U.S. #4808-12

2013 10¢ Snowflakes
Strip of Five

Issue Date: October 1, 2013
City: Weston, Missouri
Quantity: 500 million
Printed By: CCL Label Inc., finished by Avery Dennison
Printing Method: Photogravure
Perforations: Serpentine Die Cut 11 Vertical
Color: multicolored

The Blizzard Of 1888 And Blizzard Mail 

On March 12, 1888, a short-lived blizzard mail service delivered letters to New York City during one of the worst storms in history.

Just two days before, on March 10, temperatures in the northeast were in the mid-50s.  But the next day, cold Arctic air from Canada met with Gulf air from the south sending temperatures plummeting.  The rain quickly became snow and winds reached hurricane-strength – about 85 miles per hour in New York City.

When the people of New York awoke on March 12, it was a complete whiteout.  Some brave residents ventured out into the cold to board the city’s elevated trains to go to work.  But the trains were blocked by snowdrifts and couldn’t move.  About 15,000 people were stranded on these trains and had to be rescued by people with ladders.  Above ground telegraph lines, water mains, and gas lines were also badly damaged and inoperable.

Because of the bad weather, mail service halted in New York City and the surrounding areas.  But the mail was so important to some businesses, they arranged for their own delivery!  AW Seward and Dr. WH Mitchell hired a special messenger to take mail aboard the Steamer Chancellor of the New Jersey Central Railroad from Bergen Point, Bayonne, to New York City.  Over the course of four days, about 500 letters were transported.  Much of the mail consisted of stories from newspaper reporters in Bayonne to their papers in the city.

To facilitate this special service, Seward and Mitchell also had about 500 special stamps printed . The stamps pictured the state of New Jersey coat of arms, “Blizzard Mail To,” “Five Cents,” and “N.Y.P.O.” Printed one at a time, the stamps were affixed to their letters along with the current 2¢ stamp.

By the time the storm ended, as much as 55 inches had fallen in some areas and over 400 people had died between Washington, DC, and Maine.  Once the storm passed, officials recognized the issues of having the telegraph, water and gas lines as well as the trains above ground and began the process of moving them all underground.

The snowflake stamps were designed to be used by bulk mailers. The stamps picture five different photographs of snowflakes under strong magnification. The photographer also took the photos used for 2006 Holiday Snowflakes stamps. The stamp was available in coils of 3,000 and 10,000. The Snowflake stamps were the first to be printed by CCL Label Inc.

For the millions of people who look forward to the first snow every year, it can be a magical time. Watching as the tiny snow crystals fall from the sky, it’s hard not to catch them on a sleeve or mitten and marvel at the elaborate beauty. The lucky few will see one of the intricate, nearly symmetrical flakes that adorn winter decorations. But more often than not, they will see what scientists call irregular crystals, one of several different types.

Irregular crystals, the most common type, appear clumped together and bear little resemblance to the elegant flakes most of us picture when we think of a snowflake. Another common type is stellar plates. While they feature the six arms all snowflakes have, they are thin and broad, like a dinner plate. Sectored plates are similar, but the arms are narrow.

The most popular snowflakes are stellar dendrites. Dendrite means “tree-like,” so these flakes have branches. The flakes are usually two to four millimeters wide and can be seen with the naked eye. Fernlike stellar dendrites have even more side branches and are the largest snow crystals – usually five millimeters wide or larger.

The number of different kinds of flakes is a matter of debate even today. Scientists’ estimates range anywhere from seven to 80 types of snow crystals.