler design. Based on William Wyon’s 1837 ‘City Medal’, the stamp displayed a profile portrait of Queen Victoria, which had been sketched by Henry Corbould and engraved by Charles and Frederick Heath. Known as the ‘Penny Black’ due to the use of black ink, the new stamp was printed in sheets of 240, making the whole thing cost £1 for consumers (one penny per stamp). Increasing the security, each of the stamps had a different letter variation.
Like the Mulready stationary, the ‘Penny Black’ stamps were first issued in 1st May 1840 but didn’t become valid until the 6th. People were immediately impressed with the first ever stamp system, which allowed them to send letters weighing up to half an ounce for just one penny. While a red Maltese Cross was placed on each used stamp to cancel further use, it was quickly discovered that the red ink was difficult to see over the black. On top of this, what was visible was also easy to remove, leading to people re-using the stamps. Within a year it was decided that the stamps black ink should be replaced with red and that black ink would instead be used to cancel out used stamps. On 8th May 1840, a second stamp was introduced. Costing two pennies, the ‘Two Penny Blue’ allowed people to send heavier letters at an equally affordable rate.
Thanks to Hill, the postal reform had been a booming success and the industry was thriving. Unfortunately, the reelection of Robert Peel’s Conservative Party in 1841 led to Hill being dismissed from his position. However, he was later appointed as director – and later chairman – of the London and Brighton Railway, which he also helped to improve. The portrait of Queen Victoria continued to be used on stamps until her death in 1901, when it was replaced with that of her successor, King Edward VII, and each subsequent monarch.
© Queen.Victoria.Roses 2025
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