National Postal Museum

1972 Peace Corps Stamp Artist David Battle Visits Museum

By, Patricia Raynor, Loan Coordinator

David Battle, whose design concept was used for the 1972 Peace Corps Stamp, visited the Postal Museum on April 12. Jim O’Donnell and I interviewed Mr. Battle in 2010 for an article on the Peace Corps stamp and were delighted when he contacted us that he was planning a visit to Washington, DC. While at the museum, Mr. Battle spoke fondly of his visit to Washington in December of 1971 when and his family were invited to attend the ceremony announcing the Peace Corps stamp.

Peace Corps stamp issued February 11, 1972

 

David Battle also designed the cachet for the 1971 first day cover that he is holding.

The National Postal Museum has the original Peace Corps stamp art on loan from the U.S. Postal Service’s, Postmaster General Collection. Annette Shumway, museum technician PMG Collection, brought out the art for him to examine in person.  He showed us how graphic artist Bradbury Thompson added an extra dove in the adaptation for the final design as the design of the Peace Corps stamp was vertical and his original design was square.

 

 

David Battle examining the 1972 Peace Corps stamp art with Annette Shumway overseeing on the right.

Bradbury Thompson note from the National Postal Museum Library, Third Assistant Postmaster General, Stamp Design Files.

David Battle lives in Ohio with his wife Esther.  His art frequently appears in the Antioch Review.

Photographs by James O’Donnell

To learn more check out:
David Battle and the story behind the Peace Corps stamp
http://postalmuseum.si.edu/museum/1d_peace_corps_stamp.html

The Postmaster General Collection
http://postalmuseumblog.si.edu/2012/07/the-postmaster-general-collection.html
                                

USPS Unveils Inverted Jenny Stamp

Director of the Smithsonian National Postal Museum Allen Kane and USPS Director of Stamp Services and Corporate Licensing Susan McGowan unveiled the preliminary design for an Inverted Jenny stamp at the APS AmeriStamp Expo stamp show in Louisville, Kentucky today (Friday, January 18, 2013).

 

$2 Stamp Collecting: Inverted Jenny Stamp (Stamp design reflects preliminary artwork and is subject to change.)

The preliminary design includes replicas of America’s most famous stamp and one of the world’s most famous errors. The margins of the stamp sheet feature images related to the 24-cent Curtiss Jenny stamp and the 1918 inaugural airmail service, including pilot Major Reuben Fleet of the Army Air Corps and the Washington DC – Philadelphia - New York airmail flight route. In the upper left corner is the main post office in Washington, DC, at the time, which would process airmail and currently houses the National Postal Museum.

This famous U.S. stamp printing error occurred at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing during the week of May 6-13, 1918. One sheet of one hundred stamps with an inverted image of a blue airplane escaped detection. The error occurred either when an inverted carmine frame sheet

The 24-cent Curtiss Jenny invert error

was fed into the small hand press for the second impression or when the plate printer, after inking and wiping, placed an inverted blue vignette plate into the press. The biplane featured in the design is the famous JN-4-H "Jenny," modified by replacing the front cockpit with a mail compartment.

Another post office in Washington, DC, sold the error sheet on May 14, 1918, to William T. Robey. The lucky collector sold it to Eugene Klein, a Philadelphia stamp dealer, for $15,000. Klein then sold the sheet to collector Colonel H.R. Green and recommended breaking the sheet into blocks and singles to sell. The entire discovery and sales received enormous press.

The new stamp sheet will be issued on September 22, opening day of the National Postal Museum’s William H. Gross Stamp Gallery. The Gross Stamp Gallery will be the world’s largest stamp gallery. A block of four of the original 1918 Inverted Jenny will be on permanent display courtesy of Bill Gross.

 

 Click here for USPS press release.

First-Day Ceremony: Emancipation Proclamation Commemorative Forever Stamp

By: Calvin Mitchell, NPM Research Associate

On January 1, 2013 at 9:00 A.M. the United States Postal Service (USPS) held the first- day ceremony for the Emancipation Proclamation commemorative forever stamp in the magnificent Rotunda Gallery of the National Archives.  The selection of January 1, 2013 as the first- day of issue was historically consistent as the date marked the 150th Anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln. Scheduling the first- day ceremony on New Year’s Day resulted in the stamp’s release on a Federal holiday, which is a rare event, but scheduling the first- day ceremony at the National Archives allowed this momentous event to become an integral part the 150th Anniversary celebration from Sunday, December 30-Tuesday, January 1.

A’Lelia Bundles, President of the Foundation for the National Archives, served as the Master Of Ceremonies. She recognized the importance of the ceremony to stamp collectors by asking how many people in the audience were stamp collectors, which resulted in a significant number of people raising their hands.  She used this occasion to pay homage to her own ancestors who were enslaved at the time the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. She also read a stirring proclamation issued from “another president,” President Obama, which commemorated the sesquicentennial anniversary of the signing.

Ms. Bundles was followed by David S. Ferriero, Archivist of the United States, who began his presentation by saying “Welcome to my house.” During his brief speech he cited the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation as a document that added a moral dimension to the Civil War.

Ronald Stroman, the Deputy Postmaster General representing the USPS, gave the keynote address and spoke about the importance of the Emancipation Proclamation in changing the “arc of history” forever in America and the enduring significance the document holds in American history. “It is a legacy we choose not only to remember, but also to make our own.”  The unveiling ceremony occurred after his brief remarks.

After the unveiling Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, who is a singer, composer, and founder of the a cappella group, Sweet Honey in the Rock, opened her presentation with a very brief but beautiful hymn. She followed with a dramatic reading of the original Emancipation Proclamation. The presentation closed with a stirring performance by the Washington Revels Jubilee Voices. The group enthralled the audience with spirituals and gospel music sung by African Americans during the Civil War period. At the conclusion of the ceremony, which lasted about 45 minutes, attendees were given the rare opportunity to view the original Emancipation Proclamation displayed in the East Rotunda Gallery.

Button produced by the US National Archives and distributed to the general public during the 150th Anniversary events.

 

Program prepared for the first- day ceremony held on August 16, 1963 in Chicago, Illinois for the release of the stamp commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. This stamp shown on the program was designed by Greg Olden, who was the first African American to design a US postal stamp.

 

First- Day Program, signed by Gail Anderson, the stamp designer. Copies of the programs were found on the seats when attendees entered the Rotunda.

Post Ceremonial Activities

After the event the, USPS set- up shop in the National Archives’ Bookstore to sell philatelic products related to the stamp’s release and provide collectors with three different postmarks: a pictorial postmark, a bull’s eye postmark and a regular four bar first- day of issue postmark.   As usual, collectors will have to mail in items and pay (fifty cents per item) to receive the digital postmark.   Interestingly enough, a number of collectors actually had entire panes autographed by the stamp designer and postmarked at the Archives.  Moreover, sales at the postal service counter were very brisk. The postal service reported that attendees purchased $6000 of philatelic items.

Gail Anderson was spotted purchasing philatelic items from the postal service and was sought out for her autograph, which she gladly provided upon request.

 

Set of three Artcraft covers (above) prepared for the issuance of the 1963 Emancipation Proclamation Stamp I used to obtain the pictorial postmark designed for the issuance of the 150th Anniversary Stamp. I had the stamp designer for the 150th Anniversary Stamp autograph the cover. Note the two varieties in the circular postmarks used on the 1963 centennial stamp.

 

First day cover sold at the ceremony by the USPS and autographed by the stamp designer.

 

Marilyn Travels to New Orleans: The Stamp art of Michael Deas

By Patricia Raynor, Loan Coordinator, National Postal Museum

Marilyn Monroe standing over a subway grate in the 1955 movie “The Seven Year Itch” is one of the iconic poses of American cinematic history.  It was also the subject of an illustration that artist Michael J. Deas proposed for the Marilyn Monroe stamp souvenir sheet selvage(1)  that was to become part of the 1995 Legends of Hollywood series.

Marilyn Monroe proposed illustration for souvenir sheet selvage.

 

Marilyn Monroe approved stamp art used for 1995 postage stamp (not in Ogden exhibition).

While it wasn’t chosen for the actual Monroe stamp or for the souvenir sheet, that illustration is one of six works of stamp art being loaned by the National Postal Museum to the Ogden Museum of Southern Art at the University of New Orleans (www.ogdenmuseum.org) for an exhibit celebrating the art of Deas, a New Orleans-based illustrator and stamp artist.   The exhibit runs from October 6, 2012 to January 7, 2013.

The other five artworks loaned are the approved stamp art of James Dean, Tennessee Williams, Katherine Anne Porter, William Clark and Meriwether Lewis.

    
William Clark and Meriwether Lewis approved stamp art used for the 2004 commemorative postage stamps.

   
The artist told me that this is his first one man show.  It’s also the Ogden Museum of Southern Art’s first loan from a Smithsonian Museum since it became an affiliate in 2001.  So exciting firsts all around!

The stamp art’s journey to the Ogden Museum is unusual.  The illustrations are part of the Postmaster General’s Collection, on long-term loan to the National Postal Museum from the U.S. Postal Service.   As the custodian of the collection, NPM has the mandate to make it available to the public.  With this loan to the Ogden Museum, we are expanding the audience of this significant collection.

(1) The border of paper around a sheet or pane of stamps. It used to be that it was ‘the unprinted marginal paper on a sheet or pane of stamps’, but these days, there is often wording or design included in the selvage.

Note:  All stamp art images are courtesy of the United States Postal Service, Postmaster General’s Collection.

For more information about the Postmaster General’s Collection: http://postalmuseumblog.si.edu/2012/07/the-postmaster-general-collection.html

For more information about Michael Deas:
http://www.beyondtheperf.com/biography/michael-j-deas

Doonesbury’s Cinderella Story: Protest Stamps and Comic Timing

Ashley Bowen-Murphy, curatorial intern and American Studies doctoral student

In May 1990, former (temporary) postal service employee Zonker Harris bemoaned an upcoming postage rate increase.  Zonker knew that, even after the five-cent rate increase, “US postal rates would still be among the lowest in the world” [1]. Still, he felt frustrated and “fed up” with the postal service’s rate hikes.

Unlike other frustrated United States Postal Service (USPS) customers, though, Zonker had a ready platform to protest this rate hike.  As a fictional character in Garry Trudeau’s long-running comic strip Doonesbury, Zonker commanded the attention of hundreds of thousands of newspaper readers every day.

Where other comic strips may have used the rate hike for an in-strip gag, Doonesbury asked readers to take the gag to the USPS itself!  The May 20, 1990 strip included two designs in a sheet of nine “negative 5-cent” imaginary stamps.  They are adorned with an image of Zonker and the words “Mad as Heck” or “Ticked Off.” Zonker encouraged readers to cut out and glue or tape the fantasy stamps to their mail in lieu of legal postage as a form of protest. These cinderella stamps are “attractive, convenient, and probably illegal,” Zonker noted.

The postal service was not amused.  A USPS spokesman told reporters that these Doonesbury stamps were “definitely illegal.”  In fact, users risked a fine of $300! [2]

The Doonesbury protest stamps are a kind of “cinderella” stamp: an item that looks like, but is not, an official postage stamp. These imaginary issues never had postal validity but were created as souvenirs. The content of cinderella stamps ranges from political protest to mere decoration. Perhaps the most well-known cinderellas are the Christmas and Easters seals sold to raise money for a variety of charities (below). Although the postal service does place restrictions on what can and cannot be affixed to envelopes, it is legal to put a variety of non-postage labels, decorations, or other items on a piece of mail—provided that legal postage is also present.

 

This 1945 patriotic cover includes an official, legal airmail stamp on the top right and a cinderella stamp issued by the private aid organization Bataan Relief of Illinois.

Easter seals of the U.S.A., 1930s and 1940s.
Image via the Creative Commons.

Readers followed Zonker’s instructions and did use the stamps on their mail.  The postal service detected the Doonesbury stamps during normal processing procedures.  In 1990, postage stamps had phosphor-treated surfaces, known as tagging, that allowed processing machines to place mail in the right position and feed it through a cancelation machine. The Postal Service found the Doonesbury protest issues when the sorting machines failed to detect any phosphorus and kicked them out for hand canceling [3]. While the USPS caught many of the protest stamps, a few did make it through to their recipients.

Though the stakes were a bit lower in 1990, Zonker’s plea to Doonesbury readers is one of many examples of American newspapermen using the newspaper to protest taxes in the form of stamps. For example, in 1765, The Boston Gazette caricatured the Stamp Act’s proposed stamps with a skull and crossbones and the words, "This is the place to affix the STAMP.” With this phrase, The Gazette’s editors taunted loathed Stamp Act, a 1765 law imposed by the British government that taxed paper. The Stamp Act proved so unpopular that the British repealed it in 1766.

There is no information on exactly how many Doonesbury readers attempted to use the protest stamps to mail a letter.  Likewise, there is no evidence that the protest stamps had an impact on the USPS rate hike. However, it is worth noting that in 1991 the cost of postage went up just four cents—not the planned five—to 29 cents for first class mail.

References:
1 Trudeau, Gary. Doonesbury 1990 May 20.
2 Van Natta Jr., Don. “‘Doonesbury’ Protest Stamps Fool Machines.” Knight-Ridder Newspapers [Wire Service] 30 May 1990. Google News.
3 Healey, Barth. “Pastimes: Stamps.” New York Times 8 July 1990.

The Postmaster General Collection

By Annette Shumway, Museum Technician

As a graduate student in Intro to Museums class, it floored me to learn just how many wonderful objects were present in museum collections but were not being exhibited. This prompted me to research and gain experience in digitization of collections. Now as an employee assigned to the Postmaster General Collection, I am thrilled to think of the digitization possibilities for this collection.

What exactly is the Postmaster General Collection?

The Postmaster General Collection (PMG) consists of two distinct collections: the philatelic collection, which contains postage stamps, die proofs, essays and other material related to the printing of stamps and postal stationary; and the art collection, which contains the original artwork that the Postal Service has commissioned for U.S. stamps for the last 75 years.  The philatelic collection was started in the 1860s by the Post Office Department (POD). Under the POD and its successor organization the United States Postal Service (USPS), it has grown to include postal stationary, uncut press sheets, and metal printing dies and drums.

Kate Collen sorting the first portion of the transfer in Summer 2010.

Under an agreement with the USPS, the PMG collection has been deposited on long term loan to the National Postal Museum (NPM). In exchange for the collection, the museum staff is responsible for the care and management of the collection and for making it available to the public. As part of the cataloging process, we will identify and describe each object, being sure to include information such as its dimensions and material types-- and safely store it in containers that will extend its life.

Cataloging the philatelic (stamp and other postal matter) portion of the collection began in summer of 2010. At that time, we were re-housing and cataloging the objects prior to moving them to NPM storage. By the end of 2011, we had over 12,000 objects in the database. According to Smithsonian digitization standards, we could say these objects were digitized to an acceptable standard! Certainly, curators and researchers would now be able to quickly search through these records, sorting on various criteria.

In the fall of 2011, USPS also granted us the loan for the original artwork of many U.S. stamp designs - on the condition that we move it within three months. Wow! Considering that the artwork doubled the amount of objects we would be transferring AND we had not yet finished cataloging the philatelic portion, this was a pretty tall order. But we were up for the challenge.

I, along with my interns, Alexandra Nichols (pictured here, on the left, me on the right, unpacking a framed object) and Janelle Batkin (below, sealing the boxes before the move), worked diligently to sort objects and inventory boxes, unloading boxes that were overly stuffed, and adding cushioning to those that were not completely filled in order to stabilize the contents. And we measured! We measured  everything from the boxes that needed custom lids to the opening in the doorway (needed to make sure those moving boxes fit once they were packed...) to the height of the loading docks of the various locations where the collection would be deposited.

Once at the museum, we opened the moving boxes, carefully checking the contents against our inventory list. Almost immediately there were Curatorial requests for objects from the collection. Having this list was essential to locating the objects within our 30 plus 2’x2’x2’ boxes. We worked through the spring to finish transferring the remaining philatelic objects into their containers. Shortly thereafter the cataloging of these objects resumed.

Next, we turned our attention to the art portion of the collection. Many of the original art objects had been grouped by Scott number (a number that designates the design and printing elements of the stamp or postal stationary).  Because the art was wrapped in bundles of tissue paper and stored inside acid-free cardboard boxes, for the most part it is in good condition. However, some of the bundles were overcrowded and needed to be rehoused. The bundles also did not allow for ready access to the collection. We also saw instances where the bundles had been opened and the contents had been dispersed making it difficult to gather the pertinent objects quickly.

To answer these challenges, we placed the 2-D objects in acid-free folders and boxes, maintaining the Scott number order, but dividing them by size-small, medium, large and extra-large categories. Incredibly, much of the art is smaller than a newspaper page and thus fits into our small or medium categories. Once these objects are recorded in our database, it will take a few clicks of a mouse to gather the object locations, and from there a short while to physically reunite the objects in their original grouping, if the need should arise.

Boxes for housing small, medium, and large objects customize the storage while keeping them to a manageable size for the museum personnel.

Looking to the future, our next phase is to ensure that the breadth and depth of this collection is captured in our database, imaged, and choice objects are loaded into our online collections website, Arago. If you live in the DC Metro area, some of the elements of the collection will be on display in the William H. Gross Gallery that is set to open in fall 2013. But for the rest of us, other portions of this long hidden gem may be coming to a computer near you.

Celebrating Girl Scouts through Postage Stamps

by Melody Parker, National Postal Museum intern

Girl Scouting is a significant part of women’s history. More than 59 million American women participated in scouting during their childhood, including many prominent figures in fields ranging from acting to politics. No wonder that Girl Scouting is represented on commemorative postage stamps from around the world. 

This summer’s Celebrate Scouting stamp issue, coinciding with the 100-year anniversary of the founding of the first American Girl Scout Troop in 1912, “pays tribute to scouting organizations for the opportunities and pleasures they have provided millions of youths worldwide,” according to Beyond the Perf. 

[At right: Celebrate Scouting, to be issued by the USPS on June 9, 2012. © United States Postal Service, All Rights Reserved.]

On March 12, 1912, Juliette Gordon Low (featured on a 1948 stamp) organized 18 girls in her hometown of Savannah, GA, into what was initially known as a Girl Guide troop, reflecting Low’s inspiration by British scouting movement founder Robert Baden-Powell. Ever since, with a mission to “build girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place,” the Girl Scouts of the United States of America has helped girls grow through enriching experiences including outdoor and community projects. The recognition of the organization on a stamp indicates American respect for and acceptance of scouting’s contribution to the nation.

For their 50th anniversary, the American Girl Scouts were issued their first commemorative stamp at the July 1962 Girl Scout Roundup in Button Bay, Vermont. Since the worldwide female scouting movement began in 1909, 25 other countries had previously pictured Girl Guides or Girl Scouts on stamps.

Postmaster General J. Edward Day announced the stamp issue, which would depict a senior Girl Scout in uniform in front of the red and white stripes of the American flag, at the March 12, 1962, 50th anniversary luncheon of the Girl Scouts. The stamp would “serve to re-awake and re-inforce…an appreciation of the great service American Girl Scouts have given to their community, their country, and the world,” said Postmaster General Day.

About 9,000 senior Girl Scouts from all over the country attended July’s Button Bay Roundup to celebrate the anniversary. At the dedication ceremony of the Girl Scout stamp on July 24, Judicial Officer of the Post Office Department Reva Beck Bosone (the highest ranking female in that office) addressed attending Girl Scouts as a “select group of womanhood” with an “unselfish devotion to an organization which has at its purpose the building of girls into good citizens.” “You are facing a world that is different from any that a new generation has faced before,” Bosone said, reminding the Girl Scouts of the exciting future that they faced as 1960s women. “The Space Age and all the scientific development…accompanied by elements of world devastation constitutes a challenge of huge proportions. Women, the mothers of men, must participate in this challenge.”

Bosone closed her speech noting that the commemorative stamp would serve as “an artistic daily reminder to millions of Americans both young and old of a great organization dedicated to living high ideals.”

Gloria Negri described the celebration as a “humdinger” in a follow-up article on the Button Bay Roundup in the Boston Globe titled “Girl Scouts Light 51 Candles—1 to Grow on—at Button Bay.” During the ceremony, a giant letter with the commemorative stamp issue adorned the stage, as well as a massive fake cake on which the scouts lit electric candles to honor Juliette Gordon Low and her 12 original scouts. The Girl Scouts sent letters with the stamp to the governors of all 50 states.

Mixed Opinions: Though many Girl Scouts and Americans alike were appreciative of the commemoration of the Girl Scouts with a stamp, as reflected in letters to the Post Office Department and the Postmaster General, the public’s response to the stamp was mixed. Curious individuals wondered why the stamp wasn’t printed in green, the Girl Scouts’ color, and why it didn’t highlight recognizable symbols of the scouts like the golden Trefoil. Others called the design and color choice “cheap” and “garish,” and a few went so far as to call upon the P.O. Department to reissue the stamp with a new design or color scheme, including one postal employee who wrote that the stamp could be confused with airmail issue stamps.

A handful of irritated postal customers were concerned that the stamp’s image and red color would beget communist associations. “It’s a pity, that such a beautiful stamp looks like a Russian stamp with a 'Komsomolec' (Communist Youth Organization) girl dressed in their red and white uniform,” Mecys M. Petrus wrote. “Isn’t it possible to direct those who design these stamps to emphasize U.S.A. with the good, clear, and strong colors despite whatever the stamps commemorate?” asked T. Marie Saline in September, 1962.

In response, the Post Office Department stated that there wasn’t enough time to produce the stamp in multicolor in order for it to be issued at the July Girl Scout Roundup. Because the stripes of the American flag predominated the background of the design, printing the stamp in red on white paper was the only “logical color choice,” the P.O. Department replied.

Though there was to be no reissue of the stamp, the Girl Scouts (as well as other youth organizations) have since been honored with a myriad of stamps. For the American organization’s 75th anniversary, a stamp was issued featuring 14 Girl Scout badges on a green background of the same color as the sash on which they’re worn.

Prior to the 1962 Girl Scout stamp, founder Juliette Gordon Low had been featured on a stamp of her own (more information on the Juliette Gordon Low approved die proof). Known as “Daisy” to friends and family, Low was remembered as a charming, enthusiastic, and vivacious woman. She had previously founded Girl Guide troops in Scotland and London before bringing the concept to the United States. During World War I, membership in the scouts expanded dramatically. Low became an international leader and central figure of the American scouting movement; in 1915 she became president of the Girl Scouts of America, and was dedicated to her troops with constant enthusiasm until the end of her life.

Many Smithsonian programs, exhibits, self-guides, and other activities are planned for the Girl Scouts Rock the Mall. Check out other blog posts, the calendar of events, and more here.  

Click here for more resources on women featured on stamps, female involvement in postal history and philately. And don't miss our Women's History in Postage Stamps collecting activity at Girl Scouts Rock the Mall 2012. 

Elaine Rawlinson: first female U.S. stamp designer

by Melody Parker, NPM intern.

Finding the “first” is a default mechanism for uncovering an interesting story. Elaine Rawlinson, first female U.S. stamp designer, was a first in more ways than one.

Prior to 1938, not a single U.S. stamp had been designed by a woman. This wasn’t entirely unusual as the Bureau of Engraving and Printing wasn’t just dominated by men; it was dominated by a handful of individuals. Flipping through a catalogue of U.S. stamps from the era, you’ll find the same designers’ names repeated again and again. This closed group of designers and engravers were the staff artists who worked not only with stamps, but with paper currency and other security products for the U.S. government. Engraving wasn’t an easy skill to master; this wasn’t a job with a high turnover rate or much entry into the field. Multiple firsts coincided to produce the first female stamp designer.

In 1933, devoted stamp collector and newly-elected President Franklin Roosevelt suggested a set of stamps honoring past presidents. The Post Office Department opened the first national competition in 1937 to gather potential designs for the first stamp in the new Presidential Series, which would feature George Washington. Though he has been pictured on more U.S. stamps than any other individual in history, it was only fitting that, as the first president, he would appear on the 1-cent stamp of the series. (For more information on FDR and stamps, visit our online exhibit Delivering Hope: FDR & Stamps of the Great Depression).

1,122 artists—some of whom were famous—were inspired to submit entries and compete for cash prizes. Many designers used modern fonts and streamlined images, reflecting an evolution from traditional designs to a 1920s trend in decorative arts with a bold, uncluttered and sophisticated efficiency.

A committee, which included Smithsonian Institution philatelist Catherine L. Manning (who also broke some ground herself as the first woman outside the sciences to achieve the title “Assistant Curator” at the Smithsonian) as one of the judges, spent two days narrowing the designs down to just five. The Bureau produced an experimental plate that included the winning designs from which President Roosevelt made the final selection. 

Elaine, a former student in her early twenties of the National Academy of Design School who also studied mural painting at the Beaux-Arts Institute, won the top prize and was awarded $500. She was the sole female winner among a top group of males.

Elaine’s design, which featured a side profile view of Washington from sculptor Jean Antoine Houdon’s bust at Mount Vernon, stood out in its simplicity: it lacked the tiny lines that were characteristic of most stamps both in the U.S. and abroad. The specifications of the contest were that the design be a portrait of George Washington, either profile or full-faced in view. Elaine's design was dignified and straightforward; she positioned Washington’s face in profile on the left side of the stamp as opposed to in the center, leaving a large area to be filled with solid green background. A New York Times headline from Oct. 3, 1937, announced Elaine’s achievement as “…Something New in Philatelic History.”

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing temporarily employed Elaine to design the first few lower stamp values of the series. She was the first person outside of Bureau employees to officially design a postage stamp, but Elaine is a bit of a mystery to philatelists as she seems to have disappeared from the design world after her work with this series.

Elaine’s 1-cent Washington stamp, issued on April 25, 1938, became the fundamental basis for the designs of the rest of the Presidential Series, one of the most famous stamp series in history and fondly known to philatelists as the “Prexies.” The series chronologically depicted all 29 presidents who had died before 1938 as well as Benjamin Franklin, Martha Washington, and the White House. The Prexies were workhorse stamps; they were simple and intended for long-term use, and were seen on everyday and wartime mail through the late 1950s. While stamps of this series are not particularly known for their beauty—though their design was quite different from the stamps that came before them—there are philatelists who collect only the Prexies for their many usages.

Ultimately, Elaine’s work isn’t remembered because she was a “first.” The Prexies aren't collected because their designer was a female and the winner of a stamp design competition, though the legacy of Elaine's design was a memorable one in stamp history.

The next stamp designed by a woman wasn’t issued until 1963, when painter Lily Spandorf designed the Christmas issue. Stamp designing remained a man’s business for some time.

Photos and information courtesy of the National Postal Museum Library, Smithsonian Institution Libraries; the New York Times archive and NPM curator Daniel Piazza. Special thanks to Kathryn Burke for research assistance.

The National Postal Museum at “The Big Draw”

By Debbie Bartels
Museum Educator, National Postal Museum

“We love to draw!” was the cry that rang out at North Chevy Chase Elementary School (NCCES) earlier this month.  It came from the more than 300 students at the Chevy Chase, Maryland school that got to participate in the 5th annual “Big Draw” program.

The Big Draw is a wonderful program where, for a day, the school transforms the 3rd to 6th grade classes to be arts based.  Armed with their sketch pads and colored pencils the kids get to draw about every subject they learn that day and they love it!

Usually I work onsite at the museum giving tours to students, but for this event I got to visit some students at their place of work!  I was a first timer at this Big Draw but the National Postal Museum has been part of the event since the beginning.

This year, Allison Wickens, Lynn Gayno, JR Osborn and I spent the morning with the third graders at NCCES focused on supporting their social studies curriculum by looking at cool stamps.  Allison talked about the parts of a stamp and then I introduced the rules for choosing stamp subjects.  For the “art” part of the lesson, Lynn talked to the kids about the elements of design that are used when artists create a new stamp.

Allison and JR work some magic to let the kids add and delete the different parts of a stamp.

I talk to the kids about what makes a good subject for a stamp.

Lynn leads the kids in a discussion about how stamps can be loud or quiet.

And then, the best part of the day--the kids got to design their own stamps!  We saw them design stamps about everything from the Olympics to the Grand Canyon.  Sports were a popular subject as were dogs, characters from popular movies and places the kids had visited with their families.

A student perfects his stamp about America’s favorite pastime-baseball!

The kids were all smiles as they packed up their supplies and headed off to lunch.  The volunteers were all smiles too as we headed off to the Media Center to partake in a fabulous chili and cornbread feast provided by the kind and supportive parents and staff at the school.  The parent volunteers I talked to all agreed that the “Big Draw” is a highlight of the school year and that the little kids can’t wait until they get to 3rd grade so they can participate.

Where did George Washington go?

An NCCES third grader proudly displays his cool stamp design.

And, being a newcomer, I chatted with the other professionals that came to NCCES that day to find out what keeps them coming back each year.  Almost everyone I spoke with had been coming to the event for years and considered it to be an extremely rewarding experience-they loved seeing the kids realize they really are all artists and can be as creative as they want to be.  The team from the Postal Museum agrees and can’t wait for next year!

For a more in depth look at what our team shared with the kids during the Big Draw, you can visit this link to see the entire hands on curriculum: http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/educators/4b_DesignIt.html.

Other curricula available from the National Postal Museum: click here!

Other educator resources available: click here!

 

New Curriculum Resource

By K. Allison Wickens
Director of Education, National Postal Museum

I am always looking for great curriculum to share with the Postal Museum’s education communities.  If you are ever looking for material to support teaching about the impact of African Americans in history, you should always stop by USPS.  Every year since 1978, it has issued a stamp honoring the contributions of African Americans with its Black Heritage series.  This year, the stamp honors John Johnson, trailblazing publisher and founder of Ebony and Jet magazines. 

I was thrilled to get a preview of the new education curriculum kit created by USPS’s Community Connection program http://uspsconnection.com/educator-kits/.  Like with many Black Heritage stamps before, the USPS created an adjacent curriculum guide to inspire teachers and provide resources for their classrooms.  Johnson’s life serves as a window to so many 20th century historic milestones like the Great Migration and Great Depression.  His work illustrates topics from Civil Rights to civil discourse.  His publications are remembered for the information and visual representation of the lives of black Americans included in the national and international media dialogue. 

His life as a publisher and journalist is also a wonderful platform to investigate key language arts standards.  The signature piece of the free downloadable kit is a beautiful and stunning “editor’s board” with photos, news clips, memos and quotes tacked onto it (http://uspsconnection.com/files/JohnsonBulletinBoard.pdf).  It’s a great access point to the life of a 20th century publisher for both the details it puts forth and the big picture when you step back and see it all at once. 

Looking and learning about his publications provides lessons in photojournalism, public speaking, reading comprehension, interviewing, and writing.  These skill-based lessons are intertwined with concept themes like community, culture, media, individual dignity, fairness, and meaningful civic action, among others. 

To learn about this and other USPS Community Connection programs go to: http://uspsconnection.com/.

To see all the African Americans featured on US stamps, take a look at the National Postal Museum’s Online exhibit: http://postalmuseum.si.edu/ARAGOBlackExperience.

For more about the newest Smithsonian museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture: http://nmaahc.si.edu/.