The USPS Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC) tell us that they do not select negative subjects for commemoration, so during the covid pandemic they somehow never did figure out how to salute health care workers who made sacrifices, including those who died helping others (no doubt including members of the CSAC and their relatives), even though scores of nations around the world somehow were able to accomplish what seemed to be a simple feat.
Now, four years later, they have figured it out and will issue a generic "Thank You" Forever stamp. Per the USPS announcement, the issue was done "In conjunction with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services", which may indicate it would not have been issued had it been up to
the CSAC.
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The Alex Trebek stamp commemorates Alex Trebek, who, as host of the popular television quiz show Jeopardy! for 37 seasons, became a respected and beloved presence in millions of homes. The innovative pane design features a grid of 20 identical stamps resembling the array of video monitors that form the Jeopardy! playing board. On the stamp is written the prompt, “This naturalized U.S. citizen hosted the quiz show ‘Jeopardy!’ for 37 seasons” and underneath, upside down, is the correct response: “Who is Alex Trebek?” Above the stamps are category headers at the top of each column, and to the left is a photograph of Trebek with a portion of the Jeopardy! set behind him. Antonio Alcalá was the art director and designer for this stamp project, using photography provided by Sony Pictures Entertainment and hand lettering by
Marti Davila.
Marti Davila.
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Duck stamps are not postage stamps. The Fish and Wildlife Service produces the Federal Duck Stamp, which sells for $25.
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On April 8th—the 50th Anniversary of his record-breaking home run—the U.S. Postal Service announced there will be a new issue commemorating his breaking Babe Ruth's career home run record. The stamp celebrates the life and career of Hank Aaron, a giant both on and off the field, who rose from humble beginnings to rewrite the record books while prevailing in the face of racism. The stamp art features a digital painting of Aaron as a member of the Atlanta Braves, showing his famous right-handed batting stance. The selvage showcases a digital painting of Aaron watching the ball he had just hit for his record-breaking 715th home run on April 8, 1974.
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This stamp celebrates the life of Betty Ford (1918–2011), wife of the 38th president, Gerald R. Ford, and first lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977. As first lady, Mrs. Ford won widespread admiration for her candor and support for women’s rights. The stamp art is a detail from the official 1977 White House portrait by Felix de Cossio (1913–1999). The oil-on-canvas portrait shows Mrs. Ford dressed in a pale blue chiffon dress.
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Snowflakes. Each stamp in the block of four includes a unique design in white against a background of a single color: navy blue, teal, tan or dark blue-green. Greg Breeding was the art director for the project. Bailey Sullivan designed and illustrated the stamps.
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This 2-ounce floral stamp can be used to accommodate the weight of heavy invitations for birthdays, weddings, anniversaries and other celebrations; oversized greeting cards; and small gifts that require extra postage. This stamp is similar in design to the Celebration Blooms Forever stamp, also to be issued in 2024. The two will form a natural pair. This stamp features a vertical graphic illustration of brilliantly colored flowers rendered in ink and gouache paint. Derry Noyes, an art director for USPS, designed the stamp using an existing illustration by artist Kim Parker.
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The Postal Service continues its tradition of celebrating the U.S. flag with these stamps, available in booklets of 20 and in coils of 100, 3,000 and 10,000. Four stamps feature the flag majestically waving at different times of the day. While the shapes and colors of the clouds change, the sun is always shining on Old Glory. Shown from a low-angle perspective, the flags draw attention upward, toward the magic of the sky. Illustrator Laura Stutzman painted the designs using gouache on illustration board. Ethel Kessler, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps.
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From the time slavery was introduced to the Colonies until it was abolished in 1865, enslaved people tried to escape. This stamp issuance commemorates the Underground Railroad, as their resistance efforts became known. The pane of 20 stamps features 10 sepia-toned portraits of men and women who escaped slavery and/or helped others escape: Catharine Coffin, Frederick Douglass, Thomas Garrett, Laura Haviland, Lewis Hayden, Harriet Jacobs, William Lambert, Jermain Loguen, William Still and Harriet Tubman. Below each portrait are eight lines of text: BLACK/WHITE; COOPERATION; TRUST/DANGER; FLIGHT/FAITH; COURAGE/RISK; DEFIANCE/HOPE; UNDERGROUND; RAILROAD/USA. On the pane’s verso is a map showing the general routes freedom seekers followed and a list of individuals pictured on the stamps with a few words of biographical information about each. Antonio Alcalá, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps using existing images.
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The year 2024 will mark the 250th anniversary of the arrival of the first Shakers in the United States. Shaker communities made much of what they needed for daily life themselves, including furniture, fabrics, communal buildings and houses. These 12 stamps feature beautiful photographs of items that highlight the core elements of Shaker design: simplicity and utility. Derry Noyes, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps with existing photographs by Michael Freeman.
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The Save Manatees stamp will be issued to create awareness about the threats posed to this beloved marine mammal. Human vigilance is crucial for its protection — both to minimize motorboat strikes and to maintain the aquatic plants on which the manatee feeds in the warm coastal waters in and around Florida. The stamp art is a digital rendering of a manatee placidly lolling near the surface of the water. Derry Noyes, an art director for USPS, designed the stamp and booklet cover using illustrator Nancy Stahl’s original graphic design.
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The 34th issuance in the Literary Arts series honors novelist Saul Bellow (1915-2005). Winner of three National Book Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize, Bellow is widely regarded as one of the greatest authors of the 20th century. The stamp art is a portrait of Bellow in pen, ink and watercolor based on photographs from 1982. In the background is a street scene of Chicago, where he lived most of his life. Ethel Kessler, an art director for USPS, designed the 3-ounce stamp with original art by Joe Ciardiello.
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Radiant Star will be a new presorted standard stamp intended for bulk mailers and will be sold in self-adhesive coils of 3,000 and 10,000. In this vibrant graphic design, red and white stripes radiate from a blue star. The star is in two shades of blue to give it a three-dimensional look. Antonio Alcalá was the art director for USPS on the project. The stamp was designed by Carol Beehler.
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This issuance encourages the protection of sea turtles, one of the oldest groups of animals on Earth. These ancient mariners can migrate long distances, sometimes crossing entire oceans. The pane of 18 stamps features close-up photographs of six species — the loggerhead, leatherback, hawksbill, Kemp's ridley, olive ridley and green — sea turtle — that depend on U.S. coastal waters for foraging and migratory habitats durin — various stages of their life. All six are listed and protected under the Endangered Species Act. Derry Noyes, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps and stamp pane using existing images.
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These vibrant stamps will add cheer and whimsical flair to cards and envelopes. The pane of 20 stamps features 10 typographic designs by 10 different artists in their unique styles, each with a single word as the prominent element — smile (Don Clark), hello! (Tré Seals), peace (Jay Fletcher), love (Juan Carlos Pagan), fun (Gia Graham), sweet (Jeff Rogers), yes! (Ryan Feerer), cheers! (Lisa Congdon), kudos! (DKNG Studios) and happy (Gina Triplett). The round shape of the stamps, as well as shadowing and reflection effects, give the appearance of three-dimensional pinback buttons. The pane verso features an illustration of a round silver button back with pin fastener repeated 20 times, one for each pinback button stamp shown on the front of the pane. Greg Breeding, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps.
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Captured by the James Webb Space Telescope, this extremely high-definition infrared image shows the magnificent Pillars of Creation formation within the Eagle Nebula. By assigning color to various wavelengths, the digitized image allows us to see a landscape otherwise invisible to the human eye. Red areas toward the end of the pillars show burgeoning stars ejecting raw materials as they form, while the relatively small red orbs scattered throughout the image show newly born stars. Greg Breeding, an art director for USPS, designed the stamp with an image provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency and the Space Telescope Science Institute.
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A new traditional Christmas stamp will be issued in 2024 featuring the Madonna and Child from the Workshop of Sassoferrato. Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato (1609-1685), gained popularity for his modestly scaled depictions of the Madonna and Child. It is not known whether he painted this work or if it was painted by another artist in his workshop. The painting is in the collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields. William Gicker was the art director for the project. Greg Breeding designed the stamp, which will be sold in booklets of 20.
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The fifth of 12 stamps in the latest Lunar New Year stamp series celebrates the Year of the Dragon. Calling to mind the elaborately decorated masks used in dances often performed in Lunar New Year parades, this three-dimensional mask depicting a dragon is a contemporary take on the long tradition of paper-cut folk art crafts created during this auspicious time of year. The dragon mask design incorporates colors and patterns with symbolic meaning. Antonio Alcalá, an art director for USPS, designed the stamp and pane with original art by Camille Chew.
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A new series of low denomination stamps will debut in 2024. Each stamp will showcase a different flower design: 1-cent fringed tulip, 2-cent daffodils, 3-cent peonies, 5-cent red tulips and 10-cent poppies and coneflowers. Photographer Harold Davis combines innovative technology with digital painting and photographic techniques to arrive at his unique floral designs. These stamps will be available in panes of 20 and coils of 10,000. Ethel Kessler, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps.
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The 2024 Love stamp features a stylized bird in flight bearing a message of love in its beak. Made of four geometric shapes shown against a rich red background, the white bird carries a pink envelope sealed with a red heart. Antonio Alcalá, an art director for USPS, designed this stamp with an original digital illustration by Katie Kirk.
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Kwanzaa in 2024. Observed from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1, the annual pan-African holiday brings together family, community and culture. The artwork for this colorful stamp is a digital collage depicting three figures: a male drummer and two female dancers. The art was inspired by a live performance witnessed by the artist, Ekua Holmes, during a Kwanzaa event. Ethel Kessler, an art director for USPS, designed the stamp.
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This stamp issuance celebrates America's love of horses. Once instrumental in the early economic development of the United States, horses are now valued athletes and loyal companions, and are important in law enforcement, forestry, entertainment, equine therapy and cattle ranching. This pane of 20 stamps features five photographs of beautiful equines, each in profile. The selvage showcases a sixth horse. Derry Noyes, an art director for USPS, designed these stamps with existing photographs by Stephanie Moon and Karen Wegehenkel.
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Hanukkah will be issued in 2024. The art is a graphic depiction of a hanukiah, the nine-branch candelabra used only at Hanukkah, with all candles lighted, signifying the last evening of the holiday. The artwork is created mostly in blue and white, common Hanukkah colors. Antonio Alcalá, an art director for USPS, designed and illustrated the stamp art.
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These stamps will be available for mailers who enjoy adorning their cards and letters with beautiful stamps depicting nature scenes. In each of the four photographs, a different female ruby-throated hummingbird hovers next to either a zinnia, cigar flower, spotted touch-me-not or sunflower. Garden Delights will be issued in booklets of 20. Greg Breeding, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps using existing photographs by wildlife photographer Ben King.
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In 2024, the Postal Service commemorates the 250th anniversary of the First Continental Congress. Made up of delegates from 12 of the 13 Colonies, the First Continental Congress convened in 1774 to decide how the Colonies should respond to increasing threats to their freedom. In addition to denouncing taxation without representation, the Congress called for a general boycott of British goods. It also issued a declaration of rights that included life, liberty, property and trial by jury, and laid the foundation for government during the American Revolution. The stamp art features a quote from the Congress’s protest letter to the King of England. The 12 stars stand for the 12 Colonies represented at the meeting. (Georgia did not agree with the protest and did not send representatives.) Antonio Alcalá served as art director, designer and typographer for this stamp.
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This remarkable image from the James Webb Space Telescope is a digitally colored depiction of the invisible bands of mid-infrared light emitted by the Cosmic Cliffs of the Carina Nebula. Red and yellow flares scattered throughout the cliffs show developing and newly born stars. The orange-and-brown clouds in the lower third of the image are swirls of dust and gas. Additional stars, in our Milky Way and in distant galaxies, appear in the blue and black regions above and beyond the nebula. Greg Breeding, an art director for USPS, designed the Stamp using an image provided by NASA, the European Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency and the Space Telescope Science Institute.
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The 47th stamp in the Black Heritage series honors Constance Baker Motley (1921–2005), the first African American woman known to have argued a case before the United States Supreme Court and the first to serve as a federal judge. The stamp features a portrait of Motley created by Charly Palmer. The stenciled circular shapes create a subtle crowning effect, and the heavy brushstrokes and scratches add texture to the acrylic-on-canvas work. Stenciled curlicues embellish the lower background and continue onto Motley’s black dress. Derry Noyes, an art director for USPS, designed the stamp.
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Similar in design to the 2-ounce Wedding Blooms stamp, this floral Forever stamp can be used on the RSVP envelopes often enclosed with wedding invitations. A beautiful addition to regular correspondence, it is also ideal for party invitations, thank-you notes and important announcements. The stamp features a horizontal graphic illustration of brilliantly colored flowers rendered in ink and gouache paint. Derry Noyes, an art director for USPS, designed the stamp using an existing illustration by artist Kim Parker.
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Bluegrass music combines elements of country music, sacred songs, string band music, the blues and traditions of Scotland and Ireland into a style that is uniquely American. The stamp art showcases a graphic design that includes four of the string instruments typically used by bluegrass bands: guitar, fiddle, five-string banjo and mandolin. Antonio Alcalá, an art director for USPS, designed the stamp with original art by Heather Moulder.
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The radiant beauty of fall will be celebrated with 10 new stamps in a pane of 20, featuring a portfolio of brilliant photographs taken in a variety of locations around the United States. Ethel Kessler, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps with existing photographs by renowned nature and garden photographer Allen Rokach (1941–2021).
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In 2024, a new Floral Geometry stamp, denominated at $1, will be available for purchase. The stamp will complement the similarly designed $2 and $5 stamps issued in 2022 and the $10 stamp issued in 2023. The stamps lend an elegant and contemporary appearance to packages, large envelopes and other mailings. The stamp art features a series of overlapping geometric shapes that mimic the symmetry of floral patterns found in nature. The watercolor background and the glimmer of the foil-stamped design and typography create a sophisticated look. This stamp will be issued in panes of 10. The stamps were designed and created by the firm Spaeth Hill. Antonio Alcalá served as art director for USPS.
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One of the most renowned and influential artists of the 20th century, Ansel Adams (1902-1984) made thousands of awe-inspiring photographs that collectively create a rich visual portrait of the American landscape. A masterful photographer and dedicated environmentalist, Adams sought to imbue each of his black-and-white prints with the power and wonder he felt in the presence of nature. These 16 stamps feature some of Adams’s most famous images in his signature "straight photography" style, an approach defined by its precision and directness. Derry Noyes, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps.The USPS' 2002 pane of 20 Masters of American Photography included Adams' "Sand Dunes, Sunrise", which is not part of this new set of 20 Adams photographs.
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Carnival Nights celebrates one of America's favorite pastimes. The stomach-twisting thrill rides, the indulgent snacks and sweets and the general spirit of lighthearted fun make the nation's carnivals and fairs a place for visitors of any age to enjoy. Ten new stamps in a pane of 20 feature photographs that convey the energy and color of a summer carnival at night. Greg Breeding, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps with existing photographs.
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This stamp release marks the 50th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons, described by its owners as “the World’s Greatest Role-playing Game,” that has become a cultural phenomenon. By inviting participants to imagine themselves as wizards, warriors and other adventurers in exciting and treacherous fantasy worlds, Dungeons & Dragons opened doors to whole new universes of creativity for generations of players. The pane of 20 stamps features 10 different designs that highlight characters, creatures and encounters familiar to players of the game. Greg Breeding, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps and pane with existing illustrations.
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Four new art-inspired holiday stamp designs feature two colorful Christmas ornaments, a vibrant poinsettia surrounded by greenery, and a whimsical blue flower centered against green leaves and delicate scrollwork. Antonio Alcalá, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps and booklet of 20.
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Legendary coach John Wooden (1910-2010) led the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Bruins to a record-setting 10 Division I men's basketball national championships. Often considered the greatest coach in the history of American sports, Wooden coached the Bruins to 88 consecutive wins and four perfect (30-0) seasons. The stamp features a portrait of Wooden. In the "UCLA blue" background, a player defends a shot. The numbers on the two players' jerseys, 4 and 10, evoke the Bruins' four perfect seasons and the 10 national championships during Wooden's tenure. Antonio Alcalá, an art director for USPS, designed the stamp using original artwork by Alexis Franklin.
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