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 gaff words of one city missionary: "no respectable person goes, so they have it all their own way, and corrupt the minds of youth without rebuke". The name "penny gaff" derived from the entrance fee, which was normally one penny, and from the name for a cock fighting pit. The shows were popular from about 1830 to around 1870, by which time the street culture that had spawned the impromptu performances had largely disappeared. Penny gaff A penny gaff was a form of popular entertainment for the lower classes in 19th-century England. It consisted of short, theatrical entertainments which could be