Royal Mail Postage Labels

Although adhesive stamps were first introduced for the prepayment of postage in 1840, it was subsequently felt that other methods of prepayment were desirable. Consequently, in late nineteenth century, consideration was given to ways of reducing the time spent in post offices for the purchase of stamps. Trial machines were built and demonstrated to the Post Office from 1898 onwards, but did not have any real success or stimulate public interest and so they were discontinued. Such trials, however, did represent the first attempts to provide an independent method of prepayment for the public.

After the First World War, bulk users of the post were introduced to a method of prepayment by meter makings. This system was accelerated by its approval for overseas use by the Universal Postal Union at the Madrid Congress in 1920. Although delayed, the advantage of a system to prepay labels through some form of dispensing machines was not overlooked by postal administrations and coil dispensers and booklet machines were introduced in the following years, but none of these provided the desired flexibility necessary for changing postal rates.

To meet such a requirement, the new Royal Mail Postage Labels have been introduced. Similar to labels used in Europe, they are printed on phosphor coated paper within the machine and the value can be varied to suit the customers' needs.

The first day cover was designed by Ken Briggs and Associates. And sent by John (the UK).