Posted: May 6, 2010

Show Them the Love

 

In time for Mother’s Day, ideal for birthdays, and perfect for expressing that little word that is sometimes hard to say, the new Love: Pansies in a Basket postage stamp was dedicated today at the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial.

 

Stop in at the Greenfield Post Office to pick up your Pansies in a Basket stamps and show someone your Love.

 

Featuring a white woven basket brimming with dark and light purple pansies and the word “Love,” the Postal Service’s 2010 44-cent love stamp design is a detail from a Hallmark card that was first issued as a Mother’s Day card in 1939.

 

“The very name of the flower — pansy — comes from the French word ‘pensée,’ which means thought,” said Stephen Kearney, senior vice president, Customer Relations. “This museum serves as a place of remembrance, and it is fitting that we should gather here to celebrate the issuance of a stamp with the image of flowers that have long been recognized as symbols of remembrance.”

 

The Postal Service began issuing its popular love stamps in 1973, and over the years, these stamps — featuring swans, cherubs, candy hearts, Victorian lace, modern art, and the word “Love” itself — have announced marriages, births, and graduations; and delivered congratulations.

 

Since Hallmark began tracking sales in 1942, almost 30 million cards with this pansy design have been purchased — more than any card in history. The original Hallmark card was designed from a watercolor created by the late Dorothy Maienschein, an employee of Hallmark Cards, Inc. The stamp was designed by Derry Noyes. Pick up yours today.