Fun with Maps ISSUE 2025-081
By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)
LOVELAND, OH (May 6, 2025) – In today’s edition of Fun with Maps, we put a stamp on communication.
Communicating long distances dates back several millennia. Smoke signals to couriers, etc.
Eventually written messages in the form of a letter became the norm. Typically, the recipient had to pay for the delivery. A Doordash of sorts.
Then in 1835 a civil servant in Austria-Hungary suggested in essence a postage stamp be adopted where the sender pays a fee. That idea didn’t make it far.
British Rowland Hill proposed about the same time the idea of charging letter delivery by weight and using an adhesive backed paper to confirm the fee was paid.
The idea took hold and the first stamp, the Penny Black was created and used as of May 6, 1840. It featured Queen Victoria’s profile.
Presenting here Teesdale’s 1831 map of England and Wales.
England & Wales -1831 (Credit Steve Kovacs)
Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps.
Visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Steve Kovacs: Fun with Maps here on Loveland Beacon.
