Tour Scotland video of the James Chalmers, Bookseller, Gravestone in the Howff Graveyard cemetery in
Dundee,
Scotland. James Chalmers, born February 2nd, 1782, in Arbroath, May 26th, 1853, in Dundee, was a Scotsman who it was claimed, by his son, was the inventor of the adhesive postage stamp. He trained as a weaver, before he moved to Dundee in 1809 on the recommendation of his brother. He established himself as a bookseller, printer and newspaper publisher on Castle Street. He is known to have been the publisher of " The Caledonian " as early as 1822. Later he served as a Burgh Councillor and became Convener of the Nine Incorporated Trades. His most burning enthusiasm, however, was postal reform, and from 1825 he campaigned the authorities to speed up the mail between
Edinburgh and
London by convincing them that this could be done without extra cost. After several years he managed to induce a time saving of nearly a day in each direction. In December 1837, he sent a letter outlining his proposals to Robert Wallace, MP for Greenock. Furthermore, he submitted an essay for a proposal for an adhesive postage stamp and cancelling device which was dated February 8, 1838. This also contained illustrations of one penny and two pence values. He did not favour the use of an envelope for a letter, as each additional sheet incurred an additional charge. Instead, he proposed that a "slip" or postage stamp could seal a letter.
The first recorded spelling of the Chalmers family name is shown to be that of David Chalmers, partisan of Mary Queen of Scots, which was dated 1530, during the reign of King James V of Scotland.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
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