James Chalmers

Bookseller and inventor, born in Arbroath, Angus, E Scotland, UK. A bookseller and newspaper publisher in Dundee, he advocated faster mail services in 1825, and is one of several candidates cited as the inventor of adhesive postage stamps.

James Chalmers (February 2, 1782 Arbroath, Angus - May 26, 1853) was a Scottish inventor who introduced the adhesive postage stamp and uniform postage rate.

As such, he was described as a slayer of the "dragons which retard progress", battling repeatedly in the cause of Burgh Reform, and fighting for the repeal of taxes on newspapers and newspaper advertisements, and the removal of the excise duty on paper.

In December 1837, he sent a letter outlining his proposals to Robert Wallace M.P. Furthermore, he submitted an essay for a proposal for an adhesive postage stamp and cancelling device which appeared on February 8, 1838. Instead, he proposed that a "slip" or postage stamp could seal a letter.

That his scheme was in advance of the Penny Post adopted in 1840 is also testimony to the stamp design set up by a printer in his employment. His son, Patrick Chalmers (born Dundee, July 26, 1819 – died Wimbledon, Surrey, October 3, 1891), wrote many articles that attempted to evince his father's share in the work of postal reform and as inventor of the adhesive postage stamp. Unfortunately for posterity, his correspondence was only rediscovered in 1955 and in any case, the Stamp Office had been producing adhesive stamped labels for the payment of various taxes from as early as 1711.