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World Records in Stamps
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Ten Low Cost Ways to Start Collecting
Stamps
"How To" Articles by Ken Stewart
Albums - Glassine Interleaving
Acid_Paper_and_Album_Pages
Buying Stamps - Kiloware and
Mixtures
Buying & Using Sheet Protectors
Buying Stamps - New Issues
Great Deals are Often Not What They Seem Glues, Gums, and Adhesives
How to Tell a Revenue Usage When You See One
Inventories or Keeping Track
Learning About Your Hobby
Mount Stamps
Not Your Run-of-the-Mill
Cancellations Problems and a solution
Select An Album
Soaking Stamps
Soaking II
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Tools of the Trade
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Tools - Stockbooks, Stockpages and
Stockcards
Tag Stamps --Safety
Watermark Stamps
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Specializing and Specialty Groups
What are and How to --Perforations---
What is My Collection Worth? “Unlisted Watermarks” and More
Used Catalogs and Stamp Books
More Articles
Artcraft FDC's
My Other World
U.S. Revenues - I Love them!
What to Collect
A Brief History of Stamps
(The first 10 years)
On May 6, 1840 the first postage stamps were issued in England.
The 1 Penny Black and the 2 Pence Blue
The 1 Penny Black (unused)
The stamp were initially not perforated, but had to be cut with scissors, perforations were introduced in 1854. Initially the cancellation was in red, then changed to black. In 1841 some of the same plates would be used to print the Penny Red, the color was changed so that the black cancellation would be more clearly seen.
The 2 Pence Blue
(cancelled)
The two pence blue was issues two days later and was not perforated like the 1 penny.
Before the invention of the stamp the receiver paid the postage rather than the sender. Sometimes the receiver refused to accept the letter or the sender would put a secret message on the letter and when the receiver viewed it he got the message and thus didn't have to pay for it.
We can't go any further without mentioning Sir Rowland Hill.
Sir Rowland Hill
Rowland Hill is the man usually connected with the postal reform. He was born in Kidderminster , England in 1795. Hill published his most famous pamphlet "Post Office Reform: its Importance and Practicability" in 1837. Hill wrote in his reform plan about the need for pre-printed envelopes and adhesive postage stamps. The Reform also called for a uniform low rate of one penny per half-ounce a letter. The basic plan of Hill was that sending a letter should be cheap. More letters would be sent and because of this and the uniform tariffs the sending costs per letter should drop dramatically and stop the practice of secret notes etc.. In 1843, he was Secretary to the Postmaster-General in 1846 until his retirement in 1864, he was knighted in 1860 and died in 1879.
Sir Rowland Hill himself designed the first stamp which bore the profile of Queen Victoria.
The second Country to issued stamps was Brazil on July1, 1843
(cancelled)
The third Country to issue stamps was Zurich (a cantonal of Switzerland) in 1843
4 Rappen
(cancelled)
The first official stamps in the United States were issued in July of
1847
(Issues of postmasters were issued earlier, first issue 1842)
5 cent (cancelled)
10 cent (unused)
In 1857 - Perforated U.S. stamps appear.
Mauritius issued two 1 penny stamps in 1847 (exact date unknown)
1 penny orange 
1 penny blue
1848
Bermuda
1d red on white (third stamp
issued)
1849
Bavaria
1kr black (one of several issued)
Belgium
10c brown
France
10c bistre (one of several
issued)
1850
Austria
2kr (one of 5 issued)
1850
Austrian Italy (Lombardy-Venetia)
10 cent black (one
of 5 issued)
1850
Br. Guiana
8 cent black on
green
1850
Hanover
1g black
1850
New South Wales
1p red
1850
Prussia
1850
Saxony
3pf brick red
1850
Schleswig-Holstein
(no image) If you have it, please send to jp@junior-philatelists.com
1850
Spain two stamps
(no image 6cent black)
12 cent lilac
1850
Switzerland two stamps
(no image 2-1/2r)
5r dk blue
1850
Victoria
1d orange vermilion
Today, all countries have postage stamps.
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