©2019 USPS
On May 21, 2020, in New York, NY, the United States Postal Service® will issue the Voices of the Harlem Renaissance stamps (Forever® priced at the First-Class Mail® rate) in four designs, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive pane of 20 stamps (Item 476400). The stamps will go on sale nationwide May 21, 2020, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue. The Voices of the Harlem Renaissance pane of 20 stamps may not be split and the stamps may not be sold individually.
This issuance celebrates one of the great artistic and literary movements in American history, the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, which firmly established African Americans as a vital force in literature and the arts. Twenty stamps showcase four stylized pastel portraits of these literary figures:
n Alain Locke, writer, philosopher, educator, and arts advocate;
n Nella Larsen, novelist;
n Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, bibliophile and historian; and
n Anne Spencer, poet.
African-inspired motifs are used as background elements of each portrait. The pane header shows a cityscape in silhouette with a sun in its midst and the issuance title “Voices of the Harlem Renaissance.” The artist for these stamps was Gary Kelley. Art director Greg Breeding designed the stamps.
Stamp Fulfillment Services will make an automatic push distribution to Post Offices of a quantity to cover approximately 30 days of sales. Distribution quantities for the automatic push distribution are available by logging on to SFS Web at sfsweb.usps.gov. Post Offices may begin ordering stamps on the first-day-of-issue through SFS Web; offices must also check the amount they will receive on their automatic push distribution.
Only the following pictorial postmark is permitted for Voices of the Harlem Renaissance stamps. The word “Station” or the abbreviation “STA” is required somewhere in the design, because it will be a temporary station. Use of any image other than the following special pictorial image is prohibited.
To finalize the Voices of the Harlem Renaissance stamps pictorial postmark art, insert the date, city, state, and ZIP Code™ of the physical location of your event adjacent to the stamp image. Overall dimensions of the pictorial postmark must not exceed 4 inches (horizontally) by 2 inches (vertically). Collectors prefer the dimensions 3-1/2 inches by 1 inch.
The Postal Service™ must make all special postmarks known to collectors through advance publicity in the Postal Bulletin. Therefore, all special dedication cancellations must be reported to Stamp Services 4 weeks before the event using PS Form 413, Pictorial Postmark Announcement/Report. To get a copy of the form, go to blue.usps.gov/formmgmt/forms/ps413.pdf.
Customers have 120 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office™ or at The Postal Store® website at usps.com/shop. They must affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:
FDOI – Voices of the Harlem Renaissance Stamps
USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300
Kansas City, MO 64144-9900
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. There is a 5-cent charge for each additional postmark over 50. All orders must be postmarked by September 21, 2020.
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 USA Philatelic catalog and online at usps.com/shop. Customers may register to receive a free USA Philatelic catalog online at usps.com/philatelic.
Locally produced items are not authorized. Only merchandise that has been approved and assigned an item number by Headquarters Retail Marketing may be produced and sold.
Issue:
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Voices of the Harlem Renaissance Stamps
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Item Number:
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476400
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Denomination &
Type of Issue:
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First-Class Mail Forever
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Format:
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Pane of 20 (4 designs)
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Series:
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N/A
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Issue Date & City:
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May 21, 2020, New York, NY 10199
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Art Director:
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Greg Breeding, Charlottesville, VA
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Designer:
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Greg Breeding, Charlottesville, VA
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Typographer:
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Greg Breeding, Charlottesville, VA
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Artist:
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Gary Kelley, Cedar Falls, IA
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Modeler:
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Sandra Lane/Michelle Finn
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Manufacturing Process:
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Offset
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Printer:
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Banknote Corporation of America
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Press Type:
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Alprinta 74
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Stamps per Pane:
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20
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Print Quantity:
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16,000,000 stamps
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Paper Type:
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Phosphor, Block Tag
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Adhesive Type:
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Pressure-sensitive
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Processed at:
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Banknote Corporation of America
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Stamp Orientation:
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Vertical
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Image Area (w x h):
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0.84 x 1.42 in./ 21.336 x 36.068 mm
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Stamp Size (w x h):
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0.98 x 1.56 in./24.892 x 39.624 mm
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Full Pane Size (w x h):
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6 x 9 in./152.4 x 228.6 mm
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Colors:
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Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black
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Plate Size:
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160 stamps per revolution
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Plate Number:
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“B” followed by four (4) single digits
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Marginal Markings:
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Front:
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Header: Voices of the Harlem Renaissance • Plate number in bottom two corners
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Back:
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©2019 USPS • USPS logo • 2 barcodes (476400) • Plate position diagram (8)
• Promotional text
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— Stamp Services, Marketing, 4-9-20
