![]() ![]() Handstruck stamps were again used for the Uniform Penny Post from 10 January 1840 before stamped stationery and adhesive stamps became available for use on 6 May that year. The post towns of Chester, Huddersfield and Scarborough have been recorded with a handstruck ‘4’ stamp in red. Just a few are known in blue, including Haddington, Leith, Dublin, Armagh, Drogheda, and Halifax (blue-green). ![]() Throughout Great Britain, just over sixty towns are recorded with a fourpenny handstamp, the great majority of which are struck as intended using black ink. The stamps of Roscrea and Galway are very different and were clearly made to instructions given by the local Post Office. Most of them used a cursive type of stamp not very different to those used in Scotland made by Kirkwood, suggesting they may have been supplied by a single manufacturer. In Ireland, just over a dozen towns are recorded as having used a handstruck ‘4’ at this time. They are very individual in their design. Smaller Scottish offices however, appear not to have received a handstamp, and a few of them, like the English offices, resorted to getting them made locally. It appears that all the larger offices were supplied with a “Kirkwood” stamp these being of a cursive but similar appearance and for most of these larger offices the handstamp has been recorded in use on the first day of use – 5 December 1839. Alexander Kirkwood & Son was the official manufacturer of the majority of handstamps for the Scottish Post Office, and as such, supplied the stamps to the Chief Office in Edinburgh for distribution. In Scotland the situation was somewhat different. Hence, the appearance of each English stamp is distinctive. Postage had superseded them before most Post Towns obtained a ‘4’ handstamp, and those that did in England, had them made locally. Handstruck 4s are relatively rare simply because Uniform 1d. stampsįor the interim fourpenny post manuscript markings or handstruck stamps were used to show that payment had been made or was required. Only when left unpaid, would the letter be applied with a handstruck ‘4 – usually in black ink in accordance with convention. If pre-paid, the letter received a manuscript ‘4’ in red ink. During the period from 5 December, a 4d letter up to half an ounce could be either pre-paid by the sender or post-paid by the recipient without penalty. This was so popular that the change to penny postage came shortly thereafter on 10 January 1840. Although the goal was uniform penny postage, the first change was on 5 December 1839 to a uniform fourpenny post. The most important of these was a uniform charge based upon weight. However, before that could be introduced other aspects of his reforms had to be implemented. The main reason Hill is remembered today is his proposal for “stamps” to prepay postage, which resulted in the creation of the Penny Black, the world’s first postage stamp. He argued successfully that if the charge was low enough – like 1d per half-ounce for anywhere in the United Kingdom – the volume of mail would increase enormously and thus cover the cost. The main thrust of Hill’s reforms was to move away from postage charged according to distance carried, to a simple uniform rate of postage based on the weight of a letter. This was a considerable discouragement to people to use the post.Ī number of people advocated postal reform but it was Rowland Hill, born in 1795 in Kidderminster, who brought it to fruition. In addition there were a number of extra charges and the total was normally paid by the recipient. There were a remarkable number of anomalies and evasion was widespread. From 1812 the cost of a letter of one sheet from London to Edinburgh was 1s 1d two sheets were double that and four sheets or one ounce cost 4s 4d. ![]()
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