Holidays Forever

NEW YORK, Oct. 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Postal Service starts delivering the 2010 holiday season today by issuing four, new Forever stamps and a single stamp featuring a musical angel at the American Stamp Dealers Association Mega Stamp Show in New York City.

"With these wonderful new stamps in hand, you will be ready for the upcoming holidays — and we'll be ready to deliver your messages of peace and joy across America," said Maura Robinson, Postal Service vice president, Pricing. "Starting today, both the new Holiday Evergreens Forever stamps and the Angel with Lute commemorative issue will be available nationwide."

Holiday Evergreens Forever

Decorating with evergreens during the winter holiday season is a popular and appealing tradition. These beautiful new stamps feature close-up views of the foliage and cones of four different conifers:  ponderosa pine, eastern red cedar, blue spruce and balsam fir.

The artist, the late Ned Seidler, was a gifted painter of nature subjects. When painting flora, he frequently used cuttings from plants and trees in his own yard as reference.

Angel with Lute

For the holiday season, angels represent peace on earth. This stamp features an angel playing a lute, an image from a fresco painted around the year 1480 by Italian Renaissance artist, Melozzo da Forli, for the apse of the Church of the Holy Apostles in Rome. It radiates serenity and dignity, along with compassion, while the lute points to harmony and song.

Also, available now at Post Offices are 44-cent Madonna and Child, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and Eid stamps this holiday season.

How to Order First-Day-of-Issue Postmark

Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at local Post Offices, at The Postal Store website at www.usps.com/shop, or by calling 800-STAMP-24. They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes to themselves or others, and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

Holiday Evergreens Forever and Angel with Lute

Postmaster

421 Eighth Ave., Rm. 2029B

New York, NY  10199-9998

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark. All orders must be postmarked by Dec. 21, 2010 for the Holiday Evergreens Forever and Angel with Lute stamps.

How to Order First-Day Covers

The Postal Service also offers first-day covers for new stamp issues and postal stationery items postmarked with the official first-day-of-issue cancellation. Each item has an individual catalog number and is offered in the quarterly USA Philatelic catalog. Customers may request a free catalog by calling 800-STAMP-24 or writing to:

Information Fulfillment

Dept. 6270

U.S. Postal Service

PO Box 219014

Kansas City, MO  64121-9014

Philatelic Products

Holiday Evergreens Forever stamps:

• 575063, First-Day Cover Set of 4 ATM, $3.28.
• 679763, First-Day Cover Set of 4, $3.28.
• 679768, Digital Color Postmark Set of 4, $6.
• 679791, Ceremony Program, $6.95.
• 679799, Cancellation Keepsake w/one Random Digital Color Postmark, $10.95.
• 886600, Holiday Evergreen Notecards w/8 stamps, $11.95.

Angel with Lute stamp:

• 575161, First-Day Cover, $0.82.
• 575165, Digital Color Postmark, $1.50.
• 575191, Ceremony Program, $6.95.
• 575199, Digital Color Postmark Keepsake, $10.95.

To learn more about the Postal Service's stamp program, visit http://beyondtheperf.com.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no direct support from taxpayers. With 36,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, the Postal Service relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses. Named the Most Trusted Government Agency six consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $68 billion and delivers nearly half the world's mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 28th in the 2009 Fortune 500.

SOURCE U.S. Postal Service