01-05-2018
The U.S. Postal Service celebrates the 100th anniversary of the beginning of regular airmail service with a Forever stamp. This stamp celebrates the courage of the pioneering airmail carriers and the foresight of those who fostered the new service and made it a success.
The first-day-of-issue ceremony for the blue United States Air Mail Forever stamp, pictured above, took place today at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum. Followers of the U.S. Postal Service’s Facebook page can view a video of the ceremony at facebook.com/USPS. News about the stamps can be shared with the hashtags #AirMailStamps and #USAirMail.
“The stamp we’re here to celebrate is a beautiful reminder of the imprint of United States Air Mail on today’s world,” said U.S. Postal Service Vice President of Supply Management Susan Brownell who dedicated the stamps.
Brownell spoke of how this groundbreaking service is credited with establishing the foundation for America’s modern-day aviation industry. “The Wright brothers opened this country’s eyes to what could be possible,” she added. “Fifteen years later, with the first airmail flights, the Post Office helped turn that possibility into reality.”
Joining Brownell to unveil the stamps were Dr. Bill Harris, Deputy Director, Air Force History and Museums Policies and Programs; Elliot Gruber, Director, Smithsonian National Postal Museum; and Nancy Pope, Head Curator, Smithsonian National Postal Museum.
Harris spoke of the history of aviation, noting the significant contributions of the early pilots. “Challenges would be great,” he said. “But this didn’t dampen the spirits of the pilots who innovated and experimented daily with tactics and landing procedures. After all, what cargo could be more precious than letters to loved ones!”
Air Mail Forever stamp
A second stamp, red and pictured left, will be issued in College Park, MD on Aug.11, 2018. The stamp will commemorate United States Air Mail as an official function of the Post Office Department.
Both stamps, printed in the intaglio print method — a design transferred to paper from an engraved plate — depict the type of plane typically used in the early days of airmail, a Curtiss JN-4H biplane. The biplane was also featured on the 24-cent stamps originally issued in 1918 to commemorate the beginning of regularly scheduled airmail service.
The stamp design evokes that earlier period. The stamp designer and typographer was Dan Gretta; Greg Breeding was the art director.
Source: USPS