Where does this come from, and can I check it?

Rowland Hill's flat rate penny post went on sale in May 1840. The figure is taken from British Library, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a history fact?

Yes. It sits on the History shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

The Penny Black was the first adhesive postage stamp

Rowland Hill's flat rate penny post went on sale in May 1840 Before 1840, British postage was usually paid by the recipient and priced by distance and sheet count, which made letters expensive. Rowland Hill argued for a flat prepaid rate, and the Penny Black, bearing Queen Victoria's profile, was issued in May 1840. Prepayment with stamps made letter writing cheap and helped ordinary people correspond. It sits in Mondo's history collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

British Library

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

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Tags: postage, stamps, communication

The Penny Black was the first adhesive postage stamp: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: Rowland Hill's flat rate penny post went on sale in May 1840. The figure is taken from British Library, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a history fact?: Yes. It sits on the History shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.