The I.B.M. Blog & Articles

The International Brotherhood of Magicians

06 Sep

Art of Magic Stamps Available at Post Office

Category: Blog   Posted by: C. DENNIS SCHICK

 Magic has returned to the United States Postal Service (USPS).

The Art of Magic

On Tuesday, August 7, 2018, the USPS began issuing five stamps which pay tribute to the performing art of Magic. The title of the issue, is “The Art of Magic.” They are Forever Stamps, and cost fifty cents each. They come in a pane (sheet) of twenty, which costs ten dollars. The five magic stamps are:

 

• A rabbit coming out of a hat (production)

• A fortune teller using a crystal ball (prediction)

• A woman floating in the air (levitation)

• An empty bird cage (vanishing), and

• A bird emerging from a flower (transformation).

 

Of course it could be argued that other classic magic tricks should have been included -- either instead of or added to these five. But these are the five and that’s the way it is.

 

The illustrator of the stamps, Jay Fletcher, said: “I wanted to play off the look of old magic posters from the 1920s, but also make the stamp set feel elegant and modern.”

 

I started out saying that “Magic has returned to the USPS.” That implies that magic has already been there. Well, it has. The world’s most famous magician -- Harry Houdini -- was featured on a 37-cent stamp in 2002. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice -- Mickey Mouse -- appeared on one of four Disney character stamps in 2007, which cost 41-cents. And boy-magician Harry Potter used his magic wand on a Forever stamp in 2013 as part of a sheet. You can still buy all of these (but probably not at your local post office). Go to: usps.com.

 

When I went to that Website, I found the following, indicating the USPS marketing people had been hard at work, thinking how they might make some extra money.:

 

• The Art of Magic Kit ($34.95) Five reimagined card tricks by Mac King.

• The Art of Magic Poster Set ($94.95) Set of five; souvenir sheet included

• The Art of Magic Levitation Framed Art ($14.95)

• The Art of Magic Press Sheet With Die-cuts ($60)

• The Art of Magic Forever ($10) (No explanation. Rabbit stamp shown.

 

For you who want to know more details about The Art of Magic stamps, here is information from the USPS Website. No wonder the USPS is so heavily in debt. It takes a bunch of people to produce five stamps.

 

The designer and art director was Greg Breeding

The artist and typographer was Jay Fletcher

The modeler (whatever that means) was Sandra Lane

The manufacturing process was offset printing

The printer was Banknote Corporation of America, Browns Summit, NC

The press run was twenty million stamps

 

According to a spokesman for USPS, “Magic has long held a special place in the nation’s history. American magicians perform in arenas, theaters, and even backyards. No matter how big or small, a magic show will always inspire wonder.”

 

END



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