The stamp issue consists of eight stamps issued in se-tenant pairs.
A panel of historians specializing in the history of science and industry were asked to nominate the individuals that they felt made the biggest impact on the UK’s Industrial Revolution and a shortlist of eight individuals was selected for their contribution to manufacturing and creating the infrastructure that allowed manufactured products to reach their markets.
Pioneers of the Industrial Revolution – Stamp by Stamp
1st Class – Matthew Boulton – Manufacturing
(1728-1809) A Birmingham factory owner and engineer whose Soho works and capital facilitated the manufacture of James Watt’s steam engines. Boulton and Watt’s engines had all manner of applications, from powering manufacturing machinery to keeping mines drained.
1st Class – James Watt – Steam Engineering
(1736-1819) Probably the strongest contender for the title of father of the steam age because of his years of hard work in improving the Newcomen design by getting the steam to condense in a separate chamber to the piston.
50p – Richard Arkwright – Textiles
(1732-1792) Generally credited with having invented the ‘water frame and sometimes known as the ‘father of the industrial revolution’. The water frame was capable of producing long lengths of cotton thread strong enough for the warp in cloth, and Arkwright opened the world’s first water-powered cotton mill in Derbyshire.
50p – Josiah Wedgwood – Ceramics
(1730-1795) Wedgwood not only pioneered the industrial production of ceramics, he was an archetypical industrialist of the age: religious dissenter, anti-slavery campaigner and member of the Lunar Society.
56p – George Stephenson – Railways
(1781-1848) Stephenson invented or developed several aspects of rail transport which are still with us to this day, including flanged wheels, and the standard gauge. Aside from building the Rocket, he worked very hard to improve the quality of the cast iron for the rails to ensure they did not snap.
56p – Henry Maudslay – Machine Making
(1771-1831). Maudslay saw that the new age of machines would require metal to be worked with precision. He pioneered the making of the machines – lathes, drills, planning machines, etc. which were used to make the other machines of the revolution.
72p – James Brindley – Canal Engineering
(1716-1772) One of the most important engineers of the eighteenth century and a maker of canals, most notably the Bridgewater, started in 1759, which set the template for later canals. Brindley also pioneered many of the techniques that were later used in railway building.
72p – John McAdam – Road Building
(1756-1836). While Thomas Telford is usually the major celebrity of Industrial Revolution transport infrastructure, it was McAdam’s designs and building techniques that created Britain’s first decent all-weather roads.
Pioneers of the Industrial Revolution Stamp Technical Details:
| Feature | Type/Detail |
|---|
| Number of stamps | 8 |
| Design | Webb and Webb |
| Acknowledgements | Matthew Boulton, James Watt, Boulton & Watt condensing engine, Watt’s engine drawings, Richard Arkwright, Arkwright’s prototype spinning machine and patent drawing, George Stephenson, Locomotion model, Rocket boiler sketch, Henry Maudslay, Maudslay’s table-engine model and specification drawing, Bridgewater Canal Aqueduct © Science Museum/SSPL; Liverpool & Manchester Railway map © National Railway Museum/SSPL; Boulton’s Manufactory from the Phillp Album and plan of Soho © courtesy of Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery; Josiah Wedgwood, black basalt teapot and ivy leaf design © courtesy of the Trustees of the Wedgwood Museum; black basalt vase © National Museums Liverpool, Walker Art Gallery; James Brindley and John McAdam © National Portrait Gallery, London; Somerset map © Mary Evans Picture Library; road-building scene provided by the Federal Highway Administration, US |
| Stamp Format | Landscape |
| Stamp Size | 37mm x 35mm |
| Printer | Joh. Enschedé Stamps, Haarlem, Netherlands |
| Print Process | Lithography |
| Number per Sheet | 30/60 |
| Perforations | 14 x 14.5 |
| Phosphor | All Over |
| Gum | PVA |
