Have you ever mailed letters to your friends? If so,
you must have put stamps on the letters before you sent them.
So how did people receive letters before stamps were invented,
and who came up with the idea of using stamps?
In the past, stamps and envelopes were not used.
When people wanted to send a letter, they would close the paper with a seal.
The person who got the letter had to pay for it and the cost was very high.
Because of this, some senders would often place secret marks on the outside
of the letter. The person who was sent the letter would read the secret message.
Then he would refuse to accept the letter so as to avoid the payment.
In Britain, Sir Rowland Hill introduced the Post Office Reforms in 1837.
He decided that letters could go to any place in the country for a penny.
The cost was to be paid by the sender by placing a small piece of black paper
on the letter. Thus was born the first stamp in the world and was known for its
nickname "Penny Black".