A once-in-a-generation opportunity to own the world’s most important postage stamps.

Few objects in history can claim to have transformed the world.

The 1840 Penny Black, the first adhesive postage stamp ever issued, is one of them.

Introduced under the revolutionary postal reforms of Sir Rowland Hill, the Penny Black fundamentally changed how humanity communicated. For the first time in history, postage could be prepaid by the sender, making correspondence affordable and accessible to everyone.

Within ten years of its introduction, postal traffic in Britain increased from 75 million letters per year to more than 410 million.

Commerce accelerated. Literacy increased. Banking, trade and industry expanded.

The humble Penny Black became the catalyst for a communications revolution whose effects still shape our world today.

It is therefore unsurprising that the Penny Black has become the most famous stamp in the world and the cornerstone of the world’s most prestigious collections.

The finest private Penny Black collection assembled in modern times

The collection we proudly present represents the culmination of more than a decade of specialist research, sourcing and acquisition by our philatelic team.

Our objective was simple in concept, yet extraordinarily difficult in execution:

To assemble the finest private collection dedicated exclusively to the Penny Black and its earliest postal history.

To achieve this, we travelled internationally, working closely with leading collectors, dealers, auction houses and philatelic scholars to secure some of the most historically important and visually impressive Penny Black artefacts still available in private hands.

The result is a collection that would be virtually impossible to replicate today.

Many of the items are unique, while others have appeared on the market only once or twice in the past half century. Several originate from some of the most celebrated collections in philatelic history.

Together they form a coherent, museum-quality narrative documenting the birth of the modern postal system.

A museum-level narrative on the birth of modern communication

Within this collection are many of the key artefacts marking the dawn of prepaid postage, including:

• The accepted master die proof used to finalise the design of the world’s first postage stamp
• First day covers dated 6 May 1840, the first day of official postal use
• Major surviving mint multiples and exhibition blocks of Penny BlacksSome of the largest surviving multiples on cover from the earliest days of use
  

These are the types of pieces normally encountered only in major international exhibitions or institutional collections.

Each item represents an important historical moment. Together they form something far greater:

A curated masterpiece, documenting the moment global communication changed forever.

Authenticity and provenance were paramount in assembling a collection of this significance.

Every item is accompanied by independent certificates issued by the world’s most respected philatelic expert committees, including:

• The Royal Philatelic Society London
• The British Philatelic Association

In addition, every item is supplied with our own Paul Fraser Collectibles Certificate of

Authenticity, backed by a lifetime contractual money-back guarantee of authenticity.

A short history of the 1840 Penny Black - the world’s first postage stamp.

The Penny Black was the world’s first adhesive postage stamp and marked the beginning of a communications revolution that changed the world. As the world’s first, it is the stamp all collectors aspire to own and is without a doubt the most famous stamp in the world. Featuring a portrait of Queen Victoria, its beauty rests in its classic simplicity and fine engraving.

Prior to its introduction, postage was very expensive and was paid by the recipient not the sender. Delivery was charged based on the miles travelled and the number of sheets of paper used. The recipient would typically be stung by a charge of several pounds. It was not unusual for delivery to fail because the recipient could not afford to pay.

The penny black changed all this and made sending letters affordable to everyone. It revolutionised worldwide communication. At the time, many Victorians were illiterate. The penny black incentivised an entire generation to want to read and write. It also led to the expansion of commerce, banking and industry from which we all still benefit today.

The result was an increase in postal traffic from 75 million to 410 million in under 10 years. It also marked the beginning of one of the biggest and most absorbing hobbies ever to captivate the world.

A man named Rowland Hill was the driving force behind the introduction of the world’s first postage stamp. He wrote extensively on the need for postal reform in the belief that a cheaper system would mean more people would use it and overall profits would increase.

After a national competition in 1939, Rowland Hill rejected all of the designs in favour of his own: a concept he had devised in 1837 for “a bit of paper just large enough to bear the stamp, and covered at the back with a
glutinous wash…” On 20th February, 1840 Queen Victoria approved the finished design for the Penny Black.

The stamps went on sale on the 1st May 1840 but were not authorised for postal usage until 6th May 1840. The Penny Black represents a real landmark in British and worldwide history.