The U.S. Postal Service commemorated the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation with a limited edition stamp. Representing freedom, it is the first in a series of three Civil Rights stamps to be released in 2013. The other stamps will feature Rosa Parks and the March on Washington by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King to mark historic moments of courage and equality.
“Stamps often tap into our culture and help us remember the events and people who have had an impact on American history,” said Deputy Postmaster General Ronald A. Stroman. “The Emancipation Proclamation was a powerful symbol of President Lincoln’s determination to end war and slavery and to reconstruct the economy of the country without slave labor.”
Two renowned New York graphic designers Gail Anderson and art director Antonio Alcala partnered to design the stamp. It prominently features the phrase, “Henceforward Shall Be Free,” words taken from the historic document. It also includes Lincoln’s name and the year 1863, when the proclamation was signed. Anderson, known from her years as art director at Rolling Stone magazine and for her Broadway poster designs, reveled in making typography from old forms. To create the old Civil War look, she tapped Hatch Show Print of Nashville, TN, one of the oldest working letterpress print shops in America.
This limited edition stamp, along with other limited edition stamps and first-day covers can be viewed and purchased online at www.usps.com/stamps or by phone 800-782-6724. For more information go to facebook.com/USPSStamps, twitter@USPSstamps or beyondtheperf.com/2013-preview for other philatelic news.
Comments