The Penny black 1840 -1841

About - PennyBlackPlate.com

On 13 February 1837, Sir Rowland Hill proposed to a government inquiry both the idea of a prepaid stamp and a prepaid envelope, a separate sheet folded to form an enclosure for carrying letters. Hill was given a two-year contract to run the new system, and together with Henry Cole he announced a competition to design the new stamps. There were some 2,600 entries, but none was considered suitable; instead a rough design endorsed by Hill was chosen, featuring an easily recognisable profile of the former Princess Victoria. Hill believed this would be difficult to forge.

The Penny Black was printed from 11 plates, but as Plate 1 was completely overhauled due to excessive wear, it is generally considered to be two separate plates, 1a and 1b. Plate 11 was originally intended solely for the printing of new red stamps, but a small number were printed in black. 

The stamps were printed in unperforated sheets, to be cut with scissors for sale and use.

An original printing press for the Penny Black, the "D" cylinder press invented by Jacob Perkins and patented in 1819, is on display at the British Library in London UK. 

There are, in effect, twelve different plates of the Penny Black. The huge popularity of specialized collections relies on the ease of identifying stamps from these different plates. There are several publications to assist plating visit the reference page.