Updated December 3rd: The following Scott catalogue numbers have been assigned:
5145-5148 (47¢) Holiday Window Views
5145 (47¢) Candle in Window
5146 (47¢) Wreath in Window
5147 (47¢) Star in Window
5148 (47¢) Christmas Tree in Window
5148a Block of 4
5148b Holiday Window Views #5145-5148 CB/20
Updated September 17th: Here is the DCP for this issue: 
It measures 2.94” x 1.48”. The B&W postmark for this issue is the standard 4-bar First Day of Issue postmark.
Updated September 1st:
On October 6, 2016, in New York, NY, the U.S. Postal Service® will issue the Holiday Windows stamps (Forever® priced at 47 cents), in four designs, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) booklet of 20 stamps (Item 681500).
The stamps will go on sale nationwide October 6, 2016.
With four warm, inviting illustrations of winter scenes featuring windows, the Holiday Windows stamps rejoice in the simple pleasures of the season. Two stamp designs show views from the inside looking out: a single burning candle sits on a sill and a simple star ornament hangs from a hook attached to the window sash, out of sight. Two other stamp designs show views from the outside looking in: a brightly lit Christmas tree contrasts with the snowy shrubs on the other side of the glass and a snow-covered wreath hangs in front of frosted windowpanes. Art director Ethel Kessler designed the stamps with original artwork by William Low.
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:
Holiday Windows Stamps
Stamp Fulfillment Services
Cancellation Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Pillar 210
Kansas City, MO 64144-9998
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 December 6, 2016.
There are six philatelic products for this stamp issue:
- 681506 Press Sheet with Die-cut, $75.20.
- 681510 Digital Color Postmark Keepsake, $15.95.
- 681516 First-Day Cover (Set of 4), $3.64.
- 681521 Digital Color Postmark (Set of 4), $6.48.
- 681524 Framed Art, $19.95.
- 681530 Ceremony Program (Random single), $6.95
Technical Specifications:
Issue: Holiday Windows Stamps
Item Number: 681500
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail, Forever
Format: Double-Sided Booklet of 20
(4 designs)
Series: Holiday Celebrations
Issue Date & City: October 6, 2016, New York, NY 10199
Art Director: Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD
Designer: Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD
Typographer: Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD
Artist: William Low, Huntington, NY
Modeler: Sandra Lane⁄Michelle Finn
Manufacturing Process: Offset, Microprint
Printer: Banknote Corporation of America
Printed at: Browns Summit, NC
Press Type: Alprinta 74
Stamps per Booklet: 20
Print Quantity: 500 million stamps
Paper Type: Phosphor Tagged Paper, Block
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Processed at: Banknote Corporation of America, Browns Summit, NC
Stamp Orientation: Vertical
Image Area (w x h): 0.77 x 1.05 in.⁄19.56 x 26.67 mm
Stamp Size (w x h): 0.91 x 1.19 in.⁄23.11 x 30.23 mm
Full Pane Size (w x h): 5.74 x 2.38 in.⁄145.87 x 60.33 mm
Press Sheet Size (w x h): 11.49 x 9.50 in.⁄291.74 x 241.30 mm
Colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black
Plate Size: 800 stamps per revolution
Plate Numbers: “B” followed by four (4) single digits
Marginal Markings: • Plate numbers in peel strip area
• © 2016 • USPS in peel strip area
Updated July 29th: These stamps will be issued at the American Stamp Dealers (“ASDA”) Fall stamp show, October 6th, at the Hilton in midtown Manhattan, New York City. The Hanukkah and Nativity stamps are also set for that date and location, and all three issues will likely share a single first-day ceremony.
[USPS press release]
Holiday Window Views Featured on Forever Stamps
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service announced today [July 25, 2016] that this year’s contemporary holiday stamps will highlight the role windows play during the holidays. The Holiday Windows Forever stamps will be issued in October, providing plenty of time for mailing greeting cards. Details will be announced soon. This is one of a number of holiday-themed stamps that will be issued this year.
Portraying winter nights, these elegant stamps showcase ways we observe traditions and spread cheer, letting us delight in the snow when we’re inside while also sharing our warmth and merriment with the outside world. Available in booklets of 20 with each design repeated five times, the stamps feature a candle, a wreath, a star and a lighted tree. The stamps are sure to add a dash of winter bliss to letters and cards during the year’s coldest months.
Two of the designs show views from the inside looking out: a single burning candle sits on a sill and a simple star ornament hangs from a hook attached to the window sash, out of sight.
Two other designs show views from the outside looking in: a brightly lit Christmas tree contrasts with the snowy shrubs on the other side of the glass and a snow-covered wreath hangs in front of frosted windowpanes.
Art director Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, MD, designed the stamps with original artwork by William Low of Huntington, NY.
The Holiday Windows stamps are being issued as Forever stamps. These Forever stamps will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce price.
I’m guessing it will be the Grinch cartoon Christmas special?
We heard here at AmeriStamp Expo also that it is likely to be The Grinch.
I like the holiday windows. They do spread good cheer.
I do like these a lot, they have a very traditional feel for being “contemporary”. But, I do wonder what happened to the Grinch stamps? I would have LOVED that!
Rumors are the USPS couldn’t work out the rights issues. And pure speculation on my part, but the TV special, like the books, was a production of Seuss Enterprises or whatever it is called. The book was published in 1957, and maybe his estate would rather the 60th anniversary of the book be commemorated than the 50th anniversary of the TV special. At any rate, the USPS therefore has another chance for The Grinch.
Ok, that makes a lot of sense actually! We shall see! Thanks!!
It Seems that as of the 1 SEP 2016 Postal Bulletin, The ‘Mail In Address’ for a FDoI As Well As a DCP, For ALL Stamps, is now The Caves. The Jack O Lanterns are being issued in MN, The Kwanzaa in SC, and The Windows in NYC, but The Address in the Postal Bulletin is all the same – The Caves, KC MO.
If you used to use this as a way to find First Day of Issue Ceremonies, its Gone.
Granted, the USPS may Forward Any FDoI requests, sent to ‘Local’ Postmasters, to The Caves for Processing anyway ( The DCP Machines are in The Caves )
However, this make take some of the ‘Hometown’ aspect out of the FDoI program.
Maybe the American First Day Cover Society, who just had their convention in VA, will have something to say about this, or the artists/orginizations who use FDoI’s as Fund Raiser’s…
Lefty, see http://virtualstampclub.com/lloydblog/?p=4521 Most FDC collectors will welcome the change, because they were tired of “helpful” local clerks spoiling their covers. The servicing address was never a guaranteed way to find the location of a first day ceremony, since some first day “cities” were really substations of an actual city or didn’t have post offices large enough to handle FDOI duties. The best way to find out where and when first day ceremonies are being held is to reach the individual blog entries for stamps, such as this one.
Not in Linns NOV 4 Scott ? 5143-6 ?