New Janis Joplin Stamp

I know, I know, a lot you you don't like US stamps that do not show a flag, a dead general, or some form of scenery, but the new Janis Joplin stamp has been done VERY nicely and shows a lady that opened the door (and pathway) for all the subsequent female rock artists to come since then.
The colors and the pink glasses typify the era she was in and I think
that it makes this stamp look great.
I had the extreme pleasure of seeing Ms. Joplin in concert in London
many, many years ago. Great concert. She passed away not to long after the concert, her life unfortunatly cut short.
Anyway, here it is for those that haven't seen it.....

I agree, the stamps are attractive looking, but even still, there are a few concerns that I guess the USPS and those involved in the printing of the stamps overcame:

1. It's curious that the Postal Bulletin suggests that the colors used for the stamp are black, cyan, magenta and yellow. I guess a combination thereof makes for the orange color that is shown on the major portion of the stamps.

2. I also find it curious that the only disclaimer shown on the pane of stamps is that "Name, image and likeness of Janis Joplin used under license." It would seem that it wasn't necessary to credit the photographer (David Gahr) for the photograph(s), especially the large one shown on the reverse of the stamp issue:



3. Even though tagging, etc., is supposed to avoid problems such as this, concern has been raised on other sites wondering if postal clerks will recognize these as legitimate stamps or think of them as "labels" and not legitimate postage. The words "Forever" and "USA" written in psychadelic print don't help either.

Nonetheless, the bottom line is that I'm sure the stamp issue will sell well and that's what the USPS is concerned about.

Let me address the question of postal recognition. 99 % of all mail goes through a automatic sort/scan system. If there is tagging, it will go through. Machines do NOT think (OK, at least some of them don't), so I don't think a problem will exist
at that point. There are several possible answers to your photographers name question. I think the image may be covered in the copyrighted material for the owners of it,so the photographers name is not important. If the photographer sold the image, or was under contract to take the image for say the studio, then his name is NOT important. He signed away those rights when he got the money for the assignment. If he was just a photographer who was out taking pictures and snapped the image, then his name should have appeared on the image rear with copyright ine. Since the time the image was shot, and today, a lot of years have passed. He may not even be alive, and his negatives and rights were sold or transferred at his death. As a former professional photographer, I have sold many shots to magazines, and the image is usually Theirs to do with as they desire, one time use, unlimited use, all set up in the initial contract. The bigger the client, the more rights you must give away.

Anyway, I agree, I think this issue will sell.

This psychadelic stamp will remain confined with "Ball and Chain" in my heart forever!

Linns Stamp News had a recent article on the David Gahr photos used on the Janis Joplin Stamp (and also on the previously issued Miles Davis stamp). It is at the link below:

http://www.linns.com/news/us-stamps...Davis-stamps

Humourous statement: I was just over to ebay. They are already selling this sheet for $15 US plus postage (of course) One was $15.99 with one stamp missing from the sheet. Humm, that is a good markup. I guess I should go down to the PO and get a bunch more at face value! Ha!

This image looks lovely and I can't wait to see the actual stamp. I went to her concert at Harvard Stadium in Cambridge, MA, and had a blast even though the sound system kept malfunctioning.

Donald

Quite pleased with the design and execution of the Janis Joplin stamp... like the idea of making the souvenir sheet to look like a 45 rpm sleeve...including ring wear marks.
Same care was used in the Hendrix release.

I like it as well, nice follow up to the Hendrix release. My bet is either Jim Morrison or Buddy Holley next

Buddy had a stamp before but it's been long enough that he could have another one.

Even the people who like Jim Morrison don't like Jim Morrison...

Well since the USPS is going to be selling them I don't see any reason for them to see them as labels or stickers although it's pretty much exactly what they are anyway.

All stamps are "labels & stickers".