Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Cartoonists and Stamps

Writing on the WashingtonCityPaper.com website,  Mike Rhode pens,"The U.S. Postal Service has just issued another set of comics-related stamps. Stamp collecting is an old hobby, and one that’s perhaps faded somewhat, but comics and stamps have a longer history than you’d expect."

He points out, "The first cartoonist to design a stamp was noted editorial cartoonist Jay 'Ding' Darling in 1934—however, he drew 'Mallards' for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Migratory Bird Hunting permit stamp. A Duck Stamp is sold annually to hunters and is used to fund National Wildlife sites."

Mike goes on to write, "In 1956, a children’s stamp 'Friendship—the Key to World Peace' was designed by high school senior Ron Dias, who later became a Disney animator. 1966 saw a 'Bill of Rights 175th Anniversary' stamp by Washington Post political cartoonist Herbert 'Herblock' Block. Walt Disney was honored in 1968; this first Disney stamp eventually led to a stunning amount of them worldwide. In 1993, Bill Mauldin’s Willie & Joe became the first comic strip characters to appear on stamps, as part of a sheet commemorating World War II; Mauldin got a stamp of his own earlier this year."

Mike also is the publisher of the Cartoon Philately blog.

Shown above, 1934 Duck stamp drawn by editorial cartoonist Jay “Ding” Darling.

To read the entire article, click here.
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posted by Don Schilling at 12:01 AM