Share your favorites on Show & Tell

Elvis Stamps...very informative history enclosed

In Stamps > US Stamp Sheets > Show & Tell and Music Memorabilia > Elvis Presley Memorabilia > Show & Tell.
Music1422 of 1754Vintage Snowing Santa Carolsel - JapanBeatles- UK Export Misspelled   Hey Jude Album
5
Love it
1
Like it

Vynil33rpmVynil33rpm loves this.
WideAwake0247WideAwake0247 loves this.
ManikinManikin loves this.
bstjohnbstjohn loves this.
IlikeartIlikeart likes this.
officialfuelofficialfuel loves this.
See 4 more
Add to collection

    Please create an account, or Log in here

    If you don't have an account, create one here.


    Create a Show & TellReport as inappropriate


    Posted 13 years ago

    MarilynD826
    (25 items)

    I was so intrigued by this information, I had to share. I hope others find it interesting! Thanks for looking!
    In 1992, the American public voted on a matter of vital national importance: young Elvis or old Elvis?
    Allowing the public to select the artwork for the Elvis Presley stamp was an unprecedented move by the U.S. Postal Service. The choice was between two equally superb but thematically distinct portraits: a watercolor of the youthful Elvis by Mark Stutzman, or a more mature Elvis painted by John Berkey.

    Pre-addressed ballots were distributed in post offices around the country and in the April 13, 1992, edition of People magazine. America spoke, returning nearly 1.2 million ballots to the Postal Service, and the choice was clear: More than 75 percent of voters preferred young Elvis. The stamp was dedicated at Graceland just a few moments after midnight on January 8, 1993—Elvis’s 58th birthday.

    Across the country, reaction to the voting process was boisterous and opinionated. Members of Congress debated the worthiness of Elvis as a stamp subject, newspaper editorialists made lofty pronouncements, and presidential candidate Bill Clinton publicly voiced his support for the younger Elvis. Meanwhile, comedians and cartoonists used the opportunity to poke fun at the Postal Service, the 1992 presidential candidates, and even Elvis himself.

    A decade later, the Elvis stamp is still one of the most talked-about stamps ever issued by the Postal Service—and the most popular U.S. commemorative stamp of all time.

    The stamps that would be King

    The U.S. Postal Service commissioned eight artists to develop potential designs for an Elvis stamp. Working independently, they submitted 60 sketches and paintings in every imaginable style, from somber watercolors to abstract modernist designs.

    The artists were not restricted to any particular era in the life of Elvis, so their designs explored various aspects of his career, including his films, his early performances, and his reign on the Las Vegas concert stage. These concept sketches and preliminary designs, which reflect the innumerable ways of looking at an American icon, show Elvis stamps that might have been.

    Full UNCUT Sheet-40 stamps
    USA Postage- 29 cents

    logo
    US Stamp Sheets
    See all
    UNITED STATES, SCOTT # 3509, MINT NEVER HINGED FULL SHEET OF FRIDA KAHLO
    UNITED STATES, SCOTT # 3509, MINT N...
    $9
    United States 20¢ State Birds & Flowers Postage Stamp #1953 MNH Full Sheet
    United States 20¢ State Birds & Fl...
    $13
    Boston Tea Party Mint Sheet of 50 Stamps, Scott #1480-83, MNH, Free Shipping!
    Boston Tea Party Mint Sheet of 50 S...
    $9
    Space Achievement Mint Sheet of 50 Stamps, Scott #1434-35, MNH, Free Shipping!
    Space Achievement Mint Sheet of 50 ...
    $10
    logo
    UNITED STATES, SCOTT # 3509, MINT NEVER HINGED FULL SHEET OF FRIDA KAHLO
    UNITED STATES, SCOTT # 3509, MINT N...
    $9
    See all

    Comments

    1. Ilikeart Ilikeart, 13 years ago
      Thanks for providing the information.
    2. WideAwake0247, 5 years ago
      Nice, thanks for the info.. I'm learning about stamps. I have so many unused stamps trying learn as much as I can.

    Want to post a comment?

    Create an account or login in order to post a comment.