CHICAGO — The United States Postal Service, older than the Declaration of Independence itself, is marking a major milestone this week. Founded in July 1775, the USPS is celebrating its semiquincentennial with the release of a new stamp design featuring artwork by renowned local cartoonist Chris Ware.
The stamps are set to be released on Wednesday, accompanied by a 32-page prestige booklet that commemorates the postal service’s 250 years of operation. The agency emphasized its excitement for the events in a recent statement, highlighting the artistic contributions of Ware, who created the stamp artwork and co-designed the stamp pane with Antonio Alcalá, an art director for the USPS.
“I was indeed flattered and honored to be asked to do a stamp,” Ware expressed to Block Club. “I figured I would either scare off the Post Office with my ideas and/or make something that wasn’t printable,” he added. To his relief, he found that working with USPS staff was a pleasant experience, noting they were “unpretentious, funny and very agreeable.”
Chris Ware, an Omaha native, is noted for his detailed and poignant comics. He has gained international respect, having exhibited his work in various solo museum shows, from the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago in 2006 to a present showcase in Barcelona. Notably, he became the first comics artist to exhibit at the prestigious Whitney Biennial and frequently contributes cover illustrations for The New Yorker.
Moving to Chicago in the early 1990s to pursue a master’s degree at the School of the Art Institute, Ware began his professional journey in the city’s alternative weeklies. His acclaimed first book, “Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth,” originally published in a multi-year saga in various publications, remains in print after 25 years.
In bringing his distinctive storytelling style to the USPS, Ware has accomplished something unique. “A very kind person at the USPS told me that, as far as their historian could determine, this was the first time anyone had ever tried to tell a story with a sheet of stamps,” he remarked.
The new stamps, titled “250 Years of Delivering,” visually narrate the everyday life of a mail carrier through a series of 20 interconnected stamps. Arranged in four rows of five, the stamps present a bird’s-eye view of a bustling city, beautifully illustrating buildings, trees, and numerous people going about their daily lives. Continuing his signature style, Ware captures the progression of the seasons within these stamps.
The mail carrier’s journey unfolds throughout the stamps as she walks past coffee shops, government buildings, and various community gatherings throughout the year. The dense artwork features small moments of interaction, such as the carrier receiving letters from a construction worker emerging from a manhole cover. The last stamp depicts the carrier in her comforting home with family at the end of her long day.
In addition to celebrating the postal service’s anniversary, Ware’s design includes thoughtful nods to its rich history, including imagery of a Pony Express rider and various types of postal vehicles and collection boxes. (Among them is a cluster mailbox from an apartment building and the traditional blue curbside boxes.) A stamp collector examining his collection also pays homage to the vast history of stamp collecting.
Ware expressed his goal of crafting something that resonates with postal carriers. “I was hoping to make something that a letter carrier might happen to see and maybe feel some connection to,” he reflected. He acknowledges the unique psychological demands required to be a mail carrier, likening their routine to a “Groundhog Day” experience characterized by monotony yet a gradually changing environment.
Interestingly, Ware has fond memories of interacting with stamps as a child, albeit briefly. “I tried briefly to collect stamps,” he admitted. “For some reason, I couldn’t ever figure out why I was doing it. No pox upon philatelists, with whom I clearly share some DNA. I’d inherited a half-filled book of stamps from my second father, but it only highlighted how ignorant I was about the world. So, I stuck to collecting superhero comic books instead.” He humorously concluded, “Now I hate superheroes in all forms, so maybe I should try stamps again.”
The new sheet of 20 stamps is priced at $15.60 and will be available both online and at any U.S. post office starting Wednesday. This increase reflects a recent price adjustment, as the cost per stamp rose by a nickel to 78 cents as of July 13.
As the USPS celebrates this significant milestone, it also pays tribute to its essential role in connecting communities, supported by the artistic vision of Chris Ware.
image source from：blockclubchicago
