Classic Movie Monsters: Boris Karloff as Frankenstein’s Monster

painting of Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's monster

Artist: Thomas Blackshear II
Art director: Derry Noyes
First day of issue: September 30, 1997

Watercolor on paper

This stamp shows Boris Karloff buried behind makeup in his most famous role, but the Postal Service was sensitive to concerns that movie-monster actors be portrayed as human, too. The header of the complete stamp pane included photographs of Karloff and three other actors, freed from their monster makeup and smiling warmly.

Art of the Stamp