Monthly Archives: July 2012

Innovative Choreographers First Day of Issue Ceremony a Winning Performance

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Thank you to everyone who came out to the Innovative Choreographers (Forever®) stamps First Day of Issue ceremony on Saturday in Los Angeles, California! You helped make the event a huge success!

Held as part of the West Coast’s flagship National Dance Day Celebration in Los Angeles County’s Grand Park, the dedication drew a great crowd of dance and stamp enthusiasts. Dedicating the stamps were (from left to right) Kaye Lawrence Dunham, Katherine Dunham’s nephew; Marie-Christine Dunham Pratt, Katherine Dunham’s daughter; Nigel Lythgoe, Executive Producer and co-creator, So You Think You Can Dance; Ruth Goldway, Chairman, Postal Regulatory Commission; and Nagisa Manabe, Chief Marketing and Sales Officer, Executive Vice President, USPS.

The four influential choreographers honored on the stamps—Isadora Duncan, José Limón, Katherine Dunham, and Bob Fosse—changed the art of dance. Designed to look like posters advertising a performance, the stamp art captures the luminosity and mystery of a live dance performance.

We had a wonderful time in L.A. celebrating these dance legends! Our next event is the First Day of Issue ceremony, held on August 16 at the American Philatelic Society’s StampShow in Sacramento, California. Will you be joining us?

2012 Congressional Stamp Exhibit

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Thank you to everyone who came out to the Congressional Stamp Exhibit this year. It was the best one yet! (Who knew Owney and Mr. ZIP would make an appearance?!) We hope you enjoyed our pictures from the three-day event. To see more, become a fan of USPS Stamps on or follow us on Instagram and . Have a story from this year’s exhibit? Share it with us in the comments.

Postal Service Joins Celebration to Honor Lady Bird Johnson During Her Centennial Birth Year

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Lady Bird Johnson, a highly respected and influential woman in American history, will be recognized by the U.S. Postal Service during the year marking the centennial of her birth with a commemorative Forever Stamp. The new Forever Stamp honoring Mrs. Johnson—who was married to the 36th President of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson—will feature her official White House portrait, as well as the artwork of stamps originally issued in the 1960s to encourage planting flowers to beautify America.

“Lady Bird Johnson’s impact to society continues to be felt by many today,” said Thurgood Marshall Jr., Chairman of the Postal Service Board of Governors. “Anyone who drives our nation’s highways today still benefits from her leadership transforming the American landscape and helping preserve its natural beauty. We’re pleased to honor her with this stamp.”

“During her lifetime Lady Bird Johnson was recognized for many achievements related to her advocacy for the environment, including the passing of The Highway Beautification Act of 1965,” said Postmaster General and CEO Patrick R. Donahoe. “We’re pleased to join the celebration honoring what would be her 100-year birthday and also to continue to help further her important legacy of creating a more beautiful America.”

The stamps will be issued for sale nationwide this December.

Wednesday at the Congressional Stamp Exhibit . . .

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We sorted through more piles of stamps looking for that perfect treasure . . .

We studied Rep. Joseph R. Pitts’s collection of U.S. error stamps . . .

. . . and loved what he had to say about stamp collecting:

I think stamp collecting is important because it gives one an awareness of all the nations in the world. True friendships develop when you understand other cultures and stamp collecting is a way to jump start that understanding.

We found it hard to drag ourselves away from Rep. Robert B. Aderholt’s beautiful collection of stamps featuring state birds and flowers and Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s fantastic Alaska collection . . .

We checked out some imaginative Stamp Camp USA projects . . .

And picked up a few awesome cachets . . .

Whew!

The Congressional Stamp Exhibit closes today at 5 p.m., so if you’re in the Washington, D.C., area you still have time to check it out!

What We Saw on Day One of the 2012 Congressional Stamp Exhibit

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The 2012 Congressional Stamp Exhibit opened today at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C. We were there, of course, with a table full of collectibles for all the happy stamp folks who came by. We were also eager to see the stamps and stamp-related items from the personal collections of U.S. Senators Orrin Hatch, Carl Levin, and Lisa Murkowski, and U.S. Representatives Gary L. Ackerman, Robert B. Aderholt, Wm. Lacy Clay Jr., Joseph R. Pitts, and Silvestre Reyes.

It’s a good thing the exhibit is open for three days because, wow, what a selection! The personal collections on display cover everything from Alaska and Utah on stamps to stamp errors and signed philatelic collectibles.

Stamps are a depiction of the history and culture of the nation. In collecting stamps, one can concentrate on any aspect of the culture or mood of the people, as well as own great art on the cheap. And if you’re lucky it can be a good investment and a family legacy. – Rep. Gary L. Ackerman

Representative Ackerman’s stamp collection focuses on the Heroes semipostal stamp, which was issued on June 7, 2002 (it’s hard to see, but check out the postmark date in the picture). The net proceeds from the sale of these stamps were transferred to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide assistance to the families of emergency relief personnel who died or were permanently disabled in the line of duty in connection with the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Representative Ackerman’s display of canceled stamp sheets, the First Day of Issue ceremony program, and other materials was moving and a reminder that even tiny stamps can command great power and emotion.

I have always loved stamp collecting because of the people and historical moments they commemorate. Stamps tell the story of our country’s struggle to achieve a more perfect union and of the great Americans who contributed to that ongoing mission. – Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay Jr.

Representative Clay has put together a wonderful collection of framed philatelic products related to the African American experience, including Ella Fitzgerald (is that a real record in there?!), Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Josephine Baker, Booker T. Washington, and the To Form A More Perfect Union stamps. How inspiring it must be to have these hanging on the wall of his office!

We’ll have more from the exhibit tomorrow.  Until then, happy stamping!