The Penny Black, the First Postage Stamp
Next: May 6, 2027
The little stamp that opened the post.
The story
Where it comes from
On 6 May 1840 the Penny Black, the world's first adhesive postage stamp, became valid for postage in Britain, and this Story marks the anniversary. It was the idea of Rowland Hill, who argued in 1837 that postage should be cheap, paid by the sender and charged by weight rather than distance. From January 1840 a letter under half an ounce cost one penny, and the stamp, showing the young Queen Victoria, went on sale in London on 1 May. On 6 May Hill wrote in his diary: 'Stamps came into use today.'
How it's celebrated
There is no formal observance, but the Postal Museum in London tells the Penny Black's story all year, and stamp collectors everywhere know the date. It is a fine day to post a real letter or card, with a real stamp, to someone who would not expect one.
Did you know
- Penny Blacks were printed in sheets of 240 and had to be cut apart by hand, because perforating machines had not yet been invented.
- In 1841 the stamp was printed in red instead, so that black cancellation ink, which could not be cleaned off, would show up on it.
- A blue twopenny stamp followed for heavier letters; far fewer were printed, and the Twopenny Blue is much scarcer today.
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