USPS to Release First Halloween-Themed Stamps

Do you live in the United States and ever wish the United States Postal Service would issue Halloween stamps? I mean, they have them for other holidays.

Which makes sense, especially for Hanukah, Christmas, and Kwanza. Everyone’s mailing cards galore during the December holidays.

However, what about for those of us that like to mail Halloween cards? Sort of hard to make a spooky statement with a Forever flower or flag stamp.

Well, brace yourselves. I happened across a post on Linn’s Stamp News about how the USPS will release four new stamps for Halloween.

The four new Jack-O’-Lantern forever stamps each picture a different pumpkin carved with a grinning face that glows with an interior candlelight. For a spooky effect, the orange jack-o’-lanterns are set against a black background.

Here’s the info about the stamps from a USPS press release previewing 2016’s new stamps:

Jack-O’-Lanterns
In the spirit of Halloween, the Postal Service issues these delightfully eerie stamps featuring photographs of four different jack-o’-lanterns.  These creatively carved pumpkins have been symbols of Halloween in the United States since the late 19th century, not long after celebrations of the holiday began here. These are the first Halloween-themed stamps issued by the Postal Service. Paul Montanari designed and carved the pumpkins under the art direction of Derry Noyes of Washington, DC.  Sally Andersen-Bruce photographed the lit jack-o’-lanterns used on the stamps.

How to Get the Jack-O-Lantern Forever Stamps

According to a press release just issued today, the USPS will dedicate the stamps on September 29, 2016 in the Halloween Capital of the World, Anoka, Minnesota.

Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office, at The Postal Store® website at http:??www.usps.com?shop, or by calling 800-782-6724. They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

Jack-o’-lanterns Stamps
Stamp Fulfillment Services
Cancellation Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Pillar 210
Kansas City, MO 64144-9998

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Stamp

Another interesting tidbit I gleaned from Linn’s Stamp News post was that this is the first ever Halloween stamp the USPS has issued, but not the first “spooky” one.

Apparently on October 10, 1974, the USPS released a 10 cent Legend of Sleepy Hollow stamp in honor of Washington Irving’s classic ghost story, but they did not classify it as a Halloween stamp by their standards.

Which seems crazy, right? Look at the colors on it. Can you get anymore Halloween than that?

1974 LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW ~ WASHINGTON IRVING 1548 Block of 4 x 10 cents US Postage Stamps

“Hey! Where’d you find those Sleepy Hollow stamps?”

I’ll give you two guesses but your first one doesn’t count. (So don’t opt for Walmart.)

Amazon!

You can also find blocks of six:

And if you really like that stamp image (which I do), there’s even a framed version of it that a company in Vancouver, Canada makes of vintage stamps.

However, it’s not a huge framed-piece. The pieces are very tiny. According to their description, it’s “…about as large as your hand (3.6″ x 2.8″).”

But isn’t it marvelous? (And a lucky find. Just completed some Christmas shopping for one lucky friend…)

What do you think about the new Jack-O-Lantern Forever stamps? Are you excited? Do you think Jack-O-Lanterns were a good choice, or would you have liked to see a different image representing Halloween?