Identity area
Reference code
326-IM-0016A-0326
Title
The Post Office Department Signaled the First Orbital Flight
Date(s)
- 1962-03-01 (Creation)
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The Times of Ceylon Press
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The Post Office Department signaled the first orbital flight of a United States astronaut February 20 with the issuance of a new Commemorative stamp, placed on sale throughout America at the exact hour that Astronaut John Glenn's historic flight was officially completed.
It was the first time in history that a previously unannounced commemorative stamp was issued simultaneously with the event it memorialized.
Destined and printed under tight security precautions at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the stamp was distributed well in advance of the flight to more than 300 large postal installations, where it was held intact until the flight was completed.
At the moment that Glenn was retrieved from the ocean, the 300 post offices were notified to remove the wraps from the stamps and place them on sale. None of the postmasters involved knew what the closely guarded packages contained until word was give from Washington to open them.
The central feature of the new stamp is a capsule in space, with the globe in the lower left portion. Across the bottom of the stamp appear the words "Project Mercury". Superimposed over the earth is the denomination "4¢" and the phrase, "U.S. Man in Space."
It was the first time in history that a previously unannounced commemorative stamp was issued simultaneously with the event it memorialized.
Destined and printed under tight security precautions at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the stamp was distributed well in advance of the flight to more than 300 large postal installations, where it was held intact until the flight was completed.
At the moment that Glenn was retrieved from the ocean, the 300 post offices were notified to remove the wraps from the stamps and place them on sale. None of the postmasters involved knew what the closely guarded packages contained until word was give from Washington to open them.
The central feature of the new stamp is a capsule in space, with the globe in the lower left portion. Across the bottom of the stamp appear the words "Project Mercury". Superimposed over the earth is the denomination "4¢" and the phrase, "U.S. Man in Space."
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- The Times of Ceylon Press (Creator)
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image/tiff
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44.4 MiB
Uploaded
June 8, 2015 4:21 AM