Living Persons Appearing On Past US Postage Stamps

Yet another addition to this thread. Has anyone heard of this one before?

The article appeared in a Omaha, Nebraska newspaper on 12/03/2011. (The article is copied below, as the link provided doesn't always work):

http://www.omaha.com/article/201112...2039885/1199

In the Scott catalog, US C143(1Jun2007). I guess this jogger couldn't run fast enough to get out of the picture...

I brought this up elsewhere, but for the sake of posterity, I'll submit this stamp to your list here too.



Actor Terrence Mann as the Rum Tum Tugger in the original Broadway show 'Cats' on a 33 cent US stamp in the early 90s.

Not only living, but still alive and on the stage.

Arbor Day issue (Scott 717) was from a picture of Alvin W. Hall, Jr. and Ruth Hall, children of Alvin W. Hall, Sr then director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

I consider this a valuable thread. I know of no other resource other than SCF where such documentation has appeared in just one place on the subject of living persons having appeared on US stamp issues.

It certainly makes for an interesting stamp related topic.

Now I wonder if we've covered all US stamps or if there may be some others that we've missed through the years.

As always, additional comments are welcomed.

National Recovery Administration stamp of 1933 (Scott 732) was based on a watercolor by Henry Hintermeister that was used on a NRA poster. It was suggested that this design be us for a postage stamp and President Roosevelt ask that student in cap and gown be changed to depict a woman.

In the final design a mustache was added to Roosevelt and described as a businessman.

What about Andy Griffith?





















Ooooooh, missed it by that much!

Ok so living people can be on stamps as long as they are not being celebrated/honoured on the stamp. What I don't understand is why won't the USPS honour a living person on a stamp if they are deserving of such accolades?

The fact is the up until the announcement several months ago, living people were NOT allowed to be portrayed on US stamps, whether they were the subject matter of the stamp or not. Any person to be commemorated with a US stamp (except for US Presidents) had to be dead at least 10 years (later reduced to 5 years). The various news articles and details outlined in this thread suggest that even with that regulation firmly in place, there have been occasions when the US Postal Service (or US Post Office Department, as they were formerly known) "goofed" and allowed certain stamps to be issued anyway.

The latest regulations by the US Postal Service that were put in place several months ago eliminated the requirement that one had to be dead for at least 5 years to be depicted on a stamp, and went the step further that allowed for a living person to be so honored, if there were appropriate support by the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee and/or the USPS Board of Governors.

In recent weeks there have been news reports that current sitting members of the USPS Board of Governors are not in support of depicting living persons on stamps and therefore the proposed idea that a living person would be depicted on a stamp in 2012 has all but faded away. It may still happen, but not until sometime in the future, if at all.

Most stamp collectors are sort of glad that this regulation has been delayed, as the bottom line is that no one, no matter how noble or humanitarian a person may have been noted to be, can really be evaluated by their lifetime achievements until after their demise. There is always that possibility, no matter how rare, that the person could have later in life done something that would have tarnished their reputation and, in turn, would have embarrassed the US Postal Service by having issued a stamp for such a person. Since there is no way the US Postal Service can ever recall a stamp once it has been released, they have to be ever so careful about it. Furthermore, the idea of using one's image on a stamp while they are alive does present certain requirements of gaining licenses to use a living person's image, which the person must agree to, which may be more complex than it seems on the surface.

All in all, it would be best left to issue stamps after a person has died when there is clear evidence that the person is worthy of such an honor.

I was reading an article about the Special Olympics on their website. They mentioned this


Is this correct?
A use of someone's image as a celebration of their acheivements, rather than as an incidental part of a design.
Obviously a coin rather than a stamp, but I wonder what processes were gone through to make the decision.

Thank you for showing all of this stamps and I really enjoy them very much to be honest.

Hi

Armstrong ?...Aldrin ?

The fear that the honoree may do something that would then prove that he was not worthy of the honor. Say Obama turns out to be a communist spy. And to prevent politicians from pushing there heroes and partisans on to stamps. Imagine if every stamp had only Democrats on it now, or Republicans in a GOP administration!

1932 Los Angeles Olympics 3 cent from a picture of Jeremiah Alfred LeConey, American sprinter.

What if they had made a stamp honoring OJ Simpson before the trial?

I think it's a good guideline.