# 3014-17 FDC - 1995 32c Contemporary Christmas: Santa and Children, coil

US #3014-17
1995 Christmas Children and Santa

• First Day Cover
• 1995 contemporary Christmas stamps
• Self-adhesive
• Issued in four formats

Category of Stamp:  Commemorative
Set:  Christmas series
Value:  32¢, First-class Mail rate
First Day of Issue:  September 30, 1995
First Day City:  North Pole, New York
Printed by:  Avery Dennison
Printing Method: Lithographed
Format:  Coils of 5,000
Perforations:  Serpentine die cut 11.25

Reason the stamp was issued:  This set of four stamps was issued for the 1995 Christmas mailing season.  The stamps highlight Santa Claus and children holding gifts.

About the stamp design:  The four images on these stamps are based upon artwork nearly created by unknown Victorian artists. These artists worked for commercial printers and publishers.  The original pieces were part of The John Grossman Collection of Antique Images.  The chosen images were scanned into a computer and edited.
Special design details:  This set of stamps was the first Christmas stamps issued with no wording other than the denomination and “USA.”  Christmas stamps issued in previous years included the word “Greetings.”

About the printing process:  This stamp was issued as sheets, booklets, self-adhesive panes, and self-adhesive coils.

First Day City:  The First Day of Issue ceremony took place at Santa’s Workshop Rural Postal Substation in the town of North Pole, New York, near Lake Placid.  About 1,000 people attended the event.  Santa’s Workshop is the oldest continuously run theme park in the US.

Unusual thing about this stamp:  John Grossman, who owned the Victorian items used for the stamp images, produced collectables with the same designs as the stamps.  These included wrapping paper and note cards.

About the Christmas series: By the early 1960s, the US Post Office was receiving 1,000 letters a year (for several years) asking for a Christmas-themed stamp to frank their holiday mail.  The idea was approved and the US issued its first Christmas stamp on November 1, 1962.
The stamp was wildly popular, featuring popular holiday decorations of a wreath and candles.  The Post Office Department had expected there would be a great demand for the issue, so they printed 350 million stamps – the largest print run for a special stamp up to that time.  Those 350 million stamps sold out quickly, leading the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to produce more stamps – reaching over 860 million by the end of the year.
While the Christmas stamp was very popular, it wasn’t without its detractors.  Some didn’t agree with the idea of the post office issuing a stamp honoring a religious holiday.  Others wanted Christmas stamps that were more religious.  The Post Office would continue to issue Christmas stamps in the coming years that featured the National Christmas Tree, seasonal plants, and an angel in 1965. The angel was considered less controversial because angels are included in many religions, not just Christianity.
In 1966, the Post Office came up with a plan to produce Christmas stamps utilizing classic paintings of the Madonna and Child.  These stamps wouldn’t violate the separation of church and state because they were a celebration of culture.  On November 1, 1966, they issued the first US Madonna and Child stamp in Christmas, Michigan.  The stamp featured the 15^th century painting, Madonna and Child with Angels, by Flemish painter Hans Memling.
That stamp was very popular and over 1.1 billion were printed.  The same design was used again the following year, however, the 1967 stamp was larger and showed more of the painting.  The stamp’s continued popularity led the Post Office to issue another traditional Christmas stamp in 1968, this time picturing the Angel Gabriel.   For the 1969 issue, they reverted back to the non-religious theme, with a stamp picturing a painting called Winter Sunday in Norway, Maine.
The Post Office made a big change in 1970.  To keep people in both camps happy, they issued one traditional Christmas stamp, picturing a classic painting of the Nativity, plus a block of four picturing Christmas toys.  That decision proved popular and they have continued to issue stamps with both traditional and contemporary Christmas themes ever since.

History the stamp represents: 

 Santa Entering Chimney is based on an antique writing tablet cover.  Santa Working on Sled comes from an original antique postcard, which is postmarked 1915.  Child Holding Jumping Jack and Child Holding Tree are examples of postcards based on “scrap.” Scrap were colorful printed and embossed images which children and adults used to decorate holiday objects.  They were later collected and preserved in scrapbooks.

Santa Entering Chimney – The image of Santa on the rooftop is from an antique writing tablet cover from the early 1900s.  In the original image, Santa is smoking a pipe as he works.  Due to the USPS policy against portraying smoking, the pipe was removed in the stamp design.

Child Holding Jumping Jack – Two antique paper items were used to create the design for this stamp.  The boy is from original scrap.  Color was added to his clothing, which was originally mostly white.
The village scene used as a background is from a picture postcard.  In the original image, Santa is coming down a hill and “Merry Christmas” is printed in Russian.

Santa Working on Sled – This image is from a picture postcard produced by a printing company from Rochester, New York.  These postcards served as holiday greeting in the early 20^th century.  Santa’s pipe was removed from this design, as well, as the Santa Entering Chimney stamp.

Child Holding Tree – Two different images were used to create the design on this stamp.  The boy with his arms full of toys was taken from antique original crap.  It was likely produced at the end of the 19^th century.  The background for the stamp image was from a greeting card.  The hillside scene was reversed for the stamp design.