Penny Stamp - Rowland Hill Portrait
Needle Case (photographs from eBay and Bunny's Place)
Design Representation
Design Details
Needle Case Type: |
Figural |
Patent/Registered to: |
Buncher & Haseler - Birmingham |
Patent/Design Representation #: |
Ornamental Class1: Metal: #281428 |
Patent/Design Registration Date: |
March 28, 1874 |
Location of Patent/Design Registration: |
The National Archives (TNA) - Kew, UK |
Reference #: |
TNA Representation - BT 43/36/281428
TNA Register - BT 44/3/281428 |
Dimensions: |
2.4 x 0.6 x 3.8 |
Material: |
Brass |
Name Variations: |
W. Avery & Son - Redditch |
Other Variations: |
Penny Stamp (without Rowland Hill Portrait) |
Additional Photographs
Back and interior views
Front exterior name detail and interior signature detail
Facts
The Penny Post was a concept introduced by Rowland Hill to the British government in 1837. Hill proposed that any letter sent from one
post office to another in the British Isles should cost one penny per ounce. Part of his proposal included the creation of adhesive stamps
that encouraged the sender to pay the postage. His ideas were accepted in 1840 when parliament approved the Uniform Penny Post and the
world’s first adhesive postage stamp, the Penny Black with the profile of Queen Victoria, was created.
History
The General Post Office in England was established in 1660 and a network of similar offices was founded throughout the British Empire so mail
could be sent from one party to another. At the time the price depending upon the distance between the sender and receiver with the
recipient responsible for paying the fee although they had the right to refuse delivery. Consequently postage was very expensive as each
item had to be tracked separately creating additional administrative costs. As a result only the wealthy could afford to use the postal
service. During the Victorian Period with the introduction of the Penny Post, the emergence of the middle class and mass production of
printed cards and other materials for writing such as pens, postal service increased tenfold.
Miscellaneous
Sir Rowland Hill (1795 – 1879) was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer. From 1819 to 1839 Hill spent much of his time
creating schools that were the prototype for public education for the middle class. He also served as the secretary of the South
Australian Colonization Commission from 1833 to 1839. However, Hill is best known for his work reforming the British postal system from
1839-1841 which became the model for postal services around the world, a system that served both the public and business and made commerce more
efficient and profitable.
