Mulready stationery

Mulready -stationary means an allegorical picture with a printed letter postal stationery from the UK, which is named after its designer, the artist William Mulready (1786-1863), named. The post office delivered them into variants as Faltbriefbögen ( Michel numbers F1 and F2) and envelopes ( Michel numbers U1 and U2) out respectively in the two value steps 1 Penny and 2 pence. The value character has a different impression from most other postal stationery form: it consists of the simple text POSTAGE ONE PENNY or TWO PENCE POSTAGE below the large image. The Mulreadys regarded as the world's first postal stationery, where there were precursors.

History

An employee of Rowland Hill called Henry Cole came into contact with William Mulready, an English painter, on the recommendation of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Mulready had completed a draft of only two days after he got the job and received as a reward the enormous sum of 200 pounds sterling. The design shows Britannia, which sends its messengers all over the world. John Thomson made ​​it into a steel engraving until April 1840, which was supervised by Mulready personally. Edwin Hill, a brother of Rowland Hill oversaw the pressure was in the printing Clowes & Sons.

As of May 1, 1840 they were sold and first date was May 6 At the same time appeared in the UK, the world's first postage stamp. There were protests due to the nature of the allegorical image, then published cartoons of the envelopes of the British artists John Doyle, John Leech, WM Thackery and others. Towards the end of the 1840s the leaders back the Mulready - issues. In January 1841 British post new postal stationery envelopes without image issued instead that had a stamp impression in relief printing with portrait of Queen Victoria, designed by William Wyon.