I’ve always had an interest in stamps, yes stamps. You remember them don’t you? The little perforated gummy thingies with a picture on the front ? Those pretty little pre-paid partners of the post? The square things you lick and place on the upper right hand corner of a letter! At last!
In this day and age, there doesn’t seem to be a very big demand for them. What with electronic mail fax machines and mobile phones that double up as… anything you can possibly think of and a calculator! Stamps are not appreciated as they used to be, i’m pretty sure if i went to my local high street and conducted a survey, asking the public what a set of stamps is… i would not be surprised to receive the answer “set? No my dear a book, you get books of stamps, they come in 6’s or 12’s”. You mite also be surprised to find, at one point you had to actually lick the back of a stamp to activate the gumminess.
It all started back in the year 1660…
The GPO or general post office was first established in 1660 by Charles the 2nd. This of course was very different to our modern post office, it was recognised by a red logo with a crown and the letters GPO underneath. The first post master general was appointed in 1661, a MR Henry Bishop. During his time as post master, Henry Bishop decided to bring some order into the GPO. He did this by inventing a way to keep track of each letter by marking them with the date they were received by the GPO. This made sure that the post was not delayed, and to avoid any complaints or letters being 6months late! He did this by designing an ink stamp showing the day of the month and below the first two letters of month. This was to be called THE BISHOP MARK. The very first proof of postage. Shortly after Dublin, Edinburgh and then New York thought it was worth a try and also started to use the stamp. Although this was nothing but a way of helping postal employees to sort the post, the fee was charged to the recipient upon delivery. This was a very complicated process which meant that each postman had to keep records of each letter. The fee was calculated on how far the letter had travelled to reach its destination, alot of the time the poor postie of the past would reach the recipient only to find that he did not want to accept the letter. Ive a feeling it wasn’t the letter they did not want to accept, ill take a shot in the dark and guess the charge was the reason for most refusals.
We then saw a variety of different sized and shaped stamps like this, although the were all designed to satisfy the sorting needs of the postal system, not for payment purposes.
Then along came William Dockwra in 1680. Although he was not employed by the GPO itself. I suppose you could say he started the ‘Parcel Force’ of his day (Although slightly cheaper and without those awful little ‘we called but you didn’t answer within 5 seconds so we went’… cards). This he named the London penny post. These were a bit of a threat to the GPO, they wore a uniform, made several deliveries a day and charged one penny for a delivery of letters up to 1lb in weight. They would even travel up to ten miles outside London with your wads of words a-written for an additional penny. This was called the penny post and they used another postmark, can you guess what they called it? Yes, big surprise, THE DOCKWRA POSTMARK.
Yes yes, i am aware of the fact i haven’t got around to stamps yet… but all this is relevant, you never know , this information may (but i very much doubt it) save your life one day! Remember patience is a virgin…or is it a virtue? Anyhow…
Alas the penny posts far more efficient service, as with any form of threat was eliminated, William dockwras London penny post was promptly ordered to cease trading in 1683. In the year of 1765 poor Dockwra awoke from his eternal slumber , to turn in his grave. For it was then parliament authorized the creation of the PENNY POST. Any town or city in the kingdoms of great Britain and Ireland now had the right to allocate a building for Penny postal purposes. This is the very first time we saw covers, these were marked with a PP,PY POST or PENNY POST and also stated the name of the town they were posted in.
COVERS, or as we now know them FIRST DAY COVERS, consist of an envelope with a stamp. We normally see these when a stamp in cancelled on the first day of issue, a pre stamped cover will also show the design printed on the stamp on the actual envelope. These are a great addition to the collection of any philatelist. There would be many people counting down to the day of release to own these. I am sure they are still available in the major post offices but now are generally ordered through stamp catalogues. The most popular of these is Stanley gibbons, who issue catalogues in book form for reference should you want to attempt a valuation of your collection. They also have a website and operate a valuation service from their premises on the strand in London. This is only a few minutes walk from Charing cross over ground station on the opposite side of the road.
The covers used by the PENNY POST or LOCAL PENNY POST however, were more like our modern day envelope. They were merely a protective cover in the form of an additional piece of paper wrapped around the original letter to prevent it from damage. These also ensured the privacy of your letter staying well..private i suppose, keeping the contents hidden from the prying eyes of the postman (i’m sure that postman wouldn’t …on second thoughts..). A few years later in Edinburgh, 1773 to be exact Peter Williamson sometimes known as Indian pete, started a Penny post and being rather assertive, combined the service with one of the first street directories. Prior to this the postie’s were spinning pencils on the pavement and heading off in the direction of the point… I’m only joking, no, really, that was purely for entertainment purposes…HONESTLY!
Then on the 10th OF JANURARY 1840,there came the UNIFORM PENNY POST (and further turnings from the grave of William dockwra). This provided a safer , faster and inexpensive service. And it was that glorious month of may (just around tea time) the 6th day of the month the first ever form of prepaid postage was used, although first issued on the 1st (again just around tea time). Resulting , just a guess, in a great decline in letter writing , due to the fact the sender now had to pick up the tab for their posting of..umm..post!
Yes this is what you’ve all been waiting for ladies and gentlemen may i introduce to you, the first ever stamp of the attachable variety, the entrepreneur of the envelope , the propeller of the post..
The one and only… PENNY BLACK!
The Penny Black is the sort of stuff that dreams are made of! What i wouldn’t give to go back in time and pick up a few sheets of those black beauty’s! Or even the very first ever sheet! To me the penny black is one of those things i can only dream of owning, and although i know i will probably not get the chance to do so… This doesn’t bother me. After all, if you had everything you ever wanted.. what would you have left to look forward to? No i am destined to forever look at this piece of art from the other side of my computer screen ! Actually to tell you the truth you can without large amounts of effort, pick one up for around £40. The last stamp fair i went to i saw one or two for around the same price, although that was probably about 5 years back now. They tended to have an average price of £280 -£400 again that was 5 years ago. Now , should some descendant of Dr who (yes i know fictional character) should give me a tardis for my birthday i would rush back within second’s with a jar full of (old) penny’s and pick up as many sheets as i was allowed.
There is a good reason for this other than future increasing of wealth. I would keep at least one sheet, keep it very well protected and leave it be. These would be what we refer to as MINT or MINT CONDITION stamps. This means that the stamp/s have not been used for postage and that they have no damage to appearance , perforation or anything else such us the gum. Although the Penny Black was not perforated like modern stamps, the stamps were printed in sheets of 240 ( an old pound if i am not mistaken, c’mon i am only 21!). These had 20 rows and 12 columns and were printed in black ink (probably due to black being the cheapest and most readily available) By a MR Perkins Bacon, these sheets were cut with scissors to create a straight edge. There have been many attempts at counterfeit Penny Black’s but i am afraid you can not argue with carbon dating! The millennium dome acquired a printing press similar to the original and proceeded to print many copies, these came with a certificate and were about £11. I did purchase some of these but they have vanished??
