Second set of stamps celebrating World Stamp Show-NY 2016 in 24-stamp pane

By Michael Baadke

The United States Postal Service is again commemorating World Stamp Show-NY 2016 with a set of two forever stamps that will be issued at the show on opening day, May 28.

The new set celebrates the international show by reintroducing and revising a design that first appeared on stamps last year.

The lithographed World Stamp Show issue of 2015 presented two stamps, one red and one blue, alternating on a single pane of 20.

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The stamp design shared by the two stamps blends geometric elements with a central medallion featuring a star in the middle, surrounded by the words “2016 World Stamp Show” around the top and “New York City” below.

The design for the new stamp set repeats that design but turns the colors inside out by using red (or blue) printing for the areas that appeared white on the 2015 stamp, and letting those inked lines on the earlier stamps appear uninked on the new issue.

A second important difference is the fact that the new pair will be intaglio-printed, creating what collectors in casual conversation call “engraved” stamps.

Intaglio printing of line-engraved designs was the norm on U.S. stamps for more than a century before multicolor gravure printing and offset lithography slowly but surely came to dominate.

A third variation with this new set will see the stamps being issued in a 24-stamp folded pane that the Postal Service is describing as a stamp folio.

The two 12-stamp groupings are separated by a vertical gutter that allows the pane to be folded.

The blue stamps on the left side have a decorative selvage border that is primarily red, and the red stamps at right have a similar border that is primarily blue.

The words “World Stamp Show-NY 2016” are found in a tablet above each grouping of 12 stamps, with “May 28-June 4, 2016 New York City, NY” inscribed in the selvage below each block of 12.

The reverse side of the pane is printed offset and includes five paragraphs of text about the international show, reproductions of the central ornaments from the two new stamps, and the Statue of Liberty logo of the stamp show.

Technical details and first-day cancel ordering information for these World Stamp Show stamps are given below.

The first-day ceremony for the new stamp set will take place Saturday morning at 11 a.m., according to the World Stamp Show event schedule. The ceremony, like the stamp show, is free and open to the public.

The show is taking place at the Javits Center, 655 W. 34th St., in New York City.

Limited distribution plan

According to information published in the April 28 Postal Bulletin of the United States Postal Service, the World Stamp Show folio “will only be available through The Postal Store ... or by calling 800-782-6724.”

This unusual warning appears to indicate that the new World Stamp Show set will not be sold in post offices.

The Postal Service did not respond to Linn’s questions about the Postal Bulletin statement.

Nondenominated (47¢) World Stamp Show forever stamps

FIRST DAY— May 28, 2016; city— New York, N.Y., and nationwide.

DESIGN: designer and typographer— Michael Dyer, Brooklyn, N.Y.; art director— Antonio Alcala, Alexandria, Va.; modelers— Michelle Finn and Sandra Lane.

PRINTING: process— intaglio, offset; printer and processor— Banknote Corporation of America, Browns Summit, N.C.; press— Alprinta 74, Phoenix; inks— Pantone Matching System 7626 red, PMS 647 blue; paper— phosphor tagged, overall; gum— self-adhesive; issue quantity— 9.6 million stamps; format— pane of 24 with two designs, from 96-subject cylinders; size— 0.84 inches by 1.42 inches (image); 0.98 inches by 1.56 inches (overall); 10.5 inches by 6.5 inches (full pane); 21.25 inches by 13.25 inches (press sheet); plate numbers— none; marginal markings— “World Stamp Show-NY 2016,” “May 28-June 4, 2016, New York City, NY” (stamp side); “©2015 USPS,” USPS logo, World Stamp Show logo, bar code 586900, promotional text, summary for “World Stamp Show-NY 2016,” two World Stamp Show seals (back side); USPS item No.— 586904.

First-day cancel ordering information

Standard ordering instructions apply. Collectors requesting first-day cancels are encouraged to purchase their own stamps and affix them to envelopes. The first-day cover envelopes should be addressed for return (a removable label may be used), and mailed in a larger envelope addressed to World Stamp Show NY-2016 Folio, Special Events Coordinator, 380 W. 33rd St., New York, NY 10199-9998.

Requests for first-day cancels must be postmarked by July 28.

The Postal Service’s set of two uncacheted first-day covers for the World Stamp Show stamps is item 586916 at $1.82. USPS order numbers for stamps and FDCs also appear in Linn’s 2016 U.S. Stamp Program.

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