Penny Venetian Red of "POSTAGE" and "ONE PENNY" that its predecessors bore. It was decided that a new colour would also be desirable to defend against improper re-use; a fugitive lilac ink was used that would run and spoil the stamp if one attempted to wash off the cancellation. The Lilacs broke the tradition of using corner letters and instead had either fourteen or sixteen dots in each corner. Penny Venetian Red The Penny Venetian Red was a British postage stamp equal to the value of one penny. Issued in 1880, it was designed and surface-printed by security printing company De La Rue.
Penny Post General Post Office. In 1765, Parliament authorized the creation of Penny Posts in any town or city of the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland. The single postage rate of one penny was charged within the area, calculated by weight. By the beginning of the 19th century there were many of these, identifiable on covers, with markings such as "PP", "Py Post", or "Penny Post" along with the name of the town. The early penny post system in Edinburgh, founded in 1773/4 by Peter Williamson, known as "Indian Peter," usefully combined it with one of the world's first street directories.