© 2013 USPS
On February 18, 2014, in Kansas City, Missouri, the U.S. Postal Service® will issue the Ralph Ellison 91-cent definitive stamp, in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20 stamps (Item 116500). The 91-cent value meets the new rate for First-Class Mail® weighing up to three ounces.
The stamp will go on sale nationwide February 18, 2014.
The 29th stamp in the Literary Arts series honors author Ralph Ellison (1913-1994). With his 1952 novel, Invisible Man, a masterpiece of 20th-century fiction, Ellison drew on a wide range of narrative and cultural traditions, shedding vivid light on the African-American experience. The stamp art, an oil-on-wood painting by Kadir Nelson, shows Ellison circa 1950; the background shows Harlem at twilight. Art director Ethel Kessler designed the stamp. Photo of Ralph Ellison courtesy of the Gordon Parks Foundation.
To learn more about the stories behind the stamps, visit http://uspsstamps.com.
Stamp Distribution Offices (SDOs) and Stamp Distribution Centers (SDCs) will receive their standard automatic distribution quantity for a PSA pane of 20 stamps. Distribution for panes are rounded up to the nearest master carton size of 40,000 stamps.
There will be no automatic distribution of these stamps to Post Offices™, and the availability of these stamps for individual Post Offices to order from their normal SDC/SDO could be two to three weeks after the first-day-of-issue. Offices will be notified when these stamps are available to order through eBuy2.
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://usps.com/shop, or by calling 800-STAMP-24. 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:
Ralph Ellison Stamp
Cancellation Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Pillar 210
Kansas City, MO 64144-0001
After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. For more than 50, customers have to pay five cents each. All orders must be postmarked by April 19, 2014.
The Postal Service also offers first-day covers for new stamp issues and Postal Service stationery items postmarked with the official first-day-of-issue cancellation. Each item has an individual catalog number and is offered in the quarterly USA Philatelic catalog, online at http://usps.com/shop, or by calling 800-782-6724. Customers may request a free catalog by calling 800-782-6724 or writing to:
U.S. Postal Service
Catalog Request
PO Box 219014
Kansas City, MO 64121-9014
There are seven philatelic products available for this stamp issue:
n 116506, Press Sheet w/Die Cuts, $182.00 (Print Quantity of 2,500).
n 116508, Press Sheet w/o Die Cuts, $182.00 (Print Quantity of 2,500).
n 116510*, Keepsake (Pane and DCP Set), $20.95.
n 116516*, First-Day Cover, $1.35.
n 116521*, Digital Color Postmark, $2.06.
n 116531*, Stamp Deck Card, $0.95.
n 116532*, Stamp Deck Card w/DCP, $2.41.
Items with an asterisk (*) will use the 128 barcode from Stamp Fulfillment Services. All other philatelic products will continue to use barcode series A, with the exception of the Yearbook and the Guide Book.
Issue:
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Ralph Ellison Stamp
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Item Number:
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116500
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Denomination & Type of Issue:
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91-cent Definitive
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Format:
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Pane of 20 (1 design)
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Series:
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Literary Arts
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Issue Date & City:
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February 18, 2014, Kansas City, MO 64108 (No Event)
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Designer:
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Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD
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Art Director:
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Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD
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Typographer:
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Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD
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Artist:
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Kadir Nelson, Los Angeles, CA
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Engraver:
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WRE
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Modeler:
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CCL Label, Inc.
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Manufacturing Process:
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Gravure
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Printer:
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CCL Label, Inc.
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Printed at:
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Clinton, SC 29325
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Press Type:
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Dia Nippon Kiko (DNK)
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Stamps per Pane:
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20
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Print Quantity:
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30 million stamps
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Paper Type:
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Phosphor Tagged, Block; Nonphosphored, Type III
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Adhesive Type:
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Pressure-sensitive
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Processed at:
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CCL Label, Inc., Clinton, SC
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Colors:
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Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black,
121 (Yellow)
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Stamp Orientation:
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Horizontal
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Image Area (w x h):
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1.42 x 0.84 in./36.07 x 21.34 mm
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Overall Size (w x h):
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1.56 x 0.99 in./39.62 x 25.15 mm
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Full Pane Size (w x h):
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7.25 x 5.85 in./184.15 x 148.59 mm
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Plate Size:
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200 stamps per revolution
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Plate Numbers:
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“C” followed by five (5) single digits
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Marginal Markings:
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Front:
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Header: “LITERARY ARTS” • “29TH IN A SERIES • Plate numbers in four corners of pane
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Back:
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Quote: “I am an invisible man.”
• Verso text (Ellison’s biography)
• ©2014 USPS • USPS logo • Plate position diagram • Barcode (116500) in upper right and lower left corners of pane • Promotional text
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— Stamp Services,
Marketing and Sales, 2-6-14
