<P> Postage stamps have facilitated the delivery of mail since the 1840s . Before then , ink and hand - stamps ( hence the word ' stamp ' ) , usually made from wood or cork , were often used to frank the mail and confirm the payment of postage . The first adhesive postage stamp , commonly referred to as the Penny Black , was issued in the United Kingdom in 1840 . The invention of the stamp was part of an attempt to reform and improve the postal system in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , which , in the early 19th century , was in disarray and rife with corruption . There are varying accounts of the inventor or inventors of the stamp . </P>
<P> Postage stamps have facilitated the delivery of mail since the 1840s . Before then , ink and hand - stamps ( hence the word ' stamp ' ) , usually made from wood or cork , were often used to frank the mail and confirm the payment of postage . The first adhesive postage stamp , commonly referred to as the Penny Black , was issued in the United Kingdom in 1840 . The invention of the stamp was part of an attempt to reform and improve the postal system in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , which , in the early 19th century , was in disarray and rife with corruption . There are varying accounts of the inventor or inventors of the stamp . </P>
when was the first modern postage stamp released
when was the first modern postage stamp released
1840
1840