History of the Stamp
A stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Stamps are usually rectangle, but exist sometimes also in other shapes, like triangles. The usual stamp contains a national designation and a denomination (value) on the front. They have a gum adhesive on the back.
The first stamps were introduced in the United Kingdom on 1 May 1940 as a part of postal reforms promoted by Sir Rowland Hill. The first stamp was the Penny Black
. With its introduction, the postage fee was then to be paid by the sender and not the recipient, though it was still possible to send mail without prepaying. Postmarks have been applied over stamps, "obliterating" them from further usage, since the first postage stamps came into use. The early stamps were not perforated. They were simply cut out of large sheets. Perforation of postage stamps began in January 1854.