To mark its 250th anniversary, the United States Postal Service is honoring its historic legacy with the release of a new pane of Forever stamps and a commemorative 32-page prestige booklet.
Titled ‘250 Years of Delivering,’ the new stamp pane features 20 illustrated stamps that follow a modern-day mail carrier on her daily route through the seasons in a vibrant town. Designed by acclaimed illustrator Chris Ware and USPS art director Antonio Alcalá, each stamp serves as a frame in a larger story, offering a unique, visual tribute to the essential role of mail in American life.
The prestige booklet, Putting a Stamp on the American Experience, delves into the rich history and range of the U.S. stamp program. It includes two exclusive self-adhesive sheets of a newly designed Forever stamp featuring Benjamin Franklin — the nation’s first postmaster general. A modern reimagining of the 5-cent Franklin stamp originally issued in 1847, the design honors Franklin’s legacy as a pioneer of the American postal system.
The first-day-of-issue event for the stamps and booklet took place on July 23 at USPS Headquarters, located at 475 L’Enfant Plaza SW in Washington, D.C. Updates and news will be shared under the hashtags #250YearsofDelivering and #USPS250booklet.
Established in 1775, the postal system was so essential to winning American independence and creating a free nation that it is mentioned in the U.S. Constitution.
For 250 years, the U.S. Postal Service has continued to serve the same ideals — connecting individuals, communities and businesses through an ongoing exchange of ideas, information and goods. Although the United States only makes up 4 percent of the world’s population, the U.S. Postal Service handles 44 percent of mail across the entire globe.
The 250 Years of Delivering stamps are a meticulously illustrated pane of 20 interconnected stamps that offers a bird’s-eye view of a bustling town. Each stamp is a frame of sequential art that tells the story of a mail carrier’s daily journey as she walks her route. Laid out in four rows of five stamps, the story progresses through the four seasons, from top-left to bottom-right.
Chris Ware created the stamp artwork and co-designed the pane with Antonio Alcalá, an art director for USPS.
The prestige booklet, designed by USPS art director Ethel Kessler, is available through https://store.usps.com/. Stamps and other licensed products are also available at local post offices and on Amazon.
