Philately

STAMP ANNOUNCEMENT 05-09

Robert Penn Warren Stamp

The Postal ServiceTM will issue a 37-cent, Robert Penn Warren commemorative stamp (Item 458300) on April 22, 2005, in Guthrie, Kentucky. The stamp, designed by Carl T. Herrman of Carlsbad, California, goes on sale nationwide April 23, 2005 and will be sold in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20.

With this 21st stamp in the Literary Arts series, the Postal Service honors poet, novelist, and educator Robert Penn Warren on the centennial of his birth. This distinguished man of letters was America's first official poet laureate (1986-87) and a three-time recipient of the Pulitzer Prize; he received two prizes for poetry and one prize for fiction.

Artist Will Wilson of San Francisco, California, based his portrait of Warren on a 1948 photograph obtained from the Center for Robert Penn Warren Studies at Western Kentucky University. The background art recalls scenes from Warren's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, All the King's Men, and from the Academy Award-winning film inspired by the book.

How to Order First Day of Issue Postmark

Customers have 30 days to obtain the first day of issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post OfficeTM, by telephone at 800-STAMP-24, and at the Postal Store Web site at www.usps.com/shop. 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:

ROBERT PENN WARREN COMMEMORATIVE STAMP
POSTMASTER
202 WEST PARK ST
GUTHRIE KY 42234-9998

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. All orders must be postmarked by May 21, 2005.

How to Order First Day Covers

Stamp Fulfillment Services 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. Customers may request a free catalog by calling 800-STAMP-24 or writing to:

INFORMATION FULFILLMENT
DEPT 6270
US POSTAL SERVICE
PO BOX 219014
KANSAS CITY MO 64121-9014

First day covers remain on sale for at least 1 year after the stamp's issuance.

Philatelic Products

There is one philatelic product available for this stamp issue:

• Cancellation Keepsake $8.15 (Item 458393).

This Cancellation Keepsake will be available while supplies last and can be ordered at the postal stores, online at www.usps.com, and by telephone at 800 STAMP-24.

Distribution: Item 458300, Robert Penn Warren Commemorative Stamp

Stamp distribution offices (SDOs) will receive approximately one-half of their standard automatic distribution quantity for a PSA sheet stamp. Distributions are rounded up to the nearest master carton size (40,000 stamps).

Initial Supply to Post Offices

SDOs will make a subsequent automatic distribution to Post OfficesTM of one-half their standard automatic distribution quantity using PS Form 17, Stamp Requisition/Stamp Return. SDOs must not distribute stamps to Post Offices before April 15, 2005.

Philatelic Requirement

SDOs will not receive a separate quantity Item 458300 for their authorized philatelic centers. Philatelic centers must be supplied their quantities from the initial automatic distribution made to stamp distribution offices.

Additional Supply

Post Offices requiring additional stamps must requisition Item 458300 from their designated SDO using PS Form 17. SDOs requiring additional stamps must order them from the appropriate accountable paper depository (APD) using PS Form 17.

For fulfilling supplemental orders from SDOs, the Chicago, Memphis, and New York APDs will each receive 640,000 additional stamps; the San Francisco APD will receive 520,000 additional stamps; and the Denver APD will receive 200,000 additional stamps.

Sales Policy

All Post Offices must acquire and maintain a supply of each new commemorative stamp as long as customer demand exists, until inventory is depleted, or until the stamp is officially withdrawn from sale. If supplies run low, Post Offices must reorder additional quantities using their normal ordering procedures.

- Stamp Services,
Government Relations, 3-17-05

STAMP ANNOUNCEMENT 05-10

Yip Harburg Stamp

The Postal ServiceTM will issue a 37-cent, Yip Harburg commemorative stamp (Item 457600) on April 28, 2005, in New York, New York. The stamp, designed by Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, Maryland, goes on sale nationwide April 29, 2005 and will be sold in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20.

With this stamp, the Postal Service honors E.Y. (Yip) Harburg, who wrote the lyrics for more than 600 popular songs, including "Over the Rainbow," created with composer Harold Arlen for "The Wizard of Oz." Stamp designer Ethel Kessler began with a photograph made by portrait photographer Barbara Bordnick in 1978 in her studio in New York, then added other elements including a rainbow and the lyric fragment from Harburg's Oscar-winning song.

How to Order First Day of Issue Postmark

Customers have 30 days to obtain the first day of issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post OfficeTM, by telephone at 800-STAMP-24, and at the Postal Store Web site at www.usps.com/shop. 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:

YIP HARBURG COMMEMORATIVE STAMP
SPECIAL EVENTS UNIT
421 8TH AVE RM 2029B
NEW YORK NY 10199-9998

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. All orders must be postmarked by May 27, 2005.

How to Order First Day Covers

Stamp Fulfillment Services 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. Customers may request a free catalog by calling 800-STAMP-24 or writing to:

INFORMATION FULFILLMENT
DEPT 6270
US POSTAL SERVICE
PO BOX 219014
KANSAS CITY MO 64121-9014

First day covers remain on sale for at least 1 year after the stamp's issuance.

Philatelic Products

There is one philatelic product available for this stamp issue:

• Cancellation Keepsake $8.15 (Item 457693).

This Cancellation Keepsake will be available while supplies last at the postal stores, online at www.usps.com, and by telephone at 800 STAMP-24.

Distribution: Item 457600, Yip Harburg Commemorative Stamp

Stamp distribution offices (SDOs) will receive approximately one-third of their standard automatic distribution quantity for a PSA sheet stamp. Distributions are rounded up to the nearest master carton size (40,000 stamps).

Initial Supply to Post Offices

SDOs will make a subsequent automatic distribution to Post Offices of one-fourth their standard automatic distribution quantity using PS Form 17, Stamp Requisition/Stamp Return. SDOs must not distribute stamps to Post Offices before April 22, 2005.

Philatelic Requirement

SDOs will not receive a separate quantity Item 457600 for their authorized philatelic centers. Philatelic centers must be supplied their quantities from the initial automatic distribution made to stamp distribution offices.

Additional Supply

Post Offices requiring additional stamps must requisition Item 457600 from their designated SDO using PS Form 17. SDOs requiring additional stamps must order them from the appropriate accountable paper depository (APD) using PS Form 17.

For fulfilling supplemental orders from SDOs, the New York APD will receive 1,200,000 additional stamps; the Chicago, Memphis, and San Francisco APDs will each receive 880,000 additional stamps; and the Denver APD will receive 400,000 additional stamps.

Sales Policy

All Post Offices must acquire and maintain a supply of each new commemorative stamp as long as customer demand exists, until inventory is depleted, or until the stamp is officially withdrawn from sale. If supplies run low, Post Offices must reorder additional quantities using their normal ordering procedures.

- Stamp Services,
Government Relations, 3-17-05

CORRECTION

Ronald Reagan First Day of Sale Postmark for Tampico, Illinois

The article, "Pictorial Postmarks Announcement" in Postal Bulletin 22149 (3-3-05, beginning on page 23), incorrectly lists a Ronald Reagan first day of sale postmark for Tampico, Illinois.

There is no Ronald Reagan first day of sale postmark authorized for Tampico, Illinois, but there is a pictorial postmark (see "Notice: Ronald Reagan Pictorial Cancellation for Tampico, Illinois," article below.)

- Stamp Services,
Government Relations, 3-17-05

NOTICE

Ronald Reagan Pictorial Postmark for Tampico, Illinois

There is a Ronald Reagan pictorial postmark for Tampico, Illinois. The cancellation is pictured here and is also provided in the pictorial postmarks table on page 18. The postmark has been extended for 30 days and is available until April 5, 2005, for mail-back service.

- Stamp Services,
Government Relations, 3-17-05