During the ceremony at the Great American Stamp show, William G. Fraine, the Postal Service's senior vice president of national sales, said, "This year, the Postal Service celebrated its 250th anniversary — a milestone that's older than the nation itself."
"This highly anticipated expo celebrates, as no other event can, the confluence of art, education, history, and international goodwill. Issued to celebrate this once-per-decade extravaganza, these stamps also highlight the special role of Boston in the American Revolution as we prepare to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of our nation," he said.
Joining Fraine were representatives of the U.S. philatelic community including Yamil H. Kouri, Jr., president, Boston 2026 World Expo, who said "Boston 2026 World Expo will be the largest world philatelic exhibition in at least a decade. There is tremendous excitement about this event, both in the United States and abroad, because we will also be celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. We are very grateful for the support from the US Postal Service for these new stamps that continue a century old American tradition of promoting important philatelic exhibitions with commemorative postage stamps and special cancellations".
From May 23 to May 30, the Boston 2026 World Expo will fill the halls and meeting rooms of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. Spanning 352,000 square feet of exhibition space, the expo will feature a vast bourse — the philatelic term for a collectors' and dealers' marketplace — as well as hundreds of collectors' club and society meetings, competitive exhibitions, issuance ceremonies for new stamps and displays and exhibits by postal authorities of the nations of the world.
This event offers rare and remarkable opportunities for stamp collectors to connect in fellowship with colleagues and friends, build their collections, learn from experts and fully immerse themselves in their hobby. For curious newcomers and the public, the expo offers eye-catching displays of visually stunning stamps, opportunities to learn about other countries and their cultures and a rich sense of tradition in a fun, family-friendly setting.
The United States hosted its first international philatelic exhibition in New York City in 1913 and has hosted similar expos once a decade ever since. In 1926, the U.S. Post Office Department issued a special souvenir sheet commemorating the 1777 Battle of White Plains with text promoting the second international philatelic exhibition on the selvage, the start of a tradition of commemorating or promoting the exhibition through stamps.
Since the 1970s, a tradition of issuing special stamps to commemorate the international philatelic exhibition at the event itself has generally given way to the issuance of stamps to promote the exhibition in advance. Today, many other nations issue stamps — sometimes three years beforehand — to build anticipation and commemorate a gathering that celebrates the confluence of art, education, history and international goodwill.
Featuring digital illustrations, these two intaglio-printed stamps resemble vintage engravings as a way to pay homage to stamps issued in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
One of the two stamps depicts the Old North Church, the oldest standing church building in Boston, as it appeared during the American Revolution.
The second of two stamps shows a "midnight rider" on horseback in Colonial garb holding a lantern to light his way.
On the evening of April 18, 1775, the Old North Church became an icon of the American Revolution when two lanterns in the bell tower signaled riders to warn rebellious Colonists that the British were crossing the Charles River and marching west toward Concord, MA, where rebellion-minded Colonists were thought to be storing munitions.
The best known of the "midnight riders," Boston silversmith Paul Revere, has become legendary, but others believed to be riders that night included Concord resident Dr. Samuel Prescott and Boston tanner William Dawes.
The battles of Lexington and Concord occurred the following day, marking the start of the Revolutionary War.
Dan Gretta was the artist for these stamps. Greg Breeding, an art director for USPS, served as the stamps' designer.
The Boston 2026 World Stamp Show stamps are being issued as Forever stamps. These Forever stamps will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce rate. News of the Boston 2026 World Stamp Show stamps are being shared with the hashtag #WorldStampShowStamp.
Postal Products
Customers may purchase stamps and other philatelic products through the Postal Store at usps.com/shopstamps, by calling 844-737-7826, by mail through USA Philatelic or at Post Office locations nationwide. For officially licensed stamp products, shop the USPS Officially Licensed Collection on Amazon. Additional information on stamps, first-day-of-issue ceremonies and stamp-inspired products can be found at StampsForever.com.
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National contact: James McKean
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Local contact: Timothy Norman
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SOURCE U.S. Postal Service
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