The tiny pieces of art we know as postage stamps tell many different stories. Their images chronicle political, business, and cultural changes over time. Stamps issued in the United States today look very different from those of 1847, the year the nation released its first prepaid postage stamps. They look different because the nation has changed and citizens see themselves in different ways. Stamps also look different because production and design techniques have evolved.
For a few years before the federal government issued stamps, some postmasters commissioned local printers to design and prepare stamps, known now as “postmaster provisionals.” When Congress approved the postal act of 3 March 1847, the Post Office Department contracted with Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson, a New York City engraving firm, to design and print the first stamps. The world’s first postage stamp, England’s Penny Black of 1840, featured a profile of Queen Victoria and set the design standard for early issues worldwide. To save on expenses, the postmaster general authorized a one-color, engraved printing. Postmaster General Cave Johnson initially instructed the firm to use a portrait of President Andrew Jackson on the 5¢ stamp and George Washington on the 10¢ denomination. However, the model, drawn in India ink and pencil, shows that Benjamin Franklin had replaced Jackson. Franklin’s portrait, it was believed, would be more acceptable as a unifying icon for the tension-fraught nation because of his role in securing independence for the country (Figures 41 and 42).
Engravers employed by banknote companies designed stamps between 1847 and 1893, when the Bureau of Engraving and Printing won the production contract. Prior to 1893, the majority of images commemorated great American men. Emphasis expanded in 1893, when the Post Office observed Columbus’s discovery of America with its first commemorative stamps. During the twentieth century’s early decades, stamps became teaching tools, bearing images of pivotal U.S. historic events. Characterized by ornate frames, intense colors, and serif fonts, stamps of the period reflected the era’s taste in design (Figure 43).
Like almost everything, stamp design changes with the times, accommodates improvements such as perforations and coils, mirrors the nation’s fluid culture and sense of the aesthetic, and, of course, employs technological innovations. Art deco’s streamlined contours, which expressed America’s post–World War I optimism, appeared in stamp designs of the 1930s. This is evident in stamps released during Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency. Lighter colors, sans serif fonts, and optional frames projected a sense of progress during the Great Depression. Subject matter reflected the period’s concerns while reinforcing ideas of modernism and, during World War II, military prowess.
For well over a century, engravers and designers created the beautiful images seen on postage stamps. The bureau used various presses and techniques to achieve desired effects. Engraving is still used to produce some stamps, but high costs limit the frequency of its use. Other techniques, especially digital artistry, now dominate the field. Computers and computerized printing presses have definitely changed the look of stamps, allowing artists more freedom, a full palette of colors, and custom typography. And the images they create for stamps celebrate a far wider range of topics and themes, including popular culture, holidays, and sports.
Regardless of the subject, a stamp’s illustration must be simple and eye-catching. It must stand out from its background and reduce well, and it must leave space for letters and numbers. It is the designer’s responsibility to fulfill these requirements. Though tiny, a postage stamp is a work of art with a big story to tell.
The first U.S. stamps, printed in 1847, honored two of the nation’s founding fathers. The 5¢ stamp featured a portrait of Benjamin Franklin.
U.S. stamp design timeline.
U.S. stamp design timeline.
U.S. stamp design timeline.
