Chalmers, James, 1782-1853; Hill, Rowland, Sir, 1795-1879; Postage stamps
In my pamphlet entitled "Sir Rowland Hill and James Chalmers, the
Inventor of the Adhesive Stamp," I have already proved from overwhelming
evidence, both general and specific, the invention of the adhesive stamp
for postage purposes by the late James Chalmers, bookseller, Dundee, in
the month of August, 1834. In addition to friends and fellow-townsmen,
several of those in his employment at that period have, unknown to me,
come forward from various quarters to describe the process and to fix
the date. The setting up of the form with a number of stamps having a
printed device--the printing of the sheets--the melting of the gum--the
gumming the backs of the sheets--the drying and the pressing--are all
described, and the date already named is conclusively fixed.[2] That
this was the first instance of such invention is clear; earlier
instances of an _impressed_ stamp proposed for postage purposes are on
record, but not one of a proposed adhesive stamp--while Sir Rowland Hill
himself has left it on record, in his "Life," referring to the same
period and occasion when an impressed stamp was proposed in 1834 for
newspaper covers by Mr. Knight, "of course, adhesive stamps were yet
undreamt of." (See page 69 of my pamphlet above named).
I have further shown that Mr. Chalmers was one of the early postal
reformers prior to the period of Mr. Rowland Hill, that he had done
great service in the way of accelerating the mails betwixt London and
the north, and that he was in communication with several of those early
reformers, such as Mr. Hume, Mr. Wallace, and Mr. Knight--the publisher
subsequently of Mr. Rowland Hill's pamphlet of 1837--so that his
proposal of an adhesive stamp for postage purposes, a matter of
notoriety in his own locality, would further have become well known in
the general circle of postal reformers, amongst whom, and from whom, on
joining same in the year 1835, Mr. Rowland Hill obtained the information
which enabled him to draw up and publish his Penny Postage Scheme of
1837. (See page 5 of my pamphlet named.)
One of those pioneers of postal reform, the Rev. Samuel Roberts, M.A.,
of Conway, gives his personal testimony of the adhesive stamp having
been originated by James Chalmers. (Page 42.)[3]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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