Secret Project Mercury stamp of 1962 surprised and delighted the public

U.S. Stamp Notes by John M. Hotchner

Modern essays and proofs are scarce in philatelic hands. Most reside in the files of the United States Postal Service and the National Postal Museum. But some examples have come to the philatelic community from the estates of artists involved in designing stamps, and others from the estates of officials involved in the production of stamps.

The latter is the case with the Project Mercury essay shown here in Figures 1 through 3, together with the stamp that was ultimately issued with a different design, shown in Figure 4.

Proofs and essays dealer and scholar Jim Lee bought the essay from the estate of an unnamed senior official at NASA, and it now resides in my collection. It was listed for the first time in 2023 Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers (Scott 1193-E1).

Lee wrote about the find six years ago in an article in the Nov. 28, 2016, issue of Linn’s.

His description can’t be improved upon. He begins with the folder front shown in Figure 1, and the reverse pictured in Figure 2. The folder is opened in Figure 3.

“The cover sheet is a thick bluish green paper (Strathmore cover stock) with the Treasury Department seal engraved in silver. The hand lettering reads: ‘4c Special Project.’ ”

“The back side of the folder … tells the story: ‘Date model completed July 19th, ’61.’ This was just three days before the last suborbital flight by Gus Grissom.

“Inside the folder, shown opened out is a photographic reduction of the proposed artwork (or model) for the Project Mercury stamp.

“This folder would have been circulated through the U.S. Post Office Department chain of command for approval.

“Note how this version shows the capsule returning to earth, while the accepted design shows the capsule in flight. The accepted design makes a more powerful statement about the success of our space program.”

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