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able public comment at the time for many consideredthe idea of "slobbering over the back of Queen Victoria'sface an affront not to be countenanced. Others objectedstrenuously to the use of canceling devices, claiming thatto smear the Queen's face was even a greater affront.
Simultaneously with issuing of the first adhesive stamp,Great Britain also issued the world's first government-stamped envelope and letter sheet. This, the famous"Mulready Envelope," caused an even greater publicexpression than did the adhesive stamp. The MulreadyEnvelope and its counterpart, the letter sheet, resemblednothing even closely approximating the modern stampedenvelopes that are so common today. William Mulready,one of the foremost artists of the time, chose as hisdesign an allegorical figure of Britannia dispatchingmessages to all of the world. The design, now recognizedas one of great beauty and meaning, brought forth a floodof derision in the press, and entrepreneurs, quick to see agood thing, quickly made up envelopes caricaturing theMulready design. Commenting on the new stamps and |
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