1854 1c Blood's Penny Post, Bronze on Lilac Paper

Add Historic Blood’s Penny Post Stamp to Your Collection

This stamp was produced for use by a Philadelphia local postal service. D. O. Blood & Co. was one of the first services to offer stamps to their customers for prepayment. This 1854 stamp is bronze printed on lilac paper. The One Cent stamp covered the cost of mailing a letter within Philadelphia. The simple design features “BLOOD’S” along the top and “PHILAD’A” on the bottom.

Blood’s Penny Post expanded as the city of Philadelphia grew. It provided door-to-door delivery at a time when the US Post Office didn’t have that service in cities. In July 1845, Daniel Blood purchased the Philadelphia Despatch Post. Offering delivery many times each day and convenient collection boxes, D. O. Blood & Co. quickly grew. Because of Blood’s great volume of mail delivered, he was able to reduce the cost of mailing a letter within Philadelphia to 1¢. In a change from the Post Office, Blood’s service required prepayment, using specially designed stamps. From 1848-54, a simple design was used consisting of only words.

This stamp is a neat part of America’s postal history. It deserves a spot in your collection. Order yours today.