| Name | Value |
|---|---|
| Date of Issue | March 7, 2017 |
| Year | 2017 |
| Quantity | 10,000,000 |
| Denomination |
First-Class Mail Forever
|
| Denomination Value | $0.49 |
| Perforation or Dimension | 0.98 x 1.56 in./24.89 x 39.62 mm |
| Series | WPA Posters |
| Series Time Span | 2017 |
| Issue Location | Hyde Park, NY 12538 |
| Postal Administration | United States |
On March 7, 2017, in Hyde Park, NY, the U.S. Postal Service® will issue the WPA Posters stamps (Forever® priced at 49 cents), in 10 designs, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) booklet of 20 stamps.
The stamps will go on sale nationwide March 7, 2017.
The U.S. Postal Service celebrates posters of the Work Projects Administration, striking and utilitarian artworks created by Depression-era artists employed by the Poster Division of the WPA Federal Art Project.
The booklet features 20 stamps of 10 different designs originally created to support the civic-minded ideals of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal Program. Each stamp features a striking example of the posters conceived and printed in workshops across the nation under the WPA. Formed in 1935 as the Works Progress Administration, renamed the Work Projects Administration in 1939, the WPA lasted until 1943. By then, the function of its Federal Art Program Poster Division had been fully absorbed into the World War II effort.
During the Depression, WPA artists designed and printed some two million posters from approximately 35,000 designs. Most of their work was printed by silkscreen, an economical medium that saw significant innovation at the hands of Poster Division artists. The posters featured on these stamps are from the Prints & Photographs Division of the Library of Congress, which houses the largest collection of WPA posters.
Many records about the Poster Division are long lost. Known poster office locations and publication dates are as follows:
“Hiking,” Chicago, 1939.
“Field Day,” Chicago, 1939.
“Discover Puerto Rico, U.S.A.,” New York City, ca. 1936–40.
“City of New York Municipal Airports,” New York City, ca. 1936–37.
“Visit the Zoo,” Pennsylvania, ca. 1936–41.
“Work With Care,” Philadelphia, ca. 1936–37.
“The National Parks Preserve Wild Life,” New York City, ca. 1936–39.
“Work Pays America! Prosperity,” New York City, ca. 1936–41.
“See America Welcome to Montana,” New York City, ca. 1936–39.
“The United States’ First Foreign Trade Zone,” New York City, 1937.
Antonio Alcalá served as the art director of the project and designed the stamps with Maribel O. Gray.
The WPA Posters stamps are being issued as Forever® stamps. Forever® stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce price.
Images reproduced on these stamps are from the Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, WPA Poster Collection.