From the earliest days of the war between the States, designs began to appear on envelopes sold to the public which expressed various kinds of sentiments of patriotism and/or negative caricature-like opinions of the enemy, or some other type of related subject. This type of postal expression had never been used to any extent prior to the Civil War. Earlier illustrated envelopes to promote various causes were usually of a propaganda nature, such as Intemperance, Cheaper Postage Rates, Anti-Slavery, etc. Patriotic themes on envelopes were used sparingly prior to 1861 in connection to a few political campaigns, but they were limited in scope and intent. Then, in 1861, all Hell literally broke loose! Continue reading

Great minds think alike…at least as far as stamp collecting is concerned.  President Franklin Roosevelt, an avid stamp collector, had sent a gift of stamps and a small album to the nine-year-old son of a powerful Massachusetts family. The well-mannered boy wrote back right away: “Dear Mr. President, I liked the stamps you sent me very much and the little book is very useful. I am just starting my collection and it would be great fun to see yours which mother says you have had for a long time. . . . Daddy, Mother, and all my brothers and sisters want to be remembered to you.” The letter is signed, “Bobby Kennedy.”

The Minnesota Statehood Sesquicentennial stamp is slated for release on May 11, 2008. The stamp, designed by Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, MD, honors Minnesota’s 150th anniversary as the thirty-second of the fifty United States. The photograph captures the view of the MN-43/WI-54 bridge spanning the main channel of the Mississippi River above Winona, in southeast Minnesota.

Stamp design is a collaborative effort…even when the lead designer is the President of the United States. A case in point is FDR’s sketch for the 1933 Polar Stamp. As a favor to Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd, the President designed a commemorative-size stamp. It showed the eastern coast of the United States and South America, western areas of Europe and Africa, and the routes of Byrd’s trans-Atlantic, North Pole and South Pole flights.

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The wheels of government are turning. In 2007, after years of arguing with Congress, the Postal Service was authorized to increase postage rates once a year at an amount no more than the increase in the Consumer Price Index. (The annual increase is modeled on a process used in Canada.) At the moment, however, there’s some acrimonious discussion about whether the date for the increase falls in May of 2008 or January 2009. It’s a cliffhanger!

You may be wondering why an official New Year’s stamp won’t be issued until February. Is the USPS running behind schedule? Not at all! The new stamp commemorates the observance of the Chinese calendar and celebrates the brand spanking New Year of the Rat, which begins February 7, 2008 and ends January 25, 2009. It is the first of 12 new issues scheduled to be debuted annually through 2019.
 
Each new stamp will feature one of the 12 different animals in the Chinese calendar. 
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