BRITISH STAMPS

The Royal Philatelic Collection may well be the world's finest and most comprehensive collection of postage stamps of Great Britain.

The collection is particularly strong in stamps from the very beginnings of the modern British postal system in the period 1839-41.

In the 1830s postal reformers, led by Rowland Hill, were recommending a postal system using prepaid envelopes and letter sheets, and a system of charging based on weight instead of distance.

The main methods of prepaying the costs were to be imprinted postal stationery and adhesive postage stamps.

To find designs for the proposed postage stamps and stamped stationery, the Treasury announced a competition, with a prize of £200 to be awarded to the best design.

Some of these fascinating competition entries, known as Treasury Essays, survive in the Royal Philatelic Collection, having been bought by George V.

The first postage stamps were issued for sale on 1 May 1840, although they were not valid for use until 6 May. The Royal Philatelic Collection contains many examples of these first stamps, including 1d stamps printed in black ink (penny blacks) and 2d stamps printed in blue (two pence blues).

Among the best examples from this period is the 'Kirkcudbright Cover', a first day cover of Great Britain of 6 May 1840, bearing ten penny blacks. This is the largest multiple known on a first day cover, and was acquired by The Queen in 2001.

Pre-paid stationery, another of the postal reforms of 1840, also features in the Royal Philatelic Collection. This is known as Mulready stationery, after the man who designed the pre-paid envelopes and letter sheets.

Later treasures in the Collection include the rare Edward VII 2d 'Tyrian Plum' stamp. In 1910 a new 2d stamp was prepared for issue, and 100,000 sheets of 240 stamps each were produced by the printers.