U.S. #2770
1993 My Fair Lady – Broadway Musicals
Legends of American Music Series
- Honors well-known musical My Fair Lady – chosen to represent the decade of shows produced in the 1950s
- Issued as part of the Broadway Musicals set for the 100th anniversary of Broadway
- Part of the Legends of American Music Series
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Set: Broadway Musicals
Series: Legends of American Music
Value: 29¢, First Class Mail Rate
First Day of Issue: July 14, 1993
First Day City: New York, New York
Quantity Issued: 515,000,000 (Total for all four Broadway Musicals stamps)
Printed by: Printed for American Bank Note Company by Multi-Color Corporation of Scottsburg, Indiana
Printing Method: Photogravure
Format: Booklet, 5 panes of 4 horizonal stamps each, arranged vertically. Gravure printing cylinders of 220 subjects (11 across, 20 around).
Perforations: 10.9 (L perforator)
Tagging: Prephosphored paper
Why the stamp was issued: To celebrate the landmark American musical My Fair Lady and commemorate the 100th anniversary of Broadway.
About the stamp design: Like the other Broadway Musicals stamps, the design was created using a large collection of photographs as reference. New York City artist Wilson McLean created pencil sketches for the approval of the Citizen’s Stamp Advisory Committee before creating final oil paintings to be pictured on the stamps. Interestingly, McLean received special permission from the Postal Service to make his finished paintings larger than the five-times-stamp-size maximum normally imposed on stamp artists.
Special design details: The My Fair Lady stamp pictures the show’s two main characters, Eliza Doolittle and Professor Henry Higgins. It shows Eliza at the Ascot Races after her conversion to ladyhood has begun. She is elaborately dressed, holding a teacup and saucer. Higgins is at her shoulder taking notes. A pair of hands holding another teacup (McLean says they are meant to belong to Eliza’s suitor, Freddy Eynsford-Hill) can be seen at the far-left edge of the design. McLean said, “I’m quite fond of things going off the edge of the canvas, and just suggesting other kinds of subtleties… It’s something I do from time to time.”
First Day City: This stamp, along with the rest of the Broadway Musicals set, was issued in New York, New York, the home of Broadway and a fitting place for the stamps’ First Day of Issue. The day coincided with the second annual “Broadway on Broadway” event in New York City.
Only one eye: There was a small controversy over McLean’s decision to paint only one eye on Eliza, leaving the other blacked out by a strong shadow from her hat. However, art director Terry McCaffrey said, “I said when the art comes down to stamp size it will work as a shadow. He did not put the other eye in, and it works fine; nobody’s complaining now that Eliza has only one eye.”
About the Broadway Musicals set: The four-stamp set was issued to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Broadway. The set pictured scenes from musicals that made their mark on American music: Show Boat, Porgy and Bess, Oklahoma!, and My Fair Lady. The Oklahoma! stamp was the same design used earlier in 1993 to commemorate the musical’s 50th anniversary (although there were some design differences as the two stamps weren’t printed by the same company).
Art director and project manager for the Legends of American Music series, Terrence McCaffrey chose a musical from each decade (Show Boat from the 1920s, Porgy and Bess from the 1930s, Oklahoma! from the 1940s, and My Fair Lady from the 1950s. Overall, the set was created based on the desire of the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee to honor composers of American musical theater.
McCaffrey also said of the Broadway Musicals designs that he wanted to make sure the stamp designs wouldn’t remind the viewer of the famous actors and actresses most well-known for playing specific roles in these musicals. He said “We needed to have generic faces as opposed to the more recognizable faces from the actual musicals.”
About the Legends of American Music Series: The Legends of American Music Series debuted on January 8, 1993, and ran until September 21, 1999. More than 90 artists are represented from all styles of music: rock ‘n’ roll, rhythm and blues, country and western, jazz and pop, opera and classical, gospel and folk. In addition to individual singers and Broadway musicals, subjects include band leaders, classical composers, Hollywood songwriters and composers, conductors, lyricists, and more. The Legends of American Music Series was a huge advancement for diversity because it honored many Black and female artists.
History the stamp represents: The foremost showcase of commercial stage entertainment, Broadway has long been synonymous with American theater. For it is here in New York City’s famous Theater District that the most important American plays and musicals have had their debuts, including such favorites as Oklahoma!, My Fair Lady, and A Chorus Line.
Based on George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion, the popular musical My Fair Lady has been called by critics “the best musical of the century.” Professor Henry Higgins, a distinguished linguist, meets Eliza Doolittle, an illiterate flower girl. In a bet with Colonel Pickering, he decides to transform Eliza into a fine lady and pass her off as a duchess. He completes the job successfully and at a glamorous social evening at the Embassy, Eliza plays the role of the duchess beautifully. The experiment over, Eliza is free to leave Higgins’ home. Although she has agreed to marry Freddy Eynsford-Hill, a rich man about town, she returns to Higgins in the end.
Although a few minor additions were made, the play remained unaltered except for the end. For nine years, this delightful musical held the record as Broadway’s longest running show.
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