U.S. Presidents on U.S. postage stamps

For more than 160 years the one subject that has appeared most frequently on the face of U.S. Postage stamps is that of American Presidents. When the U.S. Post Office released its first two postage stamps in 1847, George Washington, along with Benjamin Franklin, were the two subjects depicted on these premier issues. The advent of Presidential honors on postage has been definitive to U.S. Postage stamp design since the first issues were released and set the premise that U.S. stamp designs would follow for many generations.
The engraved portrayals of U.S. Presidents was the exclusive design and theme found on U.S. postage from 1847 until 1869, with the one exception of Benjamin Franklin, the likes of whom was presidential in his aspect to many people. Twenty two years would pass as the U.S. Post Office continued to issue various postage stamps bearing the depictions of George Washington foremost, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln, who didn't appear until 1866, one year after his death.

There exist entire series of stamp issues whose printing was inspired by the subject alone. The portrayals of Washington and Franklin on U.S. Postage are among the most definitive of examples and have appeared on numerous postage stamps. The presidential theme in stamp designs would continue as the decades passed, each period issuing stamps with variations of the same basic presidential-portrait design theme. The portrayals of U.S. Presidents on U.S. postage has remained the predominate subject and design theme on definitive postage throughout most of U.S. stamp issuance history. Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers |year=2010 |publisher=
Scott Publishing Company |ISBN=9780894874468 |editor1-first=James E. |editor1-last=
Kloetzel |coauthors=Jones, William A. }}

In 1869, after twenty two years of issuing stamps honoring only American Presidents and Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin

Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...

, the Post Office issued a series of eleven postage stamps that were generally regarded by the American public as being abruptly different from the previous issues and whose designs were considered at the time to be a break from the tradition of honoring American forefathers

Founding Fathers of the United States

The Founding Fathers of the United States of America were political leaders and statesmen who participated in the American Revolution by signing the United States Declaration of Independence, taking part in the American Revolutionary War, establishing the United States Constitution, or by some...

on the nation's postage stamps. The denominations of this 1869 Pictorial Issue

1869 Pictorial Issue

The 1869 Pictorial Issue is a series of definitive United States postage stamps released during the first weeks of the Grant administration. Ten stamps in denominations between one-cent and ninety-cents were initially offered in the series, with eight of these introduced on March 19 and 20, 1869...

had other non presidential subjects and a design style that was also different, one stamp bearing a horse, another a locomotive while others depicted nonpresidential themes. Washington and Lincoln were to be found only once in this series of eleven stamps and were also considered to be below par in design and image quality. As a result this pictographic series was met with general disdain and proved so unpopular that the issues were consequently sold for only one year, after which remaining stocks were pulled from post offices across the United States.
In 1870 the U.S. Post Office resumed its short lived tradition of printing postage with the portraits of American Presidents and Forefathers like Franklin but now added several other famous Americans, including Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, Alexander Hamilton and General Winfield Scott among other notable Americans.

First appearances

The portrayals of various American Presidents made their first appearances on U.S. postage at different times for very different reasons. Among the most definitive is George Washington

George Washington

George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

and Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin

whose engravings appeared on the first U.S. Postage stamps released by the U.S. Post Office

United States Postal Service

The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...

, on July 1 of 1847. Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...

first appeared on U.S. postage in March 1856, nine years after the first issues were released. Fifteen years of stamp issuance would pass before Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...

would appear on a U. S. Postage stamp. However, by this time, Jackson had already been presented on two Confederate stamps (both 2-cent values), making him the only U. S. President introduced to postage by the Confederacy rather than the U. S. Post office. Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...

appeared for the first time on a U.S. postage stamp with the issue of 1866, released on April 14, 1866, the first anniversary of his death. Up until this time only the portrayals of Washington, Franklin, Jefferson and Jackson were found on U.S. Postage.

The First Washington postage stamp. The 5-cent Franklin and the 10-cent Washington postage stamps issued in 1847 were the first postage stamps issued and authorized for postal duty by the US Post Office. The firm of Rawdon, Wright, Hatch, and Edson of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

were given a four year contract to print the first US Postage stamps in 1847. The initials: "RWH&E" are clearly engraved at the bottom of both stamps. The engraving of Washington is identical to the one by the portrait engraver Asher Brown Durand on a Bank-Note issued by Fairfield County Bank of Connecticut, during a period when many banks issued their own forms of paper currency. Both the Washington and Franklin issues were reprinted in 1875 with subtle variations in the engravings.

In March 1856 the Post Office issued the first postage stamp to feature Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...

. The exact date of issue is not clear. Scott's US postage stamp catalog establishes the release date with the first known use of this issue, March 24 of 1856. The first issue of this stamp was in imperforate form, engraved and printed by Toppan, Carpenter, Casilear & Co. The Jefferson issue saw postal duty from the spring of 1856 to the summer of 1857. The engraving of Jefferson was modeled after a portrait of the President by Gilbert Stuart
Gilbert Stuart
Gilbert Charles Stuart was an American painter from Rhode Island.Gilbert Stuart is widely considered to be one of America's foremost portraitists...

. By mid-1857 the stamps were issued with the top and bottom design projections omitted and with perforations. This printing was issued in at least six major color variations.

On July 1 of 1863 the U.S. Post Office issued the 2 cent Jackson stamp, commonly referred to by collectors as the 'Black-Jack
Black Jack (stamp)
Black Jack or Blackjack was the 2-Cent denomination United States postage stamp issued from July 1, 1863 to 1870, is generally referred to as the "Black Jack" due to the large portraiture of the United States President, Andrew Jackson on its face printed in pitch black...

' stamp. Printed by the National Bank Note Company, it was released on the same day the new drop letter rate (the fee for mail delivered within city limits) was raised to two cents. Jackson is the third U.S. president to be honored on U.S. Postage.

On April 14, 1866, exactly one year after Lincoln's assassination in 1865, the US Post Office issued its first postage stamp honoring the fallen President. The engraving of Lincoln was rendered by Joseph Ourdan after a photograph by C.S.German.

George Washington

(February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799) was the first President of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797, and before this served as the commander of the Continental Army

Continental Army

The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...

in the American Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

from 1775 to 1783. The Electoral College elected Washington unanimously in 1789

United States presidential election, 1789

The United States presidential election of 1789 was the first presidential election in the United States of America and the only election to ever take place in a year that is not a multiple of four. The election took place following the ratification of the United States Constitution in 1788...

, and again in the 1792 election

United States presidential election, 1792

The United States presidential election of 1792 was the second presidential election in the United States, and the first in which each of the original 13 states appointed electors...

; To this day George Washington remains the only American president to have received 100 percent of the electoral votes. Washington took his oath of office while standing on the balcony of Federal Hall

Federal Hall

Federal Hall, built in 1700 as New York's City Hall, later served as the first capitol building of the United States of America under the Constitution, and was the site of George Washington's inauguration as the first President of the United States. It was also where the United States Bill of...

on Wall Street in New York City.

The chronology of presidents on U.S. postage begins with George Washington. Near the end of Washington's second term as president, Martha Washington

Martha Washington

Martha Dandridge Custis Washington was the wife of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, Martha Washington is considered to be the first First Lady of the United States...

commissioned the well-known portrait artist Gilbert Stuart

Gilbert Stuart

Gilbert Charles Stuart was an American painter from Rhode Island.Gilbert Stuart is widely considered to be one of America's foremost portraitists...

to paint both her portrait and the president's. Stuart was known for the length of time it took him to complete a painting, and consequently neither the president nor his wife ever saw the finished paintings. The two portraits remained unfinished and tacked to a door in Stuart's Boston studio until his death in 1828. In 1860 artist Rembrandt Peale

Rembrandt Peale

Rembrandt Peale was an American artist and museum keeper. A prolific portrait painter, he was especially acclaimed for his likenesses of presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson...

finished Stuart's work, filling in where this artist had left off. Stewart's portrait of Washington became the model image for a good number of postage issues of the 19th and 20th centuries.

George Washington remains the central figure found on US postage over the last 160 and more years. The first president appears on the face of U.S. postage more than any other American president. The engraved images of Washington found on the early issues set the precedent that all US Postage issues would follow in the following decades. Indeed, in virtually every U. S. definitive stamp series offered between 1851 and 1932, Washington appeared on the normal letter-rate value (the only exception being the shortlived 1869 pictorial issue); other presidents, statesmen and famous Americans were confined to the less commonly used denominations. Since the first U.S. postage stamp was issued by the US Post Office there have been more examples of George Washington appearing on US postage than all other American Presidents combined, including Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson

, Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson

, Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

and even the frequently honored Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin

(who was not President). Examples of all the various Washington stamps are too numerous to include in this section, as many of the issues are very similar with only differences in color and denomination, such as the Washington-Franklin issues

Washington-Franklin Issues

The Washington - Franklin Issues are a series of definitive U.S. Postage stamps depicting George Washington and Benjamin Franklin produced by the U.S. Post Office between 1908 and 1922...

. Featured below are the issues that are unique in their designs and the most definitive.

Classic period

Postage stamp designs of this period were typically taken from paintings and other works by famous artists, that set the precedent for stamp designs in the ensuing years of American stamp production. Engravers from this period typically used the works of John Trumbull

John Trumbull

John Trumbull was an American artist during the period of the American Revolutionary War and was notable for his historical paintings...

, Gilbert Stuart

Gilbert Stuart

Gilbert Charles Stuart was an American painter from Rhode Island.Gilbert Stuart is widely considered to be one of America's foremost portraitists...

and Jean Antoine Houdon as models for their engravings.

On July 1, 1851, the US Post Office issued a 3-cent Postage stamp. Because of die recuts, double transfers from die to plate and different paper used for its printing, this issue comes in numerous varieties. The authoritative book on the issue, 'Classic US Stamps 1845-1869' was written by Carroll Chase, published in 1962. Engraving of image taken from a sculpture by Jean Antoine Houdon. The Post Office did not produce perforated versions of this stamp until 1857.

The Post Office released the 12-cent Washington of August 4 of 1851. The engraving of Washington is modeled after a portrait by Gilbert Stuart
Gilbert Stuart
Gilbert Charles Stuart was an American painter from Rhode Island.Gilbert Stuart is widely considered to be one of America's foremost portraitists...

. When the 12c issue was printed the stamp was the highest US denomination ever issued. The issue was printed by Toppan, Carpenter, Casilear & Co.

In 1855 postage for mail bound for destinations over 3,000 miles increased the cost of Postage from 6-cents to 10-cents and prompted the issue of the 1855 10c Washington stamp. This 10c green issue was printed by Toppan, Carpenter, Casilear & Co. who reused the engraving of Washington (the vignette) of the 12-cent Washington 1851 Issue for this 10-cent postage stamp. Engraving was modeled after Gilbert Stuart's portrait of Washington.

In 1857 printing plates were made for a 24-cent Washington issue, but the stamp itself was not produced until 1860; the earliest known date of usage is July 7.

On August 13 of 1860 the Post Office issued the Washington 90c issue. Washington's engraving was modeled after a portrait by John Trumbull
John Trumbull
John Trumbull was an American artist during the period of the American Revolutionary War and was notable for his historical paintings...

, named 'George Washington Before the Battle of Trenton', painted in 1792. It was only issued in the year 1860 and because of its high denomination only 29,000 copies were made and surviving examples are scarce. There were very few occasions where the amount of postage required to mail an item cost as much as 90c and as such genuinely postally used examples of this issue are worth about twice as much as unused specimens.

Civil War era

Abraham Lincoln

assumed office in March 1861 and just one month later the Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter

Fort Sumter

Fort Sumter is a Third System masonry coastal fortification located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The fort is best known as the site upon which the shots initiating the American Civil War were fired, at the Battle of Fort Sumter.- Construction :...

which marked the beginning of the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. Issued only months after the Battle of Fort Sumter

Battle of Fort Sumter

The Battle of Fort Sumter was the bombardment and surrender of Fort Sumter, near Charleston, South Carolina, that started the American Civil War. Following declarations of secession by seven Southern states, South Carolina demanded that the U.S. Army abandon its facilities in Charleston Harbor. On...

, no other series of stamps issued during the Classic Period has such an important connection to American history as the 1861 National Bank Note Company Issues. Washington occurs five times in this series, Franklin occurs twice and Jefferson once.

The Post Office released the 10c Washington green issue on August 20 of 1861. Washington's portrayal was engraved by William Marshall
William Marshall
-Politicians, noblemen and military leaders:*William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke , 12th-13th-century Anglo Norman nobleman*William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke -Politicians, noblemen and military leaders:*William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1146–1219), 12th-13th-century Anglo Norman...

who employed Gilbert Stuart
Gilbert Stuart
Gilbert Charles Stuart was an American painter from Rhode Island.Gilbert Stuart is widely considered to be one of America's foremost portraitists...

's unfinished portrait of the first American president for his model.

The 3c Washington of this series was issued on August 19, 1861. The engraved imagery was modeled after a bust of Washington by French sculptor Jean Antoine Houdon.

12c Washington issue of 1861. The National Bank Note Company was founded in 1859, and William Marshall was one of the first portrait engravers hired. By early 1860, Marshall was given the task of engraving Washington's portrayal for the 1861 Issue. He was sent to Boston to use Gilbert Stuart’s portrait painting of George Washington as his model for the new engraving.

The 1832 24c lilac was issued January 7, 1862. The engraving was taken from same Gilbert Stuart painting. The engraver was William Marshall, the same artist who produced the 10 and 12 cent Washington 1861 Issues. William D. Nichols and Cyrus Durand (inventor of the machine used to produce intricate lathe work in engravings) was the engraver of the stamp's frame work.

The 90c Washington issue was issued in the last two weeks in August 1861 to only several post offices. The earliest known use on cover is November 27, 1861. The engraving of Washington was taken from the same John Trumbull portrait as was the issue of 1861.

In 1869 the ill-fated 'pictorial issue' was released. Most of the stamp issues from this series featured scenes of various sorts. The Washington stamp of this series was criticized as much as the others but for its plain graphic features, like the checker background in the vigenette. The stamp format was designed by E. Pitcher while the engraving was modeled after a Gilbert Stuart portrait of Washington.

George Washington is also found on an 1863 Civil War issue
Postage stamps and postal history of the Confederate States
The postage stamps and postal system of the Confederate States of America carried the mail of the Confederacy for a brief period in American history. Early in 1861 when South Carolina territory no longer considered itself part of the Union and demanded that the U.S. Army abandon Fort Sumter, plans...

of the Confederate States.

Post Civil War

The ending of the American Civil War marked a beginning in US stamp subject and design change. The Union victory brought with it a strong American nationalism among the populace throughout the north and much of the country. This national sentiment was largely responsible for the various Civil War figures to appear on US Postage. Up until 1869 with the one exception of Benjamin Franklin only American presidents were found on US Postage. In April 1870, however, the images of Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, Winfield Scott, Alexander Hamilton and Oliver Hazzard Perry appeared on new the 12¢, 15¢, 24¢, 30¢ and 90¢ stamps, and the following year Edwin M. Stanton

Edwin M. Stanton

Edwin McMasters Stanton was an American lawyer and politician who served as Secretary of War under the Lincoln Administration during the American Civil War from 1862–1865...

, the US Secretary of War under the Lincoln, appeared on a 7-cent postage stamp.
1870s

The postage issued in the US during this time was printed by the National Bank Note Company (NBNCo) on white wove paper. The first printing was issued with 'grills', tiny cuts in the paper to absorb ink. Later reprintings were issued without grilling. The National Bank Note Company’s contract expired in 1873, and the Continental Bank Note Company (CBNC) won the contract to continue printing the series and took over some of the dies and plates used by NBNCo. The new printer employed secret marks to distinguish their work from the first printing.
The green Washington 3¢ issue was printed in such large quantities that postally used examples remain inexpensive to this day, from pennies to a few dollars, depending on type of cancellation and condition. (The green variety was reprinted again by the American Bank Note Company

American Bank Note Company

The American Bank Note Company was a major worldwide engraver of national currency and postage stamps. Currently it engraves and prints stock and bond certificates.-History:Robert Scot, the first official engraver of the young U.S...

(AmBNC), also in very large quantities, and issued on July 16, 1881.) The 3-cent Washington design was printed yet a fourth time, in vermillion, in 1887. The 3-cent issues paid the domestic letter rate for a half-ounce letter.

The profile image of George Washington found on various postage issues of the late 19th century and early 20th century is modeled after a bust of Washington by the renowned sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon

Jean-Antoine Houdon

Jean-Antoine Houdon was a French neoclassical sculptor. Houdon is famous for his portrait busts and statues of philosophers, inventors and political figures of the Enlightenment...

. Several engravers of presidential portraits on US Postage have modeled their engravings after Houdon's sculptures.

~ Large Bank Notes of the 1870s ~

Engraving taken from bust by Jean Antoine HoudonJean Antoine Houdon's portrait sculpture of Washington was the result of a specific invitation from Benjamin Franklin to come to the United States so that Washington could model for him. Washington sat for wet clay life models and a plaster life mask in 1785. These models served for many commissions of Washington and eventually were used as models for the engravings of Washington on several US Postage issues of the 1870s, 1880s and 1890s.

1880s

In 1883 the US Post Office

United States Postal Service

The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...

reduced the first-class letter rate from 3 cents to 2 cents for a half-ounce letter mailed within the continental United States, which the US Congress approved on March 3, 1883, effective October 1, 1883. The Post Office immediately issued a 2 cent Washington stamp, so that the First President's image would remain visible on normal letters.
~ American Bank Note Company ~
Engraving taken from bust by Jean Antoine Houdon

1890s

Stamp issues during the 1890s were first printed by the American Bank Note Company

American Bank Note Company

in 1890 and then by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing

Bureau of Engraving and Printing

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is a government agency within the United States Department of the Treasury that designs and produces a variety of security products for the United States government, most notable of which is paper currency for the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve itself is...

in 1894. The image for both issues was produced by an engraving that was modeled after a bust of Washington by sculptor Jean Antoine Houdon.

The American Bank Note 1890 issue, 2c, lake variety, Washington stamp (left) was issued on February 22, 1890, becoming the first stamp to be issued on a president's birthday.

Bureau of Engraving and Printing issues, struck from the same dies as the ABN 1890 issues with minor changes in the frame work, three different styled triangles, known to collectors as the 'Bureau Triangles'. The 2c Washington paid the letter domestic letter rate and was printed in such large quantities that numerous color variations exist.

Turn of the 19th - 20th centuries

At the turn of the 20th century, George Washington

George Washington

continued to be the most prominent subject depicted on the face of US postage stamps. Washington would remain the most prevalent figure on US Postage for most of the 20th century. Only Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin

whose image also appears on numerous US postage is second to Washington for the simple reason that Franklin is depicted on the numerous denominations of the Washington-Franklin series almost as often as Washington. Ironically, George Washington does not appear on a Commemorative issue until 1925 where he is featured on a stamp commemorating another historical event.

Issued on January 17, 1903 the 2c carmine red Washington postage stamp was issued by the US Post Office. The engraving of Washington was inspired and modeled after a painting by Gilbert Stuart
Gilbert Stuart
Gilbert Charles Stuart was an American painter from Rhode Island.Gilbert Stuart is widely considered to be one of America's foremost portraitists...

which features a one quarter left image of Washington. R. Ostrander Smith designed the stamp. The vignette with its two American flags is often referred to as the Washington 'Flag' stamp. Washington's portrait was engraved by George F. C. Smillie who has engraved a variety of stamp images for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is a government agency within the United States Department of the Treasury that designs and produces a variety of security products for the United States government, most notable of which is paper currency for the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve itself is...

. The 1903 issue is one among the second series of stamp issues that were produced that year by the Bureau.

On November 12th of 1903 the Post Office, because of public dissatisfaction with the 1903 2-cent Washington 'Flag' stamp, a new 2-cent stamp was issued featuring Washington’s portrait within a shield of stars and stripes. Often referred to as the 2-cent Washington 'Shield' stamp, this issue was released on November the 12th of 1903. Along with the shield background, the left numeral is enclosed with laurel leaves while the number on the right is surrounded with oak leaves, symbolizing Washington’s role as president in peace time and as general in times of war. Like the first 2c stamp of 1903 this issues was designed by Clair Aubrey Huston from a painting by Gilbert Stuart
Gilbert Stuart
Gilbert Charles Stuart was an American painter from Rhode Island.Gilbert Stuart is widely considered to be one of America's foremost portraitists...

. The engraving of Washington was done by George F. C. Smillie. The Washington 'Shield' stamp is recognized for its many shade varieties, as collectors have distinguished over a hundred shades of this particular issue.

The Washington - Franklin Issues

The Washington Franklin Issues were unique in the sense that these subjects were the only ones found on definitive stamps for more than a decade. Beginning in 1908 the Washington Franklin definitive stamps were issued over a twelve-year period in denominations that occurred from 'One-Cent' to Five-Dollars, with different colors for each denomination, all with the same engraved profile of Washington or Franklin. While both Washington and Franklin occur on the 1-cent values, both in green, they are usually found on their own set of denominations, depending on which series they occurred in. In the first issue, Franklin appeared only on the one-cent value, while the same Washington image graced the remaining eleven denominations, which ranged from two cents to one dollar. In later issues, Washington was present only on the seven denominations between one cent and seven cents, and all the higher values were assigned to Franklin. The engraving of Washington was modeled after a bust by the renowned sculptor Jean Antoine Houdon. The few examples exhibited here are largely representative of this greater series. Franklin is displayed once here for general reference to the Washington - Franklin issues. See main article: Washington-Franklin Issues

Washington-Franklin Issues

The Washington - Franklin Issues are a series of definitive U.S. Postage stamps depicting George Washington and Benjamin Franklin produced by the U.S. Post Office between 1908 and 1922...

On January 29, 1909, the US Post Office issued the 1-dollar Washington Head stamp. It was the last of the first issue of Washington-Franklin stamps to appear. The stamp remained on sale at Post Offices for more than three years before being replaced by a Franklin head 1-dollar stamp in 1916. The One-Dollar stamp is the highest denomination Washington is depicted with. The Two and Five Dollar denominations are on stamps that honor Franklin.

The denominations for the various year issues can be viewed on the Washington-Franklin issues chart.

Washington on commemorative issues

While George Washington

George Washington

dominated as the subject of US postage issues from the beginning, he did not appear on a commemorative issue

Commemorative stamp

A commemorative stamp is a postage stamp, often issued on a significant date such as an anniversary, to honor or commemorate a place, event or person. The subject of the commemorative stamp is usually spelled out in print, unlike definitive stamps which normally depict the subject along with the...

until 1925, some 21 years after the U.S. Post office issued the first presidential commemorative stamp honoring Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson

On the 1-cent stamp portraying the Lexington - Concord issue of 1925, Washington is shown leading the Massachusetts Militia at Cambridge against General Gage
Thomas Gage
Thomas Gage was a British general, best known for his many years of service in North America, including his role as military commander in the early days of the American War of Independence....

and the British regulars
British Regulars
Commonly used to describe the Napoleonic era British foot soldiers, the British Regular was known for his flamboyant red uniform and well-disciplined combat performance...

. This series was the first of many commemoratives celebrating the 150th anniversary of important events of the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

. Like most issues of this period, this issue was printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

This '2-cent red' postage stamp was issued on May 26, 1928. This commemorative honored the 150th anniversary of George Washington at Valley Forge and depicts him kneeling in prayer before the battle.

The US Post Office issued a 3-cent commemorative stamp, first issued at Brooklyn, New York, on December 10, 1951, to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the Battle of Brooklyn. The stamp portrays the evacuation of General Washington's troops from Brooklyn at the site of the Fulton Ferry House, with an accurate depiction of the house and the flat-bottomed ferries used to cross the East River.

On April 30, 1789, President Washington took the oath of President of the United States. On the 150th anniversary of his inauguration, April 30, 1939, the US Post Office issued a 3c commemorative stamp celebrating this landmark historical event. The engraving depicts Washington standing on the balcony of the Federal Hall in New York reciting the oath of office.

The 2-cent stamp issued on October 19, 1931, marked the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Yorktown
Battle of Yorktown
Battle of Yorktown may refer to:*Siege of Yorktown , last major battle during the American Revolutionary War, also known as the American War of Independence*Battle of Yorktown , a battle during the Peninsula campaign of the American Civil War...

(1781). This issue depicts Washington with Count de Rochambeau and Count de Grasse at his right and left, leaders of the French forces that aided in the victory of the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

.

The 1-cent Army Issue of December 15, 1936, features George Washington's home at Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon
The name Mount Vernon is a dedication to the English Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon. It was first applied to Mount Vernon, the Virginia estate of George Washington, the first President of the United States...

as its central design. Portraits of Washington and Nathanael Greene
Nathanael Greene
Nathanael Greene was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. When the war began, Greene was a militia private, the lowest rank possible; he emerged from the war with a reputation as George Washington's most gifted and dependable officer. Many places in the United...

appear on either side of the image of Mount Vernon. Greene was one of Washington's most valued generals in the Revolutionary War.

The 13-cent stamp Christmas Issue commemorates the 200th anniversary of Washington's army at Valley Forge
Valley Forge
Valley Forge in Pennsylvania was the site of the military camp of the American Continental Army over the winter of 1777–1778 in the American Revolutionary War.-History:...

, and was based on the J. C. Leyendecker
J. C. Leyendecker
Joseph Christian Leyendecker was one of the pre-eminent American illustrators of the early 20th century. He is best known for his poster, book and advertising illustrations, the trade character known as The Arrow Collar Man, and his numerous covers for The Saturday Evening Post. Between 1896 and...

painting “George Washington at Valley Forge.” Leyendecker's painting first appeared on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post on February 23, 1935. The stamp was designed by Steven Dohanos. The stamp was first available on October 21, 1977, at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

Washington's 200th anniversary

On January 1, 1932, in celebration of George Washington

George Washington

's 200th anniversary of birth, the U.S. Post Office released its Washington Bicentennial Issue, a series of twelve postage stamps each with a different portrait of Washington. Each engraved portrayal was modeled from a different painting by an early American artist who portrayed Washington at different periods in his life. Engravings of Washington often depict his profile. In the 1932 Bi-Centennial anniversary series there are two issues that show Washington in profile, one depicting either sides of Washington's face. Information regarding quantities issued can be found on the Washington Bicentennial Issue

1932 Washington Bicentennial

The 1932 Washington Bicentennial are postage stamps issued by the United States government in 1932 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of President George Washington's birth...

page.
The Washington Bicentennial issues of 1932 are the first commemorative postage stamps ever issued by the US Post Office that honor and depict George Washington by himself, and not in conjunction with other people, places and events as is the case with the three commemoratives with Washington's image issued before 1932. It should be noted that the 2-cent Washington in this series total 4.2 billion stamps, a total that remains the largest stamp printing of a single issue ever to occur in U.S. Postal history.

Washington issues, middle 20th century

On January 15 of 1923 the US Post Office issued another 2c red Washington postage stamp as part of its new definitive series, thus continuing the tradition of honoring Washington on every day use postage. An existing engraving of Washington made for use on the Washington-Franklin issue was used. That engraving, done by Marcus Baldwin, was modeled from a bust made by Clark Mills in 1853 which however was a reproduction of a bust sculpted by Jean Antoine Houdon at Washington’s Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon
The name Mount Vernon is a dedication to the English Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon. It was first applied to Mount Vernon, the Virginia estate of George Washington, the first President of the United States...

, Virginia, home in 1785. Clair Aubrey Huston designed the stamp's frame, which was engraved by Edward M. Hall and Joachim C. Benzing. After the increase of the normal letter-rate from 2 cents to 3 cents in 1932, the public, for the first time in sixty years, no longer had a definitive Washington stamp for its daily correspondence. Rather than converting the 1923 definitive stamp to the new rate, the Post Office redesigned the 2 cent Washington Bicentennial value as a 3 cent stamp.

On April 25 of 1938 the US Post Office issued a green 1-cent George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

stamp. It was the first stamp of the famous Presidential Series of 1938, an issue that placed all of the deceased presidents in numerical order, and thus represented a break with the long-standing tradition of reserving the normal letter-rate definitive stamp for Washington. Instead, this Washington issue saw postal duty carrying postcards and letters through the late 1950s. The 1938 Presidential issue was Franklin Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...

's idea. An avid stamp collector, Roosevelt suggested a set of stamps that would pay tribute to the various past American presidents. In 1937, after much debate, a new definitive series was issued using Roosevelt's ideas. A national contest was held, with over 1200 entries submitted, a young New York City art student's entry was chosen for the Washington stamp design. The student's name was Elaine Rawlinson.

The US Post Office released the 1-cent Washington stamp on August 26 of 1954 at the Post Office in Chicago, Illinois. The engraving of George Washington was modeled from a portrait by Gilbert Stuart
Gilbert Stuart
Gilbert Charles Stuart was an American painter from Rhode Island.Gilbert Stuart is widely considered to be one of America's foremost portraitists...

(1755–1828). It was designed by Charles R. Chickering, who produced his own drawing from a photograph he obtained from the National Gallery. The portrait of Washington was engraved by Richard M. Bower of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is a government agency within the United States Department of the Treasury that designs and produces a variety of security products for the United States government, most notable of which is paper currency for the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve itself is...

.

On November 23, 1962 the Post office issued the 5-cent Washington stamp, first issued through the New York, New York, post office . Designed by William K. Schrage, the engraving of Washington, like several other engravings of this president, is based on a bust of Washington sculptured in 1785 by Jean Houdon.

On August 19 of 1994 the Post Office issued a 5-dollar Washington-Jackson stamp in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, at the American Philatelic Society's annual stamp exposition. The stamp was modeled after a design created in 1869 by the National Bank Note Company It was originally prepared but never was used for the 1869 US postage series. The central image or vignette features a portrait of George Washington and Andrew Jackson. The portrayals of Washington and Jackson were engraved through the intaglio process by Stamp Venturers, Inc., and issued in small sheets of twenty stamps.

Washington, recent issues

In recent years, Washington has appeared much less frequently on US Postage stamps than he did during 19th and early 20th centuries. In the beginning of postage stamp issuance new issues were few and only presidents were found on US Postage, with the well liked exception of Ben Franklin. In recent days, issues are many and a whole array of various individuals are now found on US Postage stamps. The Post Office has been both admired and criticized for this practice.

In 2001, Washington appeared on a red-brown 20-cent definitive stamp, and the same Washington image was used that year for a 23-cent definitive stamp in dark green

The original Purple Heart
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...

, designated as the Badge of Military Merit
Badge of Military Merit
The Badge of Military Merit is considered the first military award of the United States Armed Forces. Although the Fidelity Medallion is older, after being issued to three soldiers for a specific event in 1780 it was never awarded again, so the Badge of Military Merit is often considered the oldest...

, was established by George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

then the commander-in-chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...

of the Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...

on August 7, 1782. The actual order includes the phrase, "Let it be known that he who wears the military order of the purple heart has given of his blood in the defense of his homeland and shall forever be revered by his fellow countrymen." It is Washington's profile that adorns the Purple Heart, and the US Postage issue that honors them both. -- On April 28, 2009, in Washington, DC, the US Postal Service reissued the Purple Heart definitive stamp in a denomination of forty-four cents. Carl T. Herrman of Carlsbad, California, designed the stamp. The stamp had been previously issued in the following years: 2008, 42-cent: 2007, 41-cent: 2006, 39-cent: 2003, 37-cent. Designed by Carl T. Herrman, the stamp depicts an image of the Purple Heart medal with Washington in profile. A similar image of the Washington purple heart medal appeared on a "forever" stamp issued on May 5, 2011.

On April 11, 2011, the postal service issued a 20-cent stamp bearing a color reproduction the famous Washington portrait by Gilbert Stuart.

On the 250th anniversary of George Washington's birth a 20-cent commemorative stamp was issued February 22, 1982, at Mount Vernon, Virginia, in commemoration. The First Day of Issue ceremony was held in the Mount Vernon Inn at Washington's Mount Vernon estate. The designer, Mark English, of Kansas City, Missouri, based his design on a stylistic portrait depicting the distinctive Washington profile.

Washington also appears on the AMERIPEX Presidential issue of 1986.

John Adams

John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...

(October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was the second President of the United States serving from 1797 to 1801, after being the first Vice President of the United States (1789–1797) for two terms. He was one of the most influential Founding Fathers of the United States. Adams came to prominence in the early stages of the American Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

. As a delegate from Massachusetts to the Continental Congress, he played a leading role in convincing Congress to declare independence, and assisted Thomas Jefferson in drafting the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776. Adams and Jefferson died on the same day, Thursday, July 4, 1826.

The engraved portrayal of Adams (1735-1826) appears on the 2-cent value of the 1938 Presidential Series, issued on June 3, 1938. Daniel Chester French
Daniel Chester French
Daniel Chester French was an American sculptor. His best-known work is the sculpture of a seated Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.-Life and career:...

's marble 1889 bust of Adams displayed in the US Capitol's Senate Gallery was the model used for the engraving of Adams.

Adams also appears on the AMERIPEX Presidential issue of 1986.

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was the third President of the United States Serving from 1801 to 1809, and the principal author of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson was one of the most prominent ad influential Founding Fathers. As president he oversaw major events that included the Louisiana Purchase

Louisiana Purchase

The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...

in 1803 and the Lewis and Clark Expedition

Lewis and Clark Expedition

The Lewis and Clark Expedition, or ″Corps of Discovery Expedition" was the first transcontinental expedition to the Pacific Coast by the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and led by two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley, Meriwether Lewis and William...

in 1804 – 1806.

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson

's likeness over the years has been finely depicted on the face of the various postage issues that honored him. The first issue to depict Jefferson was issued in 1856, (displayed above) nine years after the Post Office issued its first two stamps of Washington and Franklin in 1847. (Before this time hand-stamps were used to mark and confirm payment of postage.) Almost as popular and famous as George Washington

George Washington

, Jefferson appears comparatively less often on US postage issues, and unlike Washington

George Washington

and Franklin

Benjamin Franklin

, appears on just two commemorative issues, one in 1904, displayed below), the other on the AMERIPEX presidential issue of 1986. All others occurrences depict him on regular issues

Definitive stamp

A definitive stamp is a postage stamp, that is part of a regular issue of a country's stamps available for sale by the postal service for an extended period of time...

On August 19, 1861, while the American Civil War was wreaking havoc across Virginia and elsewhere, the US Post office issued a 5c Postage stamp that honored Thomas Jefferson. The engraving used to produce the image was modeled after the famous portrait artist Gilbert Stuart
Gilbert Stuart
Gilbert Charles Stuart was an American painter from Rhode Island.Gilbert Stuart is widely considered to be one of America's foremost portraitists...

. The engraver for this issue was William Marshall who also engraved Washington's image for several other issues of this period. That year, Jefferson became the first U. S. President to appear on a Confederate stamp: a 10c value in blue, reissued in 1862 with its color changed to rose-pink.

On August 19, 1861 the U.S. Post Office released the second postage stamp honoring Jefferson, a 5-cent buff (yellow-brown) colored issue, modeled after Gilbert Stuart's portrait of this president. This issue occurs in several distinct shades of brown. This image was again reprinted on February 3, 1863 in a dark brown color.

On April 12 of 1870, the third Postage stamp issued by the US Post Office to honor Thomas Jefferson was issued. The 10c stamp issue was printed by the National Bank Note Company. In 1859 the renown sculptor Hiram Powers
Hiram Powers
Hiram Powers was an American neoclassical sculptor.-Biography:The son of a farmer, Powers was born in Woodstock, Vermont, on the July 29, 1805. In 1818 his father moved to Ohio, about six miles from Cincinnati, where the son attended school for about a year, staying meanwhile with his brother, a...

was commissioned by the US government to create two life-size marble statues to be placed in the United States Capitol building. One was of Benjamin Franklin the other was of Thomas Jefferson, completed in 1863. This was the image Powers used to model his engraving of Jefferson on the 10c issue of 1870.

Issued on February 22, 1890 the U.S. Post office released a 30c postage stamp that once again honored Thomas Jefferson. The engraver and artist Alfred Jones
Alfred Jones (engraver)
Alfred Jones was an engraver born 1819 in Liverpool, England and died 1900 in New York. He also made portrait and landscape paintings. In the 1890's he was employed at the American Bank Note Company in New York. He was the artist and engraver of the 1890 Postage stamp that honored Thomas Jefferson....

(1819–1900) created the image of Jefferson that appears on the issue. Jones was noted for his engraved portraits and historic scenes during his time at American Bank Note Company
American Bank Note Company
The American Bank Note Company was a major worldwide engraver of national currency and postage stamps. Currently it engraves and prints stock and bond certificates.-History:Robert Scot, the first official engraver of the young U.S...

.

On November 1, 1894, the first 50c definitive Postage stamp was issued. It was among a series of issues that was first printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is a government agency within the United States Department of the Treasury that designs and produces a variety of security products for the United States government, most notable of which is paper currency for the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve itself is...

. Its design is based on that of the 30c black issue of 1890 that depicts the same engraved image of Thomas Jefferson by Alfred Jones
Alfred Jones (engraver)
Alfred Jones was an engraver born 1819 in Liverpool, England and died 1900 in New York. He also made portrait and landscape paintings. In the 1890's he was employed at the American Bank Note Company in New York. He was the artist and engraver of the 1890 Postage stamp that honored Thomas Jefferson....

. Almost identical in design, it is readily distinguished by its orange color, and by the triangles in the upper corners.

The second 50-cent orange stamp depicting Thomas Jefferson was issued March 23, 1903. The stamp was designed by R. Ostrander Smith from the 1805 a portrait of Jefferson by Gilbert Stuart. Jefferson's portrait was engraved by George F. C. Smillie.

Absent, of course, from the Washington-Franklin series, Jefferson returned to US postage in the next definitive series (1923), depicted on a nine-cent stamp designed by Clair Aubrey Huston. Huston reused George F.C. Simille’s engraving of Jefferson, which had appeared on the 2-cent value of the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition Series. (The model for Simille's engraving was a portrait of Jefferson painted by Gilbert Stuart
Gilbert Stuart
Gilbert Charles Stuart was an American painter from Rhode Island.Gilbert Stuart is widely considered to be one of America's foremost portraitists...

in 1805). Simille’s engraving was transferred to a new die and restored by Bureau engravers John Eissler and Leo Kauffmann for use on the 1923 Jefferson issue.

Jefferson appears on the 3-cent Presidential issue of 1938.

On September 15, 1954, the 2-cent Jefferson stamp from the Liberty Issue
Liberty Issue
The Liberty issue was a definitive series of postage stamps issued by the United States between 1954 and 1965. It offered twenty-four denominations, ranging from a half-cent issue showing Benjamin Franklin to a five dollar issue depicting Alexander Hamilton...

was introduced at Post Offices in San Francisco, California. The postcard rate went to 2 cents on the day of this issue was released so the stamp was very common among the mail for that reason. The engraving of Jefferson was taken from a portrait by Gilbert Stuart
Gilbert Stuart
Gilbert Charles Stuart was an American painter from Rhode Island.Gilbert Stuart is widely considered to be one of America's foremost portraitists...

which hangs in the Bowdoin College Museum of Art
Bowdoin College Museum of Art
The Bowdoin College Museum of Art is an art museum located in Brunswick, Maine. Included on the National Register of Historic Places, the museum is located in a building on the campus of Bowdoin College designed by the architectural firm McKim, Mead, and White.-History:The museum's collection...

in Brunswick, Maine.

The 1-cent green stamp was issued January 12, 1968, at Jeffersonville, Indiana. The issue was designed by Robert Geissmann, modeled after a 1800 portrait of Jefferson by Rembrandt Peale
Rembrandt Peale
Rembrandt Peale was an American artist and museum keeper. A prolific portrait painter, he was especially acclaimed for his likenesses of presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson...

which now hangs in the Blue Room of the White House. Edward R. Felver crafted the engraving of Jefferson.

The US Post office issued the 29-cent Thomas Jefferson definitive stamp on April 13, 1993, in Charlottesville, Virginia. The stamp engraving features a portrait of Jefferson and is part of the Great Americans series
Great Americans series
The Great Americans series is a set of definitive stamps issued by the United States Postal Service, starting on December 27, 1980 with the 19¢ stamp depicting Sequoyah, and continuing through 2002, the final stamp being the 78¢ Alice Paul self-adhesive stamp. The series, noted for its simplicity...

. The stamp issue was designed by Christopher Calle while the die for the stamp was engraved by Stamp Venturers, Inc.

Jefferson on commemorative issue

Another oddity of US Postage is the fact that Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson

up until recently only appeared on one US commemorative issue, which was released in 1904. It was the first commemorative issue to ever honor a U.S. President.
The First Presidential Commemorative

Unlike with the regular issues
Definitive stamp
A definitive stamp is a postage stamp, that is part of a regular issue of a country's stamps available for sale by the postal service for an extended period of time...

Jefferson was the first American President to be honored on a commemorative postage issue, even before Washington was when the US Post Office 21 years later finally issued its first commemorative issue
Commemorative stamp
A commemorative stamp is a postage stamp, often issued on a significant date such as an anniversary, to honor or commemorate a place, event or person. The subject of the commemorative stamp is usually spelled out in print, unlike definitive stamps which normally depict the subject along with the...

featuring Washington in its Lexington-Concord
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. They were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy , and Cambridge, near Boston...

issue of 1925.

The last issue to honor Jefferson to date was a 22-cent commemorative AMERIPEX presidential issue released in 1986.

James Madison

James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...

, 4th President of the United States, served from 1809–1817) and is considered one of the Founding Fathers of the United States

Founding Fathers of the United States

and also the "Father of the Constitution" as Madison was the principal author of the U.S. Constitution

United States Constitution

The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...

. In 1788, he wrote over a third of the Federalist Papers

Federalist Papers

The Federalist Papers are a series of 85 articles or essays promoting the ratification of the United States Constitution. Seventy-seven of the essays were published serially in The Independent Journal and The New York Packet between October 1787 and August 1788...

, still the most influential commentary on the U.S. Constitution. Madison appears on three Definitive issues.

On December 10 of 1894 the Post Office issued a 2-dollar Madison stamp. The engraving of Madison was modeled after his portrayal by Gilbert Stuart
Gilbert Stuart
Gilbert Charles Stuart was an American painter from Rhode Island.Gilbert Stuart is widely considered to be one of America's foremost portraitists...

, who painted a total of four portraits of the president. The painting used to model the engraving is now owned by the Colonial Williamsburg Association (In 1994, four images of this stamp appeared on a souvenir sheet commemorating the hundredth anniversary of stamp production by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.)

The dark blue 2-dollar stamp was issued June 5, 1903. The stamp image was designed by R. Ostrander Smith from a painting by an unknown artist and Madisons portrayal was engraved by George F. C. Smillie. Both the 1894 and 1903 2-dollar stamps were often used by the Post Office for internal transferring of funds.

The U.S. Post Office issued a 4c Madison stamp on July 1, 1938, part of the Presidential series that was being issued that year. The engraving of Madison on this issues was modeled after a bust by Frederick William Sievers
Frederick William Sievers
Frederick William Sievers was an American sculptor, born in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Sievers moved to Richmond, Virginia, as a young man, furthering his art studies by attending the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Rome and the Académie Julian in Paris...

on display in the State Capital building in Richmond, Virginia.

Until relatively recently James Madison never appeared on a US commemorative postage stamp. The 200th anniversary of his birth in 1951 remained unacknowledged among the seven commemoratives

Commemorative stamp

postage stamps that were issued that year. Madison was included along with the other past presidents on a 22-cent commemorative AMERIPEX presidential issue released in 1986. In 2001 the US Post Office finally honored James Madison with a single commemorative stamp, issued for the 250th anniversary of his birth, first released in New York, N.Y., on October 18, 2001. The stamp was designed and illustrated by John Thompson.

James Monroe

James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation...

, (April 28, 1758 – July 4, 1831) 5th President of the United States, served two terms from 1817 to 1825. Monroe fought in the American Revolution. He is most noted for his Monroe Doctrine

Monroe Doctrine

The Monroe Doctrine is a policy of the United States introduced on December 2, 1823. It stated that further efforts by European nations to colonize land or interfere with states in North or South America would be viewed as acts of aggression requiring U.S. intervention...

, which stated that the United States would not tolerate further European intervention in the Americas. Monroe was considered the last Founding Father of the United States.

The first US Postage stamp to honor Monroe was the Louisiana Purchase
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...

Expedition commemorative 3c issue of 1904. From a series of five issues these stamps were only sold during the seven months of the Exposition.

The 10c 'orange' (yellow) regular issue was printed and issued in 1923, 1925 and 1927, and was the first definitive issue
Definitive stamp
A definitive stamp is a postage stamp, that is part of a regular issue of a country's stamps available for sale by the postal service for an extended period of time...

to honor Monroe. Clair Aubrey Houston
Clair Aubrey Houston
Clair Aubrey Houston was an accomplished and chief postage stamp designer at the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing early in the 20th century...

designed the Monroe stamp after a painting by John Vanderlyn
John Vanderlyn
John Vanderlyn was an American neoclassicist painter.-Biography:Vanderlyn was born at Kingston, New York. He was employed by a print-seller in New York, and was first instructed in art by Archibald Robinson , a Scotsman who was afterwards one of the directors of the American Academy of the Fine Arts...

which now hangs in City Hall, New York City. For Monroe's image he used an engraving done by George F.C. Simille previously used to produce the 3-cent issue of the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition Series. Edward J. Hein transferred Simille’s engraving to a new die and restored it for the new stamp.

The 5c Presidential issue of 1938 depicts Monroe in profile, as do all of the images of that series. The engraving of Monroe was modeled after a Congressional Medal designed by Mortz Furst and struck by the US Mint.

On April 28, 1958 the Post Office issued a 3-cent stamp to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of James Monroe, first issued through the Montross, Virginia, post office. The issue was designed by Frank Conley and was modeled after a portrait of Monroe by renowned American artist Gilbert Stuart
Gilbert Stuart
Gilbert Charles Stuart was an American painter from Rhode Island.Gilbert Stuart is widely considered to be one of America's foremost portraitists...

who has also painted the portraits of Washington and other notables.

The image of the 5c 1958 issue was modeled after a portrait by Rembrandt Peale
Rembrandt Peale
Rembrandt Peale was an American artist and museum keeper. A prolific portrait painter, he was especially acclaimed for his likenesses of presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson...

displayed at James Monroe Law Office and Museum in Fredericksburg, Virginia, the building in which James Monroe practiced law.

Monroe is honored on a 22-cent commemorative AMERIPEX presidential issue of 1986.

John Quincy Adams

John Quincy Adams was the sixth President of the United States . He served as an American diplomat, Senator, and Congressional representative. He was a member of the Federalist, Democratic-Republican, National Republican, and later Anti-Masonic and Whig parties. Adams was the son of former...

(July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was the sixth President of the United States from March 4, 1825, to March 4, 1829. Adams was the son of the second U.S. president, John Adams

John Adams

John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...

. When President George Washington

George Washington

appointed him minister to the Netherlands John Quincy Adams began his career in American politics at the age of twenty-seven years. Adams later served as Secretary of State in the Cabinet of President James Monroe from 1817 until 1825.

The engraved image of Adams appears on the orange 6-cent denomination of the 1938 Presidential Series. The engraving was modeled after a bust of Adams displayed in the US Capitol. This is the first US Postage stamp on which John Quincy Adams appeared.

The next postage stamp presenting Adams was part of the Ameripex '86 issue, which honored all past deceased American Presidents.

Andrew Jackson

, 7th President of the United States, served from 1829–1837. He was the commander of the American forces at the Battle of New Orleans

Battle of New Orleans

The Battle of New Orleans took place on January 8, 1815 and was the final major battle of the War of 1812. American forces, commanded by Major General Andrew Jackson, defeated an invading British Army intent on seizing New Orleans and the vast territory the United States had acquired with the...

in 1815. Jackson died in 1845, however the US Post Office did not release a stamp in his honor until 18 years after his death, with the issue of 1863 (displayed in First appearances) above).At that time, as aforesaid, he had already appeared on two different Confederate 2c stamps.

~ Regular issues of the 19th century ~

Hiram Powers
Hiram Powers
Hiram Powers was an American neoclassical sculptor.-Biography:The son of a farmer, Powers was born in Woodstock, Vermont, on the July 29, 1805. In 1818 his father moved to Ohio, about six miles from Cincinnati, where the son attended school for about a year, staying meanwhile with his brother, a...

(1805–1873) was considered one of the greatest American-born neoclassical sculptors. In 1834, Andrew Jackson posed many times for Powers as he sculpted a bust of the president. The bust was completed in January 1835. Thirty-five years later, it inspired the image of the 2-cent Jackson stamp from the National Bank Note Company 1870-1871 Issue.

The 3c issue of 1894 features a similar image of Jackson as the issues of 1873 and 1883, taken from a bust by Hiram Powers.

~ Regular issues of the 20th century ~

The 3c issue of 1903 was engraved by A. Sealey who modeled his image after a portrait of Jackson by renown American artist Thomas Sully
Thomas Sully
Thomas Sully was an American painter, mostly of portraits.-Early life:Sully was born in Horncastle, Lincolnshire, England, to the actors Matthew and Sarah Sully. In March 1792 the Sullys and their nine children immigrated to Richmond, Virginia, where Thomas’s uncle managed a theater...

. In 1824 Sully painted a study portrait from life of Andrew Jackson. By this time Jackson was a US senator and a Democratic nominee for coming presidential election of 1824. Two decades later, Jackson’s ill health prompted Sully to repaint his 1824 study portrait Jackson's portrait from this image. The painting was completed shortly before Jackson’s death in April 1845. The Sully portrait was the model for the engravings used on the postage issues of 1903 and 1967. The Sully painting is currently hanging in the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC.

The 7-cent 1938 Presidential issue features Jackson's profile. The image of Jackson's was modeled after the Belle Kinney and Leopold F. Scholz bronze statue of Jackson which stands in the US Capitol's Rotunda
United States Capitol Rotunda
The United States Capitol rotunda is the central rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.. Located below the Capitol dome, it is the tallest part of the Capitol and has been described as its "symbolic and physical heart."...

.

The 1c 1963 issue of Jackson was designed by William K. Schrange. Jackson's image was modeled after a medal by Mortz Furst in 1829.

The engraving of Jackson on the 10c issue of 1967 is taken from the same Thomas Sully painting that was used to model the engraving in the 1903 issue. Lester Beal designed the overall stamp image and design.

Andrew Jackson on commemorative issues

Andrew Jackson appears on three commemorative issues: The Army Issue of 1937, the Tennessee Statehood issue of 1946 and the Battle of New Orleans

Battle of New Orleans

issue of 1961.

The 2-cent Army issue, released on January 15, 1937, features portraits of Andrew Jackson and Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott was a United States Army general, and unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Whig Party in 1852....

on either side with Jackson's home, the Hermitage
The Hermitage (Nashville, Tennessee)
The Hermitage is a historical plantation and museum located in Davidson County, Tennessee, USA, east of downtown Nashville. The plantation was owned by Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the United States, from 1804 until his death at the Hermitage in 1845. Jackson only lived at the property...

, depicted in the background. Jackson was a hero of the War of 1812, his troops having defeated the British in the Battle of New Orleans
Battle of New Orleans
The Battle of New Orleans took place on January 8, 1815 and was the final major battle of the War of 1812. American forces, commanded by Major General Andrew Jackson, defeated an invading British Army intent on seizing New Orleans and the vast territory the United States had acquired with the...

. Scott served as a General in the US Army longer than any other man in American history.

Issued on June 1, 1946, the 150th anniversary of Tennessee statehood was commemorated by a 3-cent purple stamp depicting Andrew Jackson on the left with John Sevier on the right with the image of the Tennessee State Capitol in the center of the design. Jackson was the first U.S. President from Tennessee.

On the 5c 'Battle of New Orleans' issue depicts then General Jackson defeating an invading British Army which was intent on seizing and taking control of New Orleans and the vast territory America had acquired with the Louisiana Purchase
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...

.

Jackson appears on the AMERIPEX presidential issue of 1986.

On August 19 of 1994 the Post Office issued a 5-dollar Washington-Jackson stamp in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, at the American Philatelic Society's annual stamp exposition. The stamp was modeled after a design created in 1869 by the National Bank Note Company It was originally prepared but never was used for the 1869 US postage series. The central image or vignette features a portrait of George Washington and Andrew Jackson. The portrayals of Washington and Jackson were engraved through the intaglio process by Stamp Venturers, Inc., and issued in small sheets of twenty stamps.

Martin Van Buren

Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States . Before his presidency, he was the eighth Vice President and the tenth Secretary of State, under Andrew Jackson ....

(December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was the eighth President of the United States from 1837 to 1841. Before his presidency, he served as the eighth Vice President (1833–1837) and the 10th Secretary of State under Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson

. Van Buren was the first US President to be born an American citizen.

Van Buren appears on the 1938 issue, the 8-cent olive green denomination of the 1938 Presidential Series
Presidential Issue
The Presidential Issue, nicknamed the Prexies by collectors, is the series of definitive postage stamps issued in the United States in 1938, featuring all 29 U.S. presidents from George Washington through Calvin Coolidge...

, a series of stamps whose denominations corresponded with the number of the given President's term. A sculpted bust of Van Buren on display in the US Capitol's Senate Gallery was used as the model for the engraving of the President's image for this issue.

Van Buren is honored on the AMERIPEX presidential issue of 1986.

William Henry Harrison

William Henry Harrison was the ninth President of the United States , an American military officer and politician, and the first president to die in office. He was 68 years, 23 days old when elected, the oldest president elected until Ronald Reagan in 1980, and last President to be born before the...

(February 9, 1773 – April 4, 1841) was the ninth President of the United States, and served in the U.S. Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

as an officer and politician, and the first president to die in office. The oldest president elected until Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

in 1980, and last President to be born before the United States Declaration of Independence

United States Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...

, Harrison a hero in the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

, died on his thirty-second day in office. Harrison's grandson, Benjamin Harrison

Benjamin Harrison

Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...

of Indiana, was the 23rd president, from 1889 to 1893, making them the only grandparent–grandchild pair of presidents.

. . .

Harrison appears on the 9-cent pink 1938 Presidential Series issue. Image of Harrison is taken from a bust displayed in the Rotunda of the Virginia State Capitol building. The issue was designed by William Schrage and the master engraver was C. A. Brooks.

On July 4, 1950 the US Post Office issued a 3 cent Indiana territory commemorative celebrating the 150th anniversary if Indiana statehood. First day of issue took place at Vincennes, Indiana
Vincennes, Indiana
Vincennes is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Indiana, United States. It is located on the Wabash River in the southwestern part of the state. The population was 18,701 at the 2000 census...

Post office. The central design of the stamp is a portrait of William Henry Harrison who was the first governor of Indiana Territory
Indiana Territory
The Territory of Indiana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1800, until November 7, 1816, when the southern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Indiana....

. Behind him is an image of the First State Capitol building.

Harrison appears on the AMERIPEX presidential commemorative issues of 1986.

John Tyler

John Tyler was the tenth President of the United States . A native of Virginia, Tyler served as a state legislator, governor, U.S. representative, and U.S. senator before being elected Vice President . He was the first to succeed to the office of President following the death of a predecessor...

(March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth President of the United States (1841–1845) and the first to succeed to the office following the death of a predecessor. Tyler assumed office when President William H. Harrison

William Henry Harrison

died only thirty days into his term as U.S. President.

The image of John Tyler (1790-1862), appears on the orange-brown 10-cent denomination of the 1938 Presidential Series
Presidential Issue
The Presidential Issue, nicknamed the Prexies by collectors, is the series of definitive postage stamps issued in the United States in 1938, featuring all 29 U.S. presidents from George Washington through Calvin Coolidge...

. The image of Tyler was modeled after a bust by John Keck on display in the Rotunda of the Virginia State Capitol. This issue was the first US Postage stamp that honors John Tyler. The Tyler postage issue of 1932 was used primarily in combination with other denominations. Finding examples of solo usage are most often found on outgoing international mail.

The only other postage stamp honoring Tyler (to date) was issued in 1986, a 22-cent stamp in the AMERIPEX presidential issue, where each President up to and including Johnson appears on his own stamp.

James K. Polk

James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th President of the United States (1845–1849). Polk was born in North Carolina. He later lived in and became Governor of the state of Tennessee. A Democrat, Polk served as Speaker of the House (1835–1839) and Governor of Tennessee (1839–1841) before becoming president. Polk was an ardent supporter of Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson

. Polk was considered the last strong pre-Civil War president.

The image of Polk appears on the 11-cent denomination of the 1938 Presidential Series
Presidential Issue
The Presidential Issue, nicknamed the Prexies by collectors, is the series of definitive postage stamps issued in the United States in 1938, featuring all 29 U.S. presidents from George Washington through Calvin Coolidge...

. Polk's profile on the stamp was modeled after a medal struck by the US Mint. This issue was printed in ultramarine and was printed only as a sheet stamp, first issued in Washington DC on September 8, 1938.
Polk is honored on the AMERIPEX presidential issue of 1986.
The US Post Office honored the eleventh President on the 200th anniversary of Polk's birth with the 1995 issue of a 32-cent commemorative stamp, first issued on November 2, in Columbia, Tennessee, where Polk spent his adult life. The issue was engraved by the intaglio process, printed in red-brown by the Banknote Corporation of America. This is one of the few modern day issues that still spells out the full title, 'UNITED STATES POSTAGE' as did most US postage stamps up until around the 1950s when the shortened title 'US Postage' slowly began to replace the original title. It is also one of the very few modern day regular issues that honor famous Americans which has the years of birth and death of the subject inscribed on the face.

Zachary Taylor

Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass...

(November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was the 12th President of the United States and an American military leader. Taylor ran as a Whig

Whig Party (United States)

The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...

in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass

Lewis Cass

Lewis Cass was an American military officer and politician. During his long political career, Cass served as a governor of the Michigan Territory, an American ambassador, a U.S. Senator representing Michigan, and co-founder as well as first Masonic Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Michigan...

and becoming the first man elected to the Presidency without having held any previous elected office. He served in the US Army for over forty years and as 'Old Rough and Ready' had a reputation for never losing a battle. During the Mexican-American War (1846–1848) Taylor became a national hero, and with this fame he was elected to the presidency.

Zachary Taylor is honored on three US postage stamps, regular issues. The first Taylor stamp was issued in 1875. This first issue was printed by the Continental Bank Note Company on yellowish wove paper. When the American Bank Note Company
American Bank Note Company
The American Bank Note Company was a major worldwide engraver of national currency and postage stamps. Currently it engraves and prints stock and bond certificates.-History:Robert Scot, the first official engraver of the young U.S...

received the federal contract to print postage stamps in 1879 it printed the second Taylor issue (identical in appearance to the 1875 issue) on soft porous paper, using the original dies of Continental Bank Note Company. The engraving of Taylor was modeled after a daguerrotype of Taylor by famous Civil War photographer Mathew Brady
Mathew Brady
Mathew B. Brady was one of the most celebrated 19th century American photographers, best known for his portraits of celebrities and his documentation of the American Civil War...

.
Taylor also appears on the 12-cent denomination of the 1938 Presidential Series. A bust displayed in the Rotunda of the Virginia State Capitol
Virginia State Capitol
The Virginia State Capitol is the seat of state government in the Commonwealth of Virginia, located in Richmond, the third capital of Virginia. It houses the oldest legislative body in the United States, the Virginia General Assembly...

inspired the image depicted on this issue.
There are only two commemorative issues dedicated to Taylor, one issued in the 1986 AMERIPEX Presidential issue and the other released in 2001.

Millard Filmore

Millard Fillmore

Millard Fillmore was the 13th President of the United States and the last member of the Whig Party to hold the office of president...

(January 7, 1800 – March 8, 1874) was the 13th President of the United States, serving from 1850 until 1853. He became the second Vice President

Vice president

A vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...

to assume the presidency after the death of a sitting president when he succeeded Zachary Taylor

Zachary Taylor

, who died in Office in July 1850. As such Fillmore was never actually elected president, and was the last member of the Whig Party

Whig Party (United States)

to hold that office.

Millard Filmore appears on the 1938 Presidential Issue
Presidential Issue
The Presidential Issue, nicknamed the Prexies by collectors, is the series of definitive postage stamps issued in the United States in 1938, featuring all 29 U.S. presidents from George Washington through Calvin Coolidge...

as the 13c denomination in that series. The engraved image of Filmore was modeled after a bust by Robert Cushing displayed in the Senate Gallery of the US Capitol. This is Millard Fillmore's first appearance on a U.S. postage stamp.
Filmore also appears once in the AMERIPEX presidential series, 36 commemorative stamps, issued by the Post Office on May 22, 1986.

Franklin Pierce

Franklin Pierce was the 14th President of the United States and is the only President from New Hampshire. Pierce was a Democrat and a "doughface" who served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Pierce took part in the Mexican-American War and became a brigadier general in the Army...

(November 23, 1804 – October 8, 1869), an American politician and lawyer, was the 14th President of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857, and is the only President from New Hampshire. Pierce enlisted in the volunteer U.S. Army

United States Army

during the Mexican-American War and rose to the rank of colonel. In March 1847, he was appointed brigadier general of volunteers and took command of a brigade of reinforcements for Winfield Scott

Winfield Scott

Winfield Scott was a United States Army general, and unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Whig Party in 1852....

's army marching on Mexico City.

Pierce appears on the 14c issue of the 1938 Presidential Series. A medal struck by the US Mint served as the model for the engraved image of Pierce. The stamp was issued by the US Post Office on October 6, 1938.

Pierce did not appear on a commemorative stamp until the Post office introduced the AMERIPEX presidential issue on May 22, 1986.

James Buchanan

James Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States . He is the only president from Pennsylvania, the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor and the last to be born in the 18th century....

, Jr. (April 23, 1791 – June 1, 1868) was the 15th President of the United States serving from 1857 until 1861 and the last President to be born in the 18th century. Buchanan served as a congressman (1821–1831), Senator (1834–1845), Minister to Russia (1832–1834), Secretary of State (1845–1849) before ascending to the presidency in 1857. Opinions by historians of Buchanan's presidency vary, as some credit him for keeping a divided nation together for so long while others fault him for failing to avert a civil war. To date he is the only president from the state of Pennsylvania and the only one to have never married.

The engraved portrayal of James Buchanan appears on the 15-cent issue of the 1938 Presidential Series. The image was modeled after a sculpted bust by Henry Dexter which is now on display in the National Gallery of Art
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...

in Washington, DC. This was Buchanan's first appearance on a US Postage stamp.
Buchanan also appears on the AMERIPEX presidential issue of 1986.

Abraham Lincoln

(February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th President of the United States, serving from 1861 to 1865. He successfully led the United States through its Civil War

American Civil War

, thus preserving the Union and bringing an end to slavery. Lincoln was the first Republican president, elected in 1860. Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation

Emancipation Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation is an executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War using his war powers. It proclaimed the freedom of 3.1 million of the nation's 4 million slaves, and immediately freed 50,000 of them, with nearly...

in 1863 and promoted the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution

United States Constitution

.

Second only to the number of times George Washington

George Washington

has been appeared on the face U.S. Postage, Abraham Lincoln appears on U.S. Postage more than all the remaining other presidents.

The first Postage stamp to honor Abraham Lincoln was issued on April 14, 1866, one year to the day after his death in 1865, displayed above. The engraving of this image was modeled after a photograph taken by Mathew Brady
Mathew Brady
Mathew B. Brady was one of the most celebrated 19th century American photographers, best known for his portraits of celebrities and his documentation of the American Civil War...

.

The 90c issue of 1869 displays an engraving of Lincoln that was fashioned after the same photograph taken by Mathew Brady used to model for the 1866 issue. A total of only 47,460 stamps were printed by the National Bank Note Company.

The 6c 1870 issue depicts an engraving of Lincoln that was modeled after a sculpture by Lenoard Wells Volk.

There are several other prominent artists behind the designs of Lincoln stamps. The 1890 Issue was printed by the American Bank Note Company
American Bank Note Company
The American Bank Note Company was a major worldwide engraver of national currency and postage stamps. Currently it engraves and prints stock and bond certificates.-History:Robert Scot, the first official engraver of the young U.S...

. Alfred Jones engraved the portrait modeling it after a photo of Lincoln taken by Mathew Brady, arguably the most important photographer of the Civil War era. Among the most notable postage stamp designer-artists is Clair Aubrey Huston who designed the Bureau stamps using an existing engraving for the vignette.

The 4c issue of 1898 was engraved by George F.C. Smillie, an engraver at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is a government agency within the United States Department of the Treasury that designs and produces a variety of security products for the United States government, most notable of which is paper currency for the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve itself is...

, who had made the earlier engraving in 1898. Smillie also based his work on a photograph of Lincoln taken in 1864 by Mathew Brady
Mathew Brady
Mathew B. Brady was one of the most celebrated 19th century American photographers, best known for his portraits of celebrities and his documentation of the American Civil War...

.

The 5-cent blue stamp was designed by R. Ostrander Smith. The engraving was done by Marcus W. Baldwin also taken from the photograph by Mathew Brady.

The 2-cent Lincoln stamp of 1909 had the same dimensions as a definitive stamp, but it was the first US single stamp commemorative issue. Lincoln had appeared on at least one denomination of every regular issue since 1866. When the definitive issues of 1908 featured only the portraits of Washington and Franklin, there was considerable public disappointment at Lincoln's exclusion. The 100th anniversary issue of his birth created an opportunity to mollify the situation. The engraving of Lincoln on this issue is modeled after a statue by sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens
Augustus Saint-Gaudens
Augustus Saint-Gaudens was the Irish-born American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who most embodied the ideals of the "American Renaissance"...

.

The 3c issues of 1923, 1925 and 1927 depict Abraham Lincoln. Clair Aubrey Houston
Clair Aubrey Houston
Clair Aubrey Houston was an accomplished and chief postage stamp designer at the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing early in the 20th century...

designed the stamp using an existing engraving of Lincoln used by the Bureau in 1894 for the vignette. George Smillie, an engraver at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, had made the earlier engraving in 1898. Smillie based his work on a photograph of Lincoln taken in 1864 by Mathew Brady
Mathew Brady
Mathew B. Brady was one of the most celebrated 19th century American photographers, best known for his portraits of celebrities and his documentation of the American Civil War...

. The issued was first released on Lincoln’s birthday, February 12, 1923, in Washington, D.C., and in Hodgenville, Kentucky, near Lincoln’s birthplace.

Lincoln appears on the 16c issue of the 1938 Presidential Series. A bust displayed in the Senate Gallery, sculpted by Sarah Fisher Ames, was the model that inspired Lincoln's likeness on the engraving for this issue. First issued in Washington DC on October 20, 1938.

The next definitive series, the Liberty Issue
Liberty Issue
The Liberty issue was a definitive series of postage stamps issued by the United States between 1954 and 1965. It offered twenty-four denominations, ranging from a half-cent issue showing Benjamin Franklin to a five dollar issue depicting Alexander Hamilton...

, featured Lincoln on its 4c stamp, released on November 19, 1954.

Oddly enough, Abraham Lincoln is the only American President to ever appear on the face of a US Airmail
Airmails of the United States
Airmails of the United States or U.S. Air Mail relates to the servicing of flown mails by the U.S. postal system within the United States, its possessions, and/or territories, marked as "Via Air Mail" , appropriately franked, and afforded any then existing class or sub-class of U.S...

Postage stamp, first issued on April 22, 1960 in San Francisco, California.

On November 17, 1965 the US Post Office issued the 4-cent black stamp featuring Lincoln’s profile with the 'log cabin' background, first issued in New York City. It is the first issue among the Prominent Americans series. Though Lincoln had very little formal education, his speeches and writings are today considered masterpieces. This is the theme of the design with the log-cabin which has become synonymous with Lincoln's humble beginnings. The engraving for this issue was modeled after a photo taken by famous Civil War photographer Mathew Brady
Mathew Brady
Mathew B. Brady was one of the most celebrated 19th century American photographers, best known for his portraits of celebrities and his documentation of the American Civil War...

.

Lincoln on commemorative Issues

Except for the memorial stamp of 1909, designed to simulate a definitive issue, Abraham Lincoln did not appear on a commemorative issue until the U.S. Post office issued the Chinese resistance issue in 1942. The first president to appear on a US commemorative Postage stamp was Thomas Jefferson, displayed above.

On July 7, 1942, the U.S. Post Office issued a 5c postage stamp commemorating the fifth anniversary of Chinese resistance to Japanese oppression as a tribute to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

and its struggle to preserve a free government. The design of this issue depicts a map of China with an image of the sun, national symbol of China, superimposed on the map. Portraits of Abraham Lincoln and Sun Yat-sen, first president of the Republic of China, are on either side of the stamp.

On November 19, 1948, eighty-five years to the day after President Abraham Lincoln delivered his most famous speech, the US Post Office released the commemorative Gettysburg Address issue. Lincoln delivered the "Gettysburg Address" at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, November 19, 1863, four and a half months after Union armies defeated those of the Confederacy
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

at the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...

, the turn of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

.

~ Lincoln Sesquicentennial Issue ~

The US Post Office issued a series of four commemorative stamps during 1958 and 1959 in honor of the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth in 1809. The four stamps were modeled after various famous works of art.

The 1c green Lincoln issue was first released to the public on February 12, 1959, the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's birth in 1809, in Hodgenville, Kentucky, near the place of Lincoln's birth. The engraving is modeled after a painting by George Healy. Robert L. Miller of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing modeled the overall stamp design. The 1-cent Lincoln stamp features the famous "Beardless Lincoln" portrait painted by Healy from life in 1860 in Springfield, Illinois, shortly after Lincoln was elected president.
The 4c Lincoln-Douglas debate postage stamp was first issued on August 27, 1958 at Freeport, Illinois. This issue was the first in the series and was first released on the 100th anniversary of the Lincoln-Douglas debates. The engraved image is modeled after a painting by Joseph Boggs that portrays Lincoln addressing an outdoor crowd with Douglas standing behind him. Artist William K. Schrage of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing based the stamp design on work done by Ervine Metzl of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

.
The US Post Office issued the blue 4-cent Lincoln stamp on May 30, 1959 It was one of four Lincoln Birth Sesquicentennial commemorative stamps first issued through the Washington, DC, Post Office. The issue features a portion of a famous statue sculpted by Daniel Chester French
Daniel Chester French
Daniel Chester French was an American sculptor. His best-known work is the sculpture of a seated Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.-Life and career:...

, which sits in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC.
On February 27, 1959, the US Post Office issued the 3c Lincoln Birth Sesquicentennial commemorative stamp, the third in the series of four, first issued through the New York, New York, post office. The stamp features a sculptured bust of Lincoln by Gutzon Borglum. Done in marble in 1906, it now stands in the rotunda of the Capitol
United States Capitol Rotunda
The United States Capitol rotunda is the central rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.. Located below the Capitol dome, it is the tallest part of the Capitol and has been described as its "symbolic and physical heart."...

in Washington, DC.

On October 16, 1984, the US Post office issued its 20c commemorative postage stamp commemorating the theme "A Nation of Readers". The First Day Ceremony took place in Washington, DC, in the Coolidge Auditorium of the Library of Congress. The issue was designed by Bradbury Thompson of Riverside, Connecticut, who based the design on a photograph by renown Civil War photographer Mathew Brady
Mathew Brady
Mathew B. Brady was one of the most celebrated 19th century American photographers, best known for his portraits of celebrities and his documentation of the American Civil War...

which shows Abraham Lincoln reading from a book to his son Thomas.
The Postal Service issued a 20 stamp sheet of 32-cent Civil War stamps on June 29, 1995 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Designed by Mark Hess of Katonah, New York, the stamps are the second installment of the Classic Collection. This issue depicts Lincoln with the Capitol under reconstruction in the background. Text about Lincoln is on the back this issue.
Lincoln also appears once in the AMERIPEX presidential series, 36 commemorative stamps, issued by the Post Office on May 22, 1986.

~ Lincoln 200th Anniversary of birth commemorative issues ~

On February 9, 2009, the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth, the US Post office in Springfield, Illinois, first issued a set of four commemorative issues portraying Lincoln at different periods in his life. Lincoln's portrayal and stamp artwork was created by artist Mark Summers of Waterdown, Ontario, Canada. The background depicted in the stamps are taken from famous themes, i.e. The Lincoln and Douglas debates.

Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...

(December 29, 1808 – July 31, 1875) was the 17th President of the United States serving from 1865 1869. As a Unionist, he was the only Southern senator who didn't give up his post upon secession. Johnson was the most prominent War Democrat from the South and supported Lincoln's military policies during the American Civil War of 1861–1865. Following the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, Johnson presided over the Reconstruction era of the United States in the four years following the American Civil War.

This rose-red stamp was issued on October 27, 1938. It marks the first appearance of Andrew Johnson on a postage stamp. The engraving of Johnson's profile was modeled after by a bust displayed in the Senate Gallery in Washington, DC.

Johnson also appears once in the AMERIPEX presidential series, 36 commemorative stamps, issued by the US Post Office on May 22, 1986. It is the only commemorative stamp issued in his honor to date.

Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant, 18th president of the United States. A national hero of the American Civil War

American Civil War

, Grant was elected president in 1868, the youngest man theretofore elected president. He was re-elected in 1872. Grant began his life long career as a soldier after graduating from the United States Military Academy in 1843. Fighting in the Mexican American War, he was a close observer of the techniques of Generals Zachary Taylor

Zachary Taylor

and Winfield Scott

Winfield Scott

Winfield Scott was a United States Army general, and unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Whig Party in 1852....

. During President Johnson

Andrew Johnson

's term Grant was appointed to be the Secretary of War.

Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...

died in 1885 and did not appear on US Postage until some five years later in 1890 when the American Bank Note Company

American Bank Note Company

first printed the postage stamps that depicted his portrait. For a Civil War hero and a President this length of time was considerably longer than that of the first Abraham Lincoln issue of 1866, whose release was only one year after Lincoln's death in 1865.

~ The first Grant postage stamps ~

Engravings were modeled after a photograph by William Kurtz

On June 2, 1890 the US Post Office issued a brown 5-cent Postage stamp honoring Ulysses S. Grant. It was the first US Postage stamp
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...

to depict the former President and Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

General. This issue was released exactly twenty-five years after Gen. Edmond Kirby Smith’s surrender of the last major Confederate army at Galveston, Texas, on June 2, 1865. The issue was printed by the American Bank Note Company.

On February 10, 1903 the Grant 4-cent brown stamp was issued. The design is by R. Ostrander Smith and was based on a tintype by Kurtz. The stamp was engraved by George F.C.Smillie

On May 1, 1923 the US Post Office issued an 8c definitive issue honoring Ulysses S. Grant. Clair Aubrey Houston
Clair Aubrey Houston
Clair Aubrey Houston was an accomplished and chief postage stamp designer at the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing early in the 20th century...

designed the stamp image. A photograph of Grant taken by renowned Civil War photographer Mathew Brady
Mathew Brady
Mathew B. Brady was one of the most celebrated 19th century American photographers, best known for his portraits of celebrities and his documentation of the American Civil War...

served as the model for Huston’s vignette. The die for the vignette was engraved by Louis Schofield.

The engraved image of Ulysses S. Grant appears on the 18-cent denomination of the 1938 Presidential Series. Grant's likeness was inspired by a statue by Franklin Simmons, housed in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol.

Grant on commemorative issues

Ulysses S. Grant

while appearing on on a fair number of the regular (definitive) issues appears only three times on commemorative stamps.

Grant (along with William T. Sherman and Philip H. Sheridan) appears on the 3-cent 1937 Army Issue commemorative stamp issue, one issue out of a set of five stamps among that issue.

Grant also appears once in the AMERIPEX presidential series, 36 commemorative stamps, issued by the Post Office on May 22, 1986.

The next commemorative stamp to honor Grant was the 32-cent issue of 1995. Designed by Mark Hess of Katona, the image of Grant was taken from a photo by Civil War photographer Mathew Brady
Mathew Brady
Mathew B. Brady was one of the most celebrated 19th century American photographers, best known for his portraits of celebrities and his documentation of the American Civil War...

in June 1864 at City Point in Virginia. The colorized photo used in the stamp design depicts Grant wearing his Union General's uniform leaning against a post at the encampment.

Rutherford B. Hayes

Rutherford Birchard Hayes (October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was the 19th President of the United States serving from March 4, 1877 to March 4, 1881. In the years before his presidency he was the Governor of Ohio for two separate terms. Serving in the Civil War as Brigadier General Hayes commanded the First Brigade of the Kanawha Division of the Army of West Virginia

Army of West Virginia

The Army of West Virginia served in the Union Army during the American Civil War and was the primary field army of the Department of West Virginia. It campaigned primarily in West Virginia, Southwest Virginia and in the Shenandoah Valley. It is noted for having two future U.S. presidents serve in...

and turned back several Confederate advances. During his military service he was wounded on five separate incidents.

An 11c Postage stamp was issued on the 100th anniversary of Hayes’ birth, October 4, 1922, in Washington, D.C., and in Hayes’ hometown, Fremont, Ohio and was the first stamp issued in the Regular Issues of 1922-1931. The stamp was designed by Clair Aubrey Houston
Clair Aubrey Houston
Clair Aubrey Houston was an accomplished and chief postage stamp designer at the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing early in the 20th century...

. The engraving of Hayes is modeled after a photograph taken by prominent Civil War photographer Mathew Brady
Mathew Brady
Mathew B. Brady was one of the most celebrated 19th century American photographers, best known for his portraits of celebrities and his documentation of the American Civil War...

. John Eissler engraved the die for the vignette.

The likeness of Rutherford B. Hayes (1822–1893), the nineteenth president of the United States, appears on the 19-cent denomination of the 1938 Presidential Series. Hayes's image was derived from a medal struck by George Morgan of the US Mint in Philadelphia. This issue was first released to the public on November 10, 1938, along with the 20-cent Presidential issue of 1938. There is only one commemorative stamp honoring Hayes, released in 1986 on the AMERIPEX presidential issue.

James Garfield

James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 September 19, 1881) was the 20th President of the United States

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

who had a distinguished military background. An assassin's bullet

James A. Garfield assassination

James A. Garfield was shot in Washington, D.C. on July 2, 1881 by Charles J. Guiteau at 9:30 a.m., less than four months after taking office as the twentieth President of the United States. Garfield died eleven weeks later on September 19, 1881, the second of four Presidents to be assassinated,...

ended his life and presidency and cut his time in office after serving only 200 days.
Garfield served in the United States Army

United States Army

as a Major General, as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and as a member of the highly controversial Electoral Commission of 1876

United States presidential election, 1876

The United States presidential election of 1876 was one of the most disputed and controversial presidential elections in American history. Samuel J. Tilden of New York outpolled Ohio's Rutherford B. Hayes in the popular vote, and had 184 electoral votes to Hayes's 165, with 20 votes uncounted...

. He was the second US President to be assassinated.
Garfield was the only sitting member of the House of Representatives to have been elected President.

Garfield is one of the few presidents to appear on a postage stamp more than the usual one or two times. The first issue to honor him was released in 1882, printed by the American Bank Note Company

American Bank Note Company

. The 5-cent Garfield was the second US postage stamp to honor an assassinated president within the year following his death and is also considered a 'mourning stamp' by many. Unlike the first Lincoln issue, released after one whole year after his death the 5-cent Garfield stamp was released only seven months after his death in 1881. The 1882 issues were the first issues produced from engravings completed by the American Bank Note Company

American Bank Note Company

since it began producing postage stamps for the federal government. Before this time the A.B.N.C. used existing dies using slight changes to frames and portraits that were primarily the National Bank Note Company’s design. The re-engraved issues of 1881-1882 are an example.

~ James A. Garfield Memorial Issues ~

Issues depicting Garfield released on and after 1894 were printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing

Bureau of Engraving and Printing

. ~ Late 19th century Issues ~

The American Bank note issues of 1890 are almost identical to the Bureau Issues that followed in 1894, with minor differences in the frame design.

American Bank Note Co.

Bureau Issues

~ Early 20th century Issues ~

The Regular Issue of 1902-03 stamp was designed by R. Ostrander Smith from a photograph, and was engraved by George F. C. Smillie. It was printed on double-line watermark paper.

The release of the 6-cents Regular Issue Garfield stamp marked the sixth time Garfield would appear on US Postage. Slated for release on Garfield's birthday on November 19, a Sunday, when Post offices were closed, it was instead released on the 20th in Washington, DC, as there was no post office in Garfield's hometown of Orange, Ohio at the time this issue was released.

Garfield's image on the Presidential issue of 1938 was inspired by a medal created by the U.S. Mint. The issue was released to the public on November 10, 1938.

As of 2011 there is only one commemorative stamp honoring Garfield, released in 1986 on the AMERIPEX presidential issue.

Chester A. Arthur

Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) served as the 21st President of the United States. As a member of the Republican Party Arthur worked as a lawyer before becoming the 20th Vice President under James Garfield

James Garfield

James Abram Garfield served as the 20th President of the United States, after completing nine consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Garfield's accomplishments as President included a controversial resurgence of Presidential authority above Senatorial courtesy in executive...

. On July 2, 1881, President Garfield was mortally wounded by Charles J. Guiteau

Charles J. Guiteau

Charles Julius Guiteau was an American lawyer who assassinated U.S. President James A. Garfield. He was executed by hanging.- Background :...

, but Garfield did not die until September 19 of that year, at which time Arthur was sworn in as President, serving until March 4, 1885.

The engraving of Chester A. Arthur appears on the 21-cent value of the 1938 Presidential Series
Presidential Issue
The Presidential Issue, nicknamed the Prexies by collectors, is the series of definitive postage stamps issued in the United States in 1938, featuring all 29 U.S. presidents from George Washington through Calvin Coolidge...

, first issued on November 22 of 1938. The likeness was modeled after a marble bust of Arthur by Augustus Saint-Gaudens
Augustus Saint-Gaudens
Augustus Saint-Gaudens was the Irish-born American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who most embodied the ideals of the "American Renaissance"...

in 1891, now displayed in the US Senate Gallery.

There is only one commemorative stamp issued in Arthur's honor, one stamp in a series in the AMERIPEX Presidential issue of 1986.

Grover Cleveland

Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837 – June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th President of the United States. Cleveland is the only president ever to have served two non-consecutive terms (1885–1889 and 1893–1897) as President and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents.

On March 20, 1923, the US Post Office issued the 12-cent Cleveland issue, first released both in Washington, D.C., and in Caldwell, New Jersey, Cleveland’s hometown. Clair Aubrey Huston designed the stamp and John Eissler engraved the portrayal of Cleveland. The model for the engraving is listed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing as “unknown.” The 12-cent Cleveland was reprinted and issued again in 1931.
Cleveland appeared on a presidential Issue released on November 22, 1938, the same day as the 21-cent Garfield stamp of that series. The engraving of Cleveland's portrait was modeled after a medal struck by Charles Barber of the US Mint.
The 22-cent Cleveland stamp was issued on May 22 of 1986 as part of a series of stamps honoring US Presidents, first issued during AMERIPEX '86, the international philatelic show held in Rosemont, Illinois. Artist Jerry Dadds of Baltimore, Maryland, designed the four sheets containing thirty-six stamps. Dadds also executed the designs in the woodcut style.

Benjamin Harrison

(August 20, 1833 – March 13, 1901) was the 23rd President of the United States

President of the United States

, serving one term from 1889 to 1893. Harrison was born in North Bend, Ohio, and at the age of 21 moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, where he became a involved with Indiana state politics. During the American Civil War

American Civil War

Harrison served as a Brigadier General in the Army of the Cumberland

Army of the Cumberland

The Army of the Cumberland was one of the principal Union armies in the Western Theater during the American Civil War. It was originally known as the Army of the Ohio.-History:...

.

Under Benjamin Harrison and his Postmaster General John Wanamaker

John Wanamaker

John Wanamaker was a United States merchant, religious leader, civic and political figure, considered by some to be the father of modern advertising and a "pioneer in marketing." Wanamaker was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-Biography:He was born on July 11, 1838.He opened his first store in...

the nation's first commemorative stamp

Commemorative stamp

s were made available and were first issued at the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois, in 1893. Wanamaker originally introduced the idea of issuing the nation's first commemorative stamp to Harrison, the Congress and the U.S. Post Office. Contrary to the general opinion of Congress at the time Wanamaker predicted that commemorative stamp

Commemorative stamp

s would generate needed revenue for the country. Shortly thereafter the nation's first commemoartive stamps

Columbian Issue

The Columbian Issue, often simply called the Columbians, is a set of 16 postage stamps issued by the United States to mark the 1893 World Columbian Exposition held in Chicago...

were issued in conjunction with the World Columbian Exposition, both of which were in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of America. To demonstrate his confidence in the new commemorative stamp issues Wanamaker purchased $10,000 worth of stamps with his own money. Harrison was also present at the World Columbian Exposition and ceremony and delivered a speech where he said. "In the name of the Government and of the people of the United States, I do hereby invite all the nations of the earth to take part in the commemoration of an event that is pre-eminent in human history, and of lasting interest to mankind." The exposition lasted several months and by the time it was over more than $40 million dollars had been generated in commemorative postage stamp sales alone. From that point onward the US Post Office would issue commemorative postage on a regular basis. Harrison appears on four regular issues and on two commemorative issues.

The 1902 13-cent postage stamp was the 1st issue to honor Benjamin Harrison, issued on November 18, 1902, less than two years after his death. It was the first 13-cent stamp issued by the US Post Office, and the first of 14 stamps to be released to the public in the 1902-03 series. The stamp was designed by R. O. Smith from a photograph supplied by Mrs. Harrison. The image was engraved by Marcus W. Baldwin.
The 1926 issue of Harrison was engraved by Clair Aubrey Houston
Clair Aubrey Houston
Clair Aubrey Houston was an accomplished and chief postage stamp designer at the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing early in the 20th century...

who based the image design on the same photograph of Harrison that was used to model the 1902 stamp.
The 24-cent 1938 issue of Harrison image was inspired by a bust by Adolph A. Weinman, on view at the John Herron Art Institute.
Harrison's image on the 12-cent 1959 issue was taken from a photograph taken by Charles Parker.
The 22-cent Harrison commemorative stamp was issued on May 22 of 1986 as part of a series of stamps honoring US Presidents, first issued during AMERIPEX '86, the international philatelic show held in Rosemont, Illinois. Artist Jerry Dadds of Baltimore, Maryland, designed the four sheets containing thirty-six stamps. Dadds also executed the designs in the woodcut style. There is only one commemorative stamp that honors Harrison.
In 2003 the US Post Office issued a 37-cent Old Glory commemorative stamp on April 3, 2003, at the Mega Stamp Show in New York, New York. The stamp was designed by Richard Sheaff. The stamp depicts a 1888 presidential campaign badge with a photograph of Benjamin Harrison at its center. (no image available yet).

William McKinley

William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...

Jr. (January 29, 1843 – September 14, 1901) was the 25th President of the United States, and the last veteran of the American Civil War

American Civil War

to be elected to the office of the President. He was the last American president to serve in the 19th century and was the first President to serve in the 20th century. He spent much of his adult life in politics and was a six-term congressman, and was also the governor of Ohio before wining over William J. Bryan for two terms in the White House (1897–1901). McKinley was assassinated early in his second term while attending the Pan-American Exposition

Pan-American Exposition

The Pan-American Exposition was a World's Fair held in Buffalo, New York, United States, from May 1 through November 2, 1901. The fair occupied of land on the western edge of what is present day Delaware Park, extending from Delaware Ave. to Elmwood Ave and northward to Great Arrow...

in Buffalo in 1901.

William McKinley appears on three Regular Issues of, 1923, 1926 and 1927, the design, color and denomination of which are the same, and on the 1938 Presidential issue, but first appeared on U. S. Postage in a commemorative issue, the Louisiana Purchase
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...

series of 1904.

McKinley was not even alive at the time of the Louisiana Purchase but is depicted on the Louisiana Purchase issue as he was the president who signed the legislation giving federal sanction to the Exposition and would have presided over the Exposition had he lived. This issue also served as a tribute and memorial to the assassinated leader, as it came out less than than three years after his death, in what would have been nearing the end of the second term to which he was elected in 1900.

The Presidential Issue
Presidential Issue
The Presidential Issue, nicknamed the Prexies by collectors, is the series of definitive postage stamps issued in the United States in 1938, featuring all 29 U.S. presidents from George Washington through Calvin Coolidge...

of 1938 features McKinley on the 25-cent issue, released 1938.

The 22-cent McKinley commemorative stamp was issued on May 22 of 1986 as part of a series of stamps honoring U.S. Presidents, first issued during AMERIPEX '86, the international philatelic show held in Rosemont, Illinois. Artist Jerry Dadds of Baltimore, Maryland, designed the four sheets containing thirty-six stamps. Dadds also executed the designs in the woodcut style. It is one among only two commemorative stamps that honor this president.

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...

(October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919) was the 26th President of the United States. He served as President from September 14, 1901 – March 4, 1909. In 1901, President William McKinley was assassinated, and Roosevelt became president at the age of 42, taking office at the youngest age of any US President in history at that time. Roosevelt was a hero of the Spanish-American War

Spanish-American War

The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...

and the Battle of San Juan Hill

Battle of San Juan Hill

The Battle of San Juan Hill , also known as the battle for the San Juan Heights, was a decisive battle of the Spanish-American War. The San Juan heights was a north-south running elevation about two kilometers east of Santiago de Cuba. The names San Juan Hill and Kettle Hill were names given by the...

for which received the Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...

and was the commander of the infamous Rough Riders

Rough Riders

The Rough Riders is the name bestowed on the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish-American War and the only one of the three to see action. The United States Army was weakened and left with little manpower after the American Civil War...

. He negotiated an end to the Russo-Japanese War

Russo-Japanese War

The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...

which later won him the Nobel Peace Prize. Roosevelt was the first American to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Clair Aubrey Houston
Clair Aubrey Houston
Clair Aubrey Houston was an accomplished and chief postage stamp designer at the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing early in the 20th century...

designed the 5c blue issue of 1922 and 1925 stamp issues (Identical except for perforations). The Roosevelt image was engraved by John Eissler, and was modeled after a photograph taken of Roosevelt by the firm of Harris & Ewing in Washington, D.C., in 1907.
The Presidential Issue of 1938 presented Roosevelt on the 30c stamp. The engraving of the president was modeled on a bust displayed in the Senate Gallery US Capitol in Washington, D. C.
The 6c stamp issued in 1955 was designed by Victor S. McCloskey, Jr., and Charles R. Chickering of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is a government agency within the United States Department of the Treasury that designs and produces a variety of security products for the United States government, most notable of which is paper currency for the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve itself is...

.
Roosevelt oversaw the construction of the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...

and consequently he later appeared on two Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...

postage stamps, printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is a government agency within the United States Department of the Treasury that designs and produces a variety of security products for the United States government, most notable of which is paper currency for the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve itself is...

and issued by the U.S Government administration offices in the Canal Zone for domestic mail and for outgoing mail. The first Roosevelt stamp to depict the 26th president was issued in 1949.

The 22-cent Roosevelt commemorative stamp was issued on May 22 of 1986 as part of a series of stamps honoring US Presidents, first issued during AMERIPEX '86, the international philatelic show held in Rosemont, Illinois. Artist Jerry Dadds of Baltimore, Maryland, designed the four sheets containing thirty-six stamps. Dadds also executed the designs in the woodcut style. It is the only one commemorative stamp that honors Theodore Roosevelt.

A US Canal Zone stamp honoring Roosevelt was issued in November 1958, the 100th anniversary of his birth. Theodore Roosevelt is the only American president to be honored on a Canal Zone postage stamp.

On February 2, 1998, the USPS issued a 32 cent stamp honoring Theodore Roosevelt as part of its Celebrate the Century
Celebrate the Century
Celebrate the Century is the name of a series of postage stamps made by the United States Postal Service featuring images recalling various important events in the 20th century in the United States....

series.

William Howard Taft

William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...

(September 15, 1857 - March 8, 1930) was the 27th President of the United States and later the 10th Chief Justice of the United States. Taft is the only person to have served in both offices. Born in 1857 in Cincinnati, Ohio, into the powerful Taft family, Taft graduated from Yale College Phi Beta Kappa in 1878,[2] and from Cincinnati Law School in 1880.

The 4c Taft stamp was issued on June 4 of 1930 in Taft's hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, less than three months after Taft's death that year on March 8. This issue of Taft is based on the same design as are the regular issues of 1925-32, designed by Charles Aubrey Huston. The engraving of Taft is modeled after a photograph taken by Harris & Ewing.

The 50c Taft on the Presidential issue of 1932 was released on December the 8th of 1938. The engraved profile of Taft was modeled after a bust sculpted especially for the stamp..

Taft is honored on the AMERIPEX presidential issue of 1986.

Woodrow Wilson

Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856 – February 3, 1924) was the 28th President of the United States. First known by the slogan "he kept us out of the war", Wilson was finally pressured in to asking Congress to declare war on Germany who was attacking all US vessels at high sea.

Less than a year after the death of Woodrow Wilson the US Post Office on December 28th 1925 issued the black, 17-cent stamp in his honor. Issued in such a timely manner the 1925 issue can be considered a memorial to Wilson. President Wilson’s widow provided the photograph which designer Clair Aubrey Houston
Clair Aubrey Houston
Clair Aubrey Houston was an accomplished and chief postage stamp designer at the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing early in the 20th century...

used for the overall stamp design and which John Eissler of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is a government agency within the United States Department of the Treasury that designs and produces a variety of security products for the United States government, most notable of which is paper currency for the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve itself is...

used as the model for the engraving of Wilson.

On August 29th 1938 the Post Office issued the 1 dollar presidential issue. The engraved image of Wilson was modeled after a medal struck by George Morgan of the US Mint.

Wilson is honored on the AMERIPEX presidential series, issued in 1986.

On February 2, 1998, the USPS included a Woodrow Wilson stamp as part of its Celebrate the Century
Celebrate the Century
Celebrate the Century is the name of a series of postage stamps made by the United States Postal Service featuring images recalling various important events in the 20th century in the United States....

series.

Warren G. Harding

Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th President of the United States, serving from 1921 until his sudden death from a heart attack in 1923. A Republican from Ohio, Harding was once an influential newspaper publisher at the Marion Daily Star in Ohio. He served in the Ohio Senate (1899–1903) and later as the 28th Lieutenant Governor

Lieutenant governor

A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...

of Ohio (1903–1905) and as a US Senator (1915–1921).

Harding's unexpected death prompted the issue of 1923, 2c black, unofficially referred to as the Harding memorial Issue, which Clair Aubrey Houston
Clair Aubrey Houston
Clair Aubrey Houston was an accomplished and chief postage stamp designer at the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing early in the 20th century...

managed to design in one day. The engraving of Harding was modeled after an etching by artist F. Pauling. Amazingly the Bureau of Engraving and Printing was able to print over one and one half billion of these stamps in a three month period.

Two years later on May 19, 1925 the Post Office issued a similar Harding stamp, using the same die used for the 1923 Harding Memorial issue and whose color this time was brown and whose denomination was now at 1-1/2 cents. This stamp was one in a series of regular issue stamps of the time. Both of these two similar stamps were also issued in imperforate form.

In 1930, at the request of the widowed Mrs. Harding, the U.S. Post Office Department issued a new Harding 1-1/2c issue whose full faced portrait replaced the 1-1/2c issue with his profile.

The image of Harding also appears on the 2-dollar issue of the 1938 Presidential Series
Presidential Issue
The Presidential Issue, nicknamed the Prexies by collectors, is the series of definitive postage stamps issued in the United States in 1938, featuring all 29 U.S. presidents from George Washington through Calvin Coolidge...

. The engraved image of Harding's likeness was modeled after a medal struck by George Morgan of the US Mint.
Harding was also honored on the AMERIPEX commemorative stamp issue of 1986, along with all other American presidents up to and including President Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...

.

Calvin Coolidge

John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. (July 4, 1872 – January 5, 1933) from Plymouth, Vermont, was the 30th President of the United States serving from 1923 to 1929. Coolidge became president upon the death of Warren G. Harding

Warren G. Harding

Warren Gamaliel Harding was the 29th President of the United States . A Republican from Ohio, Harding was an influential self-made newspaper publisher. He served in the Ohio Senate , as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and as a U.S. Senator...

. Coolidge's inauguration was the first to be broadcast on radio. On February 22, 1924, he became the first President of the United States to deliver a political speech on radio. Known as "silent Cal" for being a man of few words in private while known for being an excellent orator at the pulpit.

On November 17, 1938 the US Post Office issued the 5 dollar value of the Presidential series of that year. This remained Coolidge's sole appearance on U. S. stamps until 1986, when the Post Office releases a series of stamps, one honoring each deceased president at that time. The model for this engraving was taken from a medal struck by John R. Sinnock of the US Mint. Among the Presidential Issues this stamp is the most difficult to find on cover.

Coolidge along with all other presidents up to and including President L.B. Johnson is honored on the 1986 AMERIPEX commemorative issues.

Up through Coolidge, every president (with the two exceptions of Monroe and McKinley) had made his first appearance on U. S. Postage in a definitive series, only later being honored by a commemorative stamp. With subsequent presidents, the reverse is true: all have made their first appearances on commemoratives.

Herbert Hoover

Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st President of the United States serving from 1929 to 1933. Hoover was a professional mining engineer and author. A son of a Quaker blacksmith, Hoover brought to the Presidency a reputation for public service as a humanitarian. After World War I, Hoover had massive shipments of food sent to feed starving millions in central Europe. He also provided much needed aid to Soviet Russia in 1921 which was then plagued with famine.

In spite of Hoover's many humanitarian efforts, as a president, he is ranked less than favorably among many historians for his failure to bring the country out of the great depression that beset the country in 1929, the year Hoover assumed office.

Issued on his birthday, the 5-cent commemorative issue honoring President Herbert Hoover was first placed on sale on August 10, 1965, at West Branch, Iowa, the place of Hoover's birth. The issue was released less than one year after Hoover's passing in 1964. This is the first US Postage issue Herbert Hoover has appeared on. He appears again on the AMERIPEX series issued in 1986. of presidents issued in 1986

Hoover was honored on the AMERIPEX commemorative issue of 1986 along with all other presidents up to and including Johnson.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945) was the 32nd President of the United States and a leading figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war. FD Roosevelt was the only American president elected President for more than two terms. He forged a durable coalition that realigned American politics for decades. In his first "Hundred Days" in office, beginning March 4, 1933, Roosevelt launched a variety of major social programs. In his first term (1933–36), FDR led Congress to enact the New Deal, a large, complex interlocking set of programs designed to produce social and economic relief.

The 6c issue of 1966 was designed by Richard Lyon Clark and was modeled after a photograph of the Roosevelt taken with Winston Churchill during the signing of the Atlantic Charter. This gray brown 6-cent sheet stamp was issued on January 28, 1966, at the Post Office in Hyde Park, New York, the same town where the family home is located.

On January 30, 1982 on the 100th anniversary of his birth a 20-cent commemorative stamp honoring Franklin Delano Roosevelt was issued, first released to the public at his birthplace, Hyde Park, New York. The First Day of Issue ceremony was held at the Roosevelt estate, where he and his wife, Eleanor, are buried.

On September 10, 1998 a 32-cent commemorative was issued in Roosevelt's honor. The issue depicts Roosevelt at a microphone during one of the "fireside chats" for which the President was famous.

Only two months after Roosevelt's death the US Post Office issued a series of four commemorative (or memorial) Postage stamps in honor and memory of the deceased President.

The 1-cent green Franklin D. Roosevelt memorial stamp was issued on July 26, 1945, at the Post Office at Hyde Park, New York. The design depicts an image of the Roosevelt home in Hyde Park, New York.

The 2c red was issued on August 24, 1945, in Warm Springs, Georgia, the site of Roosevelt's favorite retreat, known as the 'Little White House'.

Of the four issues in the Franklin memorial series it was the 3c value that was actually the first to be released. The 3c purple Franklin D. Roosevelt memorial stamp was issued on June 27, 1945. The design features the White House in the background.

The 5c blue issue is the last of the Roosevelt memorial series, issued on January 30, 1946. The design depicts a portrait of Roosevelt and on the left surrounded by clouds, a globe showing the Americas on the right. Inscribed across the globe is an expression of the Four Freedoms — 'Freedom of Speech and Religion, From Want and Fear'.

Roosevelt was honored on the AMERIPEX commemorative stamp issue of 1986 along with all other presidents up to and including Johnson.

Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...

(May 8, 1884 – December 26, 1972) was the 33rd President of the United States serving from 1945 to 1953. As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice-president and the 34th Vice President of the United States, he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his historic fourth term. Truman began his political career in politics as a county judge in 1922. He was Franklin D. Roosevelt's running mate in 1944.

The 8-cent Harry S. Truman postage stamp was designed by Bradbury Thompson and first placed on sale at the Post Office at Independence, Missouri, on May 8, 1973.

The 20-cent Truman definitive stamp was issued on January 26, 1984, in Washington, DC. The 1984 stamp issue honored the centennial of the birth of the 33rd US president in 1884.

Truman along with all other presidents up to and including President L.B. Johnson, were honored on the AMERIPEX commemorative stamp issue of 1986.

On September 2, 1995, the USPS issued a 29 cent stamp showing Truman announcing Japan's surrender as part of its World War II 50th anniversary series.

Truman was depicted on a 32 cent stamp issued on February 18, 1999 as part of the Celebrate the Century
Celebrate the Century
Celebrate the Century is the name of a series of postage stamps made by the United States Postal Service featuring images recalling various important events in the 20th century in the United States....

series.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight David Eisenhower (October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was a five-star general in the United States Army and the 34th President of the United States, serving from 1953 until 1961. During World War II, he served as Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe and planned the successful invasion of France and Germany in 1944–45, from the Western Front. In 1951, he became the first supreme commander of NATO.

On August 6, 1970 the Post Office began releasing the Regular issues of 1970 – 1974. President Eisenhower is depicted on the 6c denomination of these issues.
On May 16, 1971 the domestic first-class letter rate increased to eight cents so the BEPthe 6-cent Eisenhower stamp was re-engraved with the new 8-cent denomination. The stamp was issued in sheet, coil, and booklet formats. The red and black stamp was the first and only multicolored stamp of the Prominent American Issue. The coil and booklet issues were mono-colored claret stamps printed on the Huck/Cottrell web mono-color intaglio presses. Two varieties exist, one with a dot between "Eisenhower" and "USA" and one without. Both were issued in large numbers.
In 1969 the US Post Office issued a 6-cent commemorative stamp honoring President Dwight D. Eisenhower, introduced on October 14 of that year at Abilene, Kansas, the city where he spent his youth and was eventually buried. Uncommonly larger than the standard commemorative sizes of 1-1/2" x 1" this issue's size was 2" x 1-1/4". The Eisenhower commemorative issue was designed by Robert J. Jones of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is a government agency within the United States Department of the Treasury that designs and produces a variety of security products for the United States government, most notable of which is paper currency for the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve itself is...

and was fashioned after a photograph taken by Bernie Noble of the Cleveland Press.
The US Post Office issued a 25c stamp on October 13, 1990, in Abilene, Kansas. The central image is taken from the official White House portrait, while background depicts a younger Eisenhower as a General, speaking to Allied troops on the eve of D-Day, the Normandy invasion in 1944. The stamp was designed by Ken Hodges of the American Bank Note Company
American Bank Note Company
The American Bank Note Company was a major worldwide engraver of national currency and postage stamps. Currently it engraves and prints stock and bond certificates.-History:Robert Scot, the first official engraver of the young U.S...
Eisenhower along with all other presidents up to and including President L.B. Johnson, were honored on the AMERIPEX commemorative issue of 1986.

John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963 on November 22. Few American Presidents have quotes that are remembered long after their deaths, and Kennedy was among those few for saying to the nation, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." He was the second-youngest President (after Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt

). Kennedy was faced with a number of important events during his term as President which include the Cuban Missile Crisis

Cuban Missile Crisis

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...

, the Bay of Pigs Invasion

Bay of Pigs Invasion

The Bay of Pigs Invasion was an unsuccessful action by a CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles to invade southern Cuba, with support and encouragement from the US government, in an attempt to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro. The invasion was launched in April 1961, less than three months...

, the Space Race

Space Race

The Space Race was a mid-to-late 20th century competition between the Soviet Union and the United States for supremacy in space exploration. Between 1957 and 1975, Cold War rivalry between the two nations focused on attaining firsts in space exploration, which were seen as necessary for national...

and the Berlin Wall

Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...

crisis. Kennedy appears on three postage issues, two of them commemoratives (1964 and 1986), the other a regular issue of 1967.

On May 29, 1964, the US Post Office released the 5c John F. Kennedy memorial stamp
Five cents John Kennedy
The five cents John Kennedy is the first United States postage stamp to pay tribute to President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. It was issued May 29, 1964 for his 47th birthday, with a first day of issue cancellation in his hometown of Boston, Massachusetts....

on what would have been Kennedy's 47th birthday. The issue was designed by Raymond Loewy/William Snaith, a New York firm, based on a sketch by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is a government agency within the United States Department of the Treasury that designs and produces a variety of security products for the United States government, most notable of which is paper currency for the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve itself is...

artist Robert L. Miller. Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy made the final selection from the many postage stamp designs that were submitted.

The 13 cent issue of 1967 was first issued in Brookline, Massachusetts, on May 29 of that year. The issue was designed by Stevan Dohanos, modeled after a photograph by Jacques Loew in the book The Kennedy Years. The 13-cent Kennedy stamp paid the rates for both foreign surface letters and air postcards.

Kennedy, like all other presidents up to and including President L.B. Johnson, was honored on the AMERIPEX commemorative issue of 1986.

Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...

(August 27, 1908 – January 22, 1973), served as vice-president during the Kennedy administration. When Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963, Johnson assumed the presidency. He won re-election in 1964 with 61 percent of the vote and served until January 20, 1969.

On August 27th of 1973 the US Post Office issued the 8-cent Lyndon B. Johnson memorial postage stamp, first placed on sale at the Post Office in Austin, Texas, The stamp was designed by Bradbury Thompson.

Johnson's last appearance (to date) on a US Postage stamp occurred in 1986 where he is honored on one of a series of stamps called the AMERIPEX issues of 1986. The Post Office declined to commemorate his centennial in 2008.

Richard M. Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon, (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the thirty-seventh president of the United States. Nixon's political career started as a California congressman. He was Dwight D. Eisenhower's vice president for two terms and was defeated in 1960 by John F. Kennedy for the presidential election. In 1968, Nixon won the presidency and was overwhelmingly re-elected in 1972. Nixon was the only person to be elected twice to both the Presidency and the Vice Presidency. He was also the only US President to resign the office. Nixon was instrumental in ending U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War and establishing U.S. relations with communist China.

On April 26, 1995, one year and four days after his death the US Postal Service honored Richard Nixon with the issuance of a 32-cent commemorative stamp, first released in Yorba Linda, California, the place of his birth, to date the only stamp depicting Nixon. The issue was designed by Daniel Schwarz, and printed in combination offset-intaglio process by the Banknote Corporation of America.

Gerald Ford

Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King, Jr.; July 14, 1913 - December 26, 2006) was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974. Ford was the first person appointed to the vice-presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment, filling the vacancy left by Spiro Agnew

Spiro Agnew

Spiro Theodore Agnew was the 39th Vice President of the United States , serving under President Richard Nixon, and the 55th Governor of Maryland...

. He became President upon Richard Nixon's resignation on August 9, 1974,.

Gerald Ford Memorial Commemorative issued August 31, 2007.

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

, born February 6, 1911, died June 5, 2004. Reagan was the 40th President of the United States and served two terms from 1981 to 1989, and the 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975). Born in Tampico

Tampico, Illinois

Tampico is a village located in Tampico Township, Whiteside County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census the village had a total population of 790, up from 772 at the 2000 census. U.S. President Ronald Reagan was born there and lived there for two brief periods of his...

, Illinois. Among other things, Reagan is remembered for saying on June 12, 1987.. "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

The U.S. Postal Service issued a 37-cent Ronald Reagan commemorative stamp on February 9, 2005. The first day of issue occurred in Simi Valley
Simi Valley
Simi Valley is a synclinal valley in Southern California in the United States. It is an enclosed or hidden valley surrounded by mountains and hills. It is connected to the San Fernando Valley to the east by the Santa Susana Pass & 118 freeway, and in the west the narrows of the Arroyo Simi and 118...

, California. Stamp design is by Howard E. Paine, Delaplane
Delaplane, Virginia
Delaplane is a small unincorporated village in Fauquier County, Virginia, located approximately due west of Washington, D.C.. Delaplane is situated along U.S. Route 17 and Interstate 66; bordering Upperville, Virginia to the north, Hume, Virginia to the south, Paris, Virginia to the west, and...

, Virginia. The image of Reagan was modeled after a portrait painted by award-winning artist Michael J. Deas. However, on June 14, 2006, the stamp was reissued with a 39-cent valuation to match the new first-class postage rate.

To mark the centennial of Reagan's birth in 2011, the U.S. Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp to be officially released at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley on Feb. 10, 2011, four days after the 100th anniversary of Reagan's birth on February 6. Texas artist Bart Forbes
Bart Forbes
Bart Forbes is an American painter and illustrator. He has worked for most of the popular magazines, amongst them TIME and Sports Illustrated, Bart Forbes (born 1939) is an American painter and illustrator. He has worked for most of the popular magazines, amongst them TIME and Sports Illustrated,...

created the portrait, based on a 1985 photograph of Reagan taken at Reagan's ranch, Rancho del Cielo
Rancho del Cielo
Rancho del Cielo, or "Sky's or Heaven's Ranch," is a ranch located on the top of the Santa Ynez Mountain range northwest of Santa Barbara, California...

, near Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...

.

AMERIPEX issues of 1986

On May 22nd of 1986 the US Post Office released a series of postage stamp

Postage stamp

A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...

s with a portrait of a past US President inscribed upon each one. The series of 36 stamps were issued in four separate mini-sheets, with nine stamps to the sheet, each stamp having a denomination of 22 cents. Several of the issues honor presidents who had never appeared on a US commemorative stamp

Commemorative stamp

before. On 'sheet IV' the stamp in the middle depicts the White House entrance.

External links

American Topical Association
Smithsonian National Postal Museum
Winton M. Blount, Postal History Symposium, Post Civil War Nationalism
and the Designs of United States Stamps in the Nineteenth Century
STAMPDATA
LearnAboutStamps.com A resource for stamp collectors
Topical worldwide stamps catalog

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

First appearances

George Washington

Classic period

Civil War era

Post Civil War

Turn of the 19th - 20th centuries

The Washington - Franklin Issues

Washington on commemorative issues

Washington's 200th anniversary

Washington issues, middle 20th century

Washington, recent issues

John Adams

Thomas Jefferson

Jefferson on commemorative issue

James Madison

James Monroe

John Quincy Adams

Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson on commemorative issues

Martin Van Buren

William Henry Harrison

John Tyler

James K. Polk

Zachary Taylor

Millard Filmore

Franklin Pierce

James Buchanan

Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln on commemorative Issues

Andrew Johnson

Ulysses S. Grant

Grant on commemorative issues

Rutherford B. Hayes

James Garfield

Chester A. Arthur

Grover Cleveland

Benjamin Harrison

William McKinley

Theodore Roosevelt

William Howard Taft

Woodrow Wilson

Warren G. Harding

Calvin Coolidge

Herbert Hoover

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Harry S. Truman

Dwight D. Eisenhower

John F. Kennedy

Lyndon B. Johnson

Richard M. Nixon

Gerald Ford

Ronald Reagan

AMERIPEX issues of 1986

See also

External links