A Day's Pay – The Cost of Sending a Letter

Perforation by machine didn’t exist until 1854 so strips of stamps, like these, had to be separated by postal employees, using scissors

by Ray Setterfield

January 10, 1840 — “Of all the wild and visionary schemes which I have ever heard of, or read of, it is the most extravagant.” So said Lord Lichfield when the world’s first “Uniform Penny Post” was established in the UK on this day, offering the safe, speedy and cheap conveyance of letters and parcels.

Lichfield was the Postmaster General at the time and like all other Members of Parliament he was entitled to the free receipt and delivery of letters and parcels.

For everyone else mail was a minefield. The recipient of a letter or package had to pay the delivery costs which were calculated on the doorstep using a complicated formula involving distance, weight, and in the case of letters the number of pages used.

On top of that, postage rates were extremely expensive, making the system almost exclusively the preserve of the rich. Sending a letter could cost as much as a day's pay for working-class people.

An enterprising teacher, inventor and social reformer named Rowland Hill despaired of the system and in 1835 set out his ideas for a better scheme in a pamphlet entitled “Post Office Reform’.

Hill – later knighted – thought it would be much better if the costs were standardised and the whole operation functioning on a prepaid basis.

He also believed that if it were cheaper to send letters, more people would do so, including the poorer classes. He thought this would bolster communication and trade.

Rowland Hill was born in the rural heart of England and became a student teacher at the tender age of 12.

In later life he held widespread interests. In 1832, he wrote a paper on the colonisation of South Australia titled Home Colonies: A Plan For The Gradual Extinction (By Education) of Pauperism And The Diminution of Crime. Three years later, Hill was appointed Secretary of the South Australian Colonisation Commission.

Back home, he was in his forties when he became interested in postal reform, noting that the postal system was chaotic and expensive.

Parliament was persuaded by his ideas and despite some opposition Hill was awarded a contract to set up and run the operation. Now the first thing he needed was a well designed postage stamp.

He announced a competition, received 2,600 entries – and rejected them all. Instead, he chose a design that presented a profile of Queen Victoria when she was a teenage princess. It would feature on the soon to be launched Penny Black postage stamp – which would go on to become one of the world’s most famous and valuable icons of philately.

The Penny Black was the first adhesive postage stamp in the world. It established a flat rate of one penny for any parcel or letter weighing up to half an ounce (14 grams). Mileage was no longer calculated into the cost. The first stamps went on sale on May 1, 1840, although they were not valid until May 6.

Though much sought after by collectors, an 1840 Penny Black put up for sale by Sotheby’s in 2021 failed to sell. The auction house had estimated its value at between £4-6 million ($5-7.5 million).

The rarest and most valuable stamp in the world is the British Guiana 1c Magenta, which was discovered in 1873 by a Scottish schoolboy among his uncle’s letters. It was sold at auction in 2014 for $9.5 million.

Published: November 1, 2022
Updated: November 23, 2022