# 3185i - 1998 32c Celebrate the Century - 1930s: "Gone With the Wind"

US #3185i
1998 1936 Bestseller Gone With the Wind – Celebrate the Century (1930s)

• Part of the fourth sheet in the Celebrate the Century stamp series issued from 1998-2000
• Honors the release of Gone With the Wind in 1936
• Includes text on the back with historical details

Stamp Category: Commemorative
Series: Celebrate the Century
Value: 32¢ First Class Mail Rate
First Day of Issue: September 10, 1998
First Day City: Cleveland, Ohio
Quantity Issued: 188,000,000
Printed by: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd.
Printing Method: Offset, Intaglio
Format: Panes of 15
Perforations: 11.6
Tagging: Block Tagging

Why the stamp was issued: To commemorate the bestselling novel Gone With the Wind, which went on to inspire one of the most well-known feature films in history.

About the stamp design: Pictures a photograph of the novel with symbolic items to the plot. Photograph by Robert McClintock Includes the following text on the back “Margaret Mitchell’s 1936 novel, Gone With the Wind, portrayed the Old South during the Civil War and Reconstruction. It was a number one bestseller for two years and continues to be sold throughout the world.”

First Day City: The First Day of Issue Ceremony was held at the foot of Cleveland, Ohio’s Terminal Tower Building at Tower City Center. When it first opened in June 1930, the 52-story building was among the tallest buildings in the world and was the tallest west of New York City for 40 years.

About the Celebrate the Century series: The USPS launched the Celebrate the Century series in 1998 to mark the end of the 20th century and herald the arrival of the 21st. The series includes 10 sheets of 15 stamps (150 in total), with each honoring important moments from a different decade (1900s, 10s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s). At the time of completion, it was the longest and most ambitious commemorative stamp series in US history.

History the stamp represents: One of the most popular novels of all time, the epic Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell was awarded the 1937 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. This novel, which took 10 years to complete, is the only work of fiction credited to Mitchell.

Set in Atlanta during the Civil War, Gone With the Wind tells the story of the conflict from a southern viewpoint. Focusing not only on the action from the front lines, it also details the impact on civilians. Predominantly a love story, Mitchell tells the story of Scarlett O’Hara, a beautiful young southern belle who falls madly in love with a man whom she can never have – all the while rejecting the advances of the one man who loves her. Thus unfolds one of the most popular works of fiction ever written.

Many of the book’s 59 characters remain familiar to Americans. We can remember the words that have come from their mouths, “…I’ll never go hungry again,” “Tomorrow is another day,” “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” These phrases remain a part of the American vocabulary. Perhaps that is why over 60 years later, Gone With the Wind is still considered one of the great American classics, and remains one of the most widely read stories of all time.