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Postage Stamps Portray American History
 
As the country sets its sights toward a new year, there is an exciting new lineup of postage planned for you philatelists.  You have been able to print postage from your computer for quite a while now but you might want to make the trip to your post office to pick some of these special issues up. The United States Postal Service has a star studded cast of stamps to be unveiled, with themes ranging from Hollywood to Alzheimers awareness.
 
There are several stamps planned to honor those who played important parts in film and music. Bette Davis, who starred in numerous box office hits, will be honored on a stamp that will be up for sale in the spring of 2008. Daviss stamp will be the 14^th one to be issued in the Legends of Hollywood series. Frank Sinatra, also known as Ole Blue Eyes, will also be in the lineup as one of the most famous crooners in American music.
 
One of the collections that will be for sale this coming year is The Flags Of Our Nation series. This is a particularly thrilling set because it is an excellent beginning point for aspiring stamp collectors. The stamps will be released alphabetically with Alabama through Delaware debuting in the spring. Ten more stamps, District of Columbia through Kansas, will go on sale in the fall.  This series will last through 2010 when all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Stars and Stripes, and five territorial flags will have been released.
 
Some of the greatest literary minds and literary activists will also be honored through us postage this upcoming year.  These are people who have made a difference in our country through the writings and works that they produced. There are five American journalists that will be featured on stamps which will be released in April of 2008.  These journalists reported on wars, protests, and happenings that greatly affected the American people.  Two of these journalists paid the ultimate price and lost their lives in the line of duty.
 
Charles W. Chesnutt will be honored as the 31^st stamp in the Black Heritage series. Chesnutt was also a literary activist. He was a black writer in the late 1800s that explored key racial themes that were issues in America at that time. As an African American whose looks told of his racially mixed heritage, his works are considered innovative and probing and were certainly controversial at the time. He was unafraid to tackle issues head on and discuss what was happening behind closed doors. He was an extremely intelligent and dignified man and the stamp honoring his legacy captures that beautifully.
 
 
One especially important line of postage will be four stamps that honor vintage black cinema. These stamps will be replicas of posters that advertised the films chosen.  The films themselves, The Sport of the Gods, Black and Tan, Princess Tam-Tam, and Caldonia, were groundbreaking for different reasons ranging from the first all black cast to the first screen appearance of Duke Ellington. These films are in danger of being forgotten and lost to a new generation. The postage stamps will help to preserve these key pieces of Black American history.
 
One interesting and unusual stamp that is being issued in January of 2008 is the Celebrating Chinese New Year: Year of the Rat stamp. This stamp is meant to honor an important time for the Chinese people, when they celebrate and welcome in the Chinese New Year. The rat is the first of 12 animals that are associated with the Chinese lunar calendar. This is a tribute to the Chinatowns all over the United States which are thriving and vital communities within our Nation.
 
The Alzheimers Awareness stamp is a socially conscious stamp that brings attention to the caregivers of Alzheimer patients and the great sacrifice that is required of them daily. This stamp highlights a disease that is extremely prevalent and affects millions of Americans and their families.
 
Stamps serve purposes beyond paying a fee to have your mail delivered. They highlight social issues in American life, they give tribute and honor to great Americans who have influenced the countrys history, and they even serve as a learning tool for our children. Next time you need stamps, visit an online postage site and check out some of these inspiring new issues.

Tags: us postage stamps | us postage stamps | postage stamps | postage stamps | online postage | online postage | print postage | print postage

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This entry was posted on Thursday, January 17th, 2008 at 4:25 pm and is filed under Products. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.