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The Penny Black was the world's first adhesive postage stamp used in a public postal system. It was issued in Great Britain on 1 May 1840, for official use from 6 May of that year. It features a profile of Queen Victoria. In 1837, British postal rates were high, complex and anomalous. To simplify matters, Sir Rowland Hill proposed an adhesive stamp to indicate pre-payment of postage. At the time it was normal for the recipient to pay postage on delivery, charged by the sheet and on distance travelled. By contrast, the Penny Black allowed letters of up to half an ounce (14g) to be delivered at a flat rate, regardless of distance. Postal delivery systems using what may have been adhesive stamps existed before the Penny Black. The idea had at least been suggested earlier in Austria, Sweden, and possibly Greece. ==Treasury competition== On 13 February 1837, Sir Rowland Hill proposed to a government enquiry both the idea of a pre-paid stamp and a pre-paid 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 2,600 entries but none was considered suitable; instead a rough design endorsed by Hill was chosen, featuring an easily recognisable profile of the 15-year-old former Princess Victoria. Hill believed this would be difficult to forge. An envelope bearing a reproduction of a design created by the artist William Mulready was also issued. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Penny Black」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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