Monthly Archives: May 2025
Commemorating the Penny Black with pen and paper
The earliest known Penny Black, the beginning of a more than 150-year communications revolution, crossed the block but failed to sell at a U.K. auction in 2021. Photo via Sotheby’s.
As the world’s first postage stamp, the Penny Black turns 185 this May, collectors and letter writers alike are honouring its legacy in a unique, heartfelt way. The U.K.-based Handwritten Letter Appreciation Society (HLAS) is encouraging thousands of its members—across 38 countries including Canada—to mark the occasion by simply writing and mailing a letter. Continue reading →