Post office marks new first-class stamps 'forever'

 

AP – This handout image provided by the US Postal Service shows a postage stamp honoring jazz appreciation …

• Slideshow:New U.S. Postage Stamps

By DOUGLASS K. DANIEL, Associated Press

WASHINGTON – Postal patron Sean Swilling is tired of the inconvenience that comes with every change in the price of mailing a letter. That makes him just the type of customer the U.S. Postal Service wants to please with a policy designating all new first-class stamps as "forever."
Beginning in January, all new stamps good for 1 ounce of domestic first-class mail will forgo a printed denomination and be acceptable for the typical letter regardless of the current postal rate.

"I think that's a great idea," Swilling, a research analyst for commercial property, said Tuesday during a mail run at a downtown Washington post office. "For me, a guy who uses snail mail regularly, it's a hassle to get 1- or 2-cent stamps. Streamline things — that would be perfect."

The move is designed to help customers cope with postage increases, a Postal Service official told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The official requested anonymity to discuss a policy that hasn't been announced formally.

Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe plans to announce the new policy Jan. 14, the official said.
Jim Plante, a federal employee mailing a letter in downtown Washington, doesn't see the policy as a major change in doing business.

"They get my money in advance, but I'll use them eventually. It will save me a penny or two," Plante said. "It won't cure their deficit, but if it helps them out a bit, why not?"

The Postal Service unveiled its first-class commemorative stamps for 2011 on Tuesday. All were marked with the word "forever" instead of the current rate of 44 cents.

The initial first-class stamp under the new policy will be the Lunar New Year: Year of the Rabbit stamp, to be issued Jan. 22. It will be followed by stamps commemorating Kansas statehood on Jan. 29 and, in February, the centennial of President Ronald Reagan's birth.

Click image to see the new stamps

AP/USPS

The Forever Stamp, first issued in April 2007 and featuring the Liberty Bell, was designed for use regardless of changes in postal rates. They are sold at the prevailing price of domestic first-class postage.
The Postal Service says that 28 billion Forever Stamps have been sold since, generating $12.1 billion in total revenue. The stamps without denominations already account for 85 percent of its stamp program, the service says.

The Postal Service sought a 2-cent increase in postage rates for 2011, but the independent Postal Rate Commission rejected the request. The post office is appealing the decision in federal court.
The Internet and the economic downturn have been cited for a 3.5 percent decline in mail volume from 2009 to 2010.

The Postal Service lost $8.5 billion in the year ending Sept. 30, even after trimming more than 100,000 jobs in recent years, and estimates it will lose $6 billion to $7 billion in the next year. One of its proposals for dealing with its financial troubles calls for cutting delivery to five days a week instead of six, a change Congress must approve.
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Online:
U.S. Postal Service: http://www.usps.com

David Bowie, Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd Arrive on U.K. Stamps

By: Alex Vadukul

From: http://www.rollingstone.com/

Photo: David Parry/PA

British letters have acquired a taste for rock music. Yesterday, the Royal Mail released a set of 10 special stamps featuring classic British album covers including David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust, the Rolling Stones’ Let It Bleed, New Order’s Power, Corruption and Lies and Coldplay’s A Rush of Blood to the Head.
The Royal Mail was first created by Henry VIII in 1516 and continues to serve as the national postal service for the United Kingdom. Issuing rock stamps is not a casual matter, and only 12 special stamp sets are produced per year. “The thing about stamps is that they are 1-inch works of art,” says Philip Parker, the Head of Stamp Policy for Royal Mail. “And thinking about this we thought that the old 12-inch vinyl cover is a great work of art. We thought putting them on stamps would be a great way to celebrate this art form.” The selection process was rigorous. “We conducted huge research,” says Parker. “We spoke with music journalists and analyzed lots of existing lists.”

Check out Rolling Stone readers’ favorite album covers.

The Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street, for example, was considered for the set but was rejected because its album cover image, shrunk down to stamp size, would be undecipherable. Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here was rejected because its image of a man shaking hands with a man on flames was considered possibly disturbing for the public. Many Brits have (naturally) questioned the omission of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, one of the most famous album covers of all time. “It was too black,” says Parker. “The stamps also have to do their function. They can’t just look good. If a stamp is too dark our machines will reject it.”
Once the panel of pros made their selections, the stamps had to get royal approval from the Queen. “She didn’t reject any,” Parker says. “She’s old but I think she has her finger on the pulse. I wouldn’t be surprised if she knew the majority of the bands.”
The stamps also set an interesting historical precedent: the Royal Mail isn’t allowed to depict living people on its stamps unless they are members of the royal family. A few album-cover stamps — which feature David Bowie and the Clash’s Paul Simonon — prove to be a rare exception to the rule. Parker explains that because the stamps celebrate the artwork of the album rather than the individuals in the bands, they’re permissible. But the result is clear: even on stamps, rock & roll can find a way to be rebellious.

Full list of album-cover stamps:
• David Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
• Blur’s Parklife
• The Clash’s London Calling
• Coldplay’s A Rush of Blood to the Head
• Led Zeppelin’s IV
• New Order’s Power, Corruption and Lies
• Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells
• Pink Floyd’s The Division Bell
• Primal Scream’s Screamadelica
• The Rolling Stones’ Let it Bleed

Sunday Funnies Postage Stamps Coming in 2010 for Calvin & Hobbes et al.

By: Laura Hudson

From:  http://www.comicsalliance.com/

The United States Postal Service recently announced its stamps of 2010, including one particular set that I think will be of interest to you all: The Sunday Funnies Collection! Based on popular newspaper comic strips, the series will include stamps involving Archie, Garfield, Dennis the Menace, the cast of "Beetle Bailey," and my personal favorites, Calvin and Hobbes!

It speaks well of "Calvin and Hobbes" creator Bill Watterson -- and his decisions to both end the comic in its heyday and to resist merchandising it -- that as the strip sits among so many "classic" comic strips, it still seems fresh, exciting and vital, while most of the others just seem rote, exhausted, and exceedingly far past their prime.

While I would have vastly preferred an entire set of C&H stamps -- perhaps involving Stupendous Man, Calvinball, or snowman art -- I'm still thrilled that I will soon be able to turn the upper right-hand corner of my envelopes into a tiny, two-way mirror where my favorite boy and tiger can make faces at me and the recipients of my letters.

The stamps go on sale in July.

Royal Mail first class postage stamps launched for London 2012 Olympic Games

First-class stamps which champion the different Olympic and Paralympic sports at the London 2012 Games have been unveiled. Each stamp is designed by a leading artist. The first set of ten stamps go on sale on October 22. Artists are designing images of another 20 sports for stamps that will go on sale in 2010 and 2012. Aquatics is illustrated with an image of a diver by Julian Opie

An action-packed illustration of canoe slalom by John Royle

A shuttlecock by David Holmes was used as the image for badminton

Weightlifting is illustrated by Guy Billout

A track athletics collage by Nathalie Guinamard

Picture: PA

Basketball by Huntley Muir

Picture: PA

The judo image was drawn by Paul Slater

Picture: PA

Paralympic archery illustrated by George Hardie

Picture: PA

Boccia is illustrated by David Doyle

Paralympic Equestrian by Andrew Davidson