What:

First-day-of-issue dedication ceremony for the United States Air Mail Forever stamp. The event is free and open to the public. Please share the news using the hashtags #AirMailStamps and #USAirMail.

Who:

Dr. Bill Harris, Deputy Director, Air Force History and Museums Policies and Programs
Susan Brownell, Vice President,  Supply Management, United States Postal Service
Elliot Gruber, Director, Smithsonian National Postal Museum
Nancy Pope, Head Curator, Smithsonian National Postal Museum

When:

Tuesday, May 1, 2018 at 11 a.m.

Where:

National Postal Museum
2 Massachusetts Ave. N.E.
Washington, DC 20002

Background:

On May 15, 1918, in the midst of World War I, a small group of Army pilots delivered mail along a route that linked Washington, DC; Philadelphia; and New York City — initiating the world's first regularly scheduled airmail service. The U.S. Post Office Department took charge of U.S. Air Mail service later that summer, operating it from Aug. 12, 1918, through Sept. 1, 1927.

On the 100th anniversary of the beginning of airmail service, this stamp celebrates the courage of the pioneering airmail carriers and the foresight of those who fostered the new service and made it a success.

Airmail delivery, daily except Sundays, became part of the fabric of the American economy and spurred the growth of the nation’s aviation industry.

A second stamp, featured in red, will be released later this summer in commemoration of the Post Office Department’s U.S. Air Mail service. More details will be forthcoming.

Both stamps, printed in intaglio — a design engraved into the stamp paper — feature a drawing of the type of plane typically used in the early days of airmail, a Curtiss JN-4H biplane. The biplane was also featured on the stamps originally issued in 1918 to commemorate the beginning of regularly scheduled airmail service. The stamp design evokes that earlier period.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products, and services to fund its operations.