Chris Ware wasn't at his stamp release event, but I was. I took the day off because I had never been to one of these ceremonies before. This was held at the US Post Office headquarters in L'Enfant Plaza, or actually on the sidewalk outside it.
I seriously underestimated the crowd the event would draw, and ended up parking under the Spy Museum / Hilton for $18/hour. The whole area is one of those 1960s urban renewal plans that destroyed perfectly good neighborhoods for brutalist monstrosities. This was a big deal launch because it's the 250th anniversary of the postal service and these were the stamps commemorating that.
After some musical entertainment including a man singing Elvis' "Return to Sender" and a fiddle player, and an excellent version of the Star Spangled Banner by a PO employee, Ben Franklin took the stage.
In addition to Ware's stamp sheet, a new stamp of Franklin as the first Postmaster General was launched. Speakers included Amber McReynolds, USPS Board of Governors chairwoman, who writes history on women and voting...
the new Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer David Steiner...
and then they 'unveiled' both stamps, not that they were a surprise to anyone in the crowd...
...and then Ben Franklin wrapped it up and people got on line to buy stamps and get first day cancellations. Before and during the event, USPS staff were handing out the official programs for both stamps, and pins of each. Below is the Ware one, which was designed by Antonio Alcalá, whom I've previously interviewed here.
...they were generous with them too, so outside of DC, the Billy Ireland Library at OSU will soon have a set.
These hard-working ladies were cancelling stamps at speed but with precision for the crowd...
And in surprising news, the PO is planning on reissuing a stamp by voting popularity. Out of the 20 shown, 11 are cartoon stamps including Disney, Pixar, DC, and Peanuts, but not Marvel.
Special Stamp Re-Issue
Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the gang are back – this time with a delightful British twist. To mark the 75th anniversary of the beloved Peanuts comic strip, Royal Mail has unveiled a charming new set of stamps. Expect postboxes, seaside sandcastles, and even Buckingham Palace cameos.
June 23, 2025
What:
The U.S. Postal Service will release new stamps, one of which comes as part of a 32-page prestige booklet, to commemorate 250 years of service to the nation.
The illustrated Forever stamps, 250 Years of Delivering, tell the story of a mail carrier making her daily rounds during a year in the life of the community she serves. The "Putting a Stamp on the American Experience"booklet highlights popular subjects that give the U.S. stamp program its remarkable range and depth. Exclusively available with this booklet are two sheets of a new Forever stamp featuring the first postmaster general, Benjamin Franklin.
The first-day-of-issue event for the stamps and booklet is free and open to the public. News regarding the stamps is being shared with the hashtags #250YearsofDelivering and #USPS250booklet.
When:
Wednesday, July 23, at noon ET
Where:
U.S. Postal Service headquarters
475 L'Enfant Plaza SW
Washington, DC 20260
RSVP:
Attendees are encouraged to register at: usps.com/usps250years
Background:
250 Years of Delivering stamps
Established in 1775, the postal system was so essential to winning American independence and creating a free nation that it is mentioned in the U.S. Constitution.
For 250 years, the U.S. Postal Service has continued to serve the same ideals — connecting individuals, communities and businesses through an ongoing exchange of ideas, information and goods. Although the United States only makes up 4 percent of the world's population, the U.S. Postal Service handles 44 percent of mail across the entire globe.
In snow, rain, heat and gloom of night, USPS reliably reaches us where we live and work. Today, at nearly 169 million addresses nationwide, American communities near and far are connected by mail.
The 250 Years of Delivering stamps are a meticulously illustrated pane of 20 interconnected stamps that offers a bird's-eye view of a bustling town. Each stamp is a frame of sequential art that tells the story of a mail carrier's daily journey as she walks her route. Laid out in four rows of five stamps, the story progresses through the four seasons, from top-left to bottom-right.
Chris Ware created the stamp artwork and co-designed the pane with Antonio Alcalá, an art director for USPS.
'Putting a Stamp on the American Experience' prestige booklet
Highlighting the popular subjects and series that give the U.S. stamp program its remarkable range, "Putting a Stamp on the American Experience" provides an in-depth look at some of the Postal Service's most popular stamps. The 32-page prestige booklet includes two self-adhesive sheets of a new Forever stamp available exclusively with this purchase. The stamps feature an exclusive reframed, modern interpretation of a 5-cent stamp depicting Benjamin Franklin, originally released in 1847. This booklet is exclusively available through the Postal Store, by calling 844-737-7826, or by mail through USA Philatelic.
As one of the first two honorees on U.S. stamps, Franklin is a longtime icon of the stamp program, appearing on more than 100 releases in the 178-year history of American stamps. Appointed postmaster general of the Colonies by the Second Continental Congress in 1775, Franklin appreciated that the postal system could help unite the Colonies — and the nation they became. As a printer, scientist and diplomat, he played a monumental role in shaping American culture, and his postal legacy of adaptability and innovation continues to inspire the modern-day Postal Service.
Ethel Kessler, an art director for USPS, designed the prestige booklet and the stamp.
Postal Products
Customers may purchase stamps and other philatelic products through the Postal Store at usps.com/shopstamps, by calling 844-737-7826, by mail through USA Philatelic or at Post Office locations nationwide. For officially licensed stamp products, shop the USPS Officially Licensed Collection on Amazon. Additional information on stamps, first-day-of-issue ceremonies and stamp inspired products can be found at StampsForever.com.
The second release, 250 Years of Delivering, is a pane of 20 stamps by cartoonist Chris Ware that invites the public to spot a fun array of familiar postal items and icons while following a mail carrier on her rounds through four seasons of the year.
Both the prestige booklet which includes the Ben Franklin Stamp and the 250 Years of Delivering pane are scheduled to be released in July. There will be additional stamps in the 2025 stamps program announced soon. These designs are preliminary and may change.
Postal Products
Customers may purchase stamps and other philatelic products through The Postal Store at usps.com/shopstamps, by calling 844-737-7826, by mail through USA Philatelic or at select Post Office locations nationwide. For officially licensed stamp products, shop the USPS Officially Licensed Collection on Amazon. The stories behind the stamps and more are available at stampsforever.com.
On the Record: Bill of Rights; 5-cent commemorative issued July 1, 1966 at Miami Beach, Fla. [aka Herblock Designs a Stamp].
Belmont Faries
S.P.A. Journal 30 (3; November 1967); cover, 163-170
It's worth quoting part of the article now.
The stamp's designer, also a speaker raised the question of how the Bill of Rights would fare if it were up for ratification today, quoting critics who ask 'Must our government be weak in the face of men accused of crime, who demand legal advice; weak before those who take the fifth amendment, weak before those who openly express differences with government policy even in time of war?
"The answer", he said, "is that the restriction imposed on government by the Bill of Rights - these so-called weakness of our government in relation to the rights of the individual person, of the poorest, the meanest or the most misguided of its people -- these are in fact our nation's greatest strength."
Update: the photograph from the cover is in the Library of Congress, but only available at low-resolution unless you visit. Thanks, Sara Duke!
| SpongeBob SquarePants SpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. Each episode chronicles the adventures of the perpetually optimistic and generous main character SpongeBob SquarePants and his aquatic friends in the underwater city of Bikini Bottom. Only a month after its TV premiere in 1999, the show became the highest-rated and most viewed animated Saturday morning program that year, beating Pokemon. Its popularity made it a multimedia franchise and the highest rated Nickelodeon series. SpongeBob SquarePants has won a variety of awards including six Annie Awards, eight Golden Reel Awards, four Emmy Awards, two BAFTA Children's Awards, and a record-breaking twenty-one Kids' Choice Awards. A Broadway musical based on the series opened in 2017 to critical acclaim. |
