American Culture Issues 1995-2003

The Postal Service first issued the 15-cent presort rate Auto Tail Fin stamps on March 17, 1995 in New York, New York.

The stamps were designed by Bill Nelson, and printed in the photogravure process by two different manufacturers. The stamps produced by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in coils of 3,000 have dark, bold colors, heavy shading lines and heavily shaded chrome.

The stamp was also issued on June 15, 1995, in coils of 10,000 printed by Stamp Venturers, Inc. These stamps have more subdued colors, shinier chrome, and finer details.

Reference: Postal Bulletin (March 2, 1995)

The Postal Service issued the 25-cent presort rate Juke Box on March 17, 1995 in New York, New York. The stamps were also issued on January 24, 1997.

Designed by Bill Nelson, the nondenominated stamp was printed in the photogravure process. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing and Stamp Venturers, Inc. separately produced the stamps in the same design. The 500, and 3,000 coils stamps by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing has darker, more saturated colors than the 10,000-coils stamps by Stamp Venturers, Inc.

The stamp was issued in a new format of self-adhesive coils of 3,000 on January 24, 1997, in Tucson, Arizona, in conjunction with the ARIPEX Stamp Show. The stamp design is the same as the ones in use for the rate at that time, except for a date change from 1996 to 1997. The stamps were printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing on the gravure press.

Reference:

Postal Bulletin (March 2, 1995).

Postal Bulletin (December 19, 1996).

The Postal Service issued the first-class letter presort rate Diner (25-cent) stamp, in a gummed coil of 10,000, on June 5, 1998, in McLean, Virginia. The stamp was later issued as a non-denominated first-class presort stamp in Washington, DC, on September 30, 1998.

Designed by Carl Herman of Laguna Niguel, California, the gummed stamps were manufactured by Sennett Security Products, and the PSA coil stamps were manufactured by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Both stamps were printed in coils of 10,000 in the gravure process.

Reference:

Postal Bulletin (May 21, 1998).

Postal Bulletin (June 18, 1998).

Postal Bulletin (September 24, 1998).

The Postal Service issued a non-denominated, pre-sorted standard (10-cent value) Atlas stamp in New York, New York, on June 29, 2001. The stamp was designed by Kevin Newman of Santa Monica, California, and based on a photograph taken by Horst Hamann..

The Atlas stamp features an acrylic painting of the bronze statue Atlas, a striking example of art deco sculpture by Lee Lawrie. The statue stands in front of the International Building at Rockefeller Center in New York City. According to Greek mythology, Atlas bore the heavens on his shoulders, and Lawrie's Atlas holds an armillary sphere, which contains the twelve signs of the zodiac. The axis of the sphere points to the North Star. The Atlas stamp is part of the American Culture Series.

The Banknote Corporation of America, Inc., printed 800 million stamps in the gravure process. The stamp was produced in coils of 10,000. The stamp was reissued in November 2003 in a PSA coil of 10,000. Avery Dennison printed 210 million stamps in the gravure process.

Reference:

Postal Bulletin (May 31, 2001).

Postal Bulletin (August 19, 2004).

The Postal Service issued a 1-dollar Wisdom definitive stamp in a pressure-sensitive adhesive pane of twenty stamps on February 28, 2003, in Biloxi, Mississippi. The stamp, designed and illustrated by Nanch Stahl of Long Island, New York, went on sale nationwide March 1, 2003.

The design of the 1-dollar Wisdom stamp conveys a modern interpretation of the ancient personification of Wisdom. In the sculptor's vision, wisdom is transmitted by sound and light, an allusion to the radio and television studios at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. The Wisdom stamp is part of the American Culture Series, which includes Auto Tail Fin, Juke Box, Diner, and Atlas.

Ashton-Potter (USA), Ltd., located in Williamsville, New York, printed the stamp in the offset process. One hundred million stamps were produced.

Reference: Postal Bulletin (February 6, 2003).