Penny Black printing plates Penny Black printing plates The printing plates for the Penny Black, two pence blue and the VR official were all constructed by Perkins Bacon, the printers of the first postage stamps issued in Great Britain. The construction of these plates was long and complicated, which was intentional so as to make the forgery of the finished article almost impossible. The first stage involved the engraving of a background for the design. This was produced with a rose engine which laid down a circular pattern of symmetrical design onto a piece of soft steel. This was then partly cleared to leave
Penny Mobs reported to have blown up a gas holder in Tradeston in 1883. Although the gangs declined after courts no longer offered fines for offenders, the smaller gangs eventually banded together for mutual protection which gave rise to the prominent gangs of the early 20th century such as The Tongs, the Billy Boys, the Norman Conks, The Tois, The Govans, the Powery Gang, the Soo-Siders, the Rednecks, the Baltic Fleet, the Black Diamond Gang, the Black Hands, the Nudes and the Ruchill Boys. Penny Mobs The Penny Mobs was the names used by the press to describe the early street gang