| When I began to collect stamps the country I wanted to begin with was Great Britain, since it was the world's first country to issue adhesive stamps. As with me, there are collectors all over the world who want at least one copy of the Penny Black simply because it is the world's first stamp.
The Penny Black and Penny Post were the brain child of Sir Rowland Hill often called the father of the modern post office. The introduction of Penny posts revolutionized the letter service making it possible to send a letter anywhere in Britain for a pre-paid postage. In 1837 Sir Rowland Hill, a school master, published a pamphlet entitled "Post Office Reform: Its Importance and Practicability". In this he claimed that the true cost of delivering a letter from London to Edinburgh was only about 1/36 of a Penny. If the post office charged one penny postage on every letter, more people would write letters and the post office would make more profit. Helped by wide spread public support Hill eventually persuaded the post office to adopt his plan.
Until Rowland Hill introduced his reform the postage on a letter was usually paid by the person who received it, not by the person who posted it .The postman had the task of collecting the postage when he delivered the mail. Hill proposed that letters be prepaid either in cash at the post office or by prepaid letter sheets and envelopes and almost as an afterthought "a bit of paper just large enough to bear the stamps showing that tax had been paid and covered at the back with a glutinous wash which the bringer of the letter might by applying a little moisture attach to the back".
There was initially much reluctance for such a proposal as postage rates were rather high. During the early part of the 19th century postal charges rose rapidly and by the year 1814 a letter cost four pence for a distance of seven miles. Over seven miles and under fifteen miles the charges were six pence. At that time a labourer's wage was four pence a day. Further, members of parliament were entitled to free postage, which was much misused.
However as the public support for Rowland Hill's suggestions grew, he was appointed to the Treasury on 16th September 1839 to begin work on postal changes. First reform was the introduction of uniform Penny Postage on 5th December 1839, which was reduced to one Penny on 9th January 1840.
The Treasury invited the public to submit suggestions for the design of the gummed labels which Hill proposed that the Post Office should issue at one Penny each.
More than 2600 suggestions were submitted but only 49 related to adhesive stamps. One suggestion from Benjamin Cheverton of Casinden Town answered the fears of Treasury officials that unscrupulous printer might may be able to forge the labels and so defraud the Post Office. Cheverton suggested that the labels should bear "a female head of great beauty" because a portrait would be more difficult for forgers to copy than any other design. Awards for innovative suggestions were made to Benjamin Cheverton, Henry Cole, Charles Whiting, James Bogardus and Francis Coffin.
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