Stamps of Guernsey: Penny Black Anniversary (2015)

Guernsey Post has prepared for releasing a special philatelic issue celebrating the 175th anniversary of the Penny Black.

The item has been already designed and put into circulation on the 1st of May.

In general circulation for little over a year the Penny Black is something of an iconic stamp.

“…A bit of paper just large enough to bear the stamp, and covered at the back with a glutinous wash”.

This was the first mention of what became the world’s first adhesive postage stamp. The quote came from Rowland Hill as he was answering the questions of a parliamentary enquiry into the Post Office service in February 1837.

Hill had recently published a pamphlet Post Office reform; Its Importance and Practicality, where he had challenged the expensive and extremely complex postal rates that were then in force.

His suggested solution was a low, uniform rate of prepaid postage based on weight.

At the time the postal service was prohibitively expensive for most people to use. Sending a single letter could cost as much as a working man’s daily wage.