# 5919 - 2024 First-Class Forever Stamp - Pinback Buttons: Smile
US #5919
2024 Smile – Pinback Buttons
• One of 10 stamps commemorating popular and colorful pinback buttons
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Set: Pinback Buttons
Value: 73¢ First Class Mail Rate (Forever)
First Day of Issue: August 15, 2024
First Day City: Hartford, Connecticut
Quantity Issued: 35,000,000
Printed by: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd.
Printing Method: Offset, Flexographic
Format: Panes of 20
Tagging: Nonphosphored Type III, Spot Tag
Why the stamp was issued: To celebrate the way pinback buttons have been used for decades to send messages, decorate clothing, raise awareness, and more.
About the stamp design: Pictures a typographic design by artist Don Clark featuring the word “Smile.”
Special design details: The round shape of the stamp, along with its shadowing and reflection effects, gives it the illusion of being three-dimensional.
First Day City: The First Day of Issue Ceremony was held at the Great American Stamp Show in Hartford, Connecticut.
About the Pinback Buttons set: Includes 10 stamps with typographic designs by 10 different artists in their own styles, each with a single word as the main element of the design. Artists include: Don Clark (Smile), Tré Seals (Hello!), Jay Fletcher (Peace), Juan Carlos Pagan (Love), Gia Graham (Fun), Jeff Rogers (Sweet), Ryan Feerer (Yes!), Lisa Congdon (Cheers!), DKNG Studios (Kudos!), and Gina Triplett (Happy).
History the stamp represents: For most people today, it’s second nature to smile when you see a camera. But in the early days of photography, few people ever smiled.
The practice of not smiling goes back centuries to when portraits were painted. It was considered impolite and unrefined to smile or show teeth in a painting. Part of this was due to a pair of books published in the 1500s that outlined perfect manners for high society.
Then in 1787, Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun exhibited a self-portrait at the Louvre’s Salon. Not only did she smile – she showed her bright white teeth. While some scoffed at the painting, others embraced it. One reason for the change in attitudes was that modern dentistry was born in Paris decades earlier. Healthier, brighter teeth were worth showing off. Paris was the smile capital of the world, until the French Revolution two years later.
Meanwhile, photography was developed in the late 1820s. Keeping with the tradition of posing for paintings, people didn’t smile. Dentistry improvements forged a new era of bright, healthy smiles in the US. Camera advertisements also began showing smiling people, signaling that’s what one should do in front of the camera. And it was in the 1930s that we started saying “cheese” while posing for a photo. This helps us form a grin and show teeth for the perfect smile.
US #5919
2024 Smile – Pinback Buttons
• One of 10 stamps commemorating popular and colorful pinback buttons
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Set: Pinback Buttons
Value: 73¢ First Class Mail Rate (Forever)
First Day of Issue: August 15, 2024
First Day City: Hartford, Connecticut
Quantity Issued: 35,000,000
Printed by: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd.
Printing Method: Offset, Flexographic
Format: Panes of 20
Tagging: Nonphosphored Type III, Spot Tag
Why the stamp was issued: To celebrate the way pinback buttons have been used for decades to send messages, decorate clothing, raise awareness, and more.
About the stamp design: Pictures a typographic design by artist Don Clark featuring the word “Smile.”
Special design details: The round shape of the stamp, along with its shadowing and reflection effects, gives it the illusion of being three-dimensional.
First Day City: The First Day of Issue Ceremony was held at the Great American Stamp Show in Hartford, Connecticut.
About the Pinback Buttons set: Includes 10 stamps with typographic designs by 10 different artists in their own styles, each with a single word as the main element of the design. Artists include: Don Clark (Smile), Tré Seals (Hello!), Jay Fletcher (Peace), Juan Carlos Pagan (Love), Gia Graham (Fun), Jeff Rogers (Sweet), Ryan Feerer (Yes!), Lisa Congdon (Cheers!), DKNG Studios (Kudos!), and Gina Triplett (Happy).
History the stamp represents: For most people today, it’s second nature to smile when you see a camera. But in the early days of photography, few people ever smiled.
The practice of not smiling goes back centuries to when portraits were painted. It was considered impolite and unrefined to smile or show teeth in a painting. Part of this was due to a pair of books published in the 1500s that outlined perfect manners for high society.
Then in 1787, Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun exhibited a self-portrait at the Louvre’s Salon. Not only did she smile – she showed her bright white teeth. While some scoffed at the painting, others embraced it. One reason for the change in attitudes was that modern dentistry was born in Paris decades earlier. Healthier, brighter teeth were worth showing off. Paris was the smile capital of the world, until the French Revolution two years later.
Meanwhile, photography was developed in the late 1820s. Keeping with the tradition of posing for paintings, people didn’t smile. Dentistry improvements forged a new era of bright, healthy smiles in the US. Camera advertisements also began showing smiling people, signaling that’s what one should do in front of the camera. And it was in the 1930s that we started saying “cheese” while posing for a photo. This helps us form a grin and show teeth for the perfect smile.