A ROYAL HISTORY OF STAMPS
After King Charles III became the first new monarch to feature on a British stamp since Queen Elizabeth II ascended the throne in 1952, we’re taking a look back at the history of our stamps and those that defined each of the royal reigns
On 4 April 2023, British postal history was made when the first set of definitive stamps featuring the profile of King Charles III went on public sale ahead of his coronation on 6 May. The image of the new monarch is an adapted version of a portrait created by artist Martin Jennings for the Royal Mint, continuing a long tradition of using the coin image that stretches back to the issue of the first Penny Black stamps in 1840.
Before then, sending a letter was far from easy. For many years, the privilege of sending messages had been the prerogative of royalty, leading merchants and universities. Even when the letter service became publicly accessible in 1635 under Charles I, it was not cheap. Charges were based on distance travelled (not necessarily the shortest route), the number of sheets of paper involved and the weight. A little semblance of order came in 1660 with the creation of the General Post (Letter) Office, headed by a Postmaster General.
Surprisingly, while letters could be sent along the established post roads, local needs had been neglected. English merchant William Dockwra addressed this deficiency in 1680 with a London penny post. This service closed after two years when it was found to be illegal but the idea was soon reinstated by the Post Office, with many other local penny posts following.
Gradually improvements were made, such as easing the need for letters to travel via London in 1719, when the so-called cross posts were introduced, thereby also serving towns not on the main post roads. Organising the system was Ralph Allen of Bath, who introduced controls that reduced the distance letters travelled and hence the cost.
Traditionally, the mail had been carried by foot or horse messengers. John Palmer, a theatre manager who also lived in Bath, came up with the idea of using mail coaches as a faster and safer method. Following an experimental run, leaving Bristol at 4pm on 2 August 1784 and reaching London at 8am the next day, the network quickly expanded. The mail coaches would stop at coaching inns en route, where the mail would be taken to its destination by foot or horse.
However, the system was far from perfect and open to abuse. As charges were largely based on the number of sheets of paper sent, many senders adopted ‘cross-writing’. This involved writing the message, turning the paper through 90 degrees to continue writing, and even adding more diagonally. The paper would also be folded to create its own envelope, as an envelope comprising a separate sheet of paper was charged extra.
Distance was also crucial – it would cost one shilling to send a single sheet of paper 300 miles, with an extra 1d for every additional 100 miles. Postmasters kept detailed books of charges based on the distance travelled and not always the shortest route.
Additionally, mail did not have to be prepaid – it was invariably the recipient who paid. The letter carriers, who delivered the mail but could also receive letters for onward transmission, were responsible for collecting the fees. Frequently the recipient declined the letter, so no payment was received. Often just the sight of a letter was the sign that the sender was well. Many individuals, including Members of Parliament, had the right to free postage, and would unethically extend this privilege to others. The system was ripe for reform.
The great innovator:
Sir Rowland Hill
Change did come about, largely the result of the insight of a remarkable man, Rowland Hill. Born in Kidderminster on 3 December 1795, Hill’s initial career was as a teacher at the school his father had opened in central Birmingham. In 1819 the school moved to Edgbaston. It is now called the Hazelwood School and was based on the revolutionary principles of self-discipline and self-governance by the pupils. In 1827, a branch of the school was opened at Bruce Castle in Tottenham, with Hill as headmaster until 1839.
From 1833 to 1839 Hill was secretary of the South Australian Colonisation Commission, establishing a settlement without convicts at what is now Adelaide. Later, from 1843 to 1846, he became a director and subsequently chairman of the board of the London and Brighton Railway, making many improvements in that time.
However, Hill is best remembered for his work on postal reform. His ideas of pre-paid, low-cost postage transformed communications and spread across the world.
His thoughts were initially published in January 1837 in a pamphlet called Post Office Reform: Its Importance and Practicability. He argued that the cost of carrying a letter was, in fact, low and proposed that the postage be uniform irrespective of distance and that, if moderate, weight had no bearing on the cost. He suggested a rate of one penny per ounce, which would be easier to collect if pre-paid. He also suggested that every house should have a box into which the letter carrier could drop the mail.
Not everyone agreed with Hill’s proposals but those who favoured reform won the day. Hill initially believed that stamped stationery would be the best form of pre-payment but did allow for ‘a bit of paper just large enough to bear the stamp [postmark], and covered at the back with a glutinous wash’.
On 25 August 1839 the Treasury announced a competition for suggestions as to how pre-payment of postage be best indicated. As none of the many ideas submitted was accepted, Hill proceeded with his thoughts of stationery and what would become the adhesive postage stamp: the public immediately favoured the latter.
The changes were introduced with a uniform 4d rate of postage on 5 December 1839, reduced to 1d on 10 January 1840, albeit for half an ounce. The adhesive postage stamp came into use on 6 May 1840.
Rowland Hill was knighted in 1860. He died in 1879 and is buried in Westminster Abbey.
The great innovator:
Sir Rowland Hill
Change did come about, largely the result of the insight of a remarkable man, Rowland Hill. Born in Kidderminster on 3 December 1795, Hill’s initial career was as a teacher at the school his father had opened in central Birmingham. In 1819 the school moved to Edgbaston. It is now called the Hazelwood School and was based on the revolutionary principles of self-discipline and self-governance by the pupils. In 1827, a branch of the school was opened at Bruce Castle in Tottenham, with Hill as headmaster until 1839.
From 1833 to 1839 Hill was secretary of the South Australian Colonisation Commission, establishing a settlement without convicts at what is now Adelaide. Later, from 1843 to 1846, he became a director and subsequently chairman of the board of the London and Brighton Railway, making many improvements in that time.
However, Hill is best remembered for his work on postal reform. His ideas of pre-paid, low-cost postage transformed communications and spread across the world.
His thoughts were initially published in January 1837 in a pamphlet called Post Office Reform: Its Importance and Practicability. He argued that the cost of carrying a letter was, in fact, low and proposed that the postage be uniform irrespective of distance and that, if moderate, weight had no bearing on the cost. He suggested a rate of one penny per ounce, which would be easier to collect if pre-paid. He also suggested that every house should have a box into which the letter carrier could drop the mail.
Not everyone agreed with Hill’s proposals but those who favoured reform won the day. Hill initially believed that stamped stationery would be the best form of pre-payment but did allow for ‘a bit of paper just large enough to bear the stamp [postmark], and covered at the back with a glutinous wash’.
On 25 August 1839 the Treasury announced a competition for suggestions as to how pre-payment of postage be best indicated. As none of the many ideas submitted was accepted, Hill proceeded with his thoughts of stationery and what would become the adhesive postage stamp: the public immediately favoured the latter.
The changes were introduced with a uniform 4d rate of postage on 5 December 1839, reduced to 1d on 10 January 1840, albeit for half an ounce. The adhesive postage stamp came into use on 6 May 1840.
Rowland Hill was knighted in 1860. He died in 1879 and is buried in Westminster Abbey.
Queen Victoria stamps
Queen Victoria’s portrait was the centrepiece of the Penny Black, the world’s first adhesive postage stamp. The royal portrait has been the main feature of all British ‘everyday’ (or definitive) stamps ever since. Sending a letter became easier and cheaper, and within a year the number of letters posted had doubled. Simultaneously brought into use was a two pence (2d) stamp, the Twopenny Blue.
Both stamps were engraved and printed by Perkins, Bacon and Petch of London in sheets of 240 stamps (240 pence was equivalent to £1), arranged in 20 rows of twelve stamps. The design remains a classic, the royal portrait being simply accompanied by the word ‘POSTAGE’ and the denomination in words. Letters at the bottom of the design denote each stamp’s position in the sheet. The left hand letter, from A to T, denotes the row, the right hand letter, from A to L, the column.
The sheets of stamps were without perforations, so stamps had to be removed using scissors. Following trials, perforations were introduced in 1854.
Black did not prove entirely practicable as the colour for a stamp, so was changed to red-brown, on sale from 10 February 1841. From 1864 the letters on both the 1d and 2d (and subsequently other values) appeared in all four corners, the bottom left letter repeated top right, and the bottom right letter repeated top left. The idea was to prevent two halves of stamps without postmark being ‘joined’ for reuse.
A very different printing process was adopted for three stamps – 1 shilling (1s), 10d and 6d – that were issued in 1847, 1848 and 1854 respectively. These were embossed at the Royal Mint, giving the royal portrait a three-dimensional effect. The design of each stamp was octagonal, so sadly many collectors chose to cut the stamps to their octagonal shape, rather than leaving them ‘square’, and thus have reduced their value.
Engraving and embossing were not cheap, so a change was made to letterpress undertaken by Thomas de la Rue & Co. Many stamps up to a 2s value followed, printed by the company in a variety of designs.
Higher values appeared from 1867, namely 5s, 10s and £1, to be followed in 1882 by a magnificent £5 value printed in orange. This remained the British stamp with the highest face value until 1993. Changes to the higher values resulted in a new 2s 6d stamp, and revised designs for the 5s, 10s and £1 stamps from 1883.
A new series of designs, in values from ½d to 1s, was launched on 1 January 1897, the year of Queen Victoria’s golden jubilee. For the first time, seven of the values were printed in two colours. Although not specifically issued to mark the anniversary, the stamps are often referred to as the ‘jubilee issue’.
Despite Queen Victoria being on the throne for more than 50 years, the same portrait – that based on a drawing when she was 15 – was used for the stamps throughout her reign.
Taking a closer look at the Penny Black stamp
The Penny Black was the world’s first adhesive postage stamp. It could not be used to pay postage until 6 May 1840, and many places did not receive supplies until after that date. However, a Penny Black was accepted as payment for the postage on a letter that was sent from Bath to London on 2 May 1840.
The portrait of Queen Victoria was taken from a medal issued in 1838 that marked the first visit of the queen to the City of London the previous year. The medal was the work of William Wyon, chief engraver at the Royal Mint, based on a portrait drawn in 1834 when Princess Victoria was 15. It remained on stamps for the entirety of her reign, which lasted almost 64 years until she died at Osborne on the Isle of Wight, on 22 January 1901.
In a bid to prevent forgery, the stamp was engraved and printed by Perkins, Bacon and Petch of Fleet Street in London, noted for its banknote production. The Penny Black was inscribed in capital letters with the word ‘POSTAGE’ at the top and ‘ONE PENNY’ at the bottom. Its background was made up of finely engraved engine turnings. The detailed engine-turned background, and letters at the base of the stamp that differed for each stamp in the sheet, were aimed at deterring forgers.
Each Penny Black stamp came embossed with a small crown watermark. The gummed paper was perforated and each stamp was cut from the sheet with scissors. Blocks of Penny Blacks are very rare and strips are also scarce. The British Postal Museum, in London, is the only known owner of a complete sheets of Penny Black stamps.
Being the world’s first postage stamp, the Penny Black did not show the country of origin. Consequently, Britain remains alone in not having to put its name on its stamps. The size and shape (also adopted for many stamps around the world) and the monarch looking ‘into’ the envelope have remained for most British ‘everyday’ stamps.
The Penny Black is thought by many to be one of the world’s rarest stamps but, in fact, there were more than 68 million printed. The receipt of a letter was a novelty so many were kept together with the envelope and stamp. Thus, many examples used on letters have survived. Examples that have not been used are much rarer.
A black stamp was not ideal to enable the cancellation (postmark) to be clearly seen, even though it was in red ink (black and other colour inks are known). There was also a concern that the cancellation, in the form of a Maltese Cross, could be removed and stamps reused. Consequently the colour of the stamp was changed to red-brown in February 1841.
Taking a closer look at the Penny Black stamp
The Penny Black was the world’s first adhesive postage stamp. It could not be used to pay postage until 6 May 1840, and many places did not receive supplies until after that date. However, a Penny Black was accepted as payment for the postage on a letter that was sent from Bath to London on 2 May 1840.
The portrait of Queen Victoria was taken from a medal issued in 1838 that marked the first visit of the queen to the City of London the previous year. The medal was the work of William Wyon, chief engraver at the Royal Mint, based on a portrait drawn in 1834 when Princess Victoria was 15. It remained on stamps for the entirety of her reign, which lasted almost 64 years until she died at Osborne on the Isle of Wight, on 22 January 1901.
In a bid to prevent forgery, the stamp was engraved and printed by Perkins, Bacon and Petch of Fleet Street in London, noted for its banknote production. The Penny Black was inscribed in capital letters with the word ‘POSTAGE’ at the top and ‘ONE PENNY’ at the bottom. Its background was made up of finely engraved engine turnings. The detailed engine-turned background, and letters at the base of the stamp that differed for each stamp in the sheet, were aimed at deterring forgers.
Each Penny Black stamp came embossed with a small crown watermark. The gummed paper was perforated and each stamp was cut from the sheet with scissors. Blocks of Penny Blacks are very rare and strips are also scarce. The British Postal Museum, in London, is the only known owner of a complete sheets of Penny Black stamps.
Being the world’s first postage stamp, the Penny Black did not show the country of origin. Consequently, Britain remains alone in not having to put its name on its stamps. The size and shape (also adopted for many stamps around the world) and the monarch looking ‘into’ the envelope have remained for most British ‘everyday’ stamps.
The Penny Black is thought by many to be one of the world’s rarest stamps but, in fact, there were more than 68 million printed. The receipt of a letter was a novelty so many were kept together with the envelope and stamp. Thus, many examples used on letters have survived. Examples that have not been used are much rarer.
A black stamp was not ideal to enable the cancellation (postmark) to be clearly seen, even though it was in red ink (black and other colour inks are known). There was also a concern that the cancellation, in the form of a Maltese Cross, could be removed and stamps reused. Consequently the colour of the stamp was changed to red-brown in February 1841.
King Edward VII stamps
King Edward VII came to the throne on 22 January 1901. However, apart from a new design for the ½d and 1d stamps, the designs and colours of all other values up to £1 remained the same as those in use at the end of Queen Victoria’s reign. The only change, naturally, was the portrait.
The king died on 6 May 1910. Ironically, on the same day the printer, De la Rue & Co, was told its contract would end. As it was a while before stamps for the new reign would be ready, further printings in the existing designs were undertaken by Harrison & Sons and at Somerset House.
King George V stamps
The first stamps for the reign of King George V proved to be unpopular. Royal photographers W&D Downey had taken a three-quarter profile photograph of the king in June 1910 for use on the new stamps. But when the first two values, ½d and 1d, were issued on 22 June 1911, the reaction was hostile. The king made his feelings clear, stating, ‘The new stamps have been such a failure’ – a sentiment echoed by the public both in Britain and overseas.
Australian-born sculptor Bertram Mackennel was a close associate of the king. He had been working on effigies for use on both coins and medals, including the coronation medal. The profile portrait by Mackennel would be used for all subsequent stamps throughout a reign that would produce designs that are still regarded as classics.
Everyday, or definitive, stamps were issued in values from ½d to 1s. These were joined from 1915 by four higher values – 2s 6d, 5s, 10s and £1 – in a design known by collectors as the ‘Seahorses’. The highly regarded design, also by Mackennel, shows Britannia atop two seahorses, although the royal portrait, on the left of the design, is looking out of the stamp.
The king, a keen stamp collector, was president of the (later Royal) Philatelic Society London from 1896 to 1910, while his collection formed the basis of the Royal Philatelic Collection. His reign produced Britain’s first commemorative, or special, stamps. However, he was not enamoured by the prospect. ‘The king is not very much in favour of stamps of this sort, because the whole idea is so un-English, and is copied from America. The king thinks that if it is to be done, it should be done properly.’
The first such set was issued on 23 April 1924 to mark the British Empire Exhibition. The design, by Harold Nelson, featured the Wembley Lion.
Nelson also created another of Britain’s classic designs, a £1 value showing St George and the dragon, issued on the occasion of the ninth Congress of the Universal Postal Union, held in London in 1929. Five stamps to mark the Congress were issued on 10 May that year – more modest ½d, 1d, 1½d and 2½d values, and the surprisingly high-priced £1 stamp.
The final special issue of the reign marked the king’s silver jubilee, issued on 7 May 1935, comprising four values, ½d, 1d, 1½d and 2½d. The king died on 20 January 1936.
King Edward VIII stamps
There were ambitious plans for stamps for King Edward VIII, to include an interim ‘accession’ set, a series to mark the coronation, to be followed by the release of a ‘permanent’ issue.
Work soon started on the accession designs, to include values up to 1s. Design ideas were prepared at the GPO Drawing Office, featuring the king as colonel-in-chief of the Seaforth Highlanders. However, as the results did not meet approval, the task was passed to the stamp printer, Harrison and Sons.
The coronation set would have been even more striking. Among ideas considered were showing the king in the uniforms of the three armed forces, using the crowned effigy of the king prepared by Percy Metcalfe for the coronation medal, and depicting royal residences.
In the event, just four stamps were issued, ½d, 1d, 1½d and 2½d in September 1936, in a simple design using a photographic portrait of the king by Hugh Cecil. Not acknowledged at the time was that the design was based on an unsolicited sketch submitted by a 17-year-old schoolboy, Hubert J Brown, who was subsequently credited as having inspired the design.
The king’s abdication on 10 December 1936 naturally ended all further plans.
King George VI stamps
The abdication announcement left little time to start preparing new stamps, especially for the coronation, the date of which was kept as already planned, 12 May 1937. Just a single 1½d stamp was issued, showing the new king with Queen Elizabeth. At the same time, the new definitives started to appear, featuring a portrait of the king by Edmund Dulac, within borders designed by both Dulac and Eric Gill.
The Second World War would dominate much of the king’s reign. One outcome was a shortage of ink: in 1941 and 1942 the lower definitive values from ½d to 3d were printed in lighter colours as a way of using less ink.
There had been plans to issue special stamps in May 1940 to mark the centenary of the postage stamp. The war initially halted preparations but, as the immediate impact of the war proved not as dramatic as feared, work resumed. Six stamps, ½d to 3d, were issued on 6 May, the common design featuring portraits of Queen Victoria and King George VI.
Following the war, there was a spate of special stamps issued. This was unusual as such sets had previously been issued so sparingly. Part of the rationale was to bring much needed revenue to the Treasury from sales to collectors, although the reason for each set was quite legitimate.
There was great reluctance to issue stamps to celebrate victory. Instead, two stamps, issued on 11 June 1946, focused on peace and reconstruction. A pair of stamps, on sale from 10 May 1948 only in the Channel Islands, marked the third anniversary of the islands’ liberation.
Other sets released between 1948 and 1951 included the royal silver wedding (26 April 1948) with a £1 value deliberately chosen as a money-earner, the Olympic Games held in London (29 July 1948) and the Festival of Britain (3 May 1951).
Queen Elizabeth II stamps
Queen Elizabeth was in Kenya when news came of the death of her father on 6 February 1952. During her 70-year reign attitudes to stamp design changed dramatically.
Soon after her accession, the queen visited the photographic studios of Dorothy Wilding, the resulting three-quarter profile portrait being used for definitive stamps and special issues for around 14 years until 1966. During that period, the rationale behind special issues would be completely reassessed.
The criteria for commemorative stamps had been quite restrictive with new stamps appearing infrequently. Designs were mainly symbolic and printed in just one colour. It was common for several designers to be involved in a single set, leading to an incoherent feel and inconsistent approach.
All that started to change in the 1960s. Easing of restrictions resulted in special stamps appearing more frequently and by the end of Elizabeth II’s reign there was more than one a month. Multicoloured printing became the norm and symbolism made way for pictorial designs. Much of the inspiration came from David Gentleman, whose rapport with Postmaster General Tony Benn led to a change of thinking. Influential designs by Gentleman marked the 400th anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare, the 25th anniversary of the Battle of Britain and the 900th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings. In particular, Gentleman felt that the Dorothy Wilding portrait was too obtrusive, occupying valuable space within a stamp design. His solution was a much smaller, silhouette portrait: the first he created was based on a Mary Gillick portrait initially used for coinage.
In 1967 came the most dramatic change. Thoughts had turned to a new definitive portrait during the tenure of Benn but it was his successor as Postmaster General, Edward Short, who brought the new stamp design to fruition. A sculpture of the queen by Arnold Machin, meticulously photographed by Harrison and Sons, created a new portrait. Stripped of all ornamentation, the resulting stamp design, featuring just the portrait and denomination, has become unrivalled. Gentleman produced a silhouette version for special stamps. Both remained in use for the rest of the reign.
When, around 1983, there were thoughts of another change, the queen’s deputy private secretary wrote: ‘Her Majesty is very content with the Machin effigy and thinks that a work of real quality is required if this is to be replaced.’
There had not been a £5 stamp since the reign of Queen Victoria but that would change in 1988. Furthermore, a £10 definitive showing Britannia would be added on 2 March 1993.
The years have seen stamp design styles changing, while the subject matter has reflected public taste. Now pop music icons, popular films and television programmes, children’s classics, sport and wildlife all find their way on to British stamps. Examples include a commemorative set of eight stamps celebrating the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Britain and Australia that was jointly issued by Royal Mail and Australia Post in 2005 and featured two English Heritage sites – Stonehenge and Hadrian’s Wall. The public now expects special stamps each year at Christmas, which were introduced by Benn in 1966. Stamps linked to royalty are always in demand, marking important anniversaries, significant birthdays, weddings and deaths. The final set to feature the queen’s portrait appeared on 8 March to mark the centenary of the Flying Scotsman train.
King Charles III stamps
Prince Charles ascended the throne on 8 September 2022, with his coronation taking place on 6 May 2023. The first British stamp to feature his portrait was issued on 1 July 1969, a 1s value in a set that marked his investiture as Prince of Wales.
The first definitives for the new reign were issued on 4 April. Care has been taken to emulate as closely as possible the uncluttered yet effective style that endured with the Machin portrait.
The portrait used is one created for coinage by Martin Jennings but skilfully adapted for use in the two-dimensional medium of the postage stamp.
Just five values will initially appear – 2nd, 1st, 2nd Large, 1st Large and £2.20. Further values will be added as and when stocks of stamps depicting Queen Elizabeth II have been depleted.
A silhouette of the king’s portrait will, as before, be used on special issue stamps, with the first, depicting a series of flowers, issued on 23 March 2023 – marking the first change of silhouette on British stamps since 1968.
About the author
Richard West has been a member of the Royal Philatelic Society since 1969. He was the editor of Stamp Magazine for 30 years and continues to write for the British philatelic press, with articles published in Gibbons Stamp Monthly, Stamp Collector and Stamp Magazine.
Images © Stanley Gibbons; Getty Images; Royal Mail
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