This is the place to come to learn about Avery style needle cases.

Penny Stamp

Penny Stamp needle 
case
Needle Case


Design Representation

Design Details

Needle Case Type:

Figural

Patent/Registered to:

Buncher & Haseler - Birmingham

Patent/Design Representation #:

Ornamental Class1: Metal: #281428

Patent/Design Registration Date:

March 28, 1874

Location of Patent/Design Registration:

The National Archives (TNA) - Kew, UK

Reference #:

TNA Representation - BT 43/36/281428
TNA Register - BT 44/3/281428

Dimensions:

2.4 x 0.6 x 3.8

Material:

Brass

Name Variations:

a) W. Avery & Son - Redditch
b) G. Nazer - Royal Exchange, London
c) Waters & Woodhouse - Scarborough

Other Variations:

Penny Stamp - Rowland Hill Portrait

Additional Photographs

Exterior detail and interior

Interior top and bottom

Interior with Avery signature detail and with Waters signature detail

Interior with Nazer signature detail (photo from eBay seller lylewi_9)

Facts

The Penny Post was a concept introduced by Rowland Hill to the British government in 1837.  Hill proposed that any letter sent from one post office to another in the British Isles should cost one penny per ounce.  Part of his proposal included the creation of adhesive stamps that encouraged the sender to pay the postage.  His ideas were accepted in 1840 when parliament approved the Uniform Penny Post and the world’s first adhesive postage stamp, the Penny Black with the profile of Queen Victoria, was created.

Penny stamp facts

History

The General Post Office in England was established in 1660 and a network of similar offices was founded throughout the British Empire so mail could be sent from one party to another.  At the time the price depending upon the distance between the sender and receiver with the recipient responsible for paying the fee although they had the right to refuse delivery.  Consequently postage was very expensive as each item had to be tracked separately creating additional administrative costs.  As a result only the wealthy could afford to use the postal service.  During the Victorian Period with the introduction of the Penny Post, the emergence of the middle class and mass production of printed cards and other materials for writing such as pens, postal service increased tenfold.

Penny stamp history

Miscellaneous

Sir Rowland Hill (1795 – 1879) was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer.  From 1819 to 1839 Hill spent much of his time creating schools that were the prototype for public education for the middle class.  He also served as the secretary of the South Australian Colonization Commission from 1833 to 1839.  However, Hill is best known for his work reforming the British postal system from 1839-1841 which became the model for postal services around the world, a system that served both the public and business and made commerce more efficient and profitable.

Penny stamp misc