Date of Issue : 14 February 2011
Today is Valentine’s Day, celebrated all over the world as Lovers’ day. Taiwan is issuing today a set of two stamps for this special occasion. Young people in Taiwan widely celebrate western Valentine’s Day .
The design of the stamp features a heart formed by a row of perforations, as well as images of roses, presents, hearts, and the word “LOVE” created from pixels. Through the interaction between the sender and the receiver, these stamps convey love and heighten the romantic atmosphere of Valentine’s Day. The message of the code is “Happy Valentine’s Day” for the NT$5 stamp and “I Love You” for the NT$25 stamp.
Love
Love may be a universal theme, but the first U.S. stamp to commemorate this basic human emotion didn’t appear until January 1973. The design was based on the iconic LOVE sculpture by Robert Indiana (born 1928), today one of the most well-known works in the pop art movement. The artist had played with the design for a number of years and in a variety of formats. He first used the concept in 1958 for a series of poems that employed the iconography of a stacked LO and VE. When Indiana was commissioned to design a Christmas card for the Museum of Modern Art in New York he made three paintings of the word LOVE in red, blue and green. First printed in 1965, it remains the most popular card ever published by the Museum.
The first LOVE sculpture was carved from a single block of unpolished aluminum in 1966. Over the years numerous editions of the sculpture have been created, including versions in red and blue, blue and green, and red, white and blue. International language editions can be found in Italian and Hebrew. The image has appeared on t-shirts, mugs, posters, paperweights, and many other collectibles.
Although the first LOVE stamp was enormously popular, it would be eight years before the LOVE theme was repeated. Finally, following numerous requests, in 1982 the USPS released a floral tribute with the word “LOVE” spelled out in a variety of flowers.Two years later, a third LOVE stamp was issued, this one showing five repetitions of the word “LOVE” with a different colored heart replacing the “V” in each. Like the 1982 release, the 1984 LOVE stamp was considered a special rather than a commemorative; that is, it was available in larger quantities and for a longer period of time than a commemorative. According to USPS press releases, the new LOVE stamp was intended for use “not just for Valentine’s Day but for special occasions throughout the year, such as weddings, birthdays, anniversaries and letters to loved ones.” A generic LOVE stamp appeared in 1985 and 1986. Picking up a color scheme begun with the 1984 issue — and would continue pretty consistently for the next ten years — the 1985 stamp one that featured bold slashes of primary and secondary colors above a purple “LOVE,” red “USA,” and green “22.” The 1986 stamp featured a whimsical cartoon puppy with a hopeful expression.
The 1984 through 1986 issues coincided with the phasing out and retirement of “Mr. ZIP,” the ambassador of the Postal Service’s ZIP Code system since 1964. The American public found the “friendly little salesman in blue” enormously appealing, with his theme song of “Zip-a-dee-doo-dah” (sung by Ethel Merman). He appeared on several stamps himself, as well as on post office collectibles and the selvedge of various stamps, including the 1984, 1985, and 1986 LOVE stamps. Mr. ZIP was officially retired in 1986.
Read the whole article http://www.stamps.org/albums/love.pdf
Club News
INDIPEX 2011 – Glimpses of second day
Winning designs of Stamp design competition
At India Post Counter !!
Philatelists meet at the show
Booths of Postal Administrations
: Ashwani Dubey from New Delhi
INDIPEX 2011 Today’s Programme
DAY 3 – Monday, 14th February 2011
YOUTH DAY
10:00 hrs to 18:00 hrs
Time Schedule
– 11:30 hrs to 12:00 hrs – Release of Special Cover – SPMCIL.
Venue
– Activity Area– 15:30 hrs to 16:00 hrs – Release of Special Cover – St. Michael Group of Institutions.
Venue
– Activity AreaDAY 4 – Tuesday, 15th February 2011
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY DAY
10:00 hrs to 18:00 hrs
Time Schedule
– 11:30 hrs to 12:00 hrs – Release of Special Cover – HCL.
Venue
– Activity Area– 15:30 hrs to 16:00 hrs – Release of Special Cover – Sethu Educational Trust Institute of Technology.
Venue
– Activity Area– 16:00 hrs to 16:30 hrs – Release of Special Cover – HP
Venue – Activity Area
