English Stamp

Prior to the advent of the penny stamp in 1840, the British government employed a number of ''ad hoc'' solutions for letter carriers. In 1661, the Postmaster General of Great Britain introduced the country's very first postmark, entitled the Bishop Mark. This issuance lasted almost three years, from 1661 to 1663. All told, this postmark survived for over 120 years in circulation.In the early half of the 1800s, the British post office marked letters shuttled between England and Ireland as ''shipped letters.'' In 1813, the British Parliament declared that mail-carrying vehicles were exempt from tolls and taxes. This act stirred anger in local communities, which wanted tax revenues to help build up roads and support local construction projects.The ''too late'' stamp proved a big success with fans and critics alike. When recipients rejected letters or when senders dropped off mail at post stations after hours, bureaucrats stamped these missives with the ''too late'' stamp. It's curious to review old letters dubbed ''too late.'' An unopened piece of mail adorned with the scarlet letter ''too late'' fixation can't help but titillate. Did the recipient reject it? If so, why?Just before the issuance of the Penny Black stamp, the government created a fourpenny post, which was used as an ad hoc fix-it to prepare the postal system for the big transition of 1840. This rate was designed for packages weighing half an ounce or less. This stamp was popular, but it only ran from December of 1839 to January of 1840.