Prior to the 1830s, postal business in Britain was done on an ad hoc basis. Senders and recipients had to pay for items based on the distances of addresses. Postmarks and other arcane mechanisms were employed to ensure authenticity and payment. Yet few denied that the postal system was pell-mell. It was indeed fortunate that a man named James Chalmers put forth a series of postal reforms in 1834.

The English postal reforms of the 1830s included creating universal postage rates and developing an adhesive postal stamp system. The Penny Black was released to the general public on May 1st, 1940. After this first successful British stamp, the British postal system proceeded to issue billions of stamps to billions of people around the globe. British colonialists took over and organized postal systems in Commonwealth nations. For instance, between 1763 and 1851, the British established a Canadian postal system that serviced an area ranging from Montreal, Quebec to Albany, NY.

United Kingdom stamp dispensers often included what were known as a ''test stamps.'' Postal workers examined these test stamps at intervals to insure that automatic machines delivered even ink distribution.

Also known as ''poached egg'' stamps, these test pieces often got stolen and used as real postage stamps. In 1937, the British postal system decided to change the color of poached egg stamps from green to black. In addition, the Postal Service mandated that test stamps be indicated as such, so as to prevent any further confusion.