A new U.S. Flag stamp is dedicated by the U.S. Postal Service

 

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service dedicated a new U.S. Flag stamp today at the Southeastern Stamp Expo in Norcross, GA, continuing the organization’s tradition of celebrating patriotism through stamps that feature one of our nation’s most recognizable symbols. The  stamp features a detail from a photograph of the billowing Stars and Stripes. A traditional take on an old favorite, the new U.S. Flag stamp adds a touch of majesty and patriotic grace to First-Class Mail correspondence,” said Jeffrey C. Williamson, the Postal Service’s chief human resources officer and executive vice president, who dedicated the stamp. “The elegant yet simple design of the stamp conveys the quiet dignity of Old Glory waving in the wind and calls to mind the values of liberty and justice the American flagrepresents.” Williamson was joined at the stamp dedication by retired Brig. Gen. Mitchell Zais , president, American Philatelic Society; Mary-Anne Penner, director of Stamp Services, U.S. Postal Service; Edwin L. Jackson, senior public service associate emeritus, University of Georgia; and Beatrix Clark, philatelist. The words “USA” and “FOREVER” are printed on the bottom of the design. Terrence W. McCaffrey was the art director of the project and Greg Breeding of Charlottesville, VA, designed the stamp with an existing photograph of the flag taken by Tom Grill of New York City. The U.S. Flag stamp is being issued in self-adhesive booklets of 10 and 20 stamps, a coil of 100 stamps and an automated teller machine (ATM) sheetlet of 18 stamps. This Forever stamp will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce price. The public is asked to share the news of the stamp using the hashtag #USFlagStamps.

 

United StatesLove stamp series continues Jan. 14 with a new nondenominated ($58) forever stamp from the U.S. Postal Service.

 

The USPS is referring to the new stamp as Love 2019~2021. It is the first U.S. stamp to be issued this year, according to a schedule of issue dates recently released by the Postal Service.

 

Graphics on the new horizontally oriented stamp spell out the word “Love” in bicolor letters and include multiple hearts, a blue semicircle and a rectangle, all arranged against a dark blue background.

 

The new stamp features “a colorful and light-hearted digital illustration,” according to the Postal Service.

 

“The playful, graphic lettering on these stamps will add color and whimsy to your mailings, making it clear that thought and care have been lavished on the message, inside and out.”

 

The Fruits and Vegetables stamps were designed by USPS art director Derry Noyes using 10 oil-on-canvas paintings by artist Robert Papp of Bucks County, Pa.

 

The produce items featured are red and black plums, heirloom and cherry tomatoes, carrots, lemons, blueberries, red and green grapes, lettuces, strawberries, eggplants, and figs.

 

All are popular food items consumed by American families and found in grocery stores and other markets across the country.

 

Many of these, including carrots, tomatoes, strawberries and eggplants, are easily grown in family gardens, while other items, such as blueberries and grapes, are commonly cultivated on larger farms and orchards.

 

Although figs are native to Middle Eastern and Mediterranean locales, they have been successfully grown in California and other U.S. regions since the beginning of the 20th century.

 

Good Housekeeping has reported that “More than 200 fig cultivars grow in North America with a broad range of fruit shapes and colors.”

 

According to the Postal Service, Papp found inspiration for his paintings in historical still-life traditions.

 

“After sketching his subject, he transferred the drawing to canvas mounted on hardboard,” the Postal Servicesaid. “Working in oil, he underpainted in burnt umber and then added color, slowly building up to the desired opacity and intensity.”

 

Papp uses real fruits and vegetables as his models, referring to photographs of his still-life compositions when necessary.

 

His artwork depicting fruits and vegetables regularly appears on the cover of the popular cooking magazine Cook’s Illustrated.

 

Otters in Snow, a new booklet of 20 stamps from the U.S.Postal Service, features four different scenes of the alert and playful North American river otter reveling in winter's white landscape.

With original illustrations rendered in pen and ink with watercolor, the stamps are arranged in blocks of four.From upper left andmoving clockwise, they depict an otter poking its head一seen in three-quarters profle一from the surface of an icy body of water,an otter sliding on its back,tail frst, down a snowbank; an otter chest-deep in a snow drft, facing the viewer, and another ottersliding down a snowbank.In the stationary poses, snow clings to the otters' fur. In the views showing motion, small snowballsrace the otters downhill.

A denizen of riparian areas throughout most of the United States and Canada, this elegantly long and sleek mammal Lontracanadensis) is designed for lfe in and around the water.Besides webbed feet,it has a muscular tail, about 40 percent of its

entire body length, that powers it in swimming and diving. Otters may look a bit awkward when walking, but they are nothing butgraceful as they twist and loop through the water, slide down snowbanks, or frolic in the fuffy white stuff. When they glide acrossice to get to an opening and dive into the water below, it is because they depend on river creatures for their winter dciet. le mayshiver at the thought, but their dense double-layered coats insulate them against the winter cold and keep them from freezing.Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamps with artwork from illustrator John Burgoyne.