Stamp Me Foolish
A few days ago, I posted something about the new service from Stamps.com, whereby anyone with $16.99 and an image editing program could create their very own "vanity postage stamp," said stamp being legal tender for snail mail sent via USPS. In my usual flippant manner, I dismissed the idea as a narcissistic endeavor.
And, as usual, I find that I'm oh-so-very wrong.
Regular visitor and commenter Larry Stephey (he of the original Bible haiku fame) left a lengthy explanation at the bottom of my post about why and how this service can be used in a truly special way. Here's an excerpt:
Archie had many collections and was a philatelist. One of the outward signs of their cultural pride was a collection of stamps, issued in sheets, framed, and hung on the walls of their house. These stamps were in the series that commemorated black Americans, as well as those stamps of black Americans in the Literary Arts series and the Distinguished Americans series. The list is below.
Ferdie has continued Archie’s practice of making purchases of new stamps whenever another Black American is honored. We were delighted when Thurgood Marshall and Langston Hughes got their stamps. More recently James Baldwin got his. I remember reading Baldwin and Hughes when I was in high school. I remember Malcolm X from that time, too, and of course Martin Luther King, Jr. They have stamps, too. The Walkers raised my consciousness of black Americans when I was a young man.
Although Archie was a distinguished American in many ways, educated, articulate, and compassionate, there is no brass plaque or any other public insignia to honor any of the endeavors through which he served his country, his community, his God, or his family. Tacitly, Ferdie and I both felt he deserved some form of public recognition, and a lasting memorial, but had no idea how to express our feelings. We accepted that only a few people would keep Archie’s memory alive, or ever be aware of his life and the use he made of it.
When I heard about the new photo stamp service, I went over to her house and we worked until 2 AM last Thursday making Archie’s picture into the stamp he so richly deserves. When the stamps arrive, Ferdie will surprise each of her children with a letter bearing official United States postage with the likeness of their father on it. Every friend or relative who gets a letter from Ferdie will be reminded of Archie, and delighted to see him honored this way.
Here's a direct link to the image of the stamp that Larry and Ferdie designed in honor and memory of Ferdie's late husband. It's exquisite in its simple dignity.
There's more to this story, as Larry explains, and it's worth your time to read it. And, it's a good reminder to those of us who sometimes (often?) view things through cynical eyes...never underestimate the imagination and creativity of those who are bent on doing good things!
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Yesterday Ferdie received 3 sheets of stamps featuring her deceased husband, Archie L Walker. She told me she wept when she saw them. Here's what she said to me in an email (our main medium of communication due to her deafness, unless we are face-to-face and she can read lips):
"They are beautiful and PERFECT. I hopped in the car and started making the rounds to show them off to the best friends. Started with Linda, then went to Carol and Terry. Terry asked if he could have one for Ryan [LS: Terry's step-son] and of course I said yes. That continued for about an hour."
She's giving them away. I tried to warn her not to use them because they are collector's items; we cannot get any more. My email message got there too late. In the interim between ordering the Archie L Walker stamps and when Ferdie received the stamps, photo.stamps.com changed their policy. Now, according their website,
"PhotoStamps currently will only accept color images (no black & white) of children who appear to be 12 years of age or younger, pets and animals, business and charity logos, landscapes, wildlife, and vehicles.
"Currently we are not accepting images of adults or teenagers."
This morning I heard on National Public Radio that the service had to change their policy after someone created and received a sheet of stamps of Monica Lewinsky in her blue dress, and someone made and received a sheet of stamps featuring the Unabomer (I misspelled it on purpose).
I'll find out tonight how many stamps Ferdie still has, but one thing is certain: they aren't making them anymore.
According to Smithsonian Magazines website, in regard to the famous 24 cent Inverted Jenny (or inverted biplane) stamp of 1918, "Only 100 examples slipped past printing inspectors and made their way to the public at the tag end of World War I. All 100 instantly became collector's items. To philatelists, each one is worth about $100,000, depending on its condition.
Ferdie had 60 Archie L Walker stamps made. They must be worth a fortune. To her, they are priceless.
Smithsonian article link:
Posted by: Larry at September 24, 2004 11:44 AMhttp://www.smithsonianmag.si.edu/smithsonian/issues96/jul96/object_july96.html