Collecting
It's easy to take stamps for granted, says Corinne Galloway, senior curator at The Postal Museum, but they were part of a revolution in communication: ‘Stamps were a radical new idea. Before the introduction of the prepaid penny stamp in May 1840, now known as the Penny Black, it was very difficult for ordinary people to communicate over any distance. The cost of postage used to be calculated by how far a letter was sent, and by the number of pages, and was paid for by the recipient. Before stamps, a letter could have cost as much as 12 loaves of bread – a luxury few could afford.'
Stamps are also national symbols, CorinneBritish stamp is required to feature their image.'
