Penny Post He circulated mail to 17 shops in the city (effectively post offices) and employed 4 uniformed postmen. Their hats read "Penny Post" and were numbered 1,4,8 and 16 to make the business look bigger. On 5 December 1839 the Uniform Fourpenny Post was introduced by the General Post Office but lasted only 36 days until 9 January 1840 when the Uniform Penny Post was introduced. The penny post box was green. In 1835 Rowland Hill published a pamphlet entitled 'Post Office Reform' which led to various reforms and the introduction of the first postage stamp and convinced Parliament to implement
Penny Black of new red stamps, but a small number were printed in black. These are scarce. The stamps were printed in unperforated sheets, to be carefully cut with scissors for sale and use. As a result, stamps with badly cut margins, or no margins, are common and worth very little, while examples with four clear margins are rare and valuable, and fetch very high prices, especially if in mint condition. An original printing press for the Penny Black, the "D" cylinder press invented by Jacob Perkins and patented in 1819, is on display at the British Library in London. The total