[press release]
Postal Service Announces 44th Black Heritage Stamp,
Honoring Legendary Playwright August Wilson

WASHINGTON, DC — Award-winning playwright August Wilson is receiving one of the nation’s highest honors when he takes center stage on a Forever stamp.

The stamp will be dedicated Jan. 28 on the Postal Service Facebook and Twitter pages. For more information, visit usps.com/blackheritage-augustwilson.

One of America’s greatest playwrights, Wilson is hailed as a trailblazer for helping to bring nonmusical African American drama to the forefront of American theater.

Wilson collected innumerable accolades for his work, including seven New York Drama Critics’ Circle Awards; a Tony Award, for 1987’s “Fences”; and two Pulitzer Prizes, for “Fences” and 1990’s “The Piano Lesson.”

The Wikipedia entry on him is here. A Broadway theater in New York is also named after him. Only 41 theaters are designated as “Broadway theaters.”

Wilson was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., which will be the stamp’s first-day city.

[More information will be added to this page below the line, as we get it, with the most-recent first.]

---

Updated January 25th:
The USPS is selling two versions of the press sheet for this issue, with die cuts (480006) and without (480008). Both are $66.

Updated January 13th:
[press release]
Playwright August Wilson Takes Center Stage on U.S. Postal Service Commemorative Forever Stamp

WHAT: The U.S. Postal Service will honor August Wilson with a commemorative Forever stamp in the Black Heritage series.

News of the stamp is being shared with hashtags #AugustWilsonForever and #BlackHeritageStamps.

WHO: Dr. Joshua D. Colin, vice president, Delivery Operations, U.S. Postal Service
Constanza Romero, trustee of the August Wilson Trust and widow of August Wilson
Sakina Ansari, daughter of August Wilson

WHEN: Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021, at 11:30 a.m. EST

WHERE: The virtual stamp event will be hosted on the U.S. Postal Service Facebook and Twitter pages. For more information, visit usps.com/blackheritage-augustwilson.

BACKGROUND: The 44th stamp in the Black Heritage series honors playwright August Wilson (1945-2005), who brought fresh perspectives and previously unheard voices to the American stage.

Between 1982 and 2005, Wilson wrote his acclaimed American Century Cycle. This series of 10 plays includes nine set in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, the neighborhood where Wilson grew up. With one play for each decade of the 20th century, including such well-known works as “Fences,” “The Piano Lesson” and “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone,” the American Century Cycle plays have been praised for being emotionally powerful but not sentimental, and for demonstrating Wilson’s ear for African American storytelling traditions.

The only play in the cycle not set in Pittsburgh, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” chronicles a tense 1927 recording session in Chicago that reveals truths about the exploitation of African American musicians and the tenuous nature of African American success. The film adaptation of the play was released on Netflix last month.

Wilson was one of only a handful of American playwrights to receive the Pulitzer Prize more than once. Today, he is hailed as a trailblazer for helping to bring nonmusical African American drama to the forefront of American theater.

The new Forever stamp features an oil painting of Wilson based on a 2005 photograph. Behind him, a picket fence alludes to the title “Fences.”

Art director Ethel Kessler designed this stamp with art by Tim O’Brien.

It is being issued as a Forever stamp, which will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce price.

Updated January 6th:
Here are the first-day postmarks for this issue:The Digital Color Postmark measures 2.70″ x 1.19″The B&W pictorial postmark measures 2.62″ x .63″ The special postmark, for use by other post offices, measures 2.71″ x .94″

Updated December 31st from the Postal Bulletin:

On January 28, 2021, in Pittsburgh, PA, the United States Postal Service® will issue the August Wilson stamp (Forever® priced at the First-Class Mail® rate) in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20 stamps (Item 480000). This stamp will go on sale nationwide January 28, 2021, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue.

The 44th stamp in the Black Heritage® series honors playwright August Wilson (1945–2005), who brought fresh perspectives and previously unheard voices to the American stage. This stamp features an oil painting of Wilson based on a 2005 photograph. Behind Wilson, a picket fence alludes to the title of Fences, one of his best-known plays. Art director Ethel Kessler designed the stamp with art by Tim O’Brien.

There will be an automatic distribution for Item 480000, August Wilson

A special dedication postmark is available for local post offices.

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 – August Wilson 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 May 28, 2021.

Technical Specifications:

Issue: August Wilson Stamp
Item Number: 480000
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever
Format: Pane of 20 (1 design)
Series: Black Heritage
Issue Date & City: January 28, 2021, Pittsburgh, PA 15290
Art Director: Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD
Designer: Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD
Artist: Tim O’Brien, Brooklyn, NY
Modeler: Joseph Sheeran
Manufacturing Process: Offset, Microprint
Printer: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd. (APU)
Press Type: Muller A76
Stamps per Pane: 20
Print Quantity: 45,000,000 stamps
Paper Type: Nonphosphored Type III, Block Tag
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Colors: Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, PMS 4029 C Beige
Stamp Orientation: Vertical
Image Area (w x h): 0.84 x 1.42 in./21.336 x 36.068 mm
Overall size (w x h): 0.98 x 1.56 in./24.892 x 39.624 mm
Full Pane Size (w x h): 6.00 x 8.50 in./152.40 x 215.90 mm
Press Sheet Size (w x h): 12.00 x 25.75 in./ 304.80 x 654.05 mm
Plate Size: 240 stamps per revolution
Plate Number: “P” followed by five (5) single digits in two corners
Marginal Markings:
Front: Header: BLACK HERITAGE, Celebrating August Wilson, 44TH IN A SERIES
Plate number in two (2) corners
Back: ©2020 USPS • USPS Logo • Two barcodes (480000) • Plate position diagram (6) • Promotional text