Philatelic News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 1, 2002
Stamp Release #02-009
U.S. Postal Service Celebrates 25th Anniversary Of Black Heritage Stamp Series Featuring Writer/Poet Langston Hughes
NEW YORK, N.Y. - The U.S. Postal Service today honored writer/poet Langston Hughes, on the centennial of his birth, with the issuance of a 34-cent commemorative postage stamp.
The Langston Hughes stamp features a 1946 black-and-white photograph of Hughes taken in New York City by the renowned photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson - a friend of Hughes. The historic first day of issue ceremony was held at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Langston Hughes Auditorium. The stamp issuance also commemorates the 25th anniversary of the Postal Service's Black Heritage series, which began in 1978 and salutes outstanding African-American activists, theorists, writers, educators and leaders.
The stamp is available today at New York Post Offices and will be available starting tomorrow at post offices across the country.
"Langston Hughes succeeded in capturing all that is 'American' in his poetry," said Henry Pankey, Vice President, Delivery and Retail for the U.S. Postal Service, who dedicated the stamp. "His significant contribution to the world of literature showed the depth of his devotion in calling attention to black culture as a valid source of literary expression."
Joining Pankey at the first day of issue ceremony was John Sawyer III, Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee member, who presided over the ceremony. Other program participants included Howard Dodson, Chief, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture; Honorable Charles B. Rangel, U.S. Representative (D-NY); Ramona Bass, Co-Administrator of the Estate of Langston Hughes; Haki Madhubuti, poet, publisher of Third World Press and distinguished professor at Chicago State University; Sonia Sanchez, award winning poet; the ARC Gospel Choir; Randy Weston, pianist-composer; Genovis Albright, who sang "Harlem, You're My Girl" from the new musical Little Ham; and Madame Pat Tandy who sang "I Wanna Big Fat Daddy" from the Good Times Blues.
Among the guests were Margrett Ann Duncan and her daughters, cousins of Hughes; Paul Gottlieb, Chairman, The Academy of American Poets; Jerry Pinkney, designer of the first Black Heritage series stamp; and Vinnie Malloy, District Manager/ Postmaster of the Postal Service's New York District.
"As the oldest living relative of Langston Hughes, I along with my four children and numerous cousins are truly honored that the U.S. Postal Service has seen fit to honor Langston with this most precious gift," said Duncan. "We all thank you for this honor."
"Langston Hughes set the standards for excellence, Black cultural consciousness and kindness. He is our literary giant, the first dean of Black literature," said Madhubuti.
Born in Joplin, Mo., on Feb. 1, 1902, Hughes was the grandson of Charles Howard Langston. His grandmother raised Hughes until he was 12, when he moved to Lincoln, Ill., to live with his mother. Hughes displayed an early talent for writing. Following graduation from high school, Hughes spent a year in Mexico, a year at Columbia University, and then traveled to Africa and Europe.
Hughes is acclaimed for his vivid portrayals of black America from the Harlem Renaissance to the Civil Rights era. He is regarded as one of the most important writers of the 20th century. Hughes wrote one of his first published poems, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," in 1920. Although he considered himself a poet first, the prolific and versatile Hughes also wrote short stories, novels, plays and nonfiction. Hughes' first book, The Weary Blues, was published in 1926, the same year he received a scholarship to Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. Hughes graduated from Lincoln University in 1929. He was a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. Hughes died of cancer on May 22, 1967 in Harlem, N.Y. His block of East 127th Street was renamed "Langston Hughes Place."
Other notable Americans in the Black Heritage stamp series include: Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King, Jr., Benjamin Banneker, Whitney Moore Young, Jackie Robinson, Scott Joplin, Carter G. Woodson, Mary McLeod Bethune, Sojourner Truth, Jean Baptiste Pointe Du Sable, James Weldon Johnson, A. Philip Randolph, Ida B. Wells, Jan E. Matzeliger, W.E.B. Du Bois, Percy Lavon Julian, Dr. Allison Davis, Bessie Coleman, Ernest E. Just, Benjamin O. Davis, Sr., Madam C.J. Walker, Malcolm X (El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz), Patricia Roberts Harris and Roy Wilkins, who was honored in January 2001.
One hundred twenty million Langston Hughes self-adhesive 34-cent stamps have been printed. The Smithsonian National Postal Museum's in Washington, D.C. will remember the life of Langston Hughes in an exhibit on view from Feb. 1 to Aug. 2.
To see the Langston Hughes stamp, go to the Postal Service Web site at www.usps.com. Click on News and Events then Philatelic News, and locate the online version of this press release. Images of many past and future stamp issues can be found in the Collector's Corner of the Postal Store at www.usps.com/shop.
All current stamps and other philatelic products, as well as a free comprehensive catalog, are available by calling toll free 1 800 STAMP-24. In addition, a selection of current stamps and gift items are available online at the Postal Store.
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TECHNICAL DETAILS
Issue: Langston Hughes
Item Number: 452000
Denomination & Type of Issue: 34-cent Commemorative
Format: Pane of 20 (1 design)
Series: Black Heritage
Issue Date & City: February 01, 2002, New York, NY 10199
Photographer: Henri Cartier-Bresson
Designer: Richard Sheaff, Scottsdale, AZ
Engraver: N/A
Art Director: Richard Sheaff, Scottsdale, AZ
Typographer: Richard Sheaff, Scottsdale, AZ
Modeler: Banknote Corporation of America, Inc. (BCA)
Manufacturing Process: Offset, Microprint
Printer: Banknote Corporation of America, Inc. (BCA)
Printed at: Browns Summit, NC
Press Type: Man Roland, 300
Stamps per Pane: 20
Print Quantity: 120 million stamps
Paper Type: Nonphosphored type III, Block tagged
Gum Type: Self-adhesive
Processed at: BCA, Browns Summit, NC
Colors: Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, PMS 1545 (Brown)
Stamp Orientation: Vertical
Image Area (w x h): 0.82 x 1.39 in./20.828 x 35.306 mm
Overall Size (w x h): 0.99 x 1.56 in./25.146 x 39.624 mm
Pane Size (w x h): 5.90 x 7.26 in./149.86 x 184.404 mm
Plate Size: 120 stamps per revolution
Plate Numbers: "B" followed by five (5) single digits
Marginal Markings: © 2001 USPS · Plate Numbers in four corners · Plate position diagram · Barcode
Catalog Item Number(s): 452040 Pane of 20 w/plate no. - $6.80
452030 Block of 10 - $3.40
452020 Block of 4 - $1.36
452061 First Day Cover - $0.55
HOW TO ORDER THE FIRST DAY OF ISSUE POSTMARK
Customers have 30 days to obtain the first day of issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office, by telephone at 1-800 STAMP-24, and at the Postal Store Website at www.usps.com. They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others) and place them in a larger envelope addressed to: LANGSTON HUGHES COMMEMORATIVE STAMPS, 421 8TH ST RM 2029B, NEW YORK, NY 10199-9998.
After applying the first day of issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark. All orders must be postmarked by March 4, 2002.
Stamp Fulfillment Services (SFS) also offers first day covers for new stamp issues and postal stationery items postmarked with the official first day of issue cancellation. Each item has an individual catalog number and is offered in the quarterly USA Philatelic catalog. Customers may request a free catalog by telephoning 1 800 STAMP-24 or writing to: INFORMATION FULFILLMENT, DEPT 6270, US POSTAL SERVICE, PO BOX 219014, KANSAS CITY, MO 64121-9014. First day covers remain on sale for at least one year after the stamp's issuance.
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For 226 years, the United States Postal Service has been the gateway to the household, binding friends, families and neighbors together. It is an independent federal agency that handles 46 percent of the world's mail volume, with annual revenues of $65 billion. The Postal Service is not funded with taxpayer dollars, but derives its revenues solely from the sale of postage and other products and services it provides. Its unrivaled service network means the Postal Service can deliver money, messages and merchandise daily to 135 million addresses, and with some of the most affordable postage rates in the world.
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