EDGAR ALLAN POE 3-CENT STAMP

While I was scanning the covers for yesterday's post, inside the book I found the laminated and tasseled bookmark that has been with it for years. I also found a block of 4 unseparated  3-cent Edgar Allan Poe U.S. postal stamps. I didn't even remember I had them!

The stamp is officially identified as U.S. #986, with an issue date of October 7, 1949 for the City of Richmond, Virginia. A quantity of 122,633,000 was printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing using a rotary press. The color is designated as bright red violet.

Here is the story of how the stamp was made:

U.S. #986 was issued to honor Edgar Allen Poe on the 100th anniversary of his death. Poe was orphaned as an infant in Boston, and was taken in by a family in Richmond, Virginia, where he grew up. Richmond hosts the Poe Museum, and was the site of the First Day of Issue for this stamp. Poe was nearly included in the “Famous Americans” stamps in 1940. This 1949 stamp is designed in a similar manner to stamps from that series.

[SOURCE: Mystic Stamp Company.]