# 636 - 1927 4c Martha Washington, yellow brown

 

First Day of Issue: May 17, 1927
First City: Washington, D.C.
Printing Method: Rotary Press
Perforation: 11 x 10 ½
Color: Yellow brown

 

The portrait of America’s first First Lady on U.S. #636 is often incorrectly attributed solely to Gilbert Stuart. It actually comes from a crayon drawing by French artist Charles Francois Jalabert, who based his work on the Stuart portrait. 

 

This stamp was in use for the shortest amount of time of all the low values of the series. Its replacement with a stamp honoring former President William H. Taft caused some controversy in 1930.   

 

When the Bureau began printing sheets on the rotary press, they found 11 gauge perforations were too fine, causing the stamps to separate prematurely. This resulted in the perforations being changed back to 10 gauge perforations, which had first been used in 1915. Once again, objections were raised, and the Bureau began looking for a way to perforate the stamps so they were strong enough to resist premature separation, yet fine enough to be separated without difficulty. The solution was found in a compromise that resulted in a new perforation – the 10 1/2 gauge.

 

This perforation seemed to please everyone and was adopted as the new standard for rotary press sheets. In the words of Linn’s author Gary Griffith, the 1926-28 Compound Perforation rotary stamps represent “if not perfection, then at least a high degree of achievement...”

 

Birth Of Martha Washington 

The oldest daughter of planter John Dandridge and his wife Frances Jones, Martha had a privileged childhood.  She enjoyed riding horses, gardening, sewing, playing the spinet piano, and dancing.  She also received an education in basic mathematics, reading, and writing – an uncommon practice for girls of the time.  She may have been educated by family servant Thomas Leonard in plantation management, crop sales, alternative medicine, and breeding and raising livestock.

When Martha was 18, she met and married Daniel Parke Custis, a wealthy plantation owner who was about 20 years older than her.  The couple lived at Custis’ White House Plantation on the Pamunkey River.  Custis showered Martha with the finest clothes and lavish gifts imported from England.  Martha gave birth to four children, two (Daniel and Frances) who died in childhood, and two (John and Martha) who died before the age of 30.  In 1757, Custis died, leaving Martha the wealthiest widow in the region, and in full charge of the 17,000-acre plantation.

In 1775, Washington was appointed commander in chief of the Continental Army, leaving Martha and the children at home.  That winter, the family traveled two weeks to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to spend Christmas with him, and Martha stayed until June of the following year.  Throughout the American Revolutionary War, Martha often traveled great distances to visit her husband in the field, raising morale by entertaining officers and their wives.  She encouraged other women to assist in any way possible.

In 1789, George Washington was unanimously elected the first president of the United States.  It wasn’t until years later that the wife of the president received an official title, so Martha was referred to as “Lady Washington,” instead of First Lady.  Initially, Martha was unhappy with her husband’s position – she longed for a private life, away from the attention of a nation.  Despite this, she stood by her husband, fulfilling and exceeding the duties set before her.

In Martha’s eight years as First Lady, she exemplified the ideal for future presidential wives to follow.  She endured the sacrifices of her position (lack of privacy, independence, and free speech), presided over hospitable gatherings, and cared for the needy.  Thrust into a new and unfamiliar position, Martha faced these hurdles and set the standard for the position that would later be known as that of the First Lady.