Stamp History

Postage stamps were first introduced in the United Kingdom in May 1, 1840 as part of postal reforms promoted by Rowland Hill. With its introduction, the postage fee was to be paid by the sender and not the recipient, though sending mail prepaid was not a requirement. The first stamp, the Penny Black, was put on sale on May 1, and two days later came the Two pence blue.

Penny Black Stamp

Both show an engraving of the young Queen Victoria and were a success, though refinements like perforations were instituted later. At the time, there was no reason to include the United Kingdom's name on the stamp, and the UK remains the only country not to identify itself by name on the stamps (the monarch's head is used as identification).
In 1845 some postmasters in the U.S. issued their own stamps, but the first official stamps came in 1847, with 5 and 10 cent stamps depicting Benjamin Franklin and George Washington. A few other countries issued stamps in the late 1840s.
Congress finally provided for the issuance of stamps by passing an act on March 3, 1847, and the Postmaster General immediately secured a contract to the New York City engraving firm of Rawdon, Wright, Hatch, and Edson.

Five cent Benjamin Franklin stamp (click stamp to see larger image)

The first stamp issue of the U.S. was offered for sale on July 1, 1847, in NYC, with Boston receiving stamps the following day and other cities thereafter. They consisted of an engraved 5-cent red brown stamp depicting Benjamin Franklin (the first postmaster of the US), and a 10-cent value in black with George Washington. As for all U.S. stamps until 1857, they were not perforated.
The 5 cent stamp paid for a letter weighing less than 1 oz and travelling less than 300 miles, the 10 cent stamp for deliveries to locations greater than 300 miles, or, twice the weight deliverable for the 5 cent stamp. Each stamp was hand engraved in what is believed to be steel, and laid out in sheets of 200 stamps. The 5 cent stamp is often found today with very poor impressions because the type of ink used contained small pieces of quartz, and wore down the steel plates to which the stamp was printed. On the other hand, most 10 cent stamps are of strong impressions. A fresh and brilliantly printed 5 cent stamp is prized by collectors.

1857 saw the introduction of perforation, and in 1860, 24¢, 30¢, and 90¢ values (with still more images of Washington and Franklin) were issued for the first time.

For more information on the first two US postage stamps, see: http://www.1847usa.com/identify/19th/1847.htm

Content from this page from www.usps.com and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_the_United_States