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The United States Postal Service issued its very first stamps on this day in history, July 1, 1847.
According to the USPS website, the first stamps produced by the United States Postal Service (USPS) were sold in New York City.
The two stamps came in two designs, one for each denomination.
The five cent stamp featured an image of Benjamin Franklin, while the ten cent stamp depicted George Washington.
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Stamps were not sold in book form as they are in modern times, the USPS website noted. In the 19th century, post office workers had to cut stamps individually with scissors, and the stamp sheets were not perforated.
However, they were pre-gummed, the USPS said, making them easier to apply to envelopes.
The first two stamps printed by the US Postal Service featured Benjamin Franklin and George Washington. (Getty Images)
Although postal services have been around for millennia, it wasn’t until 1837 that the postage stamp was proposed, according to the USPS website.
British teacher and inventor Sir Rowland Hill had the then-revolutionary idea of having uniform postal rates for mail sent within the British Isles, as well as pre-paying these rates, according to the site.
Three years later, in 1840, consumers in the United Kingdom were able to purchase and use stamps.
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The first stamps, the Penny Black and the Two Penny Blue, were sold for the mailing of half-ounce and full-ounce letters, respectively, according to the USPS.
The United States would catch on relatively quickly, if not on a national scale. The City Despatch Post, a private mail carrier based in New York City, began issuing self-adhesive postage stamps on Feb. 1, 1842, just two years after they arrived in the United Kingdom, according to the USPS website.
Sir Rowland Hill is a British inventor who invented the first postage stamp. (Getty Images)
The USPS would later take over the City Despatch Post in 1842 and use stamps for mail within New York City, they said.
Three years later, in 1845, postal rates were simplified, according to the website. Some postmasters created “Postmasters’ Provisionals” as a way for people to prepay for letters.
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Before the invention of the postage stamp, a person mailing a letter had to take each letter to the post office and pay for it in person, the USPS said.
Instead of a fixed price, the postage rate was determined by the length of the letter and how far it was sent, USPS said.
Unlike the prepayment system of modern postage, a person sending mail prior to 1847 could prepay, have the person receiving the letter pay upon receipt—or prepay a portion of the postage and have the recipient pay. pay the balance upon delivery.
A USPS mail truck. The first USPS stamps were sold on this day in history, July 1, 1847. (iStock)
Instead of a stamp, the postal worker wrote “PAID” in the top right corner of a prepaid envelope, the USPS said.
It was not until 1855 that postage was required to be prepaid, and the use of U.S. stamps was not required until January 1, 1856.
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Since the inception of the postage stamp in the mid-1800s, the material, supply and sale of the item has evolved over the years.
In 1893, the USPS issued the first U.S. commemorative stamps, with designs commemorating Christopher Columbus’ voyages to the New World, according to the USPS website. These commemorative stamps were almost twice the size of a normal postage stamp and the concept proved to be quite popular.
The U.S. Postal Service regularly issues “commemorative stamps” like this set, highlighting the view of the sun from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory on June 18, 2021. (U.S. Postal Service)
Since then, the USPS has issued thousands of commemorative stamps honoring everything from sports to eclipses to historical events.
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The Elvis Presley stamp, which was printed in 1993, remains the best-selling of these commemorative stamps, according to the USPS website.
In 1900 stamps began to be sold in book form; the first self-adhesive stamp was sold in 1974, the site said.
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In 2007, the USPS issued the “forever” stamp, “a non-denominated, non-expire stamp intended for customers mailing a first-class mail item.”
These stamps are “forever” good for mailing a letter, regardless of postage, they said.
Christine Rousselle is a lifestyle reporter at Fox News Digital.
