Hotchner: Stamp Design Criticism

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Dealing With Stamp Design
by John M. Hotchner

John wrote this column several years ago, but it is as pertinent now as it was then: Collectors still complain about U.S. stamp designs.

Is there one unalterable truth for stamp collectors? If so, I would propose that it is a universal feeling that US stamp design is less than spectacular, and many of us share a belief that if we were running things, we could do better. Perhaps.

In the past two days, I have heard complaints about the Forget-me-not stamp (It needs a frame to focus the design), the last George Washington stamp (It is too dark and George is lost in the dark framing), the Winter Flowers issue of 2014 (They look too much like Easter Seals), and the World Stamp Show publicity stamps (A lost opportunity to picture stamp collecting or classic American stamps.)

While any or all of these criticisms may have merit, it is all second-guessing. And my guess is that all artists – even the great ones – had to put up with similar carping (“That’s supposed to be a smile on Mona Lisa? Looks more like she’s suffering a gas attack after too many baked beans!”)

Well, we as collectors have the right to criticize, but it is all hot air unless we actually do something about it. And there are several strategies.

  • Don’t buy what you don’t like. Avoid such issues for use as postage, for your albums, and for gifts for children and grandchildren. The USPS tracks closely what sells, and just as important, what doesn’t. Vote with your wallet.
  • Learn how to draw a neat “X” in the album page box for stamps you will not add to your collection because you don’t like the art style, or you class them as just plain ugly. You are the arbiter of what makes the cut. And no one has to agree with you.
  • Create a Hall of Shame – a special section of your album in which you place all the stamps that annoy you.
  • If you have more stamps in that section than on your printed album pages, maybe it is time to curtail your collecting by ending at a given year.

You will need to be careful to differentiate whether it is the design you dislike or the subject. Sometimes, our view can be so colored by dislike of the subject that no design will hit the mark. On the other side of that fence, the flood of multi-colored fruits, flowers, foliage, fauna, flyers, food, and flags may have great popularity with the American public, but only a few stand out as clever and original depictions.

In my view about 10% of U.S. issues really rank high on both subject and design scales. One in the current crop is the U.S. Coast Guard commemorative released August 4, 2015 [left]. Full disclosure: I was involved in development of the subject while a member of the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee (1998-2010) but it had not gone to the artists at the point that I timed out from the Committee. So I was surprised and delighted by the exceptional art that illustrates the subject.

Contrast that with the New York 2016 publicity pair [right] – a good subject that in my opinion is a generic and uninspiring design that will inspire no one to attend the show.

What can we reasonably expect from U.S. stamp design? Certainly, we need to recognize that in stamps as in art generally, there will be a range of style. This is right and proper as stamps are a reflection of the breadth and diversity of American art; much like the stamp program having a commission to reflect the breadth and diversity of America itself and its population.

I well remember when modern art first made its appearance on a U.S. stamp with the 5¢ “Fine Arts” issue of 1964 [left]. One would have thought listening to the reaction of collectors that the world as we knew it had come to an end.

There were similar protests when children’s art in the form of stick figures on the 20¢ Family Unity issue 1984 [right] was included. And when cartoon-type art made its first appearance with the 1991 “Comedians” set of 29¢ stamps using the pen-and-ink impressions of Al Hirschfeld.

They were later followed by actual cartoons from the comics section of our daily press.

The latter complaints were especially mystifying to me as both political cartoons and the so-called “funny papers” are features of American journalism that have been developed to a high level in the United States. Stamps celebrating these American institutions are right on the mark, and the art is appropriate.

I personally don’t enjoy much of the poster art that has been and is used. The current “Summer Harvest” issue [left] is an example. And as to modern art, I think of it as a giant fraud on the public when presented as works of inspiration possessed of deep and profound meaning. And yet, a portion of the public buys it and goes to see it in museums.

Can the U.S. stamp program ignore that? Should it? Regretfully, I have to admit that it has its place.

So, my conclusion is that it is irrational to expect that every issue will please every collector. In fact, the USPS can expect criticism of some sort on the majority of its issuances if for no other reason than that the American public has a wide variety of likes and dislikes, and a wide variance of art appreciation, from those of us who merely know what we like, to those of us educated to know what we should like.

Which means that criticism will be plentiful and conflicting. And the USPS needs to listen to it, but act on it sparingly.

Should you wish to comment on this editorial, or have questions or ideas you would like to have explored in a future column, please write to John Hotchner, VSC Contributor, P.O. Box 1125, Falls Church, VA 22041-0125, or email, putting “VSC” in the subject line.

Or comment right here.

Organ and Tissue Donation (Canada 2022)

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[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
New stamp raises awareness of organ and tissue donation

OTTAWA – More than 4,400 Canadians are waiting for a donation of a life-saving organ, and many more, for healthy tissue to recover from a potentially fatal illness. On 7 April, Canada Post released a new stamp to raise awareness of their need and encourage more people to register as organ and tissue donors.

A single organ donor can save up to eight lives, and a tissue donor can help save or improve the lives of up to 75 people. While the majority of Canadians support organ and tissue donation, fewer than one third have registered to do so. Registration usually takes minutes. Visit organtissuedonation.ca.

The stamp illustration, created by artist Christopher DeLorenzo, features two figures who form a heart connected by a pair of hands, each cradling a glowing star. Within the heart are abstract representations of the spirit of life, including flowers in bloom, a droplet of water and a bird in flight. Green, the official colour of organ and tissue donation, symbolizes hope and appears in various shades on the stamp design.

The stamp is sold in a booklet of 10. The Official First Day Cover is cancelled in Ottawa. The booklet and Official First Day Cover were printed by Lowe-Martin.Canada Post’s video:

[en Francais pour les médias d’information]
Un nouveau timbre vise à sensibiliser les gens au don d’organes et de tissus

OTTAWA – Plus de 4 400 personnes au pays attendent une greffe d’organe vitale, et de nombreuses autres sont en attente de tissus sains pour se remettre d’une maladie potentiellement mortelle. Aujourd’hui, Postes Canada a émis un nouveau timbre pour sensibiliser les gens au don d’organes et de tissus, et les inciter à s’inscrire.

Une seule personne faisant un don d’organes peut sauver jusqu’à huit vies et le don de tissus peut sauver ou aider jusqu’à 75 personnes. Bien que la majorité des gens au Canada soutiennent le don d’organes et de tissus, moins du tiers ont enregistré leur consentement, une formalité qui se fait souvent en quelques minutes. Visitez organtissuedonation.ca/fr.

Sur le timbre, illustré par Christopher DeLorenzo, on peut voir deux personnes dont les corps entrelacés forment un cœur. Elles ont chacune une étoile brillante dans la main. Le cœur comporte des représentations abstraites de l’esprit de la vie, comme des fleurs en train de s’épanouir, une goutte d’eau et un oiseau en vol. Le vert, la couleur officielle du don d’organes et de tissus symbolisant l’espoir, est illustré dans différentes nuances sur le timbre.

Le timbre est vendu en carnets de 10. Le pli Premier Jour officiel est oblitéré à Ottawa. Le carnet et le pli Premier Jour officiel ont été imprimés par Lowe-Martin.

Les produits de cette émission sont en vente à postescanada.ca et dans les comptoirs postaux d’un bout à l’autre du pays.

Migratory Birds (UK 2022)

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[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
New Stamps from Royal Mail Explore Migratory Birds — The Spring And Summer Visitors to The UK

  • Issue Date: 7 April 2022
  • The 10-stamp set showcases the diversity of migratory birds that visit the UK
  • Bird migration is the annual, seasonal movement of birds along predefined routes, known as flyways, between their breeding and non-breeding grounds
  • Bird migration has fascinated and baffled naturalists for centuries
    The stamps were exclusively illustrated for Royal Mail by Irish ornithologist, Killian Mullarney
  • The stamps will be available at www.royalmail.com/migratorybirds, by phone on 03457 641 641 and 7,000 Post Office branches across the UK

Royal Mail has issued a new set of 10 stamps depicting Migratory Birds, that explore the spring and summer bird visitors to the UK.

The 10 featured birds have been exclusively illustrated in detail for Royal Mail by Irish ornithologist Killian Mullarney, one of Europe’s best-known bird artists. His work has featured in the Collins Bird Guide and on stamps issued in the Republic of Ireland.

The stamps showcase the diversity of migratory birds that arrive in the UK; from seabirds that migrate along the UK’s coastline, such as the Arctic Skua and Arctic Tern, to the exceptionally rare bird of prey, Montagu’s Harrier. [Shown on the right is the Presentation Pack.]

David Gold, Director External Affairs & Policy, Royal Mail, said: “The migratory journeys of the birds featured on these stamps are truly amazing. Their annual travels have fascinated and baffled naturalists for centuries. It is only now that we are beginning to understand what drives and maintains this amazing, high-risk–high-reward behaviour. We hope that these stamps ignite a new interest in this remarkable phenomenon.”

A miraculous journey
Bird migration is the annual, seasonal movement of birds along predefined routes, known as flyways, between their breeding and non-breeding grounds.

It is clear that migration is a perilous venture for birds, whatever their size. The numerous hazards to overcome include topography, sea crossings, inclement and extreme weather, food shortages, predators and hunting by humans, to name a few. Migration is a costly behaviour both in terms of the energy needed and also higher risk of mortality that it involves. Arguably, migrant birds are more susceptible to environmental change than their resident counterparts because these arduous migrations and dependence on different sites at different times of the year place them in multiple jeopardy.

For migration to exist in many different birds, the evolutionary benefits ought to outweigh the costs, and a growing body of evidence shows that to be the case. The seasonal availability of surplus food at higher latitudes and a favourable climate for breeding prove attractive and advantageous to many species. Migration allows birds to find themselves in their preferred climate and take advantage of seasonally abundant food, while simultaneously escaping the threats of local competition from other animals.

The stamps will be available from today (7 April) at www.royalmail.com/migratorybirds, by phone on 03457 641 641 and at 7,000 Post Offices branches across the UK.
Stamp-by-stamp:

Arctic Skua
Stercorarius parasiticus
A rakish seabird breeding in northern Scotland and migrating around the UK’s coasts. A pirate of the seas, eating mainly fish it steals from other birds by harassing them in flight. A decline in sand eels has affected it and other seabirds, and the spread of its predatory relative, the great skua, has also had an impact.

Migration: Arrives in April, leaves in August–September. Winters off the west coast of Africa, down to South Africa. Some birds cross the Atlantic, but most follow the coast of Europe and Africa.

Arctic Tern
Sterna paradisaea
A stunning dainty white seabird with buoyant agile flight. Dives into the water to catch small fish. Nests mostly in Scotland and Ireland, with some in Wales and England. Migrates along the UK’s coastline and often seen on inland lakes. Threats include commercial fishing of sand eels, which has been linked to food shortages, predation by the invasive American mink and climate change.

Migration: Arrives in May–June, leaves in July–October. Winters in the Southern Ocean off the pack ice of Antarctica, with some British birds reaching Australia.

Montagu’s Harrier
Circus pygargus
An elegant, long-winged bird of prey, hunting low over fields and marshes, often quartering back and forth in search of small birds and mammals. Exceptionally rare in the UK, down to just a single nesting pair in recent years. Nests (frequently in cereal crops) are often kept secret and protected to minimise disturbance. Always an uncommon bird, threatened by human persecution and loss of its preferred natural habitats.

Migration: Arrives in April–May, departs in September. Winters in the Sahel zone of western and central Africa in semi-arid desert and savannah.

Nightjar
Caprimulgus europaeus
A curious owl-like bird of open woodlands, heathlands and moors, seen at dawn and dusk. Song is an eerie mechanical, insect-like churring that rises and falls in pitch. Eats insects, especially moths, catching them expertly in flight. Nightjar numbers dropped from the 1950s due to the loss of heathland but have recovered with increasing availability of clear-felled or young conifers in plantations, plus concerted action to restore heathland.

Migration: Arrives in late April–May, departs in July–August. Migrates through Iberia and across the Sahara to winter in tropical forests of central and southern Africa.

Pied Flycatcher
Ficedula hypoleuca
Male in spring is a striking black and white, not even the size of a sparrow. A hole-nesting bird living in mature deciduous woods, especially oaks, in the western and northern UK. Always active, it cocks its tail and flicks its wings. Some males are polygamous and may rear multiple families. Their fortunes reflect the poor state of our woods and changing conditions on migration and wintering grounds.

Migration: Arrives in mid-April–June, departs in August–September. Crosses the Sahara to winter in tropical, humid forests of western and central Africa.

Stone-curlew
Burhinus oedicnemus
The odd-looking ‘goggle-eyed plover’ is a rare bird found mainly on the Brecklands of Norfolk and Suffolk and around Salisbury Plain. Most active at night, it has large yellow eyes that are adapted for hunting invertebrates in the twilight. It breeds on stony ground with sparse vegetation, including on arable farmland. Numbers crashed as its preferred habitat shrank away. A partial recovery is thanks to the protection efforts of farmers, landowners and conservation bodies.

Migration: Arrives in March–April, departs in August–September. Winters in southwestern France, Spain and northwestern Africa.

Swallow
Hirundo rustica
The first flash of the royal blue, red and white of a swallow across a field is eagerly anticipated as the start of spring. Males return to breed first and twitter for attention. A widespread bird of the countryside, it nests in sheds and farm buildings. Agile in flight, it feeds on flying insects caught on the wing. Renovation of traditional buildings and nest sites poses a threat, as do falling insect numbers.

Migration: Arrives in April–May, departs in September–October. Travels through Iberia and western and central Africa to winter in South Africa.

Swift
Apus apus
Its black scythe-shaped silhouette is unmistakable, as is its screaming call. Spends more time in flight than any other bird, even sleeping on the wing. Widespread in the British Isles. A steady downturn in numbers is due to the loss of nest sites in old buildings and probably a fall in insect food. The swifts’ marathon migration also makes them vulnerable to harsh weather conditions along the way.

Migration: Arrives in late April–May, departs abruptly in August. Travels via Iberia into western Africa and on into central and southeastern Africa, reaching the Indian Ocean.

Turtle Dove
Streptopelia turtur
The purring song of this brightly coloured dove is the soundtrack of an English summer. Lives in scrub and woodland, heathland, in hedges and field margins on farmland. Found across the south and east of England. Numbers have dwindled as the countryside has changed and food supplies and nesting habitats have been lost. Added to this are the perils of annual migration through a hostile Mediterranean, where the species is hunted.

Migration: Arrives in May, departs in July–September. Migrates south through Iberia and northwestern Africa to winter in tropical western Africa.

Yellow Wagtail
Motacilla flava
Has a striking yellow head and mainly bright lemon plumage, with a long, white-edged black tail. Found in central and eastern England, where numbers are falling. Breeds on wet grasslands, water meadows and marshes, but also in arable crops. Its preferred traditional habitats are being lost to drainage and conversion, and as mixed farming has waned. These birds are also vulnerable to harsh conditions along their migration routes.

Migration: Arrives in March–May (males return first) and departs in August–September. Migrates through Iberia into northern Africa, crossing the Sahara to winter in sub-Saharan western Africa.

Philatelic Products
Stamp Set AS8400 £9.50
First Day Envelope AE440 £0.30
Presentation Pack AP505 £10.40
First Day Cover – Stamps AF485 £12.05
Stamp Souvenir AW214 £12.05
Postcards AQ321 £4.50
Framed Stamps N3286 £19.99
Full Sheet (x50 Nightjar – Arctic Skua) AS8400AFS £47.50
Half Sheet (x25 Nightjar – Arctic Skua) AS8400AHS £23.75
Full Sheet (x50 Stone Curlew – Montagu’s Harrier) AS8400BFS £47.50
Half Sheet (x25 Stone Curlew – Montagu’s Harrier) AS8400BHS £23.75 There are three first day cancellations available for this issue, two of them pictorials: Technical Specifications:

Number of stamps
Value of Stamps
Design
Illustrations
Stamp Format
Number per sheet
Stamp Size
Printer
Print Process
Perforations
Phosphor
Gum		 Ten
1st class
hat-trick design
Killian Mullarney
landscape
25/50
41mm x 30mm
International Security
lithography
14.5 x 14
bars as appropriate
PVA

“Play Ball!” at U.S. Postal Museum

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[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum to Open Baseball Exhibition
“Baseball: America’s Home Run” Opens April 9

The National Postal Museum’s exhibition “Baseball: America’s Home Run” explores America’s national pastime through the unique lens of stamps and mail. On view Saturday, April 9, through Jan. 5, 2025, it invites visitors to explore exciting and memorable stories about how the game of baseball became an integral part of American history and tradition.

Featuring hundreds of U.S. and international stamps commemorating great players and historic moments, and drawing on original artwork and archival material from the U.S. Postal Service’s esteemed Postmaster General’s Collection, the exhibition approaches the story of baseball from a unique, worldwide perspective.

The display of stamps and mail will be complemented by dozens of objects loaned by other Smithsonian museums, the National Baseball Hall of Fame, law enforcement agencies and renowned private collections that have never before been on public display. These rare artifacts—exclusively shared with the public as part of the exhibition—showcase a treasure trove of historically significant game-worn uniforms, jackets and hats, game-used bats and memorabilia from America’s pastime.

The exhibition pays tribute to many of the game’s greatest legends, including Jackie Robinson, Roberto Clemente, Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Lefty Grove, Lou Gehrig and countless others. Of the more than 60 baseball stamps issued by the United States since 1939, the vast majority commemorate individual players. Many of these postal portraits feature specially commissioned artwork designed to mimic the look and feel of classic baseball cards and recall players whose achievements on and off the field made them household names. On display for the first time, original stamp art and production material from the Postmaster General’s Collection is paired with actual game-used artifacts as a powerful visual reminder that these players—whom most know of only from photographs and old footage—were once flesh and blood.

The lives and careers of some of baseball’s greatest players, including those from the Negro Leagues, are examined through the postage stamps that tell their stories. For a number of stamps, the museum is able to show the original artwork commissioned by the U.S. Postal Service, picturing various players along with the actual uniform they wore in the artwork, such as Jackie Robinson’s road uniform from the 1948 season. Uniforms and game-used bats of Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio and other great players from the 20th century will be on display.

These tributes are especially meaningful at the 75th anniversary of Robinson being called up to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 as Major League Baseball’s first African American player and the 50th anniversary of Clemente’s death (1934–1972), who was born in Puerto Rico and played 18 seasons at right field for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

“We are proud to have Institution-wide cooperation from the Smithsonian, participation from the greatest organizations dedicated to the sport of baseball and support from businesses and private collectors who love the game,” said Elliot Gruber, director of the museum [left, at the press preview]. “I would like to offer special thanks to the lead sponsors of the exhibition—the Washington Nationals Ball Club, Heritage Auctions, Milwaukee Tool, the National Postal Museum Society, Ricos Products Co. and Smithsonian-published author Stephen Tsi Chuen Wong who also serves as honorary advisor to the exhibition, for their generous support.”

The exhibition will be presented in English and Spanish through a collaboration with the Smithsonian Latino Center, creating broad appeal to collectors of stamps and memorabilia, family audiences and baseball fans.

“The exhibition examines the mythologies of the game of baseball and the role postage stamps have played in creating and enforcing that mythology,” said Daniel Piazza, chief curator of the museum [right, at the press preview]. “We tell some of the lesser-known stories about the game of baseball through the medium of stamps and mail and explore fascinating details about the game in new and unique ways.”

Special exhibition themes examine the game of baseball:

  • “Creating Baseball” looks at early U.S. baseball-themed stamps and the myths they reflect about the origins of the sport. The Centennial of Baseball stamp gave tacit federal recognition to the now-discredited claim that Abner Doubleday invented baseball in 1839 at Cooperstown, New York. Similarly, a 1969 stamp honoring Anna “Grandma” Moses shows “July Fourth,” her painting of a small-town Independence Day baseball game, reinforcing misconceptions about the sport’s rural American origins, when it was, in fact, a big-city game that evolved from British antecedents.On the right, the June 12, 1939, opening of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, known as the “Cavalcade of Baseball,” was the first professionally marketed sporting anniversary in American history. Postmaster General and New York Yankees fan James A. Farley issued a postage stamp for the occasion. This is a pane of 50 autographed by Farley, on display in the exhibition.
  • “We All Play Ball” examines baseball’s global spread in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. With modest equipment needs, baseball was played by American soldiers on military posts around the world and quickly adopted by local people. International baseball stamps will be complemented by memorabilia and military-issued equipment. Watching and playing baseball helped the Irish, Italians, Jews, Poles and other immigrant groups break down ethnic walls and show their determination to integrate into American communities. Europeans learned baseball in this country, but most Latino immigrants came already knowing and playing the game, making them one of baseball’s fastest growing audiences and comprising more than 25% of professional baseball players.
  • “The Negro Leagues” takes its inspiration from U.S. Poet Laureate Donald Hall, who described a passion for baseball as “a kind of citizenship perhaps more authentic than anything which can be on a piece of paper.” However, African Americans were denied the opportunity to play Major League Baseball until 1947, so they formed their own professional leagues and teams—in the process reaffirming their Americanness to a country that refused to acknowledge their equality. On the right, a postal team player jersey. Baseball teams composed of postal clerks and letter carriers first appeared in large cities around the turn of the 20th century.
  • “Legendary Playing Fields” explores the sense of community that accompanies the familiar surroundings of a favorite baseball park—whether it is a classic stadium like Wrigley Field in Chicago or a newer green cathedral such as Washington, D.C.’s Nationals Park. In the early years, stadiums were generally built on undesirable land in the worst parts of town. One of Washington’s earliest baseball grounds, Capitol Park, was located in an underdeveloped working-class Irish neighborhood dubbed Swampoodle for the tendency of its unpaved streets to flood. Coincidentally, this very plot of land is now the home of the National Postal Museum. “Baseball: America’s Home Run” explores the history of Capitol Park and other parks, including production material for the 2001 U.S. Postal Service’s stamp, Baseball’s Legendary Playing Field Issue, paired with signs, seats, architectural elements and other artifacts from the stadiums depicted on the stamps.

NPM Manager, Public Relations & Internal Affairs Marty Emery [left] speaks to the press during a pre-opening briefing, April 6 2022. A special website makes available the stories, themes and historical artifacts presented in the exhibition, and it provides multi-media storytelling by some of the most significant organizations and people associated with the game of baseball. Schedules and information regarding public programing and events associated with the exhibition are outlined as well, providing experiences for both on-site and online visitors.

The photographs here are by Juan Carlos Briceño and courtesy the National Postal Museum.

U.S. To Raise Letter Mail Rate 2¢ In July

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[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
U.S. Postal Service Announces New Prices for 2022
Two Cents Increase for Forever Stamp

WASHINGTON, DC — Today the United States Postal Service filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) of price changes to take effect July 10, 2022. The new prices, if favorably reviewed, include a two-cent increase in the price of a First-Class Mail Forever stamp from 58 cents to 60 cents.

The proposed prices, approved by the Governors of the U.S. Postal Service, would raise First-Class Mail prices approximately 6.5 percent which is lower than the Bureau of Labor Statistics annual inflation rate of 7.9 percent as of the end of February. The price changes reflect a judicious implementation of the Postal Service’s pricing authority provided by the Postal Regulatory Commission.

If favorably reviewed by the PRC, the single-piece letter additional ounce price would increase to 24 cents, the metered mail 1-ounce price would increase to 57 cents and the price of a postcard stamp would increase to 44 cents. A one-ounce letter mailed to other countries would increase to $1.40 cents. The Postal Service is also seeking price adjustments for Special Services products including Certified Mail, Post Office Box rental fees, Money Order fees and the cost to purchase insurance when mailing an item.

The proposed Mailing Services price changes include:

Product
Letters (1 oz.)
Letters (metered 1 oz.)
Letters additional ounce(s)
Domestic Postcards
International Letter (1 oz.)		 Current Prices
58¢
53¢
20¢
40¢
$1.30		 Planned Prices
60¢
57¢
24¢
44¢
$1.40

As inflation and increased operating expenses continue, these price adjustments will help with the implementation of the Delivering for America plan, including a $40 billion investment in core Postal Service infrastructure over the next ten years. With the new prices, the Postal Service will continue to provide the lowest letter-mail postage rates in the industrialized world and offer a great value in shipping.

The PRC will review the prices before they are scheduled to take effect. The complete Postal Service price filing with prices for all products can be found on the PRC site under the Daily Listings section at prc.gov/dockets/daily. The Mailing Services filing is Docket No. R2022-1. The price change tables are also available on the Postal Service’s Postal Explorer website at pe.usps.com/PriceChange/Index.

The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products, and services to fund its operations.

U.S. Scott Catalogue Update (April 2022)

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5666 $8.95 Monument Valley, Utah

5667 $26.95 Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, California

5668 (58¢) Title IX – Runner
a. Imperforate
5669 (58¢) Title IX – Swimmer
a. Imperforate
5670 (58¢) Title IX – Gymnast
a. Imperforate
5671 (58¢) Title IX – Soccer Player
a. Imperforate
b. Block of 4, #5668-5671
c. Imperforate block of 4, #5668a-5671a

Delftware Tulip Vases (Netherlands 2022)

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[from a press release]
Date of issue: 21 March 2022
Form: sheet with six stamps in six different designs, with value 1 for post up to and including 20 grams for a destination within the Netherlands
Item number: 420161
Design: Jeremy Jansen, Amsterdam
Lithography: Marc Gijzen, Voorburg

The six different stamps in this sheet feature tulip vases from the collections of a number of Dutch museums. The production of these unique glazed earthenware vases reached its peak at the end of the 17th century. The denomination on these stamps is ‘1’, the denomination for items weighing up to 20g destined for the Netherlands.

The history of Delftware is closely linked to that of Chinese porcelain. Delft was one of the VOC’s trading posts, with warehouses where large stocks of this porcelain were stored. [“VOC” stands for “Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie,” the Dutch East India Company. — VSC] Delft potters developed a type of tin-glazed earthenware that could be compared to Chinese porcelain in terms of shape, shine and decoration. Delftware owes its fame mainly to the flower vases with spouts, known since the 19th century as tulip vases. From 1680 onwards, these vases appeared on the market in all shapes and sizes: from gourd bottles, triumphal arches, bowl shapes and goddesses with spouts on their heads to flower pyramids. The pyramids consist of spherical or square segments that are stacked to incredible heights, with the tallest one being almost 2 metres tall. Flowers such as tulips, carnations, Sweet Williams, hyacinths, daffodils and Persian ranunculus could be inserted into the spouts. Often they were also displayed empty on a table, as a showpiece. Because of their decoration, often with Far-Eastern figures and motifs, the vases evoke associations with the Far East. Their construction can also be reminiscent of Chinese pagodas.

The Delftware tulip vases issue features nine different vases, with some vases appearing several times on a number of stamps. Three stamps feature a single vase, two stamps feature three vases, and one stamp features four vases. The three large vases on the stamps are varnished, giving them a porcelain-like sheen. The edge of the sheet not only features all the vases again, but also the names of the museums that have these tulip vases in their collections. The background colour behind the name of each museum corresponds to the colour beneath their vases. Some of the typography on the stamps is placed in a vertical reading direction. On all stamps, the sorting hook is placed at the bottom right-hand side.

Designer Jeremy Jansen studied the subject by consulting catalogues of Dutch museums that have Delftware tulip vases in their collections. ‘For example the Kunstmuseum in The Hague published a wonderful book about a retrospective exhibition in 2007. This catalogue is also an inventory of where all these vases can be found around the world. For practical reasons, I limited myself to vases in Dutch museums. I kept the idea of an inventory in mind, so the stamp sheet has become a sampler, a visual overview of the vases that can be viewed in the Netherlands.’

The stamp sheet features nine different tulip vases from four different museums, using existing images.

The order on the sheet edge, clockwise from top left:

  • Bowl-shaped flower vase, pottery De Grieksche A, tin-glazed earthenware, height 28.8 cm, circa 1690 (Kunstmuseum Den Haag)
  • Flower vase with a blue and white decor of Chinese motifs, pottery De Metaale Pot, tin-glazed earthenware, height 61 cm, 1685-1691 (Keramiekmuseum Princessehof Leeuwarden)
  • Flower pyramid in the style of a Chinese pagoda, pottery unknown, tin-glazed earthenware, height 108 cm, circa 1700 (Rijksmuseum Amsterdam)
  • Octagonal gourd flask with spouts, pottery De Grieksche A, tin-glazed earthenware, height 29.7 cm, circa 1690 (Het Loo palace, Apeldoorn)
  • Flower vase with spouts, in the shape of a gourd flask, pottery De Grieksche A, tin-glazed earthenware, height 28.2 cm, circa 1690 (Kunstmuseum Den Haag)
  • Flower vase with five spouts, pottery De Metaale Pot, tin-glazed earthenware, height 16 cm, circa 1690-1715 (Rijksmuseum Amsterdam)
  • Flower vase, pottery De Metaale Pot, tin-glazed earthenware, height 28.4 cm, circa 1691-1724 (Kunstmuseum Den Haag)
  • Flower vase with mirror monogram WR (Willem Rex) and bust of king-stadtholder Willem III, pottery De Metaale Pot, tin-glazed earthenware, height 39.8 cm, circa 1695-1702 (Het Loo palace, Apeldoorn)
  • Flower pyramid consisting of 11 segments, attributed to pottery De Metaale Pot, tin-glazed earthenware, height 156 cm, circa 1692-1700 (Rijksmuseum Amsterdam)

The Delftware tulip vases stamps are available while stocks last at the post office counter in Bruna shops and at https://shop.postnl.nl/webshop/collect-club/delftse-tulpenvazen-6-vel-nl1 [in Dutch]. The stamps can also be ordered by phone from the Collect Club customer service on telephone number +31 (0)88 868 99 00. The validity period is indefinite.

Technical Details:
Stamp size: 25 x 36mm
Sheet size: 75 x 144mm
Paper: normal with phosphor print
Glue: synthetic
Printing technique: offset, varnish
Printing colours: cyan, magenta, yellow, black, blue and orange
Edition: 91,000 sheets
Appearance: sheet of six stamps in six different designs
Design: Jeremy Jansen, Amsterdam
Lithography: Marc Gijzen, Voorburg
Printing company: Koninklijke Joh. Enschedé B.V., Haarlem
Item number: 420161

ESPER President Warachal Faison Dies

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Warachal E. Faison, president of the Ebony Society for Philatelic Experiences and Reflections (ESPER), died March 19th at her home in Jersey City, NJ. She was 54. We do not know the cause of death at this time.

“Certainly her passing was a shock to all of ESPER,” group vice president Howard Ingram told The Virtual Stamp Club. “She will be missed.”

Faison was scheduled to graduate in May 2022 with her MBA from the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ and will be awarded her degree posthumously. She was working as a geriatric psychiatrist and Medical Director, Women’s and Men’s Health at Pfizer, a pharmaceutical company. Dr. Faison has been recognized for her work as a health care provider, researcher, and community advocate in health disparities, minority recruitment into Alzheimer’s disease clinical trials, women’s health issues, and mental health.

In philately, she was recently named one of philately’s Most Influential people by Linn’s Stamp News. According to an interview in the Most Influential Philatelists report, Faison collected stamps “relating to health care and medicine along with materials of the African diaspora, particularly anything showing African-American women.”

She spoke to The Virtual Stamp Club about Dorothy Height, civil rights and women in civil rights for a 2017 radio feature, which you can hear here.

“Warachal Faison was ESPER’s first female president, and she was very passionate about continuing the female founder’s ambition of ESPER being a beacon in the philatelic community,” Don Neal, editor of ESPER newsletter Reflections told VSC. “During her tenure, Warachal was instrumental in establishing several collaborations between ESPER and others. Hopefully, these will continue in her honor.”

Faison joined ESPER in 2014 and soon revolutionized the use of social media, not only for ESPER, but for stamp collecting organizations in general.

“Mentor those who are interested and you might even gift them a membership into a society,” she told Linn’s. “Just watch what happens.”

Her funeral will be held Friday, April 1st, at St. Joseph AME Church in Durham, NC.

The family’s obituary, on the funeral home’s website, can be found here.

Typically Dutch – Hockey (Netherlands 2022)

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[from a press release]
Issue: Typically Dutch – Hockey
Date of issue: 21 March 2022
Appearance: sheet of six stamps in six identical designs
Item number: 420361
Design: Claire Bedon and Edwin van Praet (Total Design), Amsterdam

This issue is the second in the Typically Dutch series this year. In 2022, the multi-annual series is dedicated to five sports in which the Dutch excel. Other stamps in the series are Skating (3 January), Cycling (4 April), Sailing (9 May) and Football (15 August).

Pim Mulier introduced hockey to the Netherlands in 1891. The first hockey clubs were soon established in Amsterdam, Haarlem and The Hague, followed in 1898 by the Nederlandsche Hockey & Bandy Bond, now called Koninklijke Nederlandse Hockey Bond (KNHB, ‘Royal Dutch Hockey Association’). On 23 January 1926, the Dutch men’s hockey team played its very first international match. In Antwerp, they defeated the national team of Belgium, scoring 1-2.

Hockey is a major sport in the Netherlands, with over 250,000 active hockey players based at more than 300 clubs across the country. They play field hockey (September-December and March-June) and indoor hockey (December-February). The Dutch women’s and men’s teams have been competing at the highest level for many years. Both teams won many awards, including Olympic titles (women’s team in 1984, 2008, 2012 and 2020, men’s team in 1996 and 2000). The women’s team has won the world title eleven times, while the men’s team has won it three times.

Hockey matches last 4 x 17.5 minutes and are played by two teams of eleven players. Each team may use up to five substitutes. Indoor hockey matches are played by two teams of six players each. An indoor team may have up to six substitutes on the bench. Unlike football, players may be substituted an unlimited number of times in hockey.

The stamps show an illustration of a hockey player in action. She has the ball on her stick and is about to make a passing move. In the background are the 23m line and the shooting circle, representing the typical layout of a hockey pitch. At the bottom of each stamp is a white strip with the sorting hook, the year 2022, the country (Netherlands) and the denomination 1. The ball and the hockey player’s right shoe run through this strip. The same is happening with the ponytail in the white strip at the top. The logo for the Typically Dutch series is printed above each stamp, with a folded Dutch banner on the left and right. The picture is repeated in enlarged form on the edge of the sheet.

The 2022 stamps for the multi-annual Typically Dutch series were once again designed by Total Design from Amsterdam.

‘We explored two types of sports,’ explains Edwin van Praet, creative director at Total Design. ‘On the one hand, there were the Old Dutch sports often tied in with a particular region. Like klootschieten, beugelen, kaatsen and fierljeppen. On the other hand, we had the sports loved by everyone in the Netherlands. Sports linked to our culture, with water and with large numbers taking part in them: football, hockey, horse riding, swimming, korfball, sailing, golf, et cetera. Often, these are the sports the Dutch excel in, where we’re at the top internationally. Based on that initial selection, we created mood boards, a collection of photographs and images to establish the tone. Then we started sketching.’

A striking feature of the design is that both the ball and the right shoe protrude out of the picture and continue onto the strip at the bottom of the stamp. The same is happening with the ponytail in the white strip at the top. ‘They’re very small details,’ explains Van Praet, ‘but it reinforces the impression that the hockey player is coming towards you.’ You’re involved in the action, you’re the fan sitting in the stadium, watching a sportsperson coming towards you.’

The stamps are available while stocks last at the post office counter in Bruna shops and at www.postnl.nl/bijzondere-postzegels [in Dutch]. The stamps can also be ordered by phone from the Collect Club customer service on telephone number +31 (0)88 868 99 00. The validity period is indefinite.

Technical Details:
Postage stamp dimensions: 30 x 40 mm:
Sheet size: 170 x 122 mm
Paper: normal with phosphor print
Gum: gummed
Printing technique: offset
Printing colours: cyan, magenta, yellow, black and orange
Print run: 75,000 sheets
Appearance: sheet of 6 stamps in 6 identical designs
Design: Edwin van Praet and Claire Bedon, Total Design, Amsterdam
Printing company: Cartor Security Printers, Meaucé-La Loupe, France
Item number: 420361

Typically Dutch: Cycling (Netherlands 2022)

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[from a press release]

Issue: Typically Dutch – Cycling
Date of issue: 4 April 2022
Appearance: sheet of six stamps in six identical designs
Item number: 420461
Design: Claire Bedon and Edwin van Praet (Total Design), Amsterdam

On 4 April 2022, PostNL will publish the Typically Dutch – cycling stamp sheet. This issue is the third in the Typically Dutch series this year. In 2022, the multi-annual series is dedicated to five sports in which the Dutch excel. Earlier this year, stamps featuring ice skating (3 January) and hockey (21 March) were published as part of this series. Later this year, PostNL will publish stamps featuring the typically Dutch sports of sailing (9 May) and football (15 August).

There’s nothing more Dutch than a bicycle. The Netherlands is home to more bicycles (22.9 million) than people. With all those bicycles, we travel some 17.4 billion kilometres per year, which is around 1,000km per person, with an average speed of 15.6km/hour. Relatively, the most kilometres are covered by the 36,000 cyclists who are members of the over 370 cycling clubs in the Netherlands. Their interests are protected by the Koninklijke Nederlandsche Wielren Unie (KNWU, ‘Royal Dutch Cycling Union’), which was founded in 1928. Besides road cycling, there are many other cycling disciplines: BMX, track cycling, cyclocross, mountain biking, beach racing, para-cycling and artistic cycling.

The Netherlands has produced many famous cyclists, including big names such as Jan Jansen (Tour de France winner), Hennie Kuiper (gold medallist at the Olympic Games), Joop Zoetemelk (Tour de France and Vuelta de España winner) and Tom Dumoulin (Giro d’Italia winner). The Dutch are often also world leaders in disciplines such as track cycling (Jeffrey Hoogland, Harrie Lavreysen) and cyclocross (Lars Boom, Matthieu van der Poel). The achievements of Dutch female cyclists are even more impressive. Especially over the past few decades, Dutch women have dominated global cycling. Well-known champions are Leontien van Moorsel (four Olympic gold medals, Tour de France Féminin winner; shown on the right), Marianne Vos (one Olympic gold medal, twice World Championships winner in road cycling, three times Giro Rosa winner), Anna van der Breggen (one Olympic gold medal, twice World Championships winner in road cycling, once World Championships winner in time trial, four times Giro Rosa winner) and Annemiek van Vleuten (one Olympic gold medal, once World Championships winner in road cycling, twice World Championships winner in time trial, twice Giro Rosa winner).

The stamps on the Typical Dutch – cycling stamp sheet feature an illustration of a cyclist gaining momentum by getting out of the saddle and pushing the bicycle to the left. In the bottom right-hand corner, three diagonal lines can be seen in the background, representing the lines on a cycle track and on public roads. At the bottom of each stamp is a white strip with the sorting hook, the year 2022, the country (Netherlands) and the denomination 1. The tyre of the front wheel continues onto the strip a little way. The same is happening with the bicycle helmet in the white strip at the top. The logo for the Typically Dutch series is printed above each stamp, with a folded Dutch banner on the left and right. The picture is repeated in enlarged form on the edge of the sheet. The dominant colour blue continues on the two tabs on the right. The Typically Dutch logo appears once more on the top edge of the sheet, while the bottom edge features a short explanatory text.

The mood of the Typically Dutch – cycling stamps is created by the colour blue in the background, with orange (helmet, front fork), red (cycling shirt), yellow (face, arms, legs) and black (glasses, bib shorts, handlebars, cycling shoes, front wheel, pedals and bottom bracket) as contrasting colours. Van Praet: ‘All five issues this year include the colours of the Dutch flag. In the right order: first red, then white, then blue and finally two kinds of orange. Diversity was essential. The series features two female athletes, two male athletes including the cyclist, and one neutral figure.’

Technical Specifications:
Postage stamp dimensions: 30 x 40 mm:
Sheet size: 170 x 122 mm
Paper: normal with phosphor print
Gum: gummed
Printing technique: offset
Printing colours: cyan, magenta, yellow, black and orange
Print run: 75,000 sheets
Appearance: sheet of 6 stamps in 6 identical designs
Design: Edwin van Praet and Claire Bedon, Total Design, Amsterdam
Printing company: Cartor Security Printers, Meaucé-La Loupe, France
Item number: 420461