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Home > News Briefs > Thanksgiving Day Parade Postage Stamp

U.S. postage stamp features marching band

"Thanksgiving Day Parade" stamp set available now

Stamp set image

NEW YORK, Sept. 9, 2009 — The United States Postal Service has issued a commemorative stamp in four designs celebrating Thanksgiving Day parades and prominently featuring a marching band.

The stamp is titled "Thanksgiving Day Parade" and features iconic scenes inspired by America's variety of holiday celebrations, including the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The four designs create a continuous scene when viewed in a strip side-by-side.

"Thanksgiving Day stems from a rich history of American celebrations," said Joseph Corbett, U.S. Postal Service chief financial officer and executive vice president, who dedicated the stamp. "The best known of these is the first harvest festival at Plymouth, where in autumn 1621, some 50 colonists and 90 Native Americans gathered for a three-day feast to offer thanks for a bountiful harvest.

"In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued a Proclamation of Thanksgiving, marking the beginning of national recognition of an annual U.S. Thanksgiving holiday," Corbett said. "The Postal Service is proud to carry on this rich tradition through the issuance of these colorful stamps."

Thanksgiving is observed on the fourth Thursday of November and is a day when Americans of all backgrounds gather to reflect and give thanks for all they presently enjoy, especially family and friends. Thanksgiving Day parades in large cities and small towns throughout the U.S. have been an important part of this tradition since the early 20th century.

The four stamp designs illustrate the elements commonly found in a Thanksgiving Day parade, including marching bands, colorful floats, large balloons, and crowds of delighted onlookers. The artwork was created by Paul Rogers of Pasadena, CA, who based the style on American advertising and poster art from the mid-20th century. Rogers used a combination of airbrush and digital media to create the colorful and nostalgic images featured on the stamps.

The stamp dedication ceremony was held September 9 at Macy's Herald Square in New York. Joining Corbett at the ceremony were Robin Hall, executive producer, Macy's Parade and Entertainment Group, and Jean Picker Firstenberg, chair, USPS Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee.

The new stamp successfully captures both spirit and tradition, according to Hall.

"Paul Rogers' beautiful rendering of a New York street teeming with energy and life under a winter sky filled with giant helium balloons captures the spirit and the purpose of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade perfectly," said Hall. "And like the Macy's Parade itself, it mirrors a moment in time; it's both a snapshot of popular culture and a reflection of our enduring traditions."

The stamp is now widely available at local Post Office locations around the country. Collectors have until November 10, 2009 to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark for this new stamp release. First-day covers and additional memorabilia are also available. (See details and ordering information below).

View a larger image of the stamp strip

How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark

Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at a local Post Office, at The Postal Store website at www.usps.com/shop, or by calling 800-STAMP-24. 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:

Thanksgiving Day Parade Stamp
Postmaster
421 Eighth Ave., Room 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 Nov. 10, 2009.

How to Order First-Day Covers

Stamp Fulfillment Services also offers first-day covers for new stamp issues and Postal Service 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 calling 800-STAMP-24 or writing to:

Information Fulfillment
Dept. 6270
U.S. Postal Service
PO Box 219014
Kansas City, MO 64121-9014

Philatelic Products
There are four philatelic products available for this stamp issue:
463763, First-Day Cover Set of 4, $3.28
463768, Digital Color Postmark Set of 4, $6.00
463791, Ceremony Program, $6.95
463799, First-Day Cover Digital Color Postmark & Pane of 20 (Set of 4), $14.80

An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 149 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes, six days a week. It has 34,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services, not tax dollars, to pay for operating expenses. The Postal Service has annual revenue of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world's mail.

Stamp images courtesy of the United States Postal Service.

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