Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-03-27
POSTAGE PREPAID.
THE PROGRESS MADE IN LESS THAN
 HALF A CENTURY.

| THE PROGRESS MADE IN LESS THAN HALF A CENTURY. 1 Origin of the Idea in 1653-Introduction of the System in England in 1S4O.
 What the First Stamp Looked Like. l Collecting.
 l How many letter writers, when they lick the back of the portrait of the Father of his Country before ornamenting corner of the envelope with it, realize that they are taking the initial step in the enjoyment of privi- lege which their grandfathers did not pos sessa So thick and fast come the advancing steps of civilization, the march of progress is such company front" movement, that the l labor saving, time annihilating, ease and comfort bringing innovation of yesterday is the sraid, accepted, commonplace fact of to- day.
 Thus it is with the prepaid postal system. The children who wondered at the first post age stamp are nearly all in the land of the living yet, to tell the wonderful story. But they don't tell it. They have forgotten all about it. To the Rev. Roland Hill, of Lon- don, who was a statesman as we'll as a great divine, should be given the credit for the introduction of an idea which was equal in it's day and generation to the most startling 1 invention of Edison.
 It was in 1840-not long ago, to be sure that the old system of leaving the postage on your missives to be paid by the receiver was abolished ill England, and the prepay ing postage stamp made its first bow to the public. It bore about much resemblance or affinity to the beautiful and artistic Jubi- lee series issued last summer by the British government as George Stephenson's first To- l va fn hn cto nf n. roads of today
 ORIGIN OF THE IDEA
 The idea of prepaid or stamped paper orig mated in the brain of M de Velayer, who in
 1853, in the reign of Louis XIV, established
 private penny post, placing boxes at the
 corners of the streets of Paris for the recep-
 tion of letters, which were franked by past
 ing bands about them These slips were sold
 for sou tape, and "could be bought,'' says
 M. Piron in pamphlet published in 1888,
 'sat the palace, at the turn tables of the con
 vents and from the porters of colleges" But
 the idea died apparently with it's originator,
 not to be revivified till in 1887 Rowland Hill
 obtained the passage by parliament of bill
 which proposed the prepayment of postage
 by means of stamped envelopes.
 William Mulready obtained the contract
 for engraving the envelope in 184O, and his
 design was unique and perhaps prettier and
 more tasteful than any following issue of
 Great Britain. It had the merit of symbol
 ism, too. It covered the whole upper half
 and ends of the envelope, leaving only space
 enough for the address, like postal cards of
 today. There was an ideal portrait of Bri-
 tannia sending out angelic messengers to the
 nations of the earth, while female figures
 were seen reading letters Within a year
 this unwieldy device was discarded for a simpler conceit, which could be pasted or gummed to an ordinary envelope. These } stamps were printed in sheets and were sepa-
 rated by cutting. Then some one lost tc fame thought of way to gum them in the sheets ready for use, and afterward another unsung benefactor Of the race invented the j perforating machine, which is still used, SC
 that no scissors were needed to separate the
 stamps.
 Since 184O the British government has l issued dozen series of stamps, renowned
 among philatelists as the least attractive in , the whole 5000 varieties of postage stamps that have been printed in these forty eight ! years. All the British stamps bear the dia. demed head of Queen Victoria, and it may l be said in passing that there are fifty-five colonies and provinces of the dominion or which the sun never sets which have issued postage stamps bearing the portrait ot Queen Victoria.
 IN THE UNITED STATES. t But this boasted land of progress did mol ] take up the new tangled notion of our British l cousins till 1S47-after Switzerland, and even Brazil had adopted it. J. Walter Scott t who has made small fortune in the busi s ness of collecting the postage stamps of al 8 nations and selling them to collectors anc
 who has lately retired from business, has il e his possession bill made out by J. Lorime1 n Graham, who was postmaster of New Yorl o:4rx I stamps, against merchant for postage du. b on mail addressed by him to his customers 8 and which he had contracted to pay in ad | vance. There are now some 300 stamp issuing l. countries, and the prepaid postal service i t universal. > There is amusement so instructive for y youthful mind as that of stamp collecting t The stamps form a splendid kindergarten
 The collectors curiosity is stimulated to in
 Quire into the reasons of the various design
 and changes, and he is led to investigate tn
 history, manner and customs of the stam]
 issuing countries, so that educators hav largely accepted the pastirne of collectin, 8 stamps as a help in these branches. The lat I Mrs. Whiting, of this city, adopted thi q 'sfad" as a part of her curriculum, and MT C Scott says that in the past twenty-five year y he has numbered among his customers man, r of the great of this country and Europe wh g have bought literally of the letter frankin @ adhesions for their children, grandchildren 0 nephews and nieces, while not few of then ? have derived much personal enjoyment fron e the study of philately.-New York Evenin @ World.
 I Shipped to Africa. 8t v A Middletown Springs Vt.) firm recent t shipped to Africa a rice threshing machin l. to be run by man instead of horse power. Q "T7 A G