# 2272 - 1987 22c Special Occasions: Happy Birthday!

U.S. #2272
1987 22¢ Happy Birthday!
Special Occasions

• From first “special” stamp booklet, which would remain on sale longer than regular stamps
• From first US booklet to have the UPC bar code on the cover
• First US stamps to be specifically created for a specialized retail market and sold through card stores and florists
• From first US booklet to have stamps in three different configurations.

Stamp Category:  Commemorative
Set:  Special Occasions
Value:  22¢, first-class rate
First Day of Issue:  April 20, 1987
First Day City:  Atlanta, Georgia
Quantity Issued:  76,303,125
Printed by:  Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method:  Photogravure
Format:  Booklet panes of 10
Perforations:  10 on 1, 2, or 3 sides

Why the stamp was issued:  In response to calls for stamps that could frank mail for special occasions. 

About the stamp design:  The Special Occasions stamps were the first to be designed by Oren Sherman.  He produced the designs based on messages provided by the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee and the USPS.  This stamp reads “Happy Birthday!” with a slice of cake and candle.

First Day City:  During the planning process for these stamps, the USPS talked extensively about issuing them in May 1987 at the New York City trade show of a stationers’ group.  However, as the date drew nearer, they realized that the trade show would take place after Mother’s Day, and with one of the stamps ideal for that holiday, they wanted to issue the booklet beforehand.  So instead, they moved the ceremony to Atlanta, Georgia on April 20, 1987.  Among those present for the ceremony was Martha Burke, National American Mother of the Year.

About the Special Occasions Set:  For several years, the USPS received requests for stamps for special occasions such as Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, weddings, graduations, birthdays, and more.  In the mid-1980s, the USPS began addressing these requests.

The Special Occasions booklet began with a single stamp.  In 1985, the USPS announced it would issue a stamp to mark the 50th anniversary of American Mothers, Inc. in 1986.  However, as they discussed the stamp and the public requests further, the idea grew into what they called the Messages booklet, and later the Special Occasions booklet.

As the USPS moved forward with the project, they did something they hadn’t done before.  They started working with florists and the greeting card industry, trying to see if they would be interested in seeing these new stamps in their stores.  The USPS encouraged them to poll their respective associations.  They wanted to know if there would be interest in selling these stamps in their stores.  If successful, the Special Occasions stamps could be sold in stationery stores, card shops, large supermarkets, and other non-postal outlets.  And if the stamps were popular enough, they could be as big for the USPS as Love and Christmas stamps.

In September 1986, the final eight stamp designs were revealed at a meeting of the Greeting Card Association.  It was announced that the booklets would have 10 stamps, with two of the designs (Congratulations and Happy Birthday) being repeated, selling for a total of $2.20.  This was also the first US booklet to have the UPC (Universal Product Code) bar code on the cover.

When the stamps were released, the USPS said that they “classified them as special stamps because they would remain on sale longer than commemorative stamps.”  The stamps were to remain on sale for the remainder of the year, making them the USPS’s first “special” stamp booklet.  They were the first US stamps to be specifically created for a specialized retail market, the first to be sold through card stores and florists, and the first US booklet to have stamps in three different configurations.

History the stamp represents:  Greeting cards date back to the ancient Chinese, who sent messages celebrating the New Year and the early Egyptians who sent messages on papyrus scrolls.  Handmade greeting cards grew in popularity in Europe in the 1400s.  For many years, greeting cards were expensive, but advancements in printing technology and the advent of postage stamps made sending the cards more affordable by the 1850s.  Soon cards could be mass produced for occasions throughout the year.

Hallmark Cards, Inc., one of America’s largest greeting card manufacturers, was founded in 1910 by Joyce C. Hall.  Previously, Hall had owned a small retail store, but after a captivating conversation with a travelling salesman, he narrowed his focus on postcards.  Hall soon recognized that greeting cards would become more popular than postcards.  He believed greeting cards “represented class, promised discretion and… were more than a form of communication – they were a social custom.” 

Happy Birthday to You

On March 4, 1924, the song and melody of “Happy Birthday to You” were printed in a songbook.  One of the world’s most famous songs, it has been the center of controversy over ownership and copyright status for years.

According to tradition, the tune we all know today as “Happy Birthday” was originally written in the late 1800s as “Good Morning to All.”  Sisters Patty and Mildred Hill claimed they wrote the song for kindergarteners in Louisville, Kentucky.

The sisters wanted to create a song that would be easy for the children to sing.  Reportedly, they may have taken some of the tune and lyrical ideas from other existing songs, such as “Happy Greetings to All” “Good Night to You All,” “A Happy New Year to All,” and “A Happy Greeting to All.”

The sisters’ song went “Good morning to you, Good morning to you, Good morning, dear children, Good morning to all.”  The sisters first published the tune in their songbook, Song Stories for Kindergarten in 1893.  It’s likely that the class may have added in “Happy Birthday” to the tune to celebrate the childrens’ birthdays, which may have led to later printings including “Happy Birthday.”

In the coming years, versions of the song appeared in various books, some which included the “Happy Birthday” lyrics in a later verse, though it’s unknown who actually wrote them.  Then on March 4, 1924, Claydon Sunny printed the melody and “Happy Birthday” lyrics together in a songbook.  This was reportedly at the request of Jessica Hill, sister of Patty and Mildred.

The “Happy Birthday” song quickly caught on and soon it was being used without royalties.  In 1931, it was in the Broadway musical The Band Wagon.  Western Union also used it in their first singing telegram, leading Jessica to campaign for the song to be copyrighted.  In 1934, she managed to secure a copyright for “Happy Birthday” because of its similarities to “Good Morning to All.”  The following year, several piano arrangements and an unused verse of “Happy Birthday to You” were copyrighted by the Summy Company, crediting Preston Ware Orem for the piano arrangements and Mrs. R.R. Forman for the lyrics.  However, his claim was later found to be baseless.

The Hill family had the copyright for the song if it was used for profit through 1991.  This was then extended to 2030.  In 1988, Warner Music assumed ownership of the copyright and received $2 million in royalties every year for it.  They claimed copyright for the song anytime it was used in film, television, radio, and anywhere in the public where the majority of the people singing weren’t family or friends.

Over the years, some argued the validity of the copyright, particularly the fact that it’s unknown who wrote the lyrics to “Happy Birthday.”  Beginning in 2010, a campaign was launched to disprove the Hills’s ownership of the melody.  In 2013, a filmmaker took Warner Music to court over the song.  Then in 2015, a judge ruled that the song wasn’t under copyright, and royalties wouldn’t need to be paid to Warner Music anymore.  This made the song part of the public domain.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, “Happy Birthday to You” is the most popular song in the English language.