WASHINGTON, DC —A brief flight of one of the largest aircraft ever built captivated the crowds at the World’s Fair in Chicago in 1933, its image and spirit captured on a postage stamp and, more than 70 years later, on a children’s toy.

The arrival of the Graf Zeppelin was one of the highlights of the exhibition, even though its time in Chicago was brief. After circling Lake Michigan for two hours, commander Hugo Eckener landed the 776-foot airship at nearby Curtis-Wright Airport. The zeppelin remained on the ground for 25 minutes and then took off ahead of approaching weather.

This event was commemorated by the “Century of Progress Flight” stamp first issued on Oct. 12, 1933. The stamp featured the Graf Zeppelin flying between its hangar in Friedrichschafen, Germany, and the federal building in Chicago.

While transatlantic zeppelin service is now a distant memory, the stamp survives as a reminder of a major accomplishment of the era. This history lesson is included on a retro tin toy case from Schylling Associates, one of four Postal Service licensees exhibiting at the American International Toy Fair next week in New York City. The collection from Schylling features a small toy in an antique tin or can with a stamp on its cover and a brief history lesson on the back.

“The Postal Service is a symbol of trust and dependability in the life of Americans, and the licensing program is a true reflection of that mission,” said Nick Barranca, vice president, product development, for the Postal Service. “The fact that these games and puzzles are helping young people learn about their country and explore new ideas is truly gratifying.”

Other licensees at the Toy Fair are:

• White Mountain Puzzles – Six different Legends of Hollywood stamp subjects are featured on these 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzles, including Lucille Ball, John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe and James Dean. Puzzles are available at Wal-Mart, online a puzzlemaps.com and through LTD Commodities, among others.
• Sababa Toys – “In the Mailbox” puzzles feature images from the “Greetings from America” and “Wonders of America” stamp series and come in ready-to-ship packages. Consumers buy the puzzle, address it, add postage and mail it. In the Mailbox puzzles are sold at Barnes & Nobles Booksellers and online at bn.com.
• Good Stuff LLC – Building on the success of the award-winning “In the Mailbox” Ready to Ship Hershey bear launched last year, this line of toys features collectible stuffed animals that feature a variety of postage stamp images. These items will be available for sale at commercial sites by the end of the year.

Puppy Bunny Pink has partnered with both Sababa Toys and Good Stuff to produce the puzzles and Ready to Ship toys.

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A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 151 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $65 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 35th in the 2011 Fortune 500. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency for six years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.

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