United States Postal Cards

UX279 to UX284
1997

UX279 Set of eight 20c Love Swans, multicolored, lithographed, issued February 4, 1997 in Los Angeles, California. All cards have the same front but there are eight different backs. The different backs represent the eight different Love stamps issued by the USPS, except without the insriptions or values. They were sold shrink-wrapped in sets of 3 sheets of 4 picture postcards with the eight different designs for $6.95. The cards are separated by micropers.
The embodiment of grace and beauty, swans represent all that is peaceful, dignified and elegant. The concept of love is commonly expressed through swan imagery -- they mate for life once they find their ideal partner and their courtship ritual involves head to head posturing.

The Love Swans stamp is the first in the popular series that does not include the word "love"; instead, the universal symbol of love, a heart, is formed by a pair of swans gazing lovingly into each other's eyes.

UX280 20c City College of New York CUNY, multicolored, lithographed, issued May 7, 1997 in New York City, New York, on its 150th anniversary. The postal card was dedicated at the Marian Anderson Theatre of the Aaron Davis Hall on the campus of CCNY, was part of the U.S. Postal Service's Historic Preservation series.

"City College of New York is one of the very finest institutions of higher learning in this country," said Allen Kane, USPS Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President, who will dedicate the postal card. "As an alumnus of City College, I can appreciate how so many young people have benefitted greatly from its solid academic program and tradition of excellence. Therefore, I am very proud and honored to participate in the issuance of this new postal card."

The flagship school in the City University of New York system, City College was founded in 1847 as the nation's first free municipal college and was originally known as The Free Academy. The college has one of the most diverse student bodies of any college in America and has produced eight graduates who have won the Nobel Prize - more than any other public college. In addition, former New York Mayor Edward Koch, author Bernard Malamud, Dr. Jonas Salk, and lyricist Ira Gershwin are CCNY alumni.

CCNY has a college of Liberal Arts and Science in addition to the largest complex of professional schools of any of the colleges within the City University of New York system. These professional schools include Architecture, Education, Engineering, Nursing and the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education. CCNY is also home to the Davis Center for the Arts, and the Greenberg Center for Legal Education and Urban Policy.

Designed by Derry Noyes of Washington, D.C., and illustrated by Howard Koslow of Toms River, N.J., the postal card features Shepard Hall, a CCNY landmark.

UX281 20c Bugs Bunny, multicolored, lithographed, issued May 22, 1997 at Burbank, California. Designed by Warner Brothers. Sold in books of 10.

UX282 20c Golden Gate Bridge, multicolored, lithographed, issued June 2, 1997 at San Francisco, California. Picture is Golden Gate Bridge at sunrise. Designed by Carol Simowitz.

UX283 50c Golden Gate Bridge, multicolored, lithographed, issued June 2, 1997 at San Francisco, California. Picture is Golden Gate Bridge at sunset. Designed by Carol Simowitz.

UX284 20c Fort McHenry, issued September 9, 1997 in Baltimore, Maryland.

Set of 5 postcards depicting famous movie monsters. Multicolored, lithographed, issued September 30, 1997 in Universal City, California. Dracula, The Mummy, The Phantom of the Opera, The Wolf Man, and The Frankenstein Monster scared up interest when the USPS issued a special set of postcards honoring the characters and the actors who made them a part of history. The stamps were dedicated at Universal Studios Hollywood -- where these monsters came to life more than sixty years ago.

The Classic Movie Monsters commemorative stamps feature four Hollywood legends in five classic movie roles: Bela Lugosi as Dracula; Lon Chaney as The Phantom of the Opera; Lon Chaney, Jr., as The Wolf Man; and Boris Karloff as The Mummy and The Frankenstein Monster. Universal Studios is recognized worldwide as the place where horror films became a legitimate cinematic genre, beginning with such classic films as The Phantom of the Opera (1925), and continuing with Dracula and Frankenstein (1931), The Mummy (1932), and The Wolf Man (1941). These films began Universal's legacy in the genre that still exists today and includes a total of 36 classic monster and horror titles.

These postcards were sold in a booklet of 20 for $5.95.

20c Phantom of the Opera
20c Dracula
20c Frankenstein
20c Mummy
20c Wolfman

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Copyright 1998 by Martin Peterson.