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.
The initiative pays tribute not only to the stamp itself but also to the sweeping postal reforms of the 1800s that made letter writing accessible to all. Before the introduction of uniform postal rates, mailing a letter was a costly, complex task based on distance and paper count—making the Penny Black a revolutionary innovation. “I want to see if, with a little promotion and a fun, historic activity, we could make people fall in love with letter writing again,” said HLAS founder Dinah Johnson.
With passionate support from philatelists and historians, the story of the Penny Black continues to inspire collectors and everyday people alike. From rare first-day covers fetching tens of thousands at auction to modern-day tributes encouraging letter-writing as an art, the enduring appeal of the stamp is clear. One enthusiast described it as a chance to honour “the amazing invention of the postage stamp by Rowland Hill.”
Find out how this global celebration of stamps, history and handwritten notes is unfolding—plus what makes the Penny Black so iconic—in the latest issue of Canadian Stamp News.