"Letter Carriers: We Deliver!"
This is the theme of a new 25-cent commemorative stamp hailing the more than 240,000 men and women who carry the mail and deliver it all across the United States.The horizontal stamp is printed in semi-jumbo format in panes of 40. It features a sketch of three smiling carriers, two men and a woman, dressed in various seasonal attire - a summer safari helmet, a winter hat with earflaps, and a baseball-type cap - that emphasizes the official motto of the National Association of Letter Carriers:
"Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."
Across the top of the stamp is "Letter Carriers: We Deliver!" and "USA 25."
This is not the first stamp to pay tribute to U.S. letter carriers. Previous issues for special delivery and certified mail have shown mail personnel, and two "Postal People" stamps featured letter carriers in 1973. In 1963, the centennial of city mail delivery was celebrated with a commemorative designed by Norman Rockwell.
First-day cancellations of the Letter Carriers stamp are available in the two usual ways. Sept. 29 is the deadline for ordering.
Collectors may buy the stamp at a local post office and affix it to their own covers. Submit the self-addressed, stamped covers to: Customer-Affixed Envelopes, Letter Carriers Commemorative Stamp, Postmaster, Milwaukee, WI 53203-9991. No remittance is required. The Postal Service prefers that customers use this method and gives these orders preferential service.
If you wish to have the Postal Service affix the stamp, send, for each cover desired, a self-addressed envelope and 25 cents payment in the form of a check or money order, to: Letter Carriers Commemorative, Postmaster, Milwaukee, WI 53203-9992.
New Penny Stamp
We don't see many 1-cent stamps these days, but a new 1-cent "Penalty Mail" stamp has been issued. It is for official mail purposes only and not for private use.
Its design is similar to that of previous issues. The central portion of the Great Seal of the United States appears in white on a blue background. "Official Mail USA" and "Penalty for private use $300" appear at the bottom.
Zambia Honors the Pope
The African nation of Zambia, the former British Protectorate known as Northern Rhodesia, has issued a set of four stamps in tribute to the recent visit of Pope John Paul II. The three-day visit was both a state visit and a pastoral one, and was the first made to Zambia by any pontiff.
One stamp bears a miniature portrait of the pope superimposed upon a map of Zambia, while a second shows a larger portrait against an image of a dove. A third stamp features a photograph of the pope and the Papal Coat of Arms, and the fourth has the pope's portrait and a photograph of Zambia's Victoria Falls.
New Israel Catalog
The Israel Philatelic Service has issued a new revised official stamp catalog, No. 11. The 320-page hardcover book contains full details of all Israel postage stamps issued, from the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 to the end of 1988. Each stamp is shown in full color with text in both Hebrew and English. The serial numbers of the stamps correspond to those in the U.S. Scott catalog.
The Israel catalog can be ordered from the Israel Stamp Collectors Society, Box 917, Van Nuys, CA 91408. The price is $39.95.
U.N. in Vienna
The United Nations will issue two stamps honoring the 10th anniversary of its office in Vienna, Austria. The Vienna International Centre was opened in August 1979, and U.N. stamps were issued for the occasion. The new stamps will have 25-cent and 50-cent denominations and will be issued at U.N. Headquarters in New York.