On May 6, 1840, in the greatest single reform of the English postal system since its inception in 1510, the world's first prepaid adhesive postage stamp, the Penny Black, was issued. The stamp ushered in the era of prepaid post and was instrumental in lowering postal rates. By 1856 the number of letters posted annually in Britain had grown to almost 400 million, compared to a mere 76 million in 1839.
The Penny Black, graced by the profile of England's young Queen Victoria, was designed by postal service employee Rowland Hill (1795-1879). In 1837 Hill authored and circulated a pamphlet titled Post Office Reform: Its Importance & Practicality, in which he tackled the reasons for the complexity and often prohibitive costs involved in delivering Britain's mail. Prior to 1840, prepaid postage was purely voluntary. However, where the letter was not already paid for, the cost of delivering it had to be redeemed by the postal worker upon delivery, which sometimes resulted in several attempts before the addressee was found. In addition, cryptic messages were often written on the envelope's face, which the receiver could see, read, and decipher, and then promptly refuse delivery.
The Penny Black also eliminated the laborious criteria involved in determining the cost of a letter, which varied according to the number of sheets used and the distance the item traveled. Now one stamp, costing a single penny, could send a letter weighing less than half an ounce (14 g) anywhere in Britain.
