For writing a letter of love to your loved one or your beloved one, the stamp for that special letter should also be momentous. USPS gives this special importance, and hence they have been bringing in wide arrays of love stamps for their customers since 1973.
The very first USPS love stamp came into existence in the year 1973. Since then, various stamps that indicate a letter of love and affection have been released from the United States Postal Department. In the early days, the department called their stamps “Special Stamp for Someone Special.” Their series became a huge hit, and people loved it all around the country, especially those who regularly write letters to their beloved ones.
More than 300 million of these stamps are sold already, and it is still counting. In this article, we will know almost everything regarding USPS love stamps: their interesting history and prolific present.
Contents
USPS LOVE STAMPS: The Journey From 1973 Till Now
The United States Postal Service introduced its love series stamps in 1973. During valentine’s season, these stamps created a sensation for those who love to write letters to their loved ones. It is generally filled with a beautiful array of “roses, hearts, mystic couples, swans, and so on.” The best way to define that is probably as a special stamp for a special day of love.
The first USPS love stamp was worth 8 cents, and the designer of that was Robert Indiana. During the valentine’s and wedding seasons, this stamp showed a shocking craze among people. It received a greeting response.
This was the first one of their love series and was released in Philadelphia. Everybody quotes Philadelphia as the city of “Brotherly Love.” It keeps up with the theme and specialty of the stamp. It is this stamp with which their journey of love stamps started.
The next love stamp came in 1982. This letter is full of flowers, and the designer for this one was a New York City USPS employee, Mary Faulconer.
With these two stamps, love stamps began to get an even greater response. That’s why during the 1980s, USPS started to generate larger quantities of love stamps for a longer period.
Their third love stamp is designed like a rainbow, and the inscription “USA 22” is written. From this stamp, USPS announced that there would be no fixed timing for love stamps, and they would be available for the customers all year. The designer of this stamp was Corita Kent.
In 1986, a new love stamp came featuring a cute little brown-colored puppy. The designer of this stamp was cartoonist Charles Schultz. He said, “Happiness is a warm puppy.”
In 1987
another love stamp came with a colorful heart in the middle. The specialty of this stamp is that the size of this love stamp was much smaller in size than usual.
In 1988
USPS came up with a series of love stamps with roses. The cost of both these stamps was 25 cents and 45 cents respectively. The 25 cent stamp was for letters weighing up to 1 ounce, and the 45 cent one was for letters weighing anything above 1 ounce.
Probably the most beautiful love stamp was their 9th one. This earned a huge response for invitations, weddings, valentines, or simple love letters. The cost for this was also 25 cents.
The 1991 love stamp
It was very fittingly beautiful too. The design for this was the earth in the shape of a love heart. It conveyed an outstanding message, that is, “what the world needs right now is love….” It came in both booklet and sheet form.
A 52 cent USPS love stamp came after this, which features a lovely pair of bright-colored Fisher’s lovebirds, fondling each other on a palm tree.
In 1992
On 1992 Valentine’s day, USPS released a simple love stamp that features a red heart coming out of an envelope.
New stamps came again in 1994, two years later than the red heart coming out of an envelope. And by new stamps, we mean three beautiful stamps in one go!
The first one was of a red heart rising like a sun. And the two other featured Victorian-inspired designs with roses, colorful flowers, and doves.
In 1995
USPS published another beautiful stamp. It features the mythological character of baby cupid in sepia tone, the Greek God of love and affection. At first, the cost for this stamp was set at 32 cents, and after denomination, it was set at 55 cents.
During that time, Terry McCaffey, the general manager of stamp development, took the idea of these stamps from the famous Raphael painting, Sistine Madonna.
But it later received criticism and controversy. Many historians believe that the child angels in Sistine Madonna indicated death and not love. Some say that they were resting on the top of Pope Julius II’s coffin and are mournful of his death. Due to this ongoing controversy, this love stamp was later banned by the USPS. It was jinxed as “death angel stamps” and was never bought back later.
1997 to 2000
From 1997 to 2000, six love stamps came in total. The first one shows two swans in love making a heart shape with their beaks fixed close. The latter had the design based on Victorian artifacts and also became very popular among people.
The last three stamps were very simple in design. We know that roses are the closest symbol of love. The design of these three stamps was a rose between the words love as if the flower is making the alphabet “O.” The first one was orangish in color, the second one was yellowish, and the third one had a bluish hue. Other than that, there were no basic differences in these stamps.
With growing expectations, many other beautiful love stamps were published each year. The price for these was generally around 60 cents.
In 2004
In 2004, a cute love stamp arrived. It was loved by many. It had two hearts lying together in two different colors: orange and pink. The pink one had “I love” scripted and a “You” on the pink one.
In 2005
In 2005, a drawing of red roses in pastel color suited as another USPS love stamp. Artist Vivienne Flesher made that beautiful drawing.
2006
The 2006 love stamp had two bluebirds sitting on a bench with their beaks close, making a heart between them.
2007
In 2007, the chocolate kiss’ Centennial anniversary took center stage. That chocolate candy has been a form of love for many Americans for years.
Ribbons have been a symbol of love for centuries. Women used to wear them around their neck or hair as their promise to wait and wait for the return of their beloved. That is why it was featured in the 2012 love stamp.
However, the stamp which gained maximum recognition by Americans was in 2017. Skywriting has been wonderful with its mystery and beauty since the early 20th century. The technique became popular in the Royal British Air Force Pilots to draw communication messages in the sky for ground stuff. Later, Pepsi used it for one of their advertisements. Skywriting took part in the USPS love stamps too. The design featured a blue sky with a small airplane skywriting the word “LOVE” in cursive. There was also writing in the bottom left corner, “Forever USA.”
You can check how many stamps do you need for shipping from here.
Conclusion on USPS Love Stamps:
The USPS released a huge number of love Stamps over the years from 1973 till now. The latest 2021 has “LOVE” written on it in block letters in a deep-colored background. Many great stamps are yet to come in the coming years. People ardently like to use these stamps when they write a letter to their beloved. If you are a stamp connoisseur, then having all of these stamps under your collection is a wonderful achievement in itself.
