Washington Bicentennial stamps of 1932 facts for kids
The Washington Bicentennial stamps of 1932 are special stamps issued by the U.S. government in 1932. They were created to celebrate the 200th birthday of U.S. President George Washington. This collection included twelve different stamps. Each stamp showed President Washington at a different time in his life.
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Designing the Washington Bicentennial Stamps
The stamps were designed by experts from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP). These designers were Clair Aubrey Huston and Alvin Meissner. Huston designed seven of the stamps, while Meissner designed the other five.
What Inspired the Designs?
The pictures on the stamps came from famous paintings, engravings, or sculptures of Washington. These artworks were made while he was alive. The ideas for the stamps came from the Washington Bicentennial Commission, the U.S. Post Office Department, and the BEP.
Early Ideas for the Stamps
Originally, the plan was much bigger. The Post Office wanted to release at least eighteen stamps. These stamps would show not only Washington's portraits but also important events, places, and symbols from his life. For example, they thought about showing Washington's tomb, him crossing the Delaware River, or the Washington Monument.
However, this plan changed. The Post Office decided to only use portraits of Washington. They worried that showing historical scenes might not be accurate. So, the series was reduced to twelve stamps, all featuring different portraits of George Washington.
The Twelve Bicentennial Stamps
The bicentennial stamps first went on sale on January 1, 1932. This happened at the post office in Washington, D.C. Each stamp showed a unique image of George Washington.
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½¢- Scott #704: This stamp shows Washington from a small painting by Charles Willson Peale in 1777. |
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1¢ - Scott #705: This stamp features a side view of Washington from a sculpture by Jean Antoine Houdon made in 1785. |
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1½¢ - Scott #706: This image is based on a painting called the "Virginia Colonel" by Charles Willson Peale from 1772. |
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2¢ - Scott #707: This popular stamp uses a famous portrait by Gilbert Stuart from 1796, known as the "Atheneum portrait." |
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3¢ - Scott #708: This stamp shows Washington in his general's uniform and a hat. It's from a portrait by Charles Willson Peale painted in 1777 at Valley Forge. |
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4¢ - Scott #709: This image is taken from another painting by Charles Willson Peale. |
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5¢ - Scott #710: This stamp uses a painting of Washington by Charles Willson Peale from 1795. |
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6¢ - Scott #711: This stamp shows Washington in his general's uniform. It's from a painting by John Trumbull in 1792. |
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7¢ - Scott #712: This portrait was painted by John Trumbull in 1780. |
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8¢ - Scott #713: This stamp shows a side view of Washington's face. It's from a drawing made by Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin in 1798. |
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9¢ - Scott #714: This image is based on a pastel portrait drawn from life by W. Williams in 1794. |
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10¢ - Scott #715: This stamp uses a portrait of Washington painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1795. |
The Popular 2-Cent and 3-Cent Stamps
The Post Office made sure to put a very famous portrait of Washington on the 2-cent stamp. This was the Gilbert Stuart portrait, which many people loved. The 2-cent stamp was important because it paid the normal cost for sending a letter. This meant it was used more often than any other stamp.
However, a few months after these stamps came out, the price to mail a letter went up. It changed from 2 cents to 3 cents. This caused a problem because there weren't enough 3-cent Washington Bicentennial stamps. The 3-cent stamp showed a less-known image of Washington.
To fix this, the Post Office quickly made a new 3-cent stamp. Instead of creating a brand new design, they changed the popular 2-cent stamp. They removed the dates around the portrait and printed it in the standard 3-cent color. This new 3-cent stamp (Scott #720) became a regular stamp for everyday use.
