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Since 1847 stamps have been used to evidence payment to carry the
nation's mail. Their second purpose has been to tell the story of great
changes in American culture and technology.
America's postage stamps have, from their origins, paid tribute to the
nation's history and the people who have guided and influenced our
culture and society. These stamps are not just portraits and
pictures. They tell stories of communication, industry, education, art, music,
science and technology. As our nation has grown and changed so have the
small pieces of paper that evidence payment to carry cards, letters and
parcels down the road, across the nation and across oceans.
In colonial times, letters without stamps were dispatched with an
"expectation of payment." Sir Roland Hill's 1840 grand experiment with
adhesive penny postage stamps promoted communication and literacy
throughout Great Britain, and eventually the ripples hit America's
shores. When the Post Office pictured Benjamin Franklin and George
Washington on the first 5¢ and 10¢ postage stamps in 1847, the nation
had 21 million people living in 29 states, most of them east of the
Mississippi river. America was about to "Go West." Some were well on
their way. By 1851, missionaries were printing stamps in Hawaii to carry
messages to friends and family back east.
There have been enormous changes in the images of American postage
stamps in the last 158 years. Some have been subtle, some dramatic, some
controversial. Stamps images have and will continue to reflect our
diverse and changing society influenced by culture, sports, education,
entertainment, religion, science, technology, politics, national
security, and extraterrestrial exploration. America's postage stamps
offer a visual history of America.
By the time postage stamps were introduced, the nation was on the
threshold of challenges and great changes. Post Office services and
related stamps were the enabler linking people, promoting industry,
commerce and banking. With a swelling population by the turn of the 20th
Century, new stamp formats would be required to meet the demand for
communication by mail. Experimentation and postage stamp format change
have remained part of the stamp story to this day.
At every turn in technology the demise of stamps has been predicted.
Even with the impact on first-class mail from the dramatic growth of
email, the quantity of stamps printed over the last few years has not
diminished. Printing technology introduced for the production of
postages stamps has brought wonderful changes in the shapes, sizes and
images that frank our mail. This year the Bureau of Engraving and
Printing ends its 111-year role as a producer of postage stamps for the
Postal Service evidencing the inevitable changing stamp story.
Protecting postal revenues has also played a roll in postage stamp
development. From the earliest days of postage stamps, features were
introduced to thwart the reuse of stamps and reduce stamp
theft. Surprisingly even small denomination stamps have occasionally attracted
counterfeiters. Many innovations have been employed to keep one step
ahead of the villains.
The story of America's stamps is not without its tribulations. As in
every aspect of our society, the "outtakes," "dropped balls" and
"bloopers" get the headlines. Smiles and chagrins are no stranger to
America's stamps.
The utility of our stamps evidences payment for a variety of mail
services that physically deliver communications and merchandise anywhere
in the world. Driven by postal needs and production technology, the
design, production and use of our stamps have undergone many changes
since 1847. "Second Purpose" takes a glimpse at that stamp odyssey.
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