Ridiculous Commeratives

Which pre-1950 U.S. commeratives do you think would fit into the top 10 ridiculous subjects? I'd have to say U.S 968, the chicken stamp, would be on the list.

Popeye..yes I have heard that one mentioned before over the years..if you really dig in..you could possibly catch up to me in posts !

While I would agree with you, on the surface, that the so-called "chicken stamp" was a frivolous issue. But, it does have an interesting history, was very popular when issued, and, did commemorate an important 3 1/2 billion dollar industry which is very impressive for 1949. It is more significant then or, at least equal to, a number of more recent commemoratives. As always, its hard to be objective in our evaluations of the significance of any issue. It seems we could engage in serious debate over most issues.

I had just become interested in stamps..but I can recall how popular the Four Chaplains stamp was..when it came out !!

INTERESTING IDEA, I'LL NEED TO MULL OVER THAT!

The Farm lobbyist were very powerful back then.

Surely the modern comic strip and cartoon character stamps qualify for frivolous issues.

I know I am a complete newbie and pretty ignorant when it comes to these type of debates, but why do collectors call any stamp "frivolous"? Besides simply putting the text 'US Mail' on a blank stamp, which could have been done, aren't all "images" on stamps frivolous? For us to put any picture on a stamp, whether its George Washington or Homer Simpson, it is ,technically, "icing on the cake". Whether its nice or stupid is all just a matter of taste, right?

Stamps were invented for the purpose of paying for mail service. A blank, white little square piece of paper could have been used, with only the text required printed on it would have done the job. But, we put images on them that were pleasing to eye and to commerate certain events, people, and places. Whether those people, places or things are 'ridiculous' is all a matter of taste. And as my Mother always said, there's no accounting for taste. What you see as ridiculous, a small-time chicken farmer in 1948 was probably pretty proud when this stamp came out and saw it as an achievment.

And as for representing history, stamps do a good job of that. An look at the history of 1948 would show the poultry industry as a huge mover in the American Economy.Just like the Homer Simpson stamp is pretty frivolous, but he does represent our culture and our obesession with TV in our time.

I may be way off base here, and say this with the upmost respect to Laswabbie and everyone else. I just don't see why a chicken is frivolous and a car is not, for example. All stamps could be called frivolous, for that matter, None of them "need" any images on them.

Is there something more to this debate that I'm not getting?



stefanib123 runs and ducks from the smackings she probably deserves....

Stefani, I guess I am fortunate.. growing up in the 50's when being smacked around and smacking back was part of communication...i really do not fret on it .....

i do not collect U.S. because when I started collecting the purple and green stamps were not appealing to me as were the colorful French colonies stamps that Garcelon and Jamestown stamp companies used to send for 2 and 3 cents apiece !!

stefanib123,
Well said, that is a good point. You might be interested in test stamps, or US scott #2521 "the makeup rate" stamp. You could start a collection of pictureless stamps with text only. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I really can't think of a US stamp I don't have some appreciation for. Whether it be the detail, the story behind the stamp, or the picture itself. I am going to have to look through my albums and decide....

Swabbie:

I agree it's a bit of an odd stamp. But in the same ere, they also did a commemorative for the Trucking and Steel industries.

Kirk

Of course the subject matter on commerative stamps is very subjective. We all dislike some subjects/stamps and love others.

Please give it some thought and give me an idea of what you consider to be frivilous, ugly, inappropriate, etc.

There's a method behind the madness and I do have a point to make. This post is a lead-in to one I'll make over the weekend.

Thanks all!

Here's my top 5:

5) The Golden Gate international Expo #852 forgotten event and overshadowed by the New York's World Fair.

4) The Doctors #949 the first time US honored a profession.

3) Korea (overrun countries) #921, this was the only country on the list
that was not overrun during WW2, but annexed in 1904 before WW1.

2) Indian Centennial #972 Native American pride not here, since nearly all Native Americans were force into this territory now Oklahoma.

1) American Turners Society #979 the ugliest stamp of the era, even when it was issued it looked like in was 20 years older then it was, And how can we forget the Americans Turners Society.

Warrehouse,
I think I have a Golden Gate admission ticket in my World Fair collection. Here is a photo I've posted before, take a look in the lower right corner.

Image Insert:

Very Nice! stamperdude

Hello everyone.......

In my opinion.....


While I agree that some stamps may not be on the top of everyone's favorites list, postal issues are not necessarily produced with collectors in mind. We are free to collect whatever we want from what is available.

I choose to spend my time with material I like, thinking about the qualities about them that make me want to be a collector.

Life is too short........enjoy what you like while you can.


With that said.......the 30 or more varieties of the Flag Over Porch series is a delightful (?) challenge......but really.....wouldn't 18 or 20 have been enough ?