19th Amendment: Women Vote (U.S. 2020)

From the U.S. Postal Service announcement on October 22, 2019:

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.

This stamp will be issued Wednesday, August 22nd, in Seneca Falls, NY. (Note date change!)

The Scott catalogue number for this issue is 5523.

Additional information will be posted below the line, with the most recent at the top.


Updated August 21st:

The designer of this stamp, Nancy Stahl, gave a talk this morning on Zoom as part of Virtual Stamp Show, and showed some preliminary drawings for this stamp. The woman in the photographs is Stahl herself! She had discussions with the U.S. Postal Service on how many women to include and where. These are not meant to be specific historical figures, but representations. Stahl said she wishes she had fought harder for the black woman to be more prominent in the finished design, which is shown on the right and at the top of this page.

Updated August 14th:
[ceremony information from USPS]
Forever Stamp Honors Centennial of Women’s Suffrage

WHAT: A new Forever stamp, 19th Amendment: Women Vote, will be issued by the U.S. Postal Service. This stamp commemorates the centennial celebration of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing women the right to vote.

News of the stamp is being shared with hashtags #WomenVoteStamps and #19thAmendmentStamps.

WHO:

  • USPS Chief Commerce and Business Solutions Officer Jacqueline Krage Strako
  • Women’s Rights National Historical Park acting superintendent Andrea DeKoter
  • Historian Coline Jenkins-Sahlin, a descendant of Elizabeth Cady Stanton

WHEN: Saturday, Aug. 22, 2020, at 11:00 a.m. EDT

WHERE:
The virtual stamp event, part of the Women’s Rights National Historical Park Equality Weekend, will be posted on the Postal Service’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

Please visit usps.com/19thamendment for details of the virtual stamp dedication ceremony.

Background:
Inspired by historic photographs, the stamp art 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.

More than 70 years in the making, the 19th Amendment was added to the Constitution on Aug. 26, 1920.

Pre-orders for the 19th Amendment: Women Vote stamps can be made online at usps.com and by phone at 800-STAMP24 (800-782-6724), beginning July 22.

Updated August 4th:
Here are the first-day cancels for this issue:The Digital Color Postmark for this issue measures 2.55″ x 1.49″ The Pictorial Postmark for this issue measures 1.66″ x 1.48″

Updated July 31st from the Postal Bulletin:
On August 22, 2020, in Seneca Falls, NY, the United States Postal Service® will issue the 19th Amendment: Women Vote stamp (Forever® priced at the First-Class Mail® rate) in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive pane of 20 stamps (Item 476600). The stamp will go on sale nationwide August 22, 2020, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue.

With this stamp, the United States 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 artwork 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.

Item 476600, 19th Amendment: Women Vote (Forever Priced at the First-Class Mail Rate) Pane of 20 Stamps will have Automatic distribution.

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 – 19th Amendment: Women Vote 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 December 22, 2020.

Technical Specifications:

Issue: 19th Amendment: Women Vote Stamp
Item Number: 476600
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever
Format: Pane of 20 (1 design)
Series: N/A
Issue Date & City: August 22, 2020, Seneca Falls, NY 13148
Art Director: Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD
Designer: Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD
Illustrator: Nancy Stahl, New York, NY
Modeler: Sandra Lane/Michelle Finn
Manufacturing Process: Offset, Microprint
Printer: Banknote Corporation of America
Press Type: Alprinta 74
Stamps per Pane: 20
Print Quantity: 30,000,000 stamps
Paper Type: Phosphor Tagged Paper, Block tag
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Processed at: Banknote Corporation of America
Colors: PMS 7672, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black
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): 5.92 x 7.24 in/150.368 x 183.896 mm
Press Sheet Size (w x h): 11.84 x 21.72 in/300.736 x 551.668 mm
Plate Size: 120 stamps per revolution
Plate Numbers: “B” followed by five (5) single digits in four corners
Marginal Markings:
Front: Plate number in four corners
Back: ©2019 USPS • USPS logo • 2 barcodes (476600) • Plate position diagram (6) • Promotional text

6 thoughts on “19th Amendment: Women Vote (U.S. 2020)

  1. Hopefully HQ will let us have a local ceremony at the Museum of African American Art in my hood eight blocks from my home. They love the Ries Chapter there and we have helped at a number of very successful events there over the past few years.

  2. The Black woman on the stamp finally gets to march closer to the front — a hundred years after being relegated to the back of the parades.

Comments are closed.