Hosting the US Flag Stamp Dedication

Acting District Manager Timothy R. Costello (pictured left) will be the dedicating official at the First-Day-Of-Issue  dedication of the U.S. Flag Forever stamp at 11 a.m. on Friday, February 9. The public, including our employees, are invited to attend this free event scheduled during the American Stamp Dealers Association Winter Postage Stamp Show at the War Memorial Auditorium at 800 NE 8 ST in Fort Lauderdale. Employee attendance will be an off-the-clock activity.

For more than half a century, U.S. stamps have depicted the American flag in vivid red, white and blue. This eye-catching new issuance continues that tradition with a striking graphic design of a flag with two crisp folds.

Although the American flag had appeared on U.S. stamps as far back as 1869, usually as a small element in a larger vignette, it was only in 1957 that the U.S. Post Office Department developed a quick and economical way to produce bicolor or multicolor stamps that could depict the flag in its true red, white, and blue, thanks to a special press acquired from Switzerland by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. 

In the decades since, multicolored flags have become a consistent motif on U.S. postage. Whether paired with famous landmarks, shown against inspiring vistas, placed in their historical context, or used as a graphic element in a larger design, the flags on U.S. stamps connect us to our nation’s history and serve as icons of patriotism for generations to come.