To implement the new forms of pre-paid postage, a competition was organised by the Treasury (the governing body of the Post Office) asking the public for ideas.

Some 2,600 letters of suggestion were received, a few with examples of the method of prepayment proposed. These are now known as Treasury competition entries or essays. An embossed design by Robert Sievier is pictured left.

Rowland Hill's report on the competition used some of the suggestions submitted to reiterate his ideas for prepayment, the 'stamps' to be in four forms: lettersheets, envelopes, adhesive labels and stationery handed in by the public to be stamped to order.

Illustration

Embossed design by Robert Sievier