The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1897-05-04
HISTORY OF POSTAL STAMPS.
The Progress of the Cheap Postage
System i'm Sixty Years.

in 1887, Mr.. Rowland Hill first pro-
posed cheap postage. After two years
struggle with the government
with parliament, he succeeded in
getting the penny postal system car
rted into the statute book in 1889. In
December, in that year., q uniform
charge Of eight cents for every half
conveyed in the mails was insti-
tuted. On January 10, 1870, u uniform
rate Of two cents per half-ounce perma-
nently came into operation. In 1877,
this postal reform was adopted by the
United States, and every civilized
country has 70 loved suit. There are
o thousands OF postal stamps in va
rlOus parts of the world.
Mr. Hill vas rewarded by a life pen
sion OF $40 600 a year., a parliamentary
grant of 800 600, and about the same
amount by Il general subscription
throughout the British islands.
His purpose from the first was to re-
form the general postoficu system and
management, and also TO institute u
uniform and low rate OF postage, with
prepayment n moderate charge by
weight. Tue prepayment was TO be
either by stamped envelopes, or by ad-
hcsive stamps.
This was by no means an original
creation, thus realizing the truth OF
the cid adage that There is nothing
new under the sun" After NJ. Hin
had suggested the great poototlice re-
form, to be effected by a low and uni
form charge for the transmission of
letters and newspapers tough the
mails, but before the project had passed
n q law, it was Gained, in Il pam
phlet, written by one II the officers Of
the postal department IN Paris, that
the proposed payment, by means Of
penny stamps affixed TO postal matter,
was II mere reproduction, in essential
points. OF II plan which had been adopt
ed and acted upon, in France, in the
reign Of Louis XIV.
At that time and place, M. De We
layer, who had friends in the royal
household, was permitted to establish
a pennypost, through WI icb envelopes,
obtaiuable for one cont each, were de-
lIvcred, according to their addresses,
in town or country, if postpaid =
printed slips were tied or fastened
around them.
These lips were on sale at the kings
palace, and the turntables OF The prin.
cipal converts, and by the pOrterS OF
colleges.
The practice was to drop all letters
thus franked into locked boxes, placed
at the corners OF the principal streets
in Paris.
The postal s~treet.pillars, which were
not adopted until 1880, would appear
to have been, whether ~dcsignediy on
not, n reproduction Of what was in usa
in Paris two centuries carli n.
Nj. D. N1iayer also Introduced a
species OF letter paper, for the use 81
persons in business, partly printed will
blanks for the insertion of figures, tC
show the days prices, with d blank
space below for ordinary correspond
encc.
In the general postoflicc, in Paris
n Of these billcts, So liIIcd up by Pc
lisson t~ontanicr, the historian, and ad
dressed to Madcmoisclle Scudery, the
romanclst, mas been carefully preserv
ed, and is sometimes shown, by specia
favor, to curious inquircrs. This |:
presumably the Oldest OF all cxiSting
penny-post letters and prepaid cnvcl
opes.
With De Vclaycr's death his posta
service cndcd. Nearly a century late,
(n 1898 Nj. De Chamouset, a ricn Par
lsian, re-established it, selling two cen
stamps, much resembling those Of ht
present day, for The free delivery, il
Paris, OF letters under two ounces il
weight.
That was in the reign of Louis XIV
whose minister OF finance, regarding
such an establishment as 4 source o
public revcnue, bought it up by grant
ing u considerable pension to its pro
prictor.
IL tho hands Of the governmert
however, letter-stamps soon frlI mt
disusc.
The next country to issue posta
sttmps was Spain. From l7l6 TO lS0J
they w"r" Ms 'd-eXy usively, however
uDon eli al letter. In the kingdom
OF Sardinia, stamped postal paper AN,
envelopes were in use from 1878 t.
1896.
For a few months, what were known
as the Mulrcady envelopes" bacuu.,
their somewhat pictorial design haC
been drawn by Mr.. w. Mulready, al
eminent artist, had to be general,
used by the British public; but a
they were extensively gotten up, OF
tinc paper, for which Il slight extr,
charge had to be made, there was
good deal OF grumbling-the comp ain
being that, from this fractional addi
ton To the price, this was not "ta,
penny postage" that had been promised
to the public. So the pictorial cnvel
ope was soon superseded by the small
adhesive stamps, still in use.
1t was said, when this envelope wa,
issued, thatQueen Victoria had herscl
made the drawing, which Mr.. Mul
ready, a royal academician Of grua
ability and high reputation, had work
ed up. This may or may not have beer
offered by the british government for
the best design was awarded to Ne
Mulready. Its object was to represrn
britannia distributing letters To al
parts Of the world by mean, OF the pen
ny post.
In the summer Of 1910 a two penn,
stamp, for letters under one ounce iI
weight, was first issued. Since then
numerous varieties Of the adhes;v,
stamps have been introduced, as vel
as stimped blank covers for the trans
mission OF newspapers and periodical
through the mail.
In 1870, postal cards were fl rst ADOPT
ed into use by England. At present
under the extensive Union Po-Jalc Uni
VerseIle, now generally adopted by tn,
nations. postal cards, at two cents each
are current among all civilized ma
tiOns
1t must be we'll remembered that 81,
recently az the year 1870, when post4
reform was frat adopted, and ever
later, the postage on q single letter
across the Atlantic was an Englist
shilling, almost equal to % cents. O
late years this has been reduced to five
cents, and, last Of all, there is the 2
cent postal card, under Union Postal,
Universelle. This may be regard,d as
almost next door to no postal charge a.