USPS Commemorates Nursing Centenary

World Stamp Today:

DECEMBER 28, 1961

The U.S. Postal Service issued a stamp  commemorating the centenary of the nursing profession. 

The 4-cent stamp shows a student nurse lighting a graduation candle.

(Concept and research: Richard Allan Uy)

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The Maya Angelou Forever Stamp

The United States Postal Service released on April 7, 2015 the Maya Angelou Forever® stamp in self-adhesive sheets of 12 and was designed by Art director Ethel Kessler.

Dr. Maya Angelou (1028-2014), an author, poet, actress, and champion of civil rights, was one of the most dynamic voices in all of 20th-century American literature. Her book, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, an autobiographical account of her childhood, gained wide acclaim for its vivid depiction of African-American life in the South.

The stamps showcases artist Ross Rossin's 2013 portrait of Dr. Angelou. The oil-on-canvas painting is part of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery's collection. In the bottom left corner is the following phrase quoted by Dr. Angelou: "A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song." Above the quotation is her name in black type. The words "Forever" and "USA" are along the right side. The bright red-colored sheet also includes a short excerpt from Dr. Angelou's book Letter to My Daughter. It reads: "Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud."   

The Maya Angelou Forever stamp was officially dedicated with the presence of First Lady Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Melissa Harris-Perry, Sophia Nelson, Valerie Ashford-Simpson, Sonja Sanchez, Dr. Eleanor Traylor, Rossin Fin Art, Ethel Kessler and the Angelou-Johnson family.  Check the details at the USPS link at https://store.usps.com/store/browse/uspsProductDetailMultiSkuDropDown.jsp?productId=S_472604 

USPS Mark Twain Stamp is Now Out

World famous author and humorist Mark Twain was honored on a postage stamp on June 25, 2011 by the United States Postal Service (USPS).

This commemorative First-class Forever stamp is the 27th stamp in the Literary Arts series.

The First Day of Issue ceremony was held at the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum in Hannibal, MO.

Postal Service Board of Governors member James H. Bilbray said that “Our literary tribute this year rightfully honors Mark Twain, author of one of the greatest novels in American literature and the man whom William Faulkner called ‘the first truly American writer’.. Mark Twain was a rarity, as he was one of the first writers to exploit the vernacular voice in his books, using the speech of common Americans.”

Mark Twain (1835—1910), is the author of great works such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is one of the greatest novels in American literature.

The postage stamp portrait features an old Mark Twain; the background showing a steamboat evokes a way of life along the Mississippi River that played a big role in many of Twain’s works, as well as in his own life. Art director and stamp designer Phil Jordan collaborated with stamp artist Gregory Manchess, who based his portrait of Twain on a photograph taken in the year 1907.

Celebrating American Scientists

The United States Postal Service (USPS) dedicates new Forever Stamps honoring four distinguished scientists.

The third in the American Scientists series, the distinguished scientists who dedicated their lives to understanding the fundamental process of nature and made extraordinary contributions to the advancement of science are: chemist Melvin Calvin; botanist Asa Gray; physicist Maria Goeppert Mayer; and biochemist Severo Ochoa.The stamps comes out today, June 16, 2011.

USPS Releases Flags of our Nation Set 4 Stamps

The United States Post Office (USPS) releases today the Flags of our Nation Set 4 stamps.

These l44-cent First-Class Mail stamps consist of 10 designs of highly detailed flag portraits done by artist Tom Engeman of Bethany Beach, DE, working under the direction of stamp designer Howard E. Paine of Delaplane, VA.

The stamps feature the Stars and Stripes stamp that depicts the “purple mountain majesties” inspired by the opening lines of “America the Beautiful” by Katharine Lee Bates (1859-1929), plus the state flags of Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ne Mexico, New York, North Carolina and North Dakota.

Abstract Expressionists

In celebration of the abstract expressionist artists of the 20th century, the United States Postal Service (USPS) issued on March 11, 2010 a 44–cent, Abstract Expressionists commemorative stamp in ten designs, designed by Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, Maryland.

Art Director Ethel Kessler and noted Art Historian Jonathan Fineberg (Gutgsell Professor Art History, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign) selected ten paintings to be included on this pane of self–adhesive stamps. Kessler used elements from Barnett Newman’s Achilles (1952) to frame the stamps.

The stamps were arranged in a manner to suggest paintings hanging on a gallery wall. For design purposes, the sizes of the stamp are not in relative proportion to the paintings. The pane also features selvage text and a quotation by Robert Motherwell. Each of the stamps include the name of the artist and verso text that identifies the painting and briefly tells something about the artist.

The list of stamp artworks are:

• The Golden Wall (1961) — Hans Hofmann (1880–1966)
• Romanesque Façade (1949) — Adolph Gottlieb (1903–1974)
• Orange and Yellow (1956) — Mark Rothko (1903–1970)
• The Liver Is the Cock’s Comb (1944) — Arshile Gorky (1904–1948)
• 1948–C (1948) — Clyfford Still (1904–1980)
• Asheville (1948) — Willem de Kooning (1904–1997)
• Achilles (1952) — Barnett Newman (1905–1970)
• Convergence (1952) — Jackson Pollock (1912–1956)
• Elegy to the Spanish Republic No. 34 (1953–1954) — Robert Motherwell (1915–1991)
• La Grande Vallée 0 (1983) — Joan Mitchell (1925–1992)