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Irving Berlin |
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Press Release Technical Details Below FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEAugust 26, 2002 Stamp Release #02-061 IRVING BERLIN RETURNS TO BROADWAY ON NEW POSTAGE STAMP TO BE ISSUED IN NEW YORK Irving Berlin Stamp Dedication at Broadway on Broadway® 2002 Concert WASHINGTON - Irving Berlin, an accomplished songwriter who helped change the direction of American popular music, and who had more than 1,000 songs to his credit, will be honored by the U.S. Postal Service next month with the issuance of the Irving Berlin commemorative stamp on Sept. 15 in New York, N.Y. The Irving Berlin stamp will be dedicated at an 11:15 a.m. first day of issue ceremony held in conjunction with the 11th annual Broadway on Broadway® concert, the official kick-off for the Broadway theatre season, at Times Square (between 43rd and 44th Streets). The 37-cent Irving Berlin stamp will be available at New York City post offices starting Sept. 15. It will be available at post offices across the country beginning Sept. 16. The concert is free and open to the public. It will showcase musical numbers from long-running shows and recent hits, along with sneak previews of this fall's new plays and musicals. The open-air concert brings together more than 200 performers and a 30-piece orchestra, turning Times Square into the world's biggest concert hall. "This is an exciting opportunity for the Postal Service to showcase the richness and diversity of the U.S. stamp program," said John F. Walsh, member of the presidentially appointed Postal Service Board of Governors, who will dedicate the stamp. "Irving Berlin made a significant contribution to the culture of our nation and to the world, and we are proud to issue this stamp honoring his numerous accomplishments." Berlin was born Israel Beilin on May 11, 1888, in Russia. In 1893 the Beilin family immigrated to the United States where the spelling of their last name was changed to the phonetic "Baline." The family settled on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. "Izzy" left home in his early teens and moved to the Bowery, where he sang for coins tossed by saloon patrons and eventually became a singing waiter. In 1907 he wrote the lyrics for his first published song, "Marie from Sunny Italy." When the sheet music was released around the time of his 19th birthday, Israel Baline had a new last name: Berlin. A few years later he legally changed his name to Irving Berlin. Berlin became a staff lyricist at a music publishing firm in 1909 and wrote the lyrics to two songs that were hits that year: "My Wife's Gone to the Country" and "That Mesmerizing Mendelssohn Tune." Around this time he also began to compose music for his lyrics. The success of "Alexander's Ragtime Band," with sales of one million copies of sheet music in 1911, cemented Berlin's fame. Many of Berlin's most popular songs originated from his work on Broadway. In 1933 Berlin's score for the musical "As Thousands Cheer" featured the song "Easter Parade." Annie Get Your Gun," first staged in 1946, produced more hits than any previous Broadway show. Included in this production were, "You Can't Get a Man with a Gun" and "There's No Business Like Show Business." Berlin's songs also found their way to the silver screen. Songs from Berlin's first major screen success, "Top Hat", were extremely popular. The film opened at Radio City Music Hall in late August 1935; at the end of September all five songs from the movie were played on the radio program "Your Hit Parade." Another film success, "Holiday Inn" (1942), featured "Happy Holiday" and "White Christmas." The latter song earned Berlin an Academy Award for Original Song. In 1938 Kate Smith performed Berlin's "God Bless America" on her Armistice Day radio broadcast, and the song became an immediate hit. Ironically, when Berlin wrote it in 1918, shortly after becoming an American citizen, he dismissed the song as too solemn and packed it away. During his lifetime, Irving Berlin garnered many honors, including the Presidential Medal for Merit, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the congressional Gold Medal. He died at the age of 101 on Sept. 22, 1989, in New York City. His classic songs continue to be performed on Broadway, in movies and by vocal artists from opera to country, cabaret, and jazz. The songs of Irving Berlin will be with us always. The portrait of Irving Berlin on the stamp was taken from a 1932 black and white photograph by Edward Steichen, one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century. The photograph, which was colorized for the stamp art, is superimposed over Berlin's handwritten score of "God Bless America." His signature from that score appears at the bottom of the stamp. The stamp was designed by Greg Berger of Bethesda, Md. To see the Irving Berlin stamp, visit the Postal Service Web site at www.usps.com and locate the online version of this press release by clicking on "Events, then Philatelic News." Current U.S. stamps, as well as a free comprehensive catalog, are available toll free by calling 1 800 STAMP-24. In addition, a selection of stamps and other philatelic items are available in the Postal Store at www.usps.com. For more information on Broadway on Broadway® 2002 concert, visit the Broadway on Broadway® Web site at www.livebroadway.com. # # # | |||
Chart of Technical Details |
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Irving Berlin TECHNICAL DETAILSIssue: Irving Berlin Item Number: 452300 Denomination & Type of Issue: 37-cent Commemorative Format: Pane of 20 (1 design) Series: N/A Issue Date & City: September 15, 2002, New York, NY 10199 Designer: Greg Berger, Bethesda, MD Engraver: Southern Graphics System, Inc. Art Director: Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD Typographer: Greg Berger, Bethesda, MD Existing Photo: Edward Steichen Modeler: Avery Dennison, Security Printing Division Manufacturing Process: Gravure Printer: Avery Dennison (AVR) Printed at: AVR, Clinton, SC Press Type: Dia Nippon Kiko (DNK) Stamps per Pane: 20 Print Quantity: 61 million stamps Paper Type: Prephosphored, Type II Gum Type: Pressure Sensitive Processed at: AVR, Clinton, SC Colors: Magenta, Yellow, Cyan, Black Stamp Orientation: Vertical Image Area (w x h): 0.840 x 1.410 in./21.336 x 35.814 mm Overall Size (w x h): 0.990 x 1.560 in./25.146 x 39.624 mm Full Pane Size (w x h): 5.875 x 6.50 in./149.225 x 165.10 mm Plate Size: 200 stamps per revolution Plate Numbers: "V" followed by four (4) single digits Marginal Markings: " © 2001 USPS" " Price " Plate position diagram Plate numbers in all four corners" 2 barcodes (upper right & lower left) Catalog Item Number(s): 452320 Block of 4 - $1.48 452330 Block of 10 - $3.70 452340 Full Pane of 20 w/plate no. - $7.40 452364 First Day Cover - $0.75 452393 Full pane w/FDC - $8.15 HOW TO ORDER THE FIRST DAY OF ISSUE POSTMARK Customers have 30 days to obtain the first day of issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local post office, by telephone at 800-STAMP-24, and at the Postal Store Web site at www.usps.com. They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to: IRVING BERLIN COMMEMORATIVE STAMP POSTMASTER 421 8TH AVE RM 2029B NEW YORK NY 10199-9991 After applying the first day of issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark. All orders must be postmarked by October 15, 2002. Return To Top |
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