"In 1837, Roland Hill had the idea that a prepaid adhesive stamp could be used for all letters, wherever their destination in the British Isles. The government adopted the idea since it would surely boost revenue and help pay for a more reliable and regular postal service. The first postage stamp carried an engraving of Queen Victoria in profile and cost one penny. The queen's portrait gave some authority to the little pieces of paper; the queen even gave the design her royal approval."
"At one point, the printers were producing 600,000 Penny Blacks every day. The design of the Penny Black was line-engraved (aka recess-printed) using a steel plate. Letters in each of the bottom corners of the stamp varied depending on the position of the individual stamp within the sheet of printed stamps. This system, which created 240 varieties, was designed to prevent forgery or the combining and reusing of non-postmarked parts of different stamps."
In 1840 the Universal Penny Post introduced the Penny Black, a prepaid one-penny adhesive stamp covering delivery of a half-ounce letter anywhere in the British Isles. Roland Hill proposed a prepaid stamp in 1837; the government adopted it to increase revenue and fund a more reliable postal service. The stamp bore Queen Victoria's engraved profile and the words 'POSTAGE' and 'ONE PENNY', and a two-penny deep blue version also existed. Printers produced up to 600,000 Penny Blacks daily. The line-engraved design used corner letter codes—240 position-specific varieties—to deter forgery and prevent reuse of unmarked stamp pieces.
Read at World History Encyclopedia
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