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US Stamps

Commemoratives of 1952-1953

Twenty-five commemorative US stamps were issued between 1952 and 1953, making an average output of about twelve commemorative stamp issues per year.

During this period, there were important anniversaries of people and events that contributed to the development of the United States of America, as well as significant contemporary events that would shape the modern World, and many of them were depicted on the following pictorial US stamps.

The Birth of Our Nation's Flag
By: Charles H. Weisgerber

The 3 C. denomination US stamp shown above, at the left (Sc. #1004), was issued on January 2, 1952 to commemorate the 200th Anniversary of the Birth of Betsy Ross.

The design of these US stamps features an adaption of the 1892 painting, The Birth of Our Nation's Flag, by Charles H. Weisgerber.   In the painting, Betsy Ross displays the new flag for George Washington (1732-1799), Robert Morris (1734-1806), and George Ross (1730-1779), all signors of the Declaration of Independence.

Betsy Ross (1752-1836), born Elizabeth Phoebe Griscom is often credited with having made the first American flag.  According to tradition, George Washington approached Betsy Ross, a Philadelphia seamstress, during 1776 with a sketch he had made for a new flag.  She made the flag, with some modifications from his sketch, and presented it to him the following day.

The new 13-star flag, in fact, was authorized in 1777, and it remained in use as the national flag of the United States until 1795, when additional stars were required by the admission of new states.

The following visitor-submitted link contains some little-known historical facts about the Betsy Ross Flag.

The Betsy Ross Flag: 5 Things You Didn't Know
About This American Icon

The Betsy Ross Flag is dear-to-the-heart of your webmaster, as well.  I have a 3' x 5' Betsy Ross Flag that I fly in front of my house on every patriotic holiday!


The 3 C. denomination stamp shown above, at the right (Sc. #1005), was issued on January 15, 1952 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the 4-H Club.

The 4-H Club, in the United States, is a youth organization administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.  Their goal is to develop citizenship, leadership, responsibility, and life skills.  The name represents four personal development areas of focus, being head, heart, hands, and health.  There are over 90,000 4-H clubs in America today, with 6.5 million members.

The 3 C. denomination stamp shown above, at the left (Sc. #1006), was issued on February 28, 1952 to celebrate the 125th Anniversary of the Granting of a Charter to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company by the Maryland State Legislature.

The design features the charter (in the background), along with the three stages of rail transportation, a horse-drawn trolly, a steam engine, and a diesel engine.


The 3 C. denomination stamp shown above, at the right (Sc. #1007), was issued on March 4, 1952 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the American Automobile Association (AAA).

The design features school girls and a safety patrolman, along with automobiles of 1902 and 1952.

The 3 C. denomination stamp shown above, at the left (Sc. #1009), was issued on May 15, 1952 to celebrate 50 Years of Federal Water Reclamation Projects in the West.

The design features the spillway of the Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River in the State of Washington.


The 3 C. denomination stamp shown above, at the right (Sc. #1010), was issued on June 13, 1952 to commemorate the 175th Anniversary of the Arrival of the Marquis de Lafayette in America.

The design of these US stamps features a portrait of the Marquis de Lafayette, along with the flags of the United States and France.

Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Montier de Lafayette, Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834) was a French aristocrat and military officer who fought for the United States in the American War of Independence, attaining the rank of Major General in the Continental Army.  He commanded the French fleet at the Siege of Yorktown, which resulted in the surrender of the British forces and the end of the American War of Independence.  Lafayette named his son, born in 1779, Georges Washington.  Lafayette returned to France in 1787, where he became a key figure in the French Revolutions of 1789 and 1830.
 

The 3 C. denomination stamp shown above, at the left (Sc. #1012), was issued on September 6, 1952 to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

The design features a covered bridge of 1850 and the George Washington Bridge.


The 3 C. denomination stamp shown above, at the right (Sc. #1013), was issued on September 11, 1952 to honor Women in the United States Armed Forces.

The design features women of the Marine Corps, Army, Navy, and Air Force.

A non-American anniversary, but a very important one, nevertheless.  After all, it was the printing profession, in early America, that drove public opinion in the years leading up to the Declaration of Independence.

The 3 C. denomination stamp shown above, at the left (Sc. #1014), was issued on September 30, 1952 to commemorate the 500th Anniversary of the Printing of the First Book (The Holy Bible) from Movable Type by Johann Gutenberg.

The design of these US stamps features a depiction of Gutenberg, showing a proof of his book to the Elector of Mainz.


The 3 C. denomination stamp shown above, at the right (Sc. #1015), was issued on October 4, 1952 to honor Newspaper Boys.

The design features a newspaper boy, the torch of freedom, and a group of American homes.

The 3 C. denomination stamp shown above, at the left (Sc. #1016), was issued on November 21, 1952 to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the International Red Cross.

The design of these US stamps features the Globe, Sun, and the Red Cross.


The 3 C. denomination stamp shown above, at the right (Sc. #1017), was issued on February 23, 1953 to honor the National Guard of the United States.

The design features a National Guardsman, along with scenes of an amphibious landing and disaster service.

The National Guard is a 20th Century term for what were originally state and local militias during American Colonial times.  National Guardsmen are reservists, who work at their regular civilian jobs, until they are called-up for duty in times of need.

The 3 C. denomination stamp shown above, at the left (Sc. #1019), was issued on March 2, 1953 to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Washington Territory.

The design features a medallion and pioneers.


The 3 C. denomination stamp shown above, at the right (Sc. #1020), was issued on April 30, 1953 to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase.

The design of these US stamps features a depiction of James Monroe (1758-1831), Robert R. Livingston (1746-1813), and Marquis Francois de Barbe-Marbois (1745-1837) signing the Louisiana Territory transfer in Paris in 1803.

The Louisiana Purchase was undoubtedly the biggest real estate deal in the history of the United States.  The French, Louisiana Territory was massive, stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to a little North of the Canadian border, and from the Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi River, a total of 828,000 square miles.  France sold the territory to the United States on April 30, 1803 for a total of 68,000,000 Francs (in gold) or about 15,000,000 United States Dollars (in gold) at the time.  That averages out to about FOUR CENTS (or 15 CENTIMES) per acre, for what would eventually be almost 1/3 the total area of the continental United States.

The 5 C. denomination stamp shown above, at the left (Sc. #1021), was issued on July 14, 1953 to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Establishment of Trade with Japan.

The design features Commodore Matthew Perry (1794-1858) and his fleet, anchored in Tokyo Bay.


The 3 C. denomination stamp shown above, at the right (Sc. #1022), was issued on August 24, 1953 to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the American Bar Association.

The design features the detail from a frieze in the United States Supreme Court building.

The 3 C. denomination stamp shown above, at the left (Sc. #1023), was issued on September 14, 1953 to publicize the Opening of Sagamore Hill, Theodore Roosevelt's home, as a National Historical Landmark.

The design of these US stamps shows a view of the home of President Theodore Roosevelt.


The 3 C. denomination stamp shown above, at the right (Sc. #1024), was issued on October 13, 1953 to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Future Farmers of America organization.

The design features an agricultural scene and a future farmer.

The 3 C. denomination stamp shown above, at the left (Sc. #1025), was issued on October 27, 1953 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Trucking Industry in the United States.

The design features a truck, a farm, and a distant city.


The 3 C. denomination stamp shown above, at the right (Sc. #1026), was issued on November 11, 1953 to honor Lieutenant General George S. Patton (1885-1945) and the Armored Forces of the United States Army.

The design of these US stamps features a portrait of General Patton and tanks in action.

The 3 C. denomination stamp shown above, at the left (Sc. #1027), was issued on November 20, 1953 to celebrate the 300th Anniversary of the City of New York.

The design features a Dutch ship in New Amsterdam (New York) Harbor, with the 1953 skyline of New York City in the background.


The 3 C. denomination stamp shown above, at the right (Sc. #1028), was issued on December 30, 1953 to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Gadsden Purchase.

The design of these US stamps features a map of the Gadsden Purchase and a group of pioneers.

James Gadsden (1788-1858), was an American diplomat, soldier, and businessman.  As the new American Ambassador to Mexico in 1853, he purchased the territory, the Southern part of the modern-day states of Arizona and New Mexico, from the Republic of Mexico, in order to adjust the U.S. - Mexican boundary to allow for a proposed railway route.

eBay Auction and Store Links
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