# 4705 - 2012 First-Class Forever Stamp - O. Henry
U.S. #4705
2012 45¢ O. Henry
Literary Arts
Issue Date: September 11, 2012
City: Greensboro, N.C.
Quantity: 20,000,000
Printed By: Avery Dennison
Printing Method: Photogravure
Perforations: Die Cut 11
Color: multicolored
Death Of O. Henry
The famed author was born William Sydney Porter on September 11, 1862, in Greensboro, North Carolina. He loved to read from an early age, with some of his favorites including One Thousand and One Nights and Anatomy of Melancholy.
Porter worked in his uncle’s drugstore as a teenager and was a licensed pharmacist by the time he was 19. Then in 1882, he moved to Texas where he worked as a shepherd, ranch-hand, cook, and babysitter. Porter worked several other odd jobs in the coming years, including draftsman, bank teller, and journalist. It was also during this time he began writing as a side job. Porter was a talented singer and musician as well and enjoyed singing and acting at town gatherings.
At the train station on his way to the courthouse for his trial, Porter decided to flee, first to New Orleans and then to Honduras. He spent about six months in Honduras, where he befriended notorious bank robber Al Jennings and wrote the book Cabbages and Kings that coined the term “banana republic.” However, when he learned his wife was dying, Porter returned home and surrendered to the court.
Struggling with alcoholism and other health issues, Porter died on June 5, 1910.
Click here to read some of Porter’s works (listed by category on the left-hand side of the page).
U.S. #4705
2012 45¢ O. Henry
Literary Arts
Issue Date: September 11, 2012
City: Greensboro, N.C.
Quantity: 20,000,000
Printed By: Avery Dennison
Printing Method: Photogravure
Perforations: Die Cut 11
Color: multicolored
Death Of O. Henry
The famed author was born William Sydney Porter on September 11, 1862, in Greensboro, North Carolina. He loved to read from an early age, with some of his favorites including One Thousand and One Nights and Anatomy of Melancholy.
Porter worked in his uncle’s drugstore as a teenager and was a licensed pharmacist by the time he was 19. Then in 1882, he moved to Texas where he worked as a shepherd, ranch-hand, cook, and babysitter. Porter worked several other odd jobs in the coming years, including draftsman, bank teller, and journalist. It was also during this time he began writing as a side job. Porter was a talented singer and musician as well and enjoyed singing and acting at town gatherings.
At the train station on his way to the courthouse for his trial, Porter decided to flee, first to New Orleans and then to Honduras. He spent about six months in Honduras, where he befriended notorious bank robber Al Jennings and wrote the book Cabbages and Kings that coined the term “banana republic.” However, when he learned his wife was dying, Porter returned home and surrendered to the court.
Struggling with alcoholism and other health issues, Porter died on June 5, 1910.
Click here to read some of Porter’s works (listed by category on the left-hand side of the page).