# 2530 - 1991 19c Hot-Air Balloon, booklet single
US #2530
1991 Hot-Air Balloon
- Part of the short-lived Mini-Scapes series
- Covered the Postcard rate
Category of Stamp: Definitive
Set: Mini-scapes
Value: 19¢, Postcard rate
First Day of Issue: May 17, 1991
First Day City: Denver, Colorado
Quantity Issued: 375,138,000
Printed by: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Photogravure
Format: Booklet – 2 panes of 10, from printing cylinders of 480 subjects (20 across, 24 down)
Perforations: 10
Reason the stamp was issued: This stamp was issued shortly after the Postcard rate was increased from 15¢ to 19¢. It was intended for use by vacationers sending postcards to friends and family. The stamp was a colorful alternative to other definitives available at the time.
About the stamp design: Pierre Mion is the artist behind the Hot-Air Balloon stamp. He was asked to submit sketches for new postcard stamps. A hot-air balloon in flight was one of the suggested topics. After his sketch was accepted, Mion created a gouache (opaque watercolor) painting showing the balloon from above.
First Day City: The stamp was issued during Rompex 91, a stamp show in Denver, Colorado. Though there was no official US Postal Service ceremony, the organizers held their own complete with an actual hot-air balloon.
Short-Lived Mini-Scapes Series
This series has its roots in the summer of 1988 when members of the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC) sought to give mailers an alternative to “bewhiskered unknowns” and Flag-over-Capitol-type scenes on definitives. The USPS had also tried picturing landmarks such as Yosemite National Park, but some felt those didn’t work well on the small scale of definitive stamps.
Eventually, the USPS needed a new booklet stamp to cover the postcard rate, and they selected Mion’s beach umbrella to appear on it. The Beach umbrella stamp would be notable for a few reasons. It was the first stamp in the new Mini-Scapes Series. It was also the first postcard-rate stamp to be issued only in booklet form for use by vacationers.
US #2530
1991 Hot-Air Balloon
- Part of the short-lived Mini-Scapes series
- Covered the Postcard rate
Category of Stamp: Definitive
Set: Mini-scapes
Value: 19¢, Postcard rate
First Day of Issue: May 17, 1991
First Day City: Denver, Colorado
Quantity Issued: 375,138,000
Printed by: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Photogravure
Format: Booklet – 2 panes of 10, from printing cylinders of 480 subjects (20 across, 24 down)
Perforations: 10
Reason the stamp was issued: This stamp was issued shortly after the Postcard rate was increased from 15¢ to 19¢. It was intended for use by vacationers sending postcards to friends and family. The stamp was a colorful alternative to other definitives available at the time.
About the stamp design: Pierre Mion is the artist behind the Hot-Air Balloon stamp. He was asked to submit sketches for new postcard stamps. A hot-air balloon in flight was one of the suggested topics. After his sketch was accepted, Mion created a gouache (opaque watercolor) painting showing the balloon from above.
First Day City: The stamp was issued during Rompex 91, a stamp show in Denver, Colorado. Though there was no official US Postal Service ceremony, the organizers held their own complete with an actual hot-air balloon.
Short-Lived Mini-Scapes Series
This series has its roots in the summer of 1988 when members of the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC) sought to give mailers an alternative to “bewhiskered unknowns” and Flag-over-Capitol-type scenes on definitives. The USPS had also tried picturing landmarks such as Yosemite National Park, but some felt those didn’t work well on the small scale of definitive stamps.
Eventually, the USPS needed a new booklet stamp to cover the postcard rate, and they selected Mion’s beach umbrella to appear on it. The Beach umbrella stamp would be notable for a few reasons. It was the first stamp in the new Mini-Scapes Series. It was also the first postcard-rate stamp to be issued only in booklet form for use by vacationers.