Much like beer can collecting, stamp collecting was once a thing in that great decade known as "the 1970's". I was never a collector, but I felt compelled to pick up this album when I came across it this past year.
Inside, someone (a child, I presume) has spent hours matching up the pre-printed pictures with their matching stamps. Most of stamps are kind of boring like these (although I acknowledge the clown stamp is kinda cool in a creepy clown way).
But flipping through the pages revealed one of my holy grails (and I readily admit, having a stamp as a "holy grail" is pretty dorky): "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" stamp from 1974.
I've coveted this stamp for years and though it's readily available on eBay for not very much, I just never got around to picking it up.
An ad from Boys' Life, February 1975
The original illustration by Leonard Everett Fisher
Leonard Everett Fisher is an American illustrator known mainly for children's books.
Some examples of First Day issues you could buy in 1974:
Curiously, someone had this one re-cancelled in 2018 for the first day issue of the Jack O' Lantern Forever stamp. Yes, the USPS is now issuing stamps with images of carved gourds. Man, are we running out of ideas.
1974 wasn't the first time the United State Postal Office acknowledged Washington Irving. His own image appeared on a stamp in 1940.
what a great stamp! i disagree that the USPS is running out of ideas, though -- in fact, in recent years they've expanded and come out with so many really great stamps. they are even using cool hi-tech inks that are super reflective, like on the bioluminescent life of the ocean series, and really beautiful illustrations like on this year's "art of magic" series, which i know you'll dig: https://www.commarts.com/exhibit/usps-stamps
ReplyDeleteWow nice stamp. I love stamp collecting as a kid and still play with my collection every now and again. My Ambassador album is from 1974 and unfortunately, I do not have the Sleepy Hollow Stamp.
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