From the U.S. Postal Service announcement on October 22, 2019:
This stamp celebrates the 200th anniversary of Maine statehood. Nicknamed the Pine Tree State, Maine became the 23rd state in the Union on Mar. 15, 1820. American painter Edward Hopper (1882-1967) was among the many prominent artists who sought the tranquility of the state’s coastal towns during the summer. His painting “Sea at Ogunquit” (1914) captures the rugged beauty characteristic of Maine. Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamp.
Issue date: Sunday, March 15th.
The Scott Catalogue number for this issue is 5456.
Additional information will be posted below the line, with the most recent at the top.
Updated April 26th:
Linn’s Stamp News reports the first-day ceremony has been rescheduled for September 27th, at the Augusta Armory. It will again be part of the overall state bicentennial event.
Updated March 13th:
Ceremony postponed!
[press release]
Maine Statehood Stamp Dedication Ceremony Postponed
Stamp will still available for purchase starting Sunday, March 15.
The U.S. Postal Service dedication of the Maine Statehood Forever stamp, scheduled for March 15, 2020, will be delayed due to the postponement of the host event, the Maine Statehood Day Ceremony in Augusta, ME. The Maine Statehood Forever stamp will still be available for purchase starting Sunday, March 15.
The Maine Bicentennial Commission noted that it would reschedule the Statehood celebration for a date when everyone can safely come together to join in observing 200 years of Maine statehood.
The Postal Service will schedule a special dedication for the Maine Statehood Forever stamp at a later date that will likely coincide with the Statehood Day ceremony as planned.
Customers may still purchase the stamps starting Sunday, March 15…
Updated February 24th:
[press release / ceremony details]
U.S. Postal Service to Issue Maine Statehood Forever Stamp March 15
What: The U.S. Postal Service celebrates the 200th anniversary of Maine statehood with a new Forever stamp. Maine became the 23rd state on March 15, 1820.
The picturesque rocky coastline of Maine has long inspired the imagination of writers and artists. American painter Edward Hopper (1882-1967) was among the many prominent artists who sought the tranquility of the state’s coastal towns during the summer. His painting “Sea at Ogunquit” (1914) captures the rugged beauty so characteristic of Maine and is being represented on the stamp, which art director Derry Noyes designed.
The stamp dedication event will be part of the Maine Statehood Day Ceremony activities.
Who: Michael J. Elston, Secretary of the Board of Governors, U.S. Postal Service
Janet Mills, Governor, State of Maine
Matthew Dunlap, Secretary of State, Maine
When: Sunday, March 15, 2020, 1 p.m. EDT
Where: Augusta Armory
179 Western Ave.
Augusta, ME 04330
RSVP: Dedication ceremony attendees are encouraged to RSVP at usps.com/mainestatehood.
Background:
Maine celebrates its bicentennial in 2020, but its history of human habitation dates back some 12,000 years to the earliest Native Americans, who are now part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. During the Colonial period, Maine territory was disputed between Massachusetts Bay Colony and French Acadia, who sought allies among and warred against Native Americans. Following the Revolutionary War and ratification of the U.S. Constitution, the District of Maine remained part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Maine became an independent state on March 15, 1820. Portland, the state’s largest city then and now, served as the capital until 1827 when the seat of government moved to Augusta, a more geographically central location.
Customers may purchase stamps and other philatelic products through The Postal Store at usps.com/shopstamps, by calling 800-STAMP24 (800-782-6724), by mail through USA Philatelic or at Post Office locations nationwide.
Updated February 13, 2020:
This stamp will be issued Sunday, March 15th, in Augusta, Maine. This is a change from what was initially announced.
From the Postal Bulletin:
On March 15, 2020, in Augusta, ME, the United States Postal Service® will issue the Maine Statehood stamp (Forever® priced at the First-Class Mail® rate) in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive pane of 20 stamps (Item 476100). The stamp will go on sale nationwide March 15, 2020, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue.
This stamp celebrates the 200th anniversary of Maine statehood. Nicknamed the Pine Tree State, Maine became the 23rd state in the Union on March 15, 1820. American painter Edward Hopper (1882–1967) was among the many prominent artists who sought the tranquility of the state’s coastal towns during the summer. His painting Sea at Ogunquit (1914) captures the rugged beauty so characteristic of Maine. Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamp.
Availability to Post Offices: Item 476100, Maine Statehood (Forever Priced at the First-Class Mail Rate) Pane of 20 Stamps. Automatic push.
How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark:
Customers have 120 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office™ or at The Postal Store® website at usps.com/shop. They must affix the stamps to envelopes
of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:
FDOI – Maine Statehood Stamp
USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300
Kansas City, MO 64144-9900
After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service™ will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. There is a 5-cent charge for each additional postmark over 50. All orders must be postmarked by July 15, 2020.
Technical Specifications:
Issue: Maine Statehood Stamp
Item Number: 476100
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever
Format: Pane of 20 (1 design)
Series: Statehood
Issue Date & City: March 15, 2020, Augusta, ME 04330
Art Director: Derry Noyes, Washington, DC
Designer: Derry Noyes, Washington, DC
Typographer: Derry Noyes, Washington, DC
Existing Art: Edward Hopper
Modeler: Joseph Sheeran
Manufacturing Process: Offset, Microprint
Printer: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd. (APU)
Press Type: Muller A76
Stamps per Pane: 20
Print Quantity: 20,000,000 stamps
Paper Type: Nonphosphored Type III, Block Tag
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Processed at: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd. (APU)
Stamp Orientation: Horizontal
Image Area (w x h): 1.42 x 0.84 in./36.068 x 21.336 mm
Stamp Size (w x h): 1.56 x 0.98 in./39.624 x 24.892 mm
Full Pane Size (w x h): 7.24 x 5.92 in./183.896 x 150.368 mm
Colors: Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow
Plate Size: 240 stamps per revolution
Plate Numbers: “P” followed by four (4) single digits in four corners
Marginal Markings: Plate position diagram (6) • 2 Barcodes (476100) • ©2019 USPS • USPS logo
• Promotional text
Here are the first-day postmarks for this issue:
The Digital Color Postmark (DCP) measures 2.76″ x 1.46″ 
The B&W Pictorial Postmark measures 2.64″ x 1.24″
The Digital Color Postmark for this issue measures 1.84″ x 1.48″ 
The pictorial postmark measures 2.72″ x 1.21″ 
The special postmark, for use by local post offices, measures 2.97″ x 1.18″
Palmer stamp (Forever® priced at the First-Class Mail® rate) in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive pane of 20 stamps (Item 475900). The stamp will go on sale nationwide March 4, 2020, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue.
The other two first-day postmarks are shown below.
What:
The Digital Color Postmark measures 2.67″ x 1.26″ 
The B&W pictorial measures 2.62″ x 1.23″
The B&W pictorial measures 2.97″ x 1.48″
issued next month in time for Valentine’s Day. The Forever stamp features horizontal lines of red and pink hearts on a white background.
most esteemed journalists. The stamp art features a photo of Ifill taken in 2008 by photographer Robert Severi. Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamp.
The Digital Color Postmark for this issue 2.49″x1.20″ 
The B&W pictorial for this issue measures 2.46″ x 1.08″ 
The “special” postmark measures 2.82″ x 1.15″
From the U.S. Postal Service announcement on October 22, 2019:
and here are just the 12 masks, taken from the selvage to make them easier to see. 
The B&W pictorial measures 2.62″ x 1.22″
Lunar New Year: Year of the Rat stamp (Forever priced at the First-Class Mail rate) in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive pane of 20 stamps (Item 475600). The stamp will go on sale nationwide January 11, 2020, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue. The Lunar New Year: Year of the Rat pane of 20 stamps may not be split and the stamps may not be sold individually.
VSC member Mike DePaz at the first day ceremony. 
A large cover created by DePaz containing all the stamps in both the booklet and coil formats, with autographs of ceremony participants, plus the first-day ceremony program. 
Jim Fowler, the photographer of the images used on the stamps, holds DePaz’s jumbo FDC.
Someone canceling covers at the ceremony site. Photographs courtesy Mike DePaz.
The Digital Color Postmark measures 2.38″ x 1.46″ 
The B&W pictorial postmark measures 2.0″ x 1.23″
On February 21, 2020, in Coral Gables, FL, the U.S. Postal Service® will issue Wild Orchids stamps (Forever® priced at the First-Class Mail® rate) in 10 designs, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) booklet of 20 stamps (Item 682500), a PSA Coil of 3,000 stamps (Item 750400), and a PSA Coil of 10,000 stamps (Item 760700). The stamps will go on sale nationwide February 21, 2020, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue.
Issue: Wild Orchids Stamps
Print Quantity: 15,000,000 stamps
Item Number: 760700
Print Quantity: 50,000,000 stamps
are preliminary and subject to change.
Contemporary Boutonniere is a new Forever stamp similar in design to the new 2-ounce Garden Corsage stamp. It can be used for wedding RSVP cards and is also perfect for party invitations, thank-you notes, announcements, birthday cards, Father’s Day cards and other occasions when a beautiful stamp is fitting. The stamp features a photograph of an arrangement of a burgundy mini-cymbidium orchid bloom, a succulent and a touch of green hydrangea, accented with loops of variegated lily grass. These materials are on trend for today’s modern designs, as arranged by floral designer Carol Caggiano and photographed by Renée Comet. Art director Ethel Kessler designed the stamp.
The Postal Service introduces Garden Corsage, a new 2-ounce stamp. This stamp can accommodate the weight of heavy invitations for birthdays, weddings, anniversaries and other celebrations, oversize greeting cards for all occasions, and mailings such as small gifts that require extra postage. The stamp features a photograph of a corsage containing a spray of peach roses and a pink ranunculus, accented with deep-pink heather and seeded eucalyptus. A cream-colored lace ribbon entwines the flowers. Garden Corsage is similar in design to the Contemporary Boutonniere Forever stamp, and the two form a natural pair. The corsage was arranged by floral designer Carol Caggiano and photographed by Renée Comet. Art director Ethel Kessler designed the stamp.
Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, the Postal Service issues a stamp featuring a playful painting of the planet, with small green lines surrounding Earth and hand-lettered text. Art director Antonio Alcalá was the stamp artist and designer. Ricky Altizer was the typographer.
With these stamps the Postal Service celebrates the beauty of American gardens. This pane of 20 stamps features 10 different photographs of botanic, country estate and municipal gardens taken between 1996 and 2014. The gardens include: Biltmore Estate Gardens (North Carolina); Brooklyn Botanic Garden (New York); Chicago Botanic Garden (Illinois); Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens (Maine); Dumbarton Oaks Garden (District of Columbia); The Huntington Botanical Gardens (California); Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park (Florida); Norfolk Botanical Garden (Virginia); Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens (Ohio); and Winterthur Garden (Delaware). Art director Ethel Kessler designed the stamps with existing photographs by Allen Rokach.
These stamps celebrate one of the great artistic and literary movements in American history, the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, which firmly established African Americans as a vital force in literature and the arts. Twenty stamps showcase four stylized pastel portraits of these literary figures: writer, philosopher, educator and arts advocate Alain Locke; novelist Nella Larsen; bibliophile and historian Arturo Alfonso Schomburg; and poet Anne Spencer. African-inspired motifs are used as background elements of each portrait. The pane header shows a cityscape in silhouette with a sun in its midst and the title “Voices of the Harlem Renaissance.” The artist for these stamps was Gary Kelley. Art director Greg Breeding designed the stamps.
With the release of the Enjoy the Great Outdoors Forever stamps, the Postal Service celebrates the many ways individuals experience America’s abundance of natural beauty. These hand-sketched and painted designs depict five different scenes of outdoor activities — building a sand castle, hiking, cross-country skiing, canoeing and biking. Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamps with original art by Gregory Manchess.
The Postal Service celebrates hip hop with four new stamps in a pane of 20. Since its inception more than four decades ago, the electrifying music, dance and art movement has profoundly influenced American and global popular culture. The stamp art features photographs taken by Cade Martin that depict four elements of hip hop: MCing (rapping), b-boying (breakdancing), DJing and graffiti art. The bold, digitally tinted images are intended to appear in motion. The words “Forever” and “USA,” “Hip Hop,” and the name of the element featured appear across the top of each stamp. Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamps, which are highlighted with a vivid yellow, green, red and black color scheme. The title of the stamps, printed in red and black, is centered on the top of the pane.
The Postal Service captures the classic beauty of still-life paintings in a booklet of 20 stamps featuring 10 different portraits of fruits and vegetables. Each stamp features a collection of one kind of fruit or vegetable: red and black plums, heirloom and cherry tomatoes, carrots, lemons, blueberries, red and green grapes, lettuces, strawberries, eggplants and figs. Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamps with existing art by Robert Papp.
In 2020, the Postal Service issues four new stamps in a booklet of 20 available for notes, cards and letters of thanks sent to acknowledge a favor, an act of kindness, a job well done or gifts sent for any occasion. Highlighted in gold foil are the words “Thank you” in cursive script and an elegant floral design that swirls through and around the words. Each stamp features one of four background colors: blue gray, deep blue, muted green or soft maroon. Greg Breeding was the art director. Dana Tanamachi was the stamp designer and lettering artist.
With this stamp, the Postal Service commemorates the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees women the right to vote. Inspired by historic photographs, the stamp features a stylized illustration of suffragists marching in a parade or other public demonstration. The clothes they wear and the banners they bear display the official colors of the National Woman’s Party — purple, white and gold. Art director Ethel Kessler designed the stamp with original art by Nancy Stahl.
With this commemorative stamp, the Postal Service marks the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor. The stamp’s image is based on artwork of watercolor, acrylic and gouache, a method of painting that uses opaque pigments ground in water and thickened to a glue-like consistency. The painting was digitally refined to convey a scene of desolate beauty at the end of the Pilgrims’ long journey to an unfamiliar world. Art director Greg Breeding designed the stamp with original art by Greg Harlin.
In 2020, the Postal Service will offer the Presorted Star stamp, sold in self-adhesive coils of 3,000 and 10,000, intended for use by business mailers. This new stamp celebrates the beloved American Stars and Stripes by focusing on its vital components. The asymmetrical design includes one large white star, two white and three red stripes, and a brilliant blue background, as well as lettering and three small stars in gold. Greg Breeding was the art director and Matthew Pamer was the designer for the stamp. It will be issued Feb. 3. No dedication event is planned.
Chrysanthemum is a new Global Forever international rate stamp that can be used to mail a 1-ounce letter to any country where First-Class Mail International service is available. The stamp is round and features a photograph of a pink chrysanthemum on a white background. Taken from above, the photograph highlights the intricate beauty of the bloom. The art director was William J. Gicker. Greg Breeding designed the stamp with an existing photograph by Hong Vo. This stamp will be issued April 24 in Burlingame, CA. Details about the dedication event will be announced at a later date.
The Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum will host the 16th Maynard Sundman Lecture Wednesday, Nov. 6, from noon to 1 p.m. in the museum’s Discovery Center. Admission is free, with no reservation required. The moderated discussion about the postal history of World War II will be held with Kees Adema and Jeffrey Groeneveld (L-R at left), co-authors of The Paper Trail: World War II in Holland and Its Colonies as Seen Through Mail and Documents.
The legislation followed a voluntary postal vote with 61.6 per cent voting “Yes” to the question, “Should the law be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry?”.
David Brine and Nick Higgins celebrate the postal vote result announcement on 15 November 2017 in Sydney and on the same day, Rebecca Davies and Paula Van Bruggen celebrate the result at the State Library, Melbourne.
