# 2559d FDC - 1991 29c World War II: Atlantic Charter
US #2559d
1991 Atlantic Charter Sets War Aims of Allies
- First Day Cover
- From first sheet in series commemorating WW2
- Sheet highlights events that took place in 1941
Category of Stamp: Commemorative
Set: 1941: A World at War, World War II
Value: 29¢, First Class Mail rate
First Day of Issue: September 3, 1991
First Day City: Phoenix, Arizona
Quantity Issued: 15,218,000
Printed by: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Lithographed and engraved
Format: Miniature sheets of 10 stamps, with a strip of five along the top and another along the bottom, with a world map in the center.
Perforations: 11
Reason the stamp was issued: The miniature sheet was issued in honor of the 50th anniversary of America entering World War II.
About the stamp design: There were many topics the USPS wanted to cover when commemorating World War II, but those planning the series didn’t want to issue a large number of individual stamps. It was decided a sheetlet format would best highlight the main events of the war. In order for all the sheetlets to have a uniform design, the same artist, William Bond, and art director, Howard Paine, were assigned to the entire project. The Burma Road stamp pictures the winding, mountainous road that snaked through Burma and into China. Military vehicles are traveling the route. Bond painted the scene using acrylic paint.
The 1941 sheet also features the Peacetime Draft, the Lend-Lease agreement, Civil Defense, the Atlantic Charter meeting, Pearl Harbor, the US declaration of war, and more.
First Day City: The First Day of Issue ceremony took place during the opening ceremonies of the American Legion conference in Phoenix, Arizona.
Unusual thing about this stamp: The design for this World War II sheet was unveiled during a White House ceremony. President George H. W. Bush, who was a US Navy pilot during the war, participated in the unveiling ceremony.
About the World War II Series: As the 50th anniversary of World War II was approaching, the US Postal Service wanted a series that would recognize the key events of the war and the important contributions America made to the Allied victory. Rather than issue a large number of stamps, the USPS decided to create five sheetlets, each commemorating one year of America’s involvement in the war. Each sheetlet had 10 different stamps arranged in two horizontal strips of 5. In the center was a world map with Allied and neutral nations in yellow and Axis-controlled areas in red. Notes on the map highlighted key developments that occurred that year. The stamps each featured important events that took place during the year, as well.
History the stamp represents:
In reality, the charter was a statement more than a legal document. It was the culmination of two years of communication between Roosevelt and Churchill.
On August 14, 1941, Roosevelt and Churchill presented their statement, then referred to as the Joint Declaration by the President and the Prime Minister. A few weeks later Churchill called it the Atlantic Charter and the name stuck.
Those that agreed on the charter then signed the Declarations by United Nations on January 1, 1942, which provided the basis for the modern United Nations. The Atlantic Charter is credited as the inspiration for several international agreements that followed.
Click here to read the text of the charter.
US #2559d
1991 Atlantic Charter Sets War Aims of Allies
- First Day Cover
- From first sheet in series commemorating WW2
- Sheet highlights events that took place in 1941
Category of Stamp: Commemorative
Set: 1941: A World at War, World War II
Value: 29¢, First Class Mail rate
First Day of Issue: September 3, 1991
First Day City: Phoenix, Arizona
Quantity Issued: 15,218,000
Printed by: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Lithographed and engraved
Format: Miniature sheets of 10 stamps, with a strip of five along the top and another along the bottom, with a world map in the center.
Perforations: 11
Reason the stamp was issued: The miniature sheet was issued in honor of the 50th anniversary of America entering World War II.
About the stamp design: There were many topics the USPS wanted to cover when commemorating World War II, but those planning the series didn’t want to issue a large number of individual stamps. It was decided a sheetlet format would best highlight the main events of the war. In order for all the sheetlets to have a uniform design, the same artist, William Bond, and art director, Howard Paine, were assigned to the entire project. The Burma Road stamp pictures the winding, mountainous road that snaked through Burma and into China. Military vehicles are traveling the route. Bond painted the scene using acrylic paint.
The 1941 sheet also features the Peacetime Draft, the Lend-Lease agreement, Civil Defense, the Atlantic Charter meeting, Pearl Harbor, the US declaration of war, and more.
First Day City: The First Day of Issue ceremony took place during the opening ceremonies of the American Legion conference in Phoenix, Arizona.
Unusual thing about this stamp: The design for this World War II sheet was unveiled during a White House ceremony. President George H. W. Bush, who was a US Navy pilot during the war, participated in the unveiling ceremony.
About the World War II Series: As the 50th anniversary of World War II was approaching, the US Postal Service wanted a series that would recognize the key events of the war and the important contributions America made to the Allied victory. Rather than issue a large number of stamps, the USPS decided to create five sheetlets, each commemorating one year of America’s involvement in the war. Each sheetlet had 10 different stamps arranged in two horizontal strips of 5. In the center was a world map with Allied and neutral nations in yellow and Axis-controlled areas in red. Notes on the map highlighted key developments that occurred that year. The stamps each featured important events that took place during the year, as well.
History the stamp represents:
In reality, the charter was a statement more than a legal document. It was the culmination of two years of communication between Roosevelt and Churchill.
On August 14, 1941, Roosevelt and Churchill presented their statement, then referred to as the Joint Declaration by the President and the Prime Minister. A few weeks later Churchill called it the Atlantic Charter and the name stuck.
Those that agreed on the charter then signed the Declarations by United Nations on January 1, 1942, which provided the basis for the modern United Nations. The Atlantic Charter is credited as the inspiration for several international agreements that followed.
Click here to read the text of the charter.