Simultaneous Development of Philately, Geology, and Paleontology as a Result of the British Industrial Revolution

Part 5: The Release of the First Postage Stamps

Release of the first adhesive stamps

The first two adhesive postage stamps were officially introduced by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on 6 May 1840: the Penny Black (1d) and the Two Pence Blue (2d), both intended for the prepayment of postage. The two stamps shared the same design, featuring the profile of Queen Victoria, and were identical in size, differing only in colour and face value. To prevent their reuse, they were cancelled with a distinctive handstamp that became known among collectors of Great Britain's postal history as the Maltese Cross.

"Penny Black" - the first stamp in the world (plate 2), MiNr: 1b, Scott: 1, SG: 2 (black colour).	"Two Pence Blue" - the second stamp in the world (plate 1), MiNr: 2, Scott: 2, SG: 5 (bright-blue colour).	Red Maltese Cross cancellation mark (obliterator) - was available in many shapes.

The Penny Black

Penny Black in the intense black shade, printed from Plate 2, one of only two printing plates used to produce the Penny Black before its official release in May 1840.

The first adhesive postage stamp, commonly known today as the "Penny Black", together with the prepaid letter sheets and envelopes known as Mulready postal stationery, went on sale in London on May 1^st, 1840, but did not become valid for postage until May 6^th, 1840.
Since printing of the Penny Black had commenced only on April 15^th, 1840, initially from a single printing plate, with a second plate brought into use on April 27^th, 1840, the five-day interval was necessary to produce sufficient quantities and distribute them to Post Offices throughout the United Kingdom.

The Penny Black, referred to in contemporary Post Office circulars as the One Penny Postage Label or simply the One Penny Label, prepaid postage for letters weighing up to half an ounce (14 g) sent anywhere within the United Kingdom.
Although the stamps were officially valid from 6 May, there is evidence that a small number of covers bearing Penny Blacks were accepted and postmarked as early as 2 May 1840. These are among the greatest rarities of British philately.

A block of six Penny Black stamps demonstrates how closely the stamps were printed on each sheet, with only very narrow gaps between adjacent stamps. Each stamp measures approximately 19 × 22 mm. Image source: Wikimedia Commons.

The stamps were printed imperforate on greyish-white paper handmade by Stacey Wise, as the perforating machine had not yet been invented. Post Office clerks had to separate the stamps using scissors or knives. This method was time-consuming and often resulted in stamps being damaged. Because there was very little space between adjacent stamps, it was difficult to cut them with wide, even margins. Today, Penny Blacks with four straight and wide margins are the most highly prized by collectors.

The following instruction, originally issued in a General Post Office circular dated 7^th May 1840 by William Leader Maberly, Secretary of the General Post Office, was published in The London Gazette on 8^th May 1840. It explained the correct use of the new adhesive postage stamps, requesting that they be affixed to the front of the letter in the upper right-hand corner:
In those cases where Adhesive Stamps are used, it is requested that they may be placed on the Front of the Letter and upon the right hand corner on the upper side. Should this direction not be attended to, from the rapidity with which the duty must be performed. Letters which bear Stamps will frequently be taxed, while the Parties receiving them will be put to much trouble in obtaining a return of the Postage improperly charged.

The Shades of black

The Penny Black exists in three widely recognized shades of black:
intense black (printed from newly prepared plates), black (the most common shade), and grey-black (typically printed from worn plates).
Some dealers and philatelic publications also recognize a fourth shade, grey, attributed to impressions from very worn plates.

Colour shades of the "Penny Black":
Intense Black (MiNr: 1a, Scott: 1a, SG: 1), Black (MiNr: 1b, Scott: 1, SG: 2), Grey-Black (MiNr: 1c, Scott: 1b, SG: 3) and Grey (MiNr: 1c, Scott: 1b, SG: 3). The first three stamps were printed using Plate 2, while the fourth stamp was printed using a worn Plate 1a.

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Penny VR - official and government business stamps

In addition to the general issue, it was required by the Treasury, to produce separate stamps for official and government business.
These were originally intended to be distinguished from public stamps by colour.
However, it was later decided to use the same design as the public stamps, replacing the corner crosses with the letters VR (Victoria Regina). Although they were intended to correspond to the same two denominations as the public stamps, only the "Penny Black VR" stamps were prepared for official use.

"Penny Black VR", MiNr: I, Scott: O1, SG: V1. Image credit: Wikimedia.

The circular of the General Post Office from May 7^th, 1840 to all postmasters explained:

... I also enclose, for your information, two Specimens of the Label Stamp bearing the Letters V.R. at the upper corners, which are to be applied to the correspondence of Public Departments, and other Persons formerly enjoying the privilege of Official Franking. This latter Specimen of the Label Stamp is merely sent to prevent, when it may come into use, any misapprehension arising from the Letters V.R. which are intended to denote that the Stamp is employed for Official Correspondence... These Penny Black VR stamps were never distributed to the government departments for which they were intended, because the general public quickly accepted the postage stamps and ridiculed the "Mulready postal stationery" issued at the same time. Vast supplies of Mulready envelopes and letter sheets were instead given for official use to government departments, such as the tax office. As a result, the idea of introducing an official stamp was abandoned. Almost all of the produced stamps were destroyed on January 25^th 1843, and only a very few Penny Black VR stamps have survived to the present day.

The Two Pence Blue

Two Pence Blue in the bright blue shade, printed from Plate 1 — the only plate used to print the stamp before its official release in May 1840.

The "Two Pence Blue" (sometimes called the "Two Penny Blue", "Twopenny Stamp", or simply "Two Pence") was originally scheduled to go on sale on May 6^th, 1840 and to become valid for postage on the same day.
However, production was delayed, and the first Two Pence Blue stamps did not reach Post Offices until May 8^th, 1840, making it the second adhesive postage stamp issued in the world.
Some stamp catalogues, however, list May 6^th, 1840 as the official issue date for both the Penny Black and the Two Pence Blue.

The delay was caused by the more complex printing process, as the stamps required blue ink that proved more difficult to manufacture in sufficient quantities than the black ink used for the Penny Black. The printing of the blue stamps began almost three weeks after the start of printing of the black ones. Plate No. 1 was registered on May 2^nd, 1840, and started to print Two Pence Blue stamps on the same day.

The Shades of blue

Shade Name	Stanley Gibbons	MICHEL
deep full blue	DS1		N/A
violet-blue	DS2	2e	violettblau
milky-blue	DS3	2f	milchblau
steel-blue	DS4	2g	mattgraublau
blue	DS5 - plate No. 1, DS8 - plate No. 2	2b	blau
pale-blue	DS6 - plate No. 1, DS9 - plate No. 2	2c	mattblau
bright-blue	DS6A	2d	lebhaftblau
deep-blue	DS7	2a	dunkelblau

Similar to the “Penny Black”, the "Two Pence Blue" stamp was printed in different shades of blue:
"deep full blue", "blue", "pale-blue", "milky blue", "steel-blue", "bright-blue", "deep-blue", and "violet-blue".
The first three color-shades have their own numbers: SG: 4 - 6 respectively and are listed in all Stanley Gibbons catalogues.
All eight shades are listed as color-variants in "GB Specialised Volume 1 Part 1 'Queen Victoria' Stamp Catalogue" (1^st Edition), published by Stanley Gibbons in 2020, under numbers DS1-DS9.
MICHEL "Großbritannien-Spezial 2022/2023" published by Schwaneberger Verlag in Germering in 2022, lists seven color-shades of the stamp - "deep full blue" is not listed there.
In the case of the “Penny Black” you might be able to distinguish intense-black from black and grey with the naked eye, but it might be difficult to distinguish between different shades of blue without the help of a colour identifier.

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Maltese Cross

To prevent reuse of these stamps, the General Post Office designed a cancellation mark to obliterate them.

Basic components of Maltese Cross obliterator.
Maltese Cross - the symbol of the Knights of the Order of Malta.	The Tudor rose - the traditional floral heraldic emblem of England.
Letter sheet sent from Gosport to Alton, Hampshire, posted on 10th July 1840. Franked with a Penny Black from plate 2, cancelled by a red Maltese Cross.

When describing the postmarks of the nineteenth century, the word 'obliteration' is synonymous with 'cancellation' - because, of course, that was what they were designed to do - to 'obliterate' the stamp in such a way as to prevent any opportunity for reuse.
_{Stanley Gibbons "Commonwealth and British Empire Stamps 1840 -1970" catalogue, 2025 edition.}

The earliest record of the proposed design of the cancellation mark is a Post Office Memo written by William Bokenham, who was Superintending President of the Inland Office, to Col. William Leader Maberly, who was Appointed Secretary to the General Post Office, dated March 31^st.
The note contains three impressions in red ink of the cancellation mark. The design of this cancel mark includes three basic components: outer cross, inner cross and the diamond.
This cancellation mark became known by collectors of Great Britain's Postal History, as the "Maltese Cross".

"Maltese Cross", the mis-named, term became widely used by the end of the 19^th century, even though the postmark has nothing to do with the heraldic symbol of the Knights of the Order of Malta (also known as the Knights Hospitaller). The shape of the cancellation mark might resemble the shape of the "Tudor rose" (shown on the right) - the traditional floral heraldic emblem of England. However, due to the fact, that the origin of the design of "Maltese Cross" is not known, it is also unknown if the "Tudor rose" was used as a design source of the cancellation mark.

The form and colour of the Maltese Cross

The handstamp was cut in brass, mass produced in London, and distributed to postmasters starting on April 25^th, 1840, but when worn, or broken, some postmasters preferred to order the replacement from local masters, rather than wait for delivery from London. This practice caused many variants of the shapes and thickness of the lines of the cancellation mark. "GB Specialised Volume 1 Part 1 'Queen Victoria' Stamp Catalogue (1^st Edition)", published by Stanley Gibbons in 2020, shows 41 different designs of “Maltese Cross” cancellation marks.
The red ink, was selected by the General Post Office in London, who rather than producing and distributing it, sent instructions to the post masters on how to mix their own "Red Composition" obliterating ink. Due to this reason, many colour variants of the cancellation mark exist. In some cases, the "diamond" in the middle was filled with ink (Beaconsfield and Ironbridge for example).

Following his own experiments in early 1840, Richard Phillips recommended that ordinary printer's black ink should be used by the Post Office to cancel the new One Penny adhesive stamps. This proposal could not be adopted, however, because the decision had already been made that the One Penny adhesive stamp would be printed in black. A black cancellation would therefore not provide sufficient contrast with the stamp design, making it unsuitable for the purpose of "obliteration" (cancellation).

According to Stanley Gibbons stamp catalogue, there are a dozen known colours of the "Maltese Cross" used to cancel the "Penny Black" and "Two Pence Blue": red, black, blue, green, magenta/purple, ruby-red, violet, orange/vermilion, brown, pink, red and black, red and blue.
MICHEL stamp catalogue (Germany) lists additional colours used to cancel the "Two Pence Blue": magenta, ruby-red (Aberdeen), blue and brown (Haddington).

Colour and shape variants of the "Maltese Cross" (Mulready postal stationeries, posted in June and August 1840 respectively) Left – common cross shape, red-brown; right – red-orange, narrow inner cross and elongated diamond.

Fraud and the cancellation colour replacement

The red cancellation mark was usually very visible on both stamps and Mulready postal stationeries, but the ink made by post masters was relatively easy to remove. This was because the printing ink used for the stamps was more durable than the ink used for the "Maltese Cross" cancellations.
Some letter recipients were able to remove the cancel mark to reuse the stamp. Others even varnished new stamps with gelatine or other coatings to wipe off the cancel mark after use.
On May 21^st, 1840, Rowland Hill wrote in his journal:
...all sorts of tricks are being played by the public who are exercising their ingenuity in devising contrivances for removing the obliterative stamp by chemical agents & other means.
When the Post Office detected cleaned and reused stamps, they were marked with special handstamps to identify the offence, including examples reading "Old Stamp" or the two-ring "OS" (for "Old Stamp used"). More commonly, such stamps were annotated with manuscript endorsements such as "Obliterated stamp used", "Stamp used before", or simply "Old Stamp".

To address the problem of fraudulent reuse, Rowland Hill, with the assistance of several chemists including Richard Phillips, investigated different combinations of stamp colours and cancellation inks, in experiments later known among philatelists as the so-called "Rainbow Trials".

Matched pair of Penny Black (1840, SG: 2, black) and Penny Red (1841, SG: 7), plate No. 2, position QD. Maltese Cross is visible on both stamps. Perhaps, the color of the cancellation mark was stronger when applied, but faded with time.

Letter sheet with the Penny Red (1841, SG: 7), plate 9 (printed from the same plate used for the Penny Black), cancelled by the black Maltese Cross, posted on August 24th, 1841.

The stamps were subjected to various tests related to the effectiveness and durability of obliteration, including experiments carried out by Phillips at the laboratory of the Museum of Economic Geology. These investigations demonstrated that black cancelling ink was more resistant to chemical removal and would provide a more effective means of preventing the reuse of stamps.

In August 1840, at Rowland Hill's request, the London District Post conducted further experiments with black cancellation ink. The earliest known use of a black cancellation mark on a Penny Black is dated 31 August 1840.
The trials demonstrated that black ink was far more resistant to chemical removal than the red cancelling ink, making it much more difficult to remove without damaging the stamp paper or design.

In February 1841, when the "Penny Black" was replaced by the "Penny Red" stamp, the Post Office officially adopted black cancellation ink throughout the country. The change in stamp colour provided sufficient contrast for the black cancellation mark to remain clearly visible.

Following Hill's recommendation, the General Post Office also adopted the practice of supplying standardised cancellation ink directly to postmasters rather than providing instructions for its preparation. Each new batch of ink was tested before distribution in sealed bottles to post offices.
Despite the official change, some remote post offices continued to use the red "Maltese Cross" cancellation for a period afterwards. Covers bearing red cancellations are known from as late as July 1842.

Rowland Hill also recommended that Richard Phillips should inspect and approve the ingredients used in the preparation of the new cancellation ink, although surviving records do not confirm whether he ever undertook this work. By 1840, Phillips' increasing involvement in analytical investigations for government departments, particularly the Post Office, was beginning to interfere with his responsibilities at the Museum of Economic Geology. It is possible that this prompted Henry Thomas De la Beche to restrict such external duties, as no further correspondence relating to Phillips' Post Office work appears in the Museum's records after February 1841.

Maltese Cross included numbers and introduction of the Duplex cancellation

Maltese Cross obliterator with number inside (London 1843).

An example of Duplex cancellations from 1876. The stamp on the right is perforated "Penny Red" from 1864.

In March 1843 modified "Maltese Crosses" were introduced to the London Inland Office of the General Post Office. These new cancellation marks included a number (1-12) instead of the "diamond" in the middle. An additional cross was added on the top, with the exception of the one numbered “3”. These numbers, probably, are desk numbers in the post office. These numbered crosses are different not only by their numbers, but also by their shapes.

From May 1844, the Maltese Cross cancellation marks were gradually replaced in the post offices of Great Britain. New postal mark had barred numeral cancellation marks that gave a coded indication of the place of posting by showing a number specific to each post office. These numbers initially appeared in single numeral cancellations, and later in the "Duplex" cancellations which combined a date-stamp and the cancellation mark.
The reason for the replacement of the "Maltese Cross" with the "Duplex" was to make the work of postmasters more efficient. Before the introduction of the "Duplex", they were required to cancel every stamp on the letter with the cancellation mark, then add a postmark with the date and post office code on the reverse side (in some cases on the front side of the cover).
Rowland Hill proposed to use such a double cancellation in September, 1840. He said that it would take less time compared to the previous method. However, Hill’s proposal was rejected and the "Maltese Cross" cancellation remained in use until 1844.

For more details about "Maltese Crosses" please refer to the "Encyclopaedia of the Maltese Cross Cancellations of Great Britain and Ireland." by Rockoff & Jackson, volume 1, published by Hobbs the Printers Limited in 2006. ISBN: 0-9528274-3-3.

Standardizing Victorian Post: Secure Envelopes and Required Prepayment

Improved Security Envelopes

Postal reform rendered the use of envelopes far more widespread, as their employment no longer influenced the postal rate. Shortly after the introduction of the Penny Black, a number of stationery manufacturers began producing envelopes described as "Improved Security Envelopes" (see example on the right).

"Improved Security Envelope" franked with a Penny Red (1841, SG 7) from plate 12 — the first plate used exclusively for printing Penny Reds, posted in October 1841.

The patent registration number and the name of the manufacturing firm were printed on the interior of the envelope and were visible only after opening, for example Mitchell & Son’s “Improved Security Envelope” (No. 483, registered November 1840).
These envelopes incorporated specific design features, including carefully positioned gum and distinctive flap geometries, which ensured that any attempt at steam-opening would leave clear and irreversible evidence. Once opened, the envelope could not be resealed without detection. Such security measures were intended to deter unauthorized access by domestic servants or postal employees, who might otherwise read correspondence without fear of discovery.
Beyond their practical function, envelopes had also acquired a symbolic value, and Improved Security Envelopes in particular conveyed a heightened level of confidentiality, often associated with official or governmental correspondence.

The End of Unpaid Correspondence

"PAID" handstamp on a cover posted from Glasgow to Dingwall in 1845. The slanted line on the right from the handstamp means 1d (One Penny) - the inland rate of letter with weight up to half-ounce (14g.).

The red "PAID" handstamp, used to mark the prepayment of the letter before introduction of the adhesive postage stamps (the "Penny Family") continued to be used until about 1853. An example of a letter posted from Glasgow in 1845 is on the right.
This transitional system allowed the public to choose between purchasing adhesive labels or paying cash over the counter. Many citizens initially mistrusted stamps and preferred traditional cash payment at post desk. Consequently, this parallel usage lasted for over a decade. Since 1853, the General Post Office of Great Britain officially required all inland letters to be prepaid with postage stamps.
This rule aimed to streamline postal operations and eliminate time-consuming cash transactions at service windows. This meant letters sent without stamps were either returned to the sender (if possible) or delivered with a penalty fee paid by the recipient. This penalty fee was typically double the standard prepaid rate.
This financial penalty successfully drove the universal adoption of adhesive stamps across the Victorian public.

The Penny Red

Printing of the "Penny Red" stamps began on December 30^th, 1840, by using the seven plates used to print "Penny Black", plates: 1b, 2, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11. They were officially released for sale on February 10^th, 1841.

The printing of the revised "Two Pence Blue" stamps began on February 27^th 1841, while a new plate (Plate 3) had to be prepared that incorporated a subtle design change: lines of shading were added below the word "POSTAGE" at the top, and above "TWO PENCE" at the bottom of the stamp. These lines were intended to make black cancellation marks more visible and thereby reduce the opportunity for reuse of the stamp. The new stamps were also printed in a slightly deeper shade of blue than earlier issues and were officially released for sale in March 1841.

Matched pair of Penny Black (1840, SG: 2, black) and Penny Red (1841, SG: 7), plate No. 8, position CE. Black Maltese Cross seen much better on the red stamp. Plate No. 8 was registered on July 31st, 1840, just before the London District Post began experimenting with black cancellation ink in August of that year, at the request of Rowland Hill.	Two Pence Blue stamp from 1841, plate No. 3 (SG: 14), a horizontal white line was added below word "POSTAGE" and above words "TWO PENCE" on the top and bottom sides of the stamp respectively.

The "Ivory Head"

Penny Red from 1841, plate No. 16, SG: 8.	The "Ivory Head" - Penny Red from 1841, worn plate No. 31, SG: 8
The watermark is usually visible on the reverse side of unused stamps with the naked eye, but it might be required to use UV or other artificial lights of watermark detector device to see it on used stamps, especially if the reverse side is bluish or contains cancellation ink. In some cases, the watermark is visible on both the front and reverse of the stamp. Sometimes, albino profile of the Queen can be seen on the bluish reverse side of the stamp (see an example above). The effect when the Queen's head shows white on the bluish reverse side of the stamp is known among philatelists as the "Ivory Head".

To prevent their reuse the chemical prussiate of potash was added to the ink of the new stamps (Penny Red and Blue), to increase the indelible component of the carbon black ink of the Maltese cross cancellation. This ink reacted with the water in the dampened paper and caused the paper on the reverse side to become bluish (see an example on the right).

Introduction of perforation

On January 28^th 1854, the first perforated "Penny Red" stamps were put on sale. Three days later perforated "Two Pence Blue" stamps followed. These stamps have perforation 16 (16 holes over 2cm length), but it was observed that the holes were too close together and the sheets fell apart under their own weight. Between 1855 and 1857 stamps were produced with perforation 14 and 16. At the end 1857 it was decided to continue to produce stamps with perforation 14 only.

The first trials to perforate stamps started in 1841, rough perforation, possibly made by a sewing machine. Three years later, first mechanical device for separating stamps was designed, but it perforated the stamps on one side only and was complicated to use.
In 1847, Irishman Henry Archer constructed his first machine that punched holes horizontally and vertically between rows of stamps. Next year, after some improvements, he patented his perforation machine. Perforation trials, on "Penny Red" and "Two Pence Blue", were conducted in 1849 and 1850 under the auspices of the Postal Office and stamps from these trials were first issued towards the end of 1850. In 1853, the Postal Office purchased Archer's machines and started to use them for production of the stamps.

"Penny Red" (1841) - successor of "Penny Black", MiNr: 3, Scott: 3, SG: 7, plate No. 11. Even light cancellation by black mark is clearly visible.	"Penny Red" (1854) - the first perforated stamp in the world, MiNr: 8, Scott: 8, SG: 194 plate No. 14. Shift of the letters on the bottom corners is clearly visible.	In 1876, more than twenty years after the introduction of the first perforated stamp, the perforation technique was still not fully perfected. The Penny Red, plate No. 187.

Dishonest use and replacement of star-like characters by letters

"Penny Red" (1864) - check numbers in the reverse order added on the top, MiNr: 16, Scott: 33, SG: 43 plate No. 90. Like the "Penny Black" and the "Two Pence Blue", the "Penny Red" was issued in several colour shades, including the rose-red shade shown above.

Dishonest individuals discovered that two uncancelled halves of different used stamps could be patched together to create what appeared to be a genuine unused stamp.
Because the original design included check letters only in the two lower corners, these provided no protection against this type of fraud.
To prevent such forgeries, the Post Office introduced a new design on 1^st April 1864, replacing the star-like ornaments in the upper corners with the same check letters used in the lower corners, but in reverse order (see example on the right).
This ensured that the check letters in all four corners had to correspond correctly, making it far more difficult to assemble a convincing stamp from two separate halves. Since the upper and lower letters, as well as the left and right pairs, all had to match, the probability of successfully combining two uncancelled stamp halves was only about 1 in 240.
The introduction of plate numbers in the side ornaments (see plate number 90 in the left and right side panels of the stamp shown on the right) between 1858 and 1864 provided an additional safeguard, as a fraudster would also have had to find two stamp halves with matching plate numbers. With almost 150 different plates used for the Penny Red by 1864, producing such a forgery became extremely difficult.

The alphabet of the check letters was changed with the time. The first time the alphabet was changed in 1852, then in 1855 and 1861 respectively. The letters of these alphabets have a different form (font), size and thickness.
It is clear to see, the check letters of "Penny Red" from 1864 look different from the letters of two other stamps on the images above.

The rarest plate of the Penny Red

The "Penny Red" became one of the main stamps of Great Britain over the next 37 years and it is probably the most common stamp in the world because about 21 billion stamps were produced between 1841 and 1879. Due to the wear, over 400 different plates were used to print the "Penny Red" during this period.
The rarest plate of "Penny Red" is the plate No. 77 (produced in 1863), from which it is believed that only one sheet of stamps was printed. According to Post Office records, printing plate 77 was rejected due to poor alignment which meant that some stamps were mis-perforated in production. Although the only sheet printed by plate 77 was meant to be destroyed, some stamps survived and might cost £500,000 today.

Paleontological Discoveries During the Postal Reform Years (1840s-1860s)

The 1840s–1860s were not only a pivotal period in the postal history of Great Britain but also a remarkable era in the development of paleontology.

Cetiosaurus on stamp of UK 2013, MiNr.: 3533; Scott: 3235.

In 1841, the same year the "Penny Red" replaced the "Penny Black", Professor Owen published his description of Cetiosaurus (meaning "whale lizard"), based on massive fossil bones discovered in Oxfordshire. Owing to its enormous size, he initially interpreted the animal as a giant, marine crocodile-like reptile rather than a land-dwelling dinosaur.
This publication represents an important milestone in paleontological history, as Cetiosaurus was the first sauropod (long-necked giant dinosaur) to be described scientifically, although its true nature was not recognized until later.
Later that same year, Owen delivered his landmark presentation in Plymouth, in which he outlined the fundamental characteristics of this remarkable group of extinct reptiles.
However, he did not formally introduce and publish the term "Dinosauria" until 1842.


FDC "150^th anniversary of Dinosaurs' identification by Sir Richard Owen", Great Britain 1991.
In 1854, the same year the first perforated "Penny Red" stamps were placed on sale, London witnessed the grand unveiling of the famous Crystal Palace Dinosaurs. Commissioned for the reopening of the Crystal Palace at Sydenham, these life-sized sculptures became the world's first three-dimensional, full-scale reconstructions of prehistoric animals.
Created by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins under the scientific supervision of Professor Richard Owen, they sparked an extraordinary wave of public fascination with prehistoric life across Victorian Britain. To celebrate the forthcoming opening, Owen famously hosted an exclusive New Year's Eve banquet inside the unfinished mold of the gigantic Iguanodon sculpture.

The "Dinosaurs" on the corner of the Geological Islands, in the Crystal Park, on British postcards: posted from London in 1908, and from the Netherlands in 1915 respectively. The prehistoric animals on the island are shown in slightly different views on these two postcards.

Mounted skeleton of Iguanodon bernissartensis on stamp of Belgium 2026 MiNr.: 5410; Scott: .

In 1859, a year after the Post Office began incorporating plate numbers into the side ornaments of the Penny Red stamps, the cliffs of Charmouth in Dorset yielded a monumental discovery: Scelidosaurus harrisonii. Found by amateur collector James Harrison and described by Professor Richard Owen, it was the world’s first nearly complete dinosaur skeleton ever unearthed, predating the famous Belgian Iguanodon from Bernissart mass discovery by nearly twenty years.
Because Owen only published a brief description before storing it away, this small armored dinosaur remained historically overshadowed for generations. However, recent modern research has firmly cemented its status as the absolute first articulated specimen to give Victorian scientists a definitive anatomical look at a complete dinosaur.

Archaeopteryx (Berlin specimen) on postage stamp of Germany 2011, MiNr.: 2887, Scott: 2635.

In 1861, the year the third and final alphabet of the check letters was introduced for the Penny Red stamps, the scientific world was transformed by the discovery of Archaeopteryx in the Solnhofen Limestone of Bavaria, Germany. This extraordinary fossil preserved an animal with unmistakable bird-like feathers, yet also a long reptilian tail, teeth, and clawed fingers, making it one of the most celebrated transitional fossils ever discovered. Appearing only two years after Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species (1859), Archaeopteryx quickly became central to the debate over evolution.
Recognizing its exceptional scientific importance, Professor Richard Owen secured the purchase of the first specimen for the British Museum in 1862.
While many supporters of Darwin regarded Archaeopteryx as compelling evidence for evolutionary theory, Owen, who opposed Darwin's explanation of evolution by natural selection, classified it as a true bird, emphasizing its avian characteristics while downplaying its reptilian features.


Postal reform made communication faster, cheaper, and more reliable, enabling naturalists such as Richard Owen and institutions such as the British Museum to exchange ideas, specimens, and scientific information with leading researchers throughout Britain and across the world. Below are two examples of such correspondence, both posted in 1876.


The first example is a letter sent by the Geological Society of London to the Department of Botany at the British Museum in 1876. The letter was franked with a perforated "Penny Red" and cancelled with a "Duplex Cancellation". By this time, the original "Maltese Cross" cancellation had been replaced by the more efficient Duplex Cancellation, which simultaneously applied the dated postmark and the barred numeral obliterator.
At that time, the British Museum still housed the nation's collections of minerals, fossils, and botanical specimens, all of which were transferred to the newly established Natural History Museum in South Kensington during the early 1880s.

The second example is a letter sent by Richard Owen to Sir Henry Barkly in 1876, Governor of the Cape Colony and British High Commissioner for Southern Africa. The cover was franked with three postage stamps totalling six pence (6d) and additionally bears a three-pence (3d) accountancy mark. By comparison, in 1838 a letter sent from London to Professor William Buckland in Oxford was charged eight pence (8d).
This dramatic drop in communication costs ultimately allowed Victorian naturalists to share discoveries faster, paving the way for modern paleontology.

References

Internet Resources

Penny Black Wikipedia Warwick and Warwick Stanley Gibbons The Royal Mint Museum Postal Museum Penny Black stamp Bill Barrell The Penny Black Introduction The Plating of Penny, by Mike Batty (PDF) David Feldman Auction GREAT BRITAIN: Development and Usage of the World’s First Postage Stamps (1840-1841), by Simon Beresford-Wylie Die Geschichte der Ein-Penny-Marke von Grossbritannien von 1840 bis 1879, by Franz Zehenter (philatelic exhibit) Penny Black VR Wikipedia Smithsonian National Postal Museum

Penny Blue Wikipedia Warwick and Warwick Penny Post Penny Red Wikipedia Warwick and Warwick Penny Post The Penny Red Collector

Perforation (stamps separations) Wikipedia Smithsonian National Postal Museum

The Maltese Cross gatehouse-folk The collectors shop black rock The Great Britain Philatelic Society David Feldman international auctions templar-cross Stamps of the World

Paleontological Discoveries During the Postal Reform Years

History of paleontology Wikipedia Encyclopaedia Britannica	Georges Cuvier (1769-1832) Wikipedia Encyclopaedia Britannica	Professor Richard Owen (1804-1892) Wikipedia Encyclopaedia Britannica The Friends of Charles Darwin	Charles Darwin (1809-1882) Wikipedia Charles Darwin in Philately Darwin Online	The Crystal Palace at Sydenham Wikipedia Encyclopaedia Britannica The Crystal Palace Foundation
Iguanodons from Bernissart Wikipedia Institute of Natural Sciences, Belgium	Archaeopteryx Wikipedia Encyclopaedia Britannica	The British Museum Wikipedia official website	The Natural History Museum in London official website Wikipedia

Recommended Books

• "The British Postage Stamp of the 19^th century" by Robson Lowe, published by the National Postal Museum London in 1968.
• "The plating of the Penny Black postage stamp of Great Britain 1840", by Charles Nissen, published by Stanley Gibbons Ltd. in London in 1998. ISBN: 0-85259-459-3
• GB Specialised Volume 1 Part 1 'Queen Victoria' Stamp Catalogue (1^st Edition), published by Stanley Gibbons in 2020, ISBN: 978-1-911304-54-8.
• Commonwealth and British Empire Stamps 1840-1970 (127^th Edition 2025), published by Stanley Gibbons in 2024, ISBN: 978-1-8051792-1-4,
• MICHEL "Großbritannien-Spezial 2022/2023" published by Schwaneberger Verlag in Germering in 2022. in German. ISBN: 978-3-95402-407-0.
• Queen Victoria: A Rearrangement Into Numerical Order of The Measurements in ‘The Plating Of The Penny ’ Fifth Edition (PDF), 2022 Edited By Mike Batty, published by the Great Britain Philatelic Society in 2022.
• "Encyclopaedia of the Maltese Cross cancellations of Great Britain and Ireland", by Professor S. David Rockoff and Mike Jackson, volume 1, published by Hobbs the Printers Limited in 2006. ISBN: 0-9528274-3-3.

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