Penny Black
In 1837, British postal rates were high and complex. A letter sent from London to Manchester cost more than a loaf of bread. The recipient paid the postage upon delivery, not the sender. This system encouraged people to avoid paying by returning letters marked with a cross or simply refusing them. Sir Rowland Hill proposed a radical change to this broken system on the 13th of February 1837. He suggested a pre-paid adhesive stamp to simplify matters for everyone involved. His proposal included both stamps and a pre-paid envelope folded to carry letters. The government gave him a two-year contract to run this new system.
Henry Cole announced a competition to design the stamps alongside Sir Rowland Hill. Out of some 2,600 entries, none was considered suitable for official use. A rough design endorsed by Hill was chosen instead. It featured an easily recognisable profile of Queen Victoria. Charles Heath engraved the portrait based on a sketch provided by Henry Corbould. Corbould's sketch came from the 1834 cameo-like head by William Wyon. This portrait remained on British stamps until her death in 1901. All British stamps still bear a portrait or silhouette of the monarch somewhere on the design. The first stamps did not need to show the issuing country name.
The Penny Black was printed from eleven plates using a Jacob Perkins press. Plate 1 was completely overhauled after excessive wear and is generally considered to be two separate plates, 1a and 1b. The total print run reached 286,700 sheets containing 68,808,000 stamps. The stamps were printed in imperforate sheets to be carefully cut with scissors for sale. As a result, stamps with badly cut margins are common and worth very little. Examples with four clear margins are rare and valuable. An original printing press for the Penny Black sits on display at the British Library in London today.
A red cancellation was difficult to see on the black design of the stamp. The red ink was easy to remove and made it possible to re-use cancelled stamps. In February 1841, the treasury switched to the Penny Red and began using black ink for cancellations instead. This new method proved more effective and difficult to remove. People still re-used stamps by combining uncancelled parts of two stamps to form an unused whole. In 1864 as a further safeguard, the top corner stars on the Penny Red were replaced by lower corner check letters in reverse order.
Individual stamps from an Imprimatur sheet can be found for sale on the open market. A complete sheet of the Penny Black without check letters is held by the British Postal Museum. This unique item is actually a plate proof and not an imprimatur sheet. One full sheet cost 240 pence or one pound when sold originally. Stamps with badly cut margins or no margins are common and worth very little. Examples with four clear margins fetch very high prices, especially if in mint condition. Plate 11 was originally intended solely for printing red stamps but a small number were printed in black.
The Penny Black design featured in the innovations section of the series B British passport issued in 2015. The search engine Google marked the 175th anniversary of the postage stamp with a Google doodle of the Penny Black in 2015. A boardgame named Penny Black features the stamp for players to earn points. The development of the Penny Black is depicted in Daisy Goodwin's Victoria Season 1 Episode 3. Considered a British cultural icon, the design appears in passports and historical dramas today. The pub sign of the Penny Black stands as a former post office in Oxfordshire.
Continue Browsing
Common questions
When was the Penny Black postage stamp officially proposed by Sir Rowland Hill?
Sir Rowland Hill proposed the radical change to the postal system on the 13th of February 1837. The government subsequently gave him a two-year contract to run this new system.
Who designed and engraved the portrait of Queen Victoria for the Penny Black stamp?
Henry Corbould provided the sketch based on William Wyon's 1834 cameo-like head, and Charles Heath engraved the final portrait. This design remained on British stamps until Queen Victoria died in 1901.
How many individual stamps were produced during the total print run of the Penny Black?
The total print run reached 286,700 sheets containing 68,808,000 stamps. These stamps were printed in imperforate sheets to be carefully cut with scissors for sale.
Why did the treasury switch from the Penny Black to the Penny Red in February 1841?
A red cancellation was difficult to see on the black design of the stamp, allowing people to re-use cancelled stamps easily. In February 1841, the treasury switched to the Penny Red and began using black ink for cancellations instead.
Where is an original printing press for the Penny Black currently displayed today?
An original printing press for the Penny Black sits on display at the British Library in London today. A complete sheet without check letters held by the British Postal Museum is a plate proof rather than an imprimatur sheet.