Sarah Vaughan (U.S. 2016)

Posted on by

Updated April 14th: The USPS updated the number of press sheets for this issue, from 200 to 1,200.

Updated March 22nd: NBCNews.com and NJTV‘s website have stories on the Sarah Vaughan first day ceremony.

Updated March 22nd: The upcoming first day ceremony is featured in the Better Living section of The Record of Hackensack, the daily newspaper that covers Northern New Jersey. (Newark is not actually part of the paper’s coverage area.) You may need a subscription to view the article.

Updated March 4th: From the USPS: vaughan_dcp_vscThis Digital Color Postmark measures 2.45″x1.49″. The B&W postmark, surprisingly, is the four-bar FIRST DAY OF ISSUE cancel.
From the Postal Bulletin:

On March 29, 2016, in Newark, NJ, the U.S. Postal Service® will issue the Sarah Vaughan First-Class Mail® stamp (Forever® priced at 49 cents) in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 16 stamps (Item 586400). The $7.84 Sarah Vaughan pane of 16 stamps may not be split, and the stamps may not be sold individually.

The stamp will go on sale nationwide March 29, 2016.

s_sarahvaughnThe U.S. Postal Service honors one of America’s greatest singers, Sarah Vaughan (1924–1990). In addition to her impeccable jazz credentials — as a young singer, she worked with great players such as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, and Miles Davis — Vaughan successfully managed a second career as a pop singer. The stamp, part of the Music Icons series, features an oil painting of Vaughan in performance based on a photograph shot in 1955 by Hugh Bell. The stamp pane is designed to resemble a vintage 45 rpm record sleeve. One side of the pane includes the stamps and a brief text about Vaughan’s career with the image of a sliver of a record seeming to peek out of the top of the sleeve. A larger version of the art featured on the stamp, the logo for the Music Icons series, and a list of some of Vaughan’s most popular songs appear on the reverse side. Art director Ethel Kessler designed the stamp and the stamp pane with art created by Bart Forbes.

Stamp Fulfillment Services will make an automatic push distribution to Post Offices™ of a quantity to cover approximately 30 days of sales.

How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark:
Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office, at The Postal Store® website at http:⁄⁄www.usps.com⁄shop, or by calling 800-782-6724. They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

Sarah Vaughan Stamp
U.S. Postal Service
2 Federal Square
Newark, NJ 07102

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 29, 2016.

There are eight philatelic products for this stamp issue:

  • 586406, Press Sheet with Die-cut, $70.56 (print quantity 1,200)
  • 586410 Keepsake, $9.95
  • 586416 First-Day Cover, $0.93
  • 586418 First-Day Cover Full Pane, $10.34
  • 586419 Cancelled Full Pane, $10.34
  • 586421 Digital Color Postmark, $1.64
  • 586424 Framed Art, $39.95
  • 586430 Ceremony Program, $6.95

[Again, a surprise: No no-die-cut press sheets. —LdeV]

Technical Specifications:

s_sarahvaughnIssue: Sarah Vaughan
Item Number: 586400
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever
Format: Pane of 16 (1 design)
Series: Music Icons
Issue Date & City: March 29, 2016, Newark, NJ 07102
Designer: Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD
Art Director: Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD
Typographer: Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD
Artist: Bart Forbes, Plano, TX
Modeler: Joseph Sheeran
Manufacturing Process: Offset, Microprint – “USPS”
Printer: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd. (APU)
Printed at: Williamsville, NY
Press Type: Muller A76
Stamps per Pane: 16
Print Quantity: 25 million stamps
Paper Type: Nonphosphored Type III, Block Tag applied
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Processed at: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd. (APU)
Colors: Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow
Stamp Orientation: Square
Image Area (w x h): 1.09 x 1.09 in.⁄27.56 x 27.56 mm
Overall Size (w x h): 1.56 x 1.56 in.⁄39.62 x 39.62 mm
Full Pane Size (w x h): 7.00 x 7.00 in.⁄177.80 x 177.80 mm
Press Sheet Size (w x h): 21.25 x 21.25 in.⁄539.75 x 539.75 mm
Plate Size: 144 stamps per revolution
Plate Numbers: none
Marginal Markings: Front: © 2015 USPS • USPS logo • Verso text • Promotional text • Barcode (586400) in lower right corner of pane
Back: “Sarah Vaughan”, Music Icons logo • Proprietary text

Updated February 12th: From the USPS: “The Sarah Vaughan first day ceremony in Newark NJ on March 29th is free. What is different is that a free ticket is required for admission. The invitation provides the details about how to obtain your free tickets. Those collectors, enthusiasts and fans of Sarah Vaughan who are located in or near Newark, NJ, may visit the Newark Symphony Hall Box Office, or reserve tickets by phone at 973-643-8014. Living outside New Jersey, order by phone.”SarahVaughanInvite1

Updated January 13th: According to the USPS Events Calendar, the Sarah Vaughan Concert Hall is at Newark Symphony Hall, 1020 Broad Street. The ceremony starts at 11 a.m., and the dedicating official is Dr. Josh Colin, USPS Area Operation Vice President, Eastern Area.

Updated December 6th: According to the new issue of Linn’s, the Sarah Vaughan commemorative will be issued March 29, 2016 at the Sarah Vaughan Concert Hall in Newark, NJ.  Vaughan was born in Newark in 1924.

From the USPS August 20, 2015:

Sarah Vaughan (1 design)
Music Icons Series
FDOI: First Quarter (Birth date: March 27, 1924)
Format: Pane of 16

s_sarahvaughnSarah Vaughan (1924–1990) was one of America’s greatest singers, successful in both jazz and pop, with a talent for improvisation and skillful phrasing and a voice that ranged over several octaves.
The stamp art is an oil painting of Vaughan in performance based on a 1955 photograph by Hugh Bell. A few lines of selvage text explain her importance as a Music Icon. The cover side of the pane features a larger version of the stamp art, a list of some of Vaughan’s popular songs, and the Music Icons logo.

Artist: Bart Forbes
Art Director: Ethel Kessler

Notes: The front of the pane is similar to that of other stamps in the Music Icons series:vaughnpanefrontThe back of the pane is similar to the stamp design, but includes a list of some of her hits. eingIt’s rumored that someone in the previous USPS stamps or marketing said that Vaughan was not well known and “commercial” enough for a stamp. However, current Stamp Services chief Mary-Anne Penner told The Virtual Stamp Club that Vaughan is being honored because “the American people” asked for this stamp.


12 thoughts on “Sarah Vaughan (U.S. 2016)”

  1. Why does this artist continue to pick the most unfeminine portraits of black women. I was most disappointed with the Maya Angelo and now Sarah Vaughn. Who will look at these stamps and say yes that was a beautiful black woman? NO ONE. I have seen many pictures and this one looks more like a man than a woman? Why? Who will stand up for Black women.

  2. FYI All-USPS price reduction on 10 APR 2016. The price for the Souviner Sheet of 16 will DROP from 7.84 => 7.52.

  3. From USPS Postal Bulletin 03 March
    Item 5864 #10 $9.99 #16 93c #21 1.64 (Image of DCP near end of Postal Bulletin)
    SS-16 (45 record cover) #04 $7.84 Will reduce on 10 APR to $7.52
    (More Price Reduction info in postal bulletin 14 Apr 2016. Death and Taxes 15 APR 2016.)

  4. Just plain stupid not to have a black pictorial. Maybe they are trying to make it easier since there will be less hand cancelling to do at the caves. This is so disappointing.

    • It’s not on the http://shop.USPS.com website yet, and may not be until March 29th, the issue date. But go the USPS site every so often and plug in that order number 586424 (either where it says “tracking” or “SKU number”) and eventually it should come up.

    • Or, call (800)STAMP24 and Speak to a Clerk to order one. They take credit-card orders over the phone.

  6. From Postal Bulletin 14 APR 2016. The prices of the cancellations have come down 2 cents for the Shirley Temple and Non-Profit stamps. There MAY BE a retro-
    active price reduction on all of the Forever Stamp cancellations, but it may take a while. A lot of the Bank Exchange Rate calculators went Bonkers when the Canadain Dollar was worth MORE than the US dollar a few years back. As its been a LONG time since the price of stamps and philatelic products went down….

    • Humm – As ‘Cancellations’ do not have any Postal Value, they are not governed by the PRC’s decision to reduce the Price to the Public of the Stamps. The price of the Cancelled stamp is determined By The Market, not a government entity. (Similar to a Scott Value) So, what you pay for a Cancelled Stamp… Similar to buying a Cancelled Cuban stamp from a 3rd party. It’s Cancelled, so it has no Postal Value, and I didn’t give any money to Cuba for it… (Mexico maybe…)
      So, If The Caves needs the money, I’m not surprised.
      ( Of course, ‘The Caves’ is the supliment to the USPS from the stamp collecting community. How many of the stamps sold from The Caves will be used to mail items? )

Comments are closed.