Rosa Parks Stamp Image Revealed - February 2013

The image for the Rosa Parks Stamp has just been released on the USPS Store's website.



Although an exact date of issue has not been announced, it is likely to be February 2013. Further, note that the Uncut Press Sheets for this issue will be available again both with and without die cuts, but in this instance the Press Sheets contain a whopping 10 sheets of 20 stamps, requiring a $92 investment for each type.

This is yet another reason to stop collecting those expensive Press Sheets!

The USPS link for pre-orders:

https://store.usps.com/store/browse...tId=S_470404

...so far we have 4 imperf. uncut press sheets confirmed for 2013 - at a total of $285.80! Daylight robbery...!

How many uncut press sheets before the deficit is wiped out?

Peter

I collected copies of all the 2012 imperfs just for the fun of it. Fun's over now! As far as I'm concerned, their unsold press sheets can fill up USPS warehouses like the Simpsons and Flags of Our Nations series. USPS seems to be hell-bent on a mission to kill stamp collecting.

Having seen many pictures of Rosa Parks, I have to admit that I'm not very fond of this likeness of her. In it, she appears smug and a bit condescending which in my mind is directly opposite to her actual personality and visual presence. I may be off-base here and would like to hear your comments yea or nay.

At first look, I would have to agree with you about the image selection, although I am the first to admit that I am not a student of Black History so I have not really reviewed all of the alternate photographs or portraits that may exist of her.

As for the design selected, according to the USPS website, this is the basis for the portrait used on the stamp:

After a relatively thorough search of photos of Rosa Parks on the internet, I've only come across one picture that catches her image close to the angle portrayed in the proposed stamp. It's the very famous one of her being fingerprinted by a Montgomery policeman. In all respects the photo does "emphasize her quiet strength" and perhaps even a stoic resignation of the price she'll have to pay for her one woman protest. However, at least in my estimation, the artist has failed to capture what the photo has. I placed a link to this picture below. You all can be the judge of this.

http://josamotril.files.wordpress.c...sa-parks.jpg

Although it certainly would have been controversial, I honestly think I would have preferred to see either the image of her arrest mug shot or that famous picture of her quietly sitting in the bus on this stamp. To me, both of those pictures better convey the essence of Ms. Parks' singlehanded struggle against oppression.

I think the photo of her being fingerprinted should have been used in its entirety. That would have caught the essence of what she did. But I can see how that would have been too controversial. But it was the truth.

The image on the stamp has the one thing the fingerprinting photograph doesn't. Eye contact. This, and the subtlety of her expression convey perfectly her determination. It is one of the very few new issue / modern stamps I like, most are just dross.

Terry

I actually liked the portrait. It's beautifully rendered and I thought it projected self confidence.

I am given to understand there was also an issue with the immediate family/heirs of Rosa Parks who had some influence and/or say into the stamp image to be used.

In fact, if you go to today's 2013 Stamp Program Preview, the following note follows the description of the stamp:

I think if the USPS is going to recognize Rosa Parks and the civil rights movement, which it should, they should also issue a stamp honouring Emmett Till. He was a Chicago teen who was brutally murdered in Mississippi in 1955, while visiting relatives. His death sparked the movement and help prompt Mrs. Parks to act.

I can imagine I'll catch flak for this reply, but what the heck. There is a very stark difference between the contributions of Ms. Parks and Emmett Till. Ms. Parks' actions were conscious, premeditated, and courageous. She knew exactly what the repercussions of her defiance would be and yet she still took that brave step forward. Although the lynching of Emmett Till was particularly barbarous and heinous, his actions were the naïve actions of a black teenage youth completely unfamiliar with the depth of racism in the Deep South during that period. If shedding blood in the fight for the civil rights is a litmus test for one to be portrayed on a US stamp, I would think we'd be far better off honoring the memories of people like James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, and Viola Liuzzo and others like them on our stamps. They were, like Rosa Parks, very conscious of the dangers that surrounded them and still faced them head-on. In my humble opinion, these people would look great on a block of four. Once again, I await your critical lambasting.

No lambasting, lp.
I merely point out Emmett as a victim and the spark that started it all. There were probably hundreds who gave their lives (perhaps more) and all are worthy of recognition. He was merely the beginning.

jamesw, point well taken. Our country's certainly not close to perfect and bigotry still exists to some degree, but haven't we really come a long way? I'm old enough to remember the separate drinking fountains and restrooms, and even attended a segregated school. It all seems so very strange and long ago.

I like it. I won't buy it, but I like it.

The USPS website has just posted this news bulletin on the details of the February 4, 2013 first day of issue ceremonies for the stamp in both Detroit (7:30 AM) and Dearborn, Michigan (10:45 AM):

http://about.usps.com/news/national...3_ma0122.htm

I must say I found it rather curious that the news release suggests that:

Quote:
"Detroit will become the first city in the nation to sell the Rosa Parks Forever Stamp..."

As there are two first day ceremonies that day and the stamps are available nationwide on that day as well, all I can figure is that Detroit will have the "honor" of releasing them at 7:30 AM (typically a half hour to an hour earlier than most post office windows open for the rest of the country.)