The Early History of Stamps - Before the stamp was invented the receiver of a letter paid the postage instead of the sender, which the receiver sometimes refused to pay or accept the letter. However, sometimes the sender would just place a secret message on the letter and when ever the receiver viewed the message he did not need pay for the letter.
Penny Black Penny Black: the World’s First Postage Stamp - In 1837 a schoolteacher named Rowland Hill proposed a prepayment system utilizing one cent stamps on postage. The Penny Black was this first, adhesive, postage stamp.