USPS Stamp of Approval

In tribute to the legends responsible for making American music part of global popular culture, USPS proudly launched the new Music Icons stamp series with the issuance Wednesday of a stamp honoring Lydia Mendoza, one of the first and greatest stars of Tejano music.

The was dedicated during a special ceremony featuring actor Jesse Borrego as master of ceremony at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center in San Antonio, Texas. Mendoza is the first to be honored in the new series, which will include stamps honoring legends Ray Charles and Johnny Cash later this year.

“The Postal Service is proud to introduce its new Music Icons stamp series with the issuance of this Forever stamp honoring the first lady of Tejano music, Lydia Mendoza,” said Marie Therese Dominguez, vice president, Government Relations and Public Policy. “Mendoza was a true American pioneer, whose unique voice and style of singing, paved the way for a whole new generation of Latino performers. Her impact on music guarantees her place in American music history, and today her legacy continues on 30 million postage stamps.”

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To help dedicate the new stamp, Dominguez was joined by Jesse Borrego, best known for the role of Jesse Velasquez in the hit TV series, Fame; San Antonio singer Rita Vidaurri, who is a member of the group Las Tesoros, which often accompanied Lydia Mendoza; Patty Ortiz, executive director, Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center; Tejano musician Eva Ibarra; and several members of the Mendoza family.

To obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail, purchase the new stamps at your local Post Office, at usps.com/stamps, or by calling 800-STAMP-24. Apply the stamps to envelopes of your choice, address the envelopes to yourself or others, and place them in larger envelopes addressed to:

Lydia Mendoza Stamp
U.S. Postal Service
10410 Perrin Beitel Rd
San Antonio, TX 78284-9998

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, USPS will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark for fewer than 50 requests. All orders must be postmarked by July 15.

The Lydia Mendoza Forever® stamp is now available for purchase at local Post Offices, online at www.usps.com/stamps, or by calling 800- STAMP24 (). As a Forever Stamp, it is good for mailing 1-ounce First-Class Mail® letters anytime in the future regardless of price changes.

The Deer stamped card’s Forever® rate means that its postage will always be equal to the value of the First-Class Mail postcard rate in effect at the time of use, even if the rate increases after purchase. Click the image for details.

The delicate creature prancing across the new Deer stamped card is a bit of a mystery. Because it’s more fanciful than realistic, it’s hard to pin down exactly what type of deer it could be—but if Sherlock Homes were here, he might deduce that it’s a Key deer. Put on your (forgive the pun) deerstalker cap, and follow the trail of clues as we make the case.

Cattails: The rare and endangered Key deer is found only in the Florida Keys, where cattails, like the ones that surround the deer in the artwork, thrive in the state’s many wetlands.

Small size: Sometimes called “toy deer,” Key deer stand only about two feet high at the shoulder. Newborn fawns are tiny, weighing just two to four pounds. If the cattails in the artwork are growing close to the ground, they’d be the right height in comparison to a Key deer.

Tendency to travel: Just like a stamped card, which doesn’t even wait for a stamp to move around the country, Key deer get around. They swim between islands in the Florida Keys when they get the urge to move on.

If you’d like to see the enchanting Key deer in person, you can visit the National Key Deer Refuge on Big Pine Key, about 30 miles north of Key West. This delicate animal is a subspecies of the much larger white-tailed deer, which is found throughout much of the United States.

USPS launched its new Music Icons stamp series today with the release of a Forever® stamp honoring Tejano star Lydia Mendoza.

Known for her artistry with the 12-string guitar, Mendoza had a career that spanned seven decades. Her repertoire consisted of ballads about historical figures and songs about hard work, lost love, and the joys of everyday life.

In 1982, she received a National Heritage Award from the National Endowment for the Arts, and in 1999, she was awarded the National Medal of the Arts by President Clinton. She also has been inducted into the Tejano Music Hall of Fame.

“Mendoza was a true American pioneer, whose unique voice and style of singing, paved the way for a whole new generation of Latino performers,” said USPS Government Relations and Public Policy VP Marie Therese Dominguez. “Her impact on music guarantees her place in American music history, and today her legacy continues on 30 million postage stamps.”

The Lydia Mendoza Forever® stamps are available now at , by calling (), and at Post Offices nationwide.

Later this year, we will honor Johnny Cash and Ray Charles on two more stamps in the Music Icons series.

It’s time to give away another vintage seed packet! Today’s prize is the digitalis packet.

The front of the seed packet depicts stalks of yellow, pink, and coral digitalis. The back of the packet describes the flower in more detail:

A very beautiful and interesting old fashioned plant whose culture is very simple. The bell-shaped flowers borne on long spikes make an exceedingly handsome and stately border.

To win the digitalis seed packet, all you have to do is answer one question: What is the common name for digitalis?

Email your answer, along with your name and address, to uspsstamps [at] gmail [dot] com. One winner will be selected at random. The deadline for entries is 11:59 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, May 15. (NOTE: The digitalis seed packet is empty; no seeds are included.)

The correct answer is Foxglove. Congratulations to Chad Crabtree, the lucky winner of the vintage digitalis seed packet! Check back next week for another chance to win.

After today there will only be four more chances to win. Check back next week for another vintage seed packet giveaway.

The Vintage Seed Packets stamps are Forever® stamps. (Forever stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail® one-ounce rate.) Find them in your neighborhood Post Office, or

What do you get when you bring the U.S. Postal Service and Mecum Auctions together at the Indiana State Fairgrounds? A muscle car extravaganza!

Since it began 26 years ago, Dana Mecum’s Original Spring Classic Auction in Indianapolis has featured the largest auction of muscle cars in the world. This year, USPS will celebrate the raw power of the performance vehicle at the Spring Classic event by dedicating five, limited-edition stamps featuring iconic muscle cars: the 1966 Pontiac GTO, 1967 Shelby GT-500, 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona, 1970 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda and 1970 Chevelle SS.

The Spring Classic Auction will take place from May 14 to May 19, 2013, at the Indiana State Fairgrounds (1202 E 38th St, Indianapolis, IN). Gates open daily Tuesday through Sunday at 9 a.m. Greater Indiana District Manager, Operations Programs Support Dale Sparks will dedicate the five Muscle Car stamps at a ceremony scheduled for Wednesday, May 15, at 11 a.m. EDT.

The third in the America on the Move series, the Muscle Cars stamps are being issued as Forever® stamps in self-adhesive sheets of 20 stamps (four stamps of each design). Forever stamps are always equal in value to the First-Class Mail one-ounce price, which currently is 46 cents. You can find the Muscle Cars stamps online, by called 1-, or in a Post Office near you.

USPS Stamp of Approval

Pioneering “Lark of the Border” Recognized for Enormous Contribution to Culture and Music

New Stamped Card May Show Key Deer

USPS Issues Lasting Tribute to Tejano Superstar Lydia Mendoza

We’re Giving Away Another Vintage Seed Packet

Muscle Cars Stamps Dedication Ceremony This Wednesday