Stamp Services

Stamp Announcement 23-24: John Lewis Stamp

©2022 USPS

On July 21, 2023, in Atlanta, GA, the United States Postal Service^® will issue the John Lewis stamp (Forever^® priced at the First-Class Mail^® rate) in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 15 stamps (Item 483200). This stamp will go on sale nationwide July 21, 2023, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue.

With this stamp, the Postal Service™ celebrates the life and legacy of civil rights leader and congressman John Lewis (1940–2020). Devoted to equality and justice for all Americans, Lewis spent more than 30 years in Congress steadfastly defending and building on key civil rights gains that he had helped achieve in the 1960s. The stamp features a photograph of Lewis taken by Marco Grob on assignment for the August 26, 2013, issue of Time magazine. The selvage showcases a photograph of Lewis taken by Steve Schapiro in 1963 outside a workshop about non-violent protest in Clarksdale, MS. Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamp and selvage.

Availability to Post Offices: Item 483200, John Lewis (Forever Priced at the First-Class Mail Rate), Pane of 15 Stamps

Stamp Fulfillment Services will not make an automatic push distribution to Post Offices. Post Offices may begin ordering stamps before the first-day-of-issue through SFS Web at sfsweb.usps.gov/sfsweb.

How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark

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 store.usps.com/store/home. 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 – John Lewis Stamp
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 November 21, 2023.

How to Order First-Day Covers

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 store.usps.com/store/home. 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.

 

— Stamp Services,
Marketing, 6-15-23