US #5818
2023 Reindeer – Snow Globes
- Celebrates the popularity and whimsy of snow globes
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Set: Snow Globes
Value: 66¢ First Class Mail Rate (Forever)
First Day of Issue: September 19, 2023
First Day City: Breckenridge, Colorado
Quantity Issued: 550,000,000
... more
US #5818
2023 Reindeer – Snow Globes
- Celebrates the popularity and whimsy of snow globes
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Set: Snow Globes
Value: 66¢ First Class Mail Rate (Forever)
First Day of Issue: September 19, 2023
First Day City: Breckenridge, Colorado
Quantity Issued: 550,000,000
Printed by: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd.
Printing Method: Offset
Format: Double-sided Booklets of 20
Tagging: Nonphosphored type III, block tagged
Why the stamp was issued: To celebrate the holiday season.
About the stamp design: Pictures an oil painting of a reindeer snow globe on a red background. Artwork by Gregory Manchess.
First Day City: The First Day of Issue Ceremony was held at the Stephen C. West Ice Arena in Breckenridge, Colorado.
About the Snow Globes set: Includes four different designs picturing oil paintings by Gregory Manchess. Each stamp pictures a snow globe with a different holiday symbol inside: a snowman, Santa Claus, a deer, and a Christmas tree.
History the stamp represents: Early snow globes were handcrafted by artisans one at a time. They were beautiful, expensive, and limited in numbers.
Then in 1927, Joseph Garaja of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, filed a patent for a new version of snow globe. His globes featured a fish floating in seagrass. However, the game-changing innovation he introduced was putting the globes together under water, so they would be entirely filled.
Another key to the rise in popularity came in 1940, when a snow globe was featured in the Ginger Rogers film Kitty Foyle. After audiences watched the character shake the snow globe on the big screen, sales jumped more than 200%! The following year, Citizen Kane opened with the film’s star dropping a snow globe, making it the focus of the scene.
Snow globes grew increasingly popular, and with the advancements in plastic and injection molding, much cheaper and easier to mass-produce. In fact, by the 1980s, snow globes were considered kitsch. They were used as advertisements, tourist souvenirs, and featured just about anything you could imagine. In recent years, there’s been a resurgence in handcrafted, limited-edition snow globes. So no matter what style or subject you enjoy, there’s sure to be a snow globe to suit your interests.
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