Stamps were first proposed by a schoolmaster and civil servant,
Rowland Hill, in 1837, in his manifest "Post Office Reform". He was
knighted for the idea - but it wasn't his. Some countries in Europe
printed stamps as early as a century before. They were used to pay a
tax on newspaper delivery. At first he proposed pre-paid envelopes -
but they were largely ignored by the public, partly due to their
flawed design.
http://members.tripod.com/~midgley/rowlandhill.html
http://www.glassinesurfer.com/f/gsrowlandhill.shtml
Star of David
The "Magen David" ("Shield of King David") - two interpenetrating
triangles that form a six-pointed star - has been the symbol of the
Zionist movement since 1897. It is an important part of the flag of
the State of Israel. It has been a Jewish symbol for a mere 400 years,
though. It appears, for instance, on medieval cathedrals.
The symbol in known in India as the Sri-Yantra ("the complete
interpenetration of the sexes"). The pupils of the Christian mystic
and alchemist Jacob Bohme, who lived in the early part of the 17th
century, believed that it symbolized Christ who, as a second Adam,
restored the first Adam's androgyny (bisexuality).
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