Today we have a Charles and Ray Eames themed edition of Tomorrow's Vintage Collectibles.
In June 2008 the United State Postal Service issued a pane of 16 stamps celebrating the Eames designs:
I am not normally a stamp collector but being an Eames devotee I had to have these! I have two sets just like the one that you see above, and I also have a First Day of Issue Cover (or First Day Cover). These stamps are mounted on an envelope or postcard and franked (cancelled) on the very first day the stamp is authorized for use:
This sheet of stamps has never been in actual circulation, meaning that they were not cancelled on an actual mailed envelope. They are not as valuable as those that have actually been mailed. But first day of issue covers tend to be valuable to collectors, and some collect them exclusively, so I decided to purchase a set.
I also wanted to see the pictorial cancellation for this set, meaning the special picture chosen for the first day of issue stamping and I wasn't disappointed:
It is the La Chaise chair, designed by Charles and Ray in 1948. It was actually too expensive to mass produce for nearly 50 years. La Chaise didn't go into actual production until the 1990s.
Click on this link to see photos of the actual first day of issue event that was held in Santa Monica, California. It was attended by Charles' daughter, Lucia Eames, and her fourth son, Eames Demetrios, who together head Eames Office. Note that they were autographing the stamp panes as well.
Eames stamps are still readily available at low prices if you are interested in picking up your own set. These stamps make great framed art; I have a set decorating my office!
I hope that you enjoyed this edition of Tomorrow's Vintage Collectibles, and if you did, please leave a comment!
They still have these at my local post office, so people might try theirs is they want these. I love them!
ReplyDeleteHi Lizzie -- thank you for sharing that information! These have been gone for years in my area. It's good to know that they are still available in other parts of the country.
DeleteWow those are pretty cool! I've always loved stamp collections.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kristin! I have very few other stamps in my collection. These were too special to pass up!
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