This stamp design is quite similar to a design with the principal change in the size of the numeral showing the stamp denomination of one cent. In this design, the numeral is large, in the earlier design, the numeral is small. The omnibus is a direct ancestor of today's motor bus. French mathematician Blaise Pascal helped introduce the first known omnibus service Paris in 1662. At first the service was free and very popular. Once a fare was charged, however, usage declined and the service soon was withdrawn. Omnibus service was revived with service in New York and Paris in the 1820's. Vehicles used in those services resembled a stagecoach. George Shillibeer, a London coachmaker, introduced his omnibus in 1829, a design that lasted for decades. The idea caught on and the omnibus became popular in the rapidly expanding urban world of the Industrial Revolution. Soon most major cities had omnibus service.