Issued by United States of America

Issued on Aug 26, 1985

Design : The U.S. stamp honoring World War I Veterans was designed by Richard Sheaff of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Mr. Sheaff also designed this year’s Ameripex ’86 stamp.

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Denomination : 22 cents

About : 

• When the United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917, Americans were totally unprepared for war. Congress had to enact a selective service act, which required all able-bodied men between the ages of 21 and 30 to register for the draft. Training procedures were hurriedly installed to prepare American Expeditionary Forces for combat.
• Still, Americans were supremely confident that their intervention would bring the war to a swift end. Thus the mood was almost lighthearted as the first American “doughboys” marched onto troop carriers to the tune of “Over There”. The first contingent of forces landed in France on June 26, 1917. Before the armistice was signed on November 11, 1918, more than two million Americans had seen combat.
• Battlefield conditions were miserable, often involving hand-to-hand combat in muddy trenches. United States troops took part in 13 major engagements during their seventeen months overseas. Of these, the Saint Mihiel battle in September, 1918 was the first all-American offensive, with U.S. troops, tanks and planes. The American victory regained control of the critical Meuse Valley for the Allies. Saint Mihiel and the later battle of Meuse–Argonne breached the fortified Siegfried Line, opening the door to Germany.
• General John Pershing summed up America’s respect for its World War I veterans when he noted, “Their devotion, their valor and their sacrifice will forever live in the hearts of their grateful countrymen”. The cost of victory had been sobering, amounting to more than 320,000 American casualties.
• Most of the American Expeditionary Force returned home after the armistice, to be greeted by bands and tickertape parades. Though their ranks have been shrinking during the last 67 years, they remain a presence in our nation and in our communities. There are about 321,000 surviving American veterans of World War I.

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Issued by United States of America

Issued on Jul 26, 1985

Design : The U.S. stamp honoring America’s Korean War veterans was designed by Robert Anderson of Lexington, Massachusetts. Mr. Anderson also designed the 1985 stamp honoring Sylvanus Thayer.

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Denomination : 22 cents

About : 

• The United Nations police action, more commonly called the Korean War, was the first war in which a world body was a military participant. It lasted for 37 months, at one time involving more than 480,000 U.S. servicemen in ground, sea and air operations.
• The war began on June 25, 1950, when troops from Communist-ruled North Korea stormed across the 38^th parallel into South Korea. Two days later, President Truman ordered American forces in Japan to come to the aid of South Korea. He also ordered the Pacific 7^th Fleet into the Formosa Strait to protect the island of Taiwan from possible invasion by Red China.
• During the period of the war, more than 5 million U.S. regulars, reservists, National Guardsmen and draftees served in the armed forces. Of these, only a limited number actually saw Korean combat. Most were stationed at strategic locations around the world, to be used if the Korean War escalated into a global conflict.
• Army and Marine veterans who did see action in Korea fought with distinction. They won a decisive victory against North Korea, driving the enemy back to the Yalu River, the boundary between North Korea and Manchuria. At that point, hordes of Chinese suddenly entered the battle. The Americans executed an orderly retreat and regrouped south of Seoul, the South Korean capital, to retake the initiative. Bravely and doggedly, they regained lost ground and held firm at the 38^th parallel until the truce was signed on July 27, 1953. Under the terms of the peace, a buffer zone was established along the final battle line to separate the two sides. South Korea gained about 1,500 square miles of new territory.
• Most Korean War veterans returned to the United States and resumed their civilian lives. However, for the more than 3,500 Americans who were prisoners of war, negotiations dragged on through the summer. It was not until September that they were finally released.

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Issued by United States of America

Issued on Apr 17, 1985

Design : First Day of Issue for the 1985 “Love” stamp, the fourth issue in this special series, likewise coincides with the Valentine season. The stamp was designed by Corita Kent of Boston, Massachusetts.

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Denomination : 22 cents

About : 

• Beginning in 1947, the town of Loveland, Colorado put into place a plan designed to make Valentine’s Day even more special. Cards sent to local post office were stamped with a festive crimson seal. They were then remailed with the postmark of “Loveland” prominently affixed to them.
• Word of this delightful practice spread quickly and, in succeeding years, the Loveland post office was swamped with Valentines. Among those who took note of the phenomenon was the U.S. Postal Service. In 1973, it responded with the first “Love” stamp, a commemorative issue designed for use on Valentine mail. The colorful stamp, featuring Robert Indiana’s famous “love” sculpture, was an enormous success.
• When the stamp was withdrawn from sale, the Postal Service received thousands of letters expressing disappointment. The message was clear: the desire to communicate love through the mail is not confined to any given time. There are as many different occasions to use “Love” stamps as there are varieties of that precious emotion.
• Thus, the second “Love” stamp, which appeared in time for Valentine’s Day 1982, was a definitive issue that would be stocked in post offices indefinitely. Its design, the word “love” spelled out in colorful flowers, was appropriate for many occasions. Millions of the stamps were sold for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, birthdays, anniversaries and the countless other times when Americans send loving sentiments to family and friends.
• The “Love” stamp series continued in 1984, when the design of a new definitive issue was unveiled during National Card and Letter Writing Week. Once again, it featured the word “love”, with a heart replacing the letter “o”. Also, as had become tradition, it was issued in time for use on Valentine mail.

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Issued by United States of America

Issued on Jan 23, 1985

Design : Jim Sharpe of Westport, Connecticut designed the Jerome Kern stamp, part of the Performing Arts series. Mr. Sharpe also designed the other stamps in the series, which began in 1978.

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Denomination : 22 cents

Name : Jerome David Kern

Born on Jan 27, 1885 at Sutton Place, New York City, New York, United States

Died on Nov 11, 1945 at Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States

About : 

• Forty years after his death, the melodies of Jerome David Kern (1885-1945) remain as popular as ever. An enormously gifted and innovative composer, Kern changed the course of American musical comedy. His 1927 work Show Boat, with book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, was the first musical play produced in the United States that had a serious plot and was drawn from a literary source. His songs are uniquely American, with a natural flow of rhythm and melodies having a folk-song quality.
• A native of New York City, Kern began taking piano lessons from his mother at the age of five. After high school, he went on to study piano and harmony at the New York College of Music and in Heidelberg, Germany. He gained his first theatrical experience in London, working for American producer Charles Frohman.
• By 1911, Kern had returned to New York and was working on his own shows. The first all-Kern Broadway musical, The Red Petticoat, was produced the following year. He then began to focus on writing musicals about modern people in real situations, with songs being an integral part of the action. This new concept led to a series of Broadway hits, from Very Good, Eddie (1915) to Roberta (1933). It also produced a long list of song classics, including “They Didn’t Believe Me”, “The Song Is You”, “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes”, “All the Things You Are” and “Ol’ Man River”.
• Kern’s inventiveness took many forms. Show Boat demonstrated how music, lyrics and book could be successfully integrated. It also popularized the “touch song” (sad love ballad) and, for the first time, portrayed a black man as a dignified, tragic character. Kern wrote masterfully for a variety of dance forms and also composed wistful, poignant ballads. Other composers, from George Gershwin to Richard Rodgers, were greatly influenced by his work.
• In 1933, Kern moved to Hollywood, where he became one of the most successful composers of film music. The year following his death, his own life was made into a film biography, Till the Clouds Roll By.

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Issued by United States of America

Issued on Oct 16, 1984

Design : Well-known stamp designer Bradbury Thompson of Riverside, Connecticut designed the 20¢ commemorative stamp saluting America as a nation of readers.

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Denomination : 20 cents

About : 

• According to a recent survey done by the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., America is truly a nation of readers. Despite the competition of the electronic media, we are reading more than ever. The majority of Americans are regular readers of books and one out of three qualifies as a heavy reader, finishing 26 or more books in a six-month period. It is estimated that the average daily reading time for adults is somewhere between 1½ and 3 hours, including newspapers, magazines and books. Most of that time is spent reading for pleasure.
• Americans get their books through retail bookstores, public, private, institutional and industrial libraries and by mail through book clubs. Libraries report that their circulation has increased at twice the rate of population growth for the last four decades. Also, Americans are buying nearly twice as many books today as they did just ten years ago. They are also ordering magazines and newspapers at the rate of 20 million subscriptions each year.
• One of the reasons for the reading boom is the computerization of typesetting, which permits publishers to issue books on timely subjects in a few days. Another contributor is the increased number of book outlets in public meeting places such as railroad stations and airports, hotels and shopping malls. Yet another factor is the proliferation of general and special interest book clubs.
• Americans read works of fiction and non-fiction dealing with nearly every imaginable subject. Some 50,000 new titles were published in 1983, an increase of 20% over 1978. While most were designed for recreational reading, some are textbooks for school and business.
• The increased diversity and complexity of industry and the sciences have resulted in a communications explosion. In addition to books, there are more than 2,500 business, technical and scientific periodicals now being published in the United States.

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Issued by United States of America

Issued on Oct 1, 1984

Design : The enormous popularity of philately has prompted the nationwide celebration of Stamp Collecting Month. The Family Unity commemorative stamp salutes the start of Stamp Collecting Month. The design of the Family Unity stamp is the winning entry in a special contest held among students. It is the work of Molly LaRue of Shaker Heights, Ohio.

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Denomination : 20 cents

About : 

• The oldest and most important of human institutions, the family has been the basic unit of society since the dawn of time. For most of history, family unity was a prerequisite for survival. Each family unit was almost entirely self-sufficient, requiring the cooperative effort of all members.
• This traditional family relationship began to break down in the 18^th century, with the start of the Industrial Revolution. Urban factories replaced rural homes and workshops as the centers of manufacturing and employment. As a result, people no longer worked in family units. Instead, men were forced to move closer to factories in the cities, often without their families.
• In this century, modern machines have taken over many household chores. This phenomenon, along with changing attitudes, has prompted increasing numbers of women to seek employment outside the home. This has complicated the task of maintaining family unity. In most cases, a new form of unity has developed, centering as much on shared enjoyment as on shared dependency.
• Today’s shorter work week allows families to spend more leisure time together. Studies have shown that this time can be extremely valuable in strengthening family unity. Having fun together tightens group bonds and underscores the values of family life. It can also be a shared learning experience that teaches new skills and opens new doors for exploration.
• Philately, or stamp collecting, is a family activity that furthers all of these ends. The world’s most popular hobby, it is enjoyed by some 20 million people in the United States alone. Rich and poor, old and young, all derive pleasure and satisfaction from collecting stamps. Each individual stamp is a reflection of a nation’s great people, places or events.

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Issued by United States of America

Issued on Sep 7, 1984

Design :
Dogs :
a) Beagle, Boston Terrier,
b) Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Cocker Spaniel,
c) Alaskan Malamute, Collie and
d) Black and Tan Coonhound, American Foxhound.

Designed by : Roy Anderson of Sedona, Arizona designed these block–of–four U.S. commemorative stamps marking the 100^th anniversary of the American Kennel Club.

Colour : Multi coloured

Type : Block of 4 Stamps, Mint Condition

Denomination : 20 cents each

About : 

• The American Kennel Club, headquartered in New York City, is an organization dedicated to the advancement of pure-bred dogs. It was founded on September 17, 1884, and is comprised of delegates from more than 400 autonomous dog clubs throughout the United States.
  
• The amateur sportsmen who founded the American Kennel Club in New York City 100 years ago established a uniform set of rules for dog sports. Each year, more than 8,000 competitive events are staged under these rules by individual breed clubs or all-breed organizations. They include dog shows, field trials and obedience trials.
  
• One of the primary functions of the AKC is to maintain a registry of recognized breeds. The Stud Book has the ancestral record of every dog registered with the organization since its inception – an enrollment of some 18 million animals.
  
• One of the oldest regular sporting events in the United States, held annually since 1877, is the dog show staged by the Westminster Kennel Club of New York. Hundreds of dogs are entered and judges select the best in each breed, the best in each of the six main dog groups and, finally, the best in the show.
  
• Among the most popular hounds listed in the book is the beagle, a miniature foxhound. The origin of the breed is lost in history, but it is known that the beagle was popular in 18^th century England and was subsequently imported to the United States. A National Beagle Club was formed in 1888.
  
• Classified as a non-sporting dog, the Boston terrier is a native American breed. A cross between a bulldog and an English terrier, it originated in Boston in about 1870. The dog has a brindled or black coat with snow white markings. Its gentle disposition makes it an ideal family companion.
  
• The Chesapeake Bay Retriever is another American dog whose stock came from England. It dates back to 1807, when two dogs were given to a Maryland gentleman who offered hospitality to sailors of a wrecked English ship. By 1885, a distinct breed had developed which became known for its exceptional skill in retrieving ducks from the rough, icy waters of Chesapeake Bay.
  
• The smallest of the sporting dogs, the cocker spaniel is both a helpmate to hunters and a lovable children’s pet. Despite its small size, the dog has great endurance and is capable of considerable speed. It has been exhibited in the United States since the 1880’s.
  
• The Alaskan malamute is judged under the category of working dogs. One of the oldest Arctic sled dogs, the breed was named for a tribe of Innuit Indians who settled in the upper western part of Alaska. Admiral Richard Byrd used Alaskan malamutes for his Antarctic expeditions.
  
• The collie is another working dog. A native of Scotland, where it was widely used as a shepherd dog, the collie was imported to America in colonial days. Its popularity has grown steadily since the 1880’s.
  
• Hounds comprise another major groups of dogs in America. During the 1700’s, many types of hounds, with widely different hunting characteristics, were brought to this country from Europe. From then, the American foxhound emerged, with features that have gradually been standardized. The dog is between 22 and 25 inches high and has a close, hard coat of medium length.
  
• A relative newcomer to the roster of hounds is the black and tan coonhound, which was admitted to the American Kennel Club registry in 1945. Selectively bred for proficiency in hunting possums and raccoons, the coonhound can also be used to hunt deer, mountain lions and bears. It trails its quarry entirely by scent.

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Issued by United States of America

Issued on Feb 10, 1984

Design : Michael David Brown of Rockville, Maryland designed this U.S. commemorative stamp, which marks the 50^th anniversary of federal credit unions and coincides with the 75^th anniversary of the first state–chartered credit union in America. Brown also designed new 1984 commemoratives honoring the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and government efforts in soil and water conservation.

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Denomination : 20 cents

About : 

• Credit unions are cooperative associations run by members for their mutual benefit. Their purpose is to accumulate a fund from savings and make loans available for useful purposes at reasonable interest rates. Thus, they contribute to a better standard of living and provide a practical solution to credit problems.
• The first known cooperative credit society was organized in Germany in 1848, by the mayor of Delitzsch. The idea spread quickly and was introduced to North America in 1900, when Alphonse Desjardins started a Canadian credit union in Levis, Quebec.
• In 1909, Desjardins came to America, where he met with Edward A. Filene, a prominent department store executive. A native of Salem, Massachusetts, Filene was raised in the New England tradition of thrift and mutual aid. Hoping to promote these virtues among men and women of modest means, he drafted a bill in the Massachusetts legislature to make credit unions legal in that state.
• The first credit union in America was established in Manchester, New Hampshire in 1909. Within 25 years, the number of these associations founded around the country had grown to more than 2,000. It was then that Congress passed the Federal Credit Union Act of 1934, authorizing “credit unions to be organized everywhere in the United States under charters from the federal government”.
• Today, more than half of America’s 20,000 credit unions are federally chartered. Their operators are supervised by the National Credit Union Administration, an independent government agency.

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Issued by United States of America

Issued on Jul 8, 1983

Design : The veteran stamp designer, Bradbury Thompson of Riverside, Connecticut, designed the U.S. commemorative stamp honoring Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Denomination : 20 cents

Name : Nathaniel Hathorne

Born on Jul 4, 1804 at Salem, Massachusetts, United States

Died on May 19, 1864 at Plymouth, New Hampshire, United States

About : 

• Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) was a leading literary figure of the 19^th century and one of the most distinguished American authors of all time. His body of work is a rich treasure of short stories, sketches, commentaries and full-length novels. The Scarlet Letter, a novel of sin and suffering in Puritan New England, ranks as a masterpiece of American fiction.
• Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts, the son of a ship’s captain. Among his prominent ancestors was the judge in the community’s notorious witchcraft trials. Lame from birth, young Nathaniel was unable to join in the boyhood activities of his contemporaries. Instead, he turned to great books for his pleasure, and became steeped in the writings of Shakespeare, Milton and Rousseau, among others. His first real exposure to the outside world came at the age of seventeen, when he entered Bowdoin College in Maine.
• After completing his education, Hawthorne returned to his Salem life of solitude and contemplation. A once-a-year summer journey through the New England countryside provided the background and first-hand observations that were basis of his earliest writings. Hawthorne penned more than a hundred shirt stories and sketches between 1825 and 1850, while beginning work on his later novels.
• The underlying theme of most of his work is the conflict between Puritan ideals and the more liberal attitudes of 19^th century society. It is the theme of Hawthorne’s most famous work, The Scarlet Letter, as well as The House of Seven Gables, The Blithedale Romance and many of the stories collected in Twice–Told Tales.
• In 1853, Hawthorne’s Bowdoin College classmate and close friend, President Franklin Pierce, appointed him to serve as the U.S. consul in Liverpool, England. He spent the next seven years living in Europe, England and Italy and gathering background material for future novels. He died in 1864, four years after his return to America, while visiting New Hampshire with Franklin Pierce.

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Issued by United States of America

Issued on Oct 6, 1977

Design : This U.S. 13¢ stamp, designed by Walter Einsel of Westport, Connecticut, commemorates a half century of progress in talking picture technology and celebrates the event that made the words “Let’s go to the movies” an integral part of the American way of life.

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Denomination : 13 cents

About : 

• On October 6, 1927, a film starring the popular musical comedy performer, Al Jolson, and featuring four interludes using the year-old Vitaphone sound system premiered at the Warner Theatre on Broadway in New York City. The movie was “The Jazz Singer,” and it revolutionized the motion picture industry and heralded the development of the movies as an American art form.
• “The Jazz Singer,” which linked the dramatic feature of sound with Al Jolson’s charismatic personality, ended the era of silent pictures. Americans were already in love with the movies, flocking to watch the shieks and vamps flickering on the silver screen and creating public idols of actors like Rudolph Valentino and Theda Bara. But previous talking films had commanded so little public attention that “The Jazz Singer” appeared to have brought sound to the movies overnight.
• An imaginative Englishman named Donisthorpe thought of the idea of movies with sound as early as 1878. From the time Thomas Edison invented the phonograph, he too envisioned pictures as an adjunct, and in 1912 he combined his phonograph with his kinetoscope to produce one-reel talking pictures.
• There was a major drawback to mechanically reproduced sound, however. It was not nearly loud enough to fill a theatre. An inventor named Lee DeForest overcame this problem with a vacuum tube amplifier. DeForest also eliminated the difficulty of synchronizing the sound with the actors’ lips by photographing the sound waves onto a narrow band at the edge of the film.
• Significant as these contributions were, and although DeForest starred the top vaudeville entertainers of the day, the films with audio which he introduced in 1923 did not gain public acceptance. People still regarded “talkies” as a novelty.
• It remained for “The Jazz Singer” to capture the imagination of film-goers and film-makers alike.

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