I was wondering if...

A) Has Ray ever had a stamp?

B) How does one go about petitioning the U.S. Mail regarding this possibility?

If ever there was someone who inspired others to "write" it was Ray...

Let's do this!

quote:

Originally posted by Parish:
...B) How does one go about petitioning the U.S. Mail regarding this possibility?...

You could try asking the people who are petitioning for a Pluto stamp. (That's the astronomical body discovered by Clyde Tombaugh. Not the dog that accompanies M.Mouse everywhere.) (But the dog would look good on a stamp, too.)

Thanks....I'm already on it!

I believe it's up and running!

We can now spread the word like dandelion umbrella seeds all over the world and get this done!



http://www.gopetition.com/peti...-stamp-campaign.html

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Parish,

I was "signer #2" according to the web page!

quote:

Originally posted by philnic:
I was "signer #2" according to the web page!

Heah we go!

I was told "You are signer #4 [?]" Don't know why the question mark; maybe signatures need to be verified.

Hi, Matt,

I am Signer Number Five!

I thought I was headed toward setting this up myself, but Surprize! Check out my posts which began about six hours behind yours. https://raybradburyboard.com/ev...1093901/m/3607019616

You wrote a great petition, and I was very proud to sign it. I think the most likely -- and the most appropriate -- date for this stamp to be issued would be August 22, 2020, Ray's hundredth birthday. The Postal Service favors the commemoration of centennials. Poe was honored in 2009 on the bicentennial of his birth.

For the full rules and particulars, go to:
http://about.usps.com/who-we-a...visory-committee.htm)

Send your stamped cards, letters or petitions in nomination for a postage stamp to honor Ray Bradbury to:

Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee
c/o Stamp Development
U.S. Postal Service
1735 North Lynn St., Suite 5013
Arlington, VA 22209-6432.

I am saddened that Ray missed being recognized with a Nobel Prize in Literature, but I am still researching other posthumous honors that might be possible, such as Knighthood and related honors from HRH Queen Elizabeth II.

The sky's the limit!

BTW

To dandelion and Skot Pierson and all other fans of Rod Serling:

Here's the link to sign the petition for a Rod Serling postage stamp:
http://www.petitiononline.com/petition/petition.html

quote:

Originally posted by Mike Langford:
Hi, Matt,

I am Signer Number Five!

I thought I was headed toward setting this up myself, but Surprize! Check out my posts which began about six hours behind yours. https://raybradburyboard.com/ev...1093901/m/3607019616

You wrote a great petition, and I was very proud to sign it. I think the most likely -- and the most appropriate -- date for this stamp to be issued would be August 22, 2020, Ray's hundredth birthday. The Postal Service favors the commemoration of centennials. Poe was honored in 2009 on the bicentennial of his birth.

For the full rules and particulars, go to:
http://about.usps.com/who-we-a...visory-committee.htm)

Send your stamped cards, letters or petitions in nomination for a postage stamp to honor Ray Bradbury to:

Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee
c/o Stamp Development
U.S. Postal Service
1735 North Lynn St., Suite 5013
Arlington, VA 22209-6432.

I am saddened that Ray missed being recognized with a Nobel Prize in Literature, but I am still researching other posthumous honors that might be possible, such as Knighthood and related honors from HRH Queen Elizabeth II.

The sky's the limit!

Nicely done Mike and very thorough!

We'll get this done if we "Do our work"

When I posted a link to the petition, someone replied with this which seems to be official:

"The U.S. Postal Service and the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee do not consider subject proposals until at least two years following the subject's passing. Furthermore, any such stamp will not appear earlier than five years after the person's death."

The only exception is U.S. presidents. A president may appear on a stamp on his first birthday after his passing.

quote:

Originally posted by dandelion:
When I posted a link to the petition, someone replied with this which seems to be official:

"The U.S. Postal Service and the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee do not consider subject proposals until at least two years following the subject's passing. Furthermore, any such stamp will not appear earlier than five years after the person's death."

The only exception is U.S. presidents. A president may appear on a stamp on his first birthday after his passing.

'Tis true.

Here's how I see The Ray Bradbury Stamp Campaign shaping up --

In checking the U.S. Postal Service link, that I included on my June 14th post above, I found that it no longer works. A search at the USPS site revealed the page with info on the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC) is now found at:
http://about.usps.com/who-we-a...visory-committee.htm
(They may have changed the URL because of creating a new page to include the new committee members, so beware it may be changed again in the future.)

On that new webpage, you'll see the CSAC charter, the Stamp Selection Process, Artwork for Stamp Designs, the 12 members of the committee, and the 12 major Stamp Subject Selection Criteria. But nowhere, on this page, do I see any mention of the regulations as mentioned above by dandelion.

The closest similar info is: "Subjects should be submitted at least three years in advance of the proposed date of issue to allow sufficient time for consideration and for design and production, if the subject is approved."

The Selection Criteria also mentions: "Commemorative stamps or postal stationery items honoring individuals usually will be issued to celebrate births, anniversaries, and significant contributions."
"Events of historical significance shall be considered for commemoration on anniversaries in multiples of 50 years."

But a two year waiting period does seem reasonable before submitting a proposal. And if you add that two years to the above stated requirement of "three years in advance of the proposed date of issue to allow...for design and production", that would equal five years. O.K. The very soonest we could make a proposal would be two years from now, and the very latest we could make a proposal would be three years before the stamp is issued -- whenever that would be?

Well, I think I know exactly when that should be! If you consider that birthdates "in multiples of 50 years" are preferred by the USPS, I think the target date for the first day of issue of the Ray Bradbury stamp should be (drum roll, please) his Hundredth Birthday: August 22, 2020! It just makes sense. Those sought after, highly collectible, official "first day covers" would then be cancelled, I would think, on that day in the main post office in Waukegan, Illinois.

That would mean that the earliest a petition should be submitted to the USPS would be: June 5, 2014.
And the latest that a petition should be submitted to the USPS would be: August 22, 2017.

Here's a tricky loophole that could provide some extra help in manuvering our proposal. Since, in the event of a rejected proposal, there is a waiting period of three years before a new proposal can be submitted, the first petition(s) should be submitted on, or very shortly after, June 5, 2014. Then, if that first proposal is rejected sometime between June 5, 2014 and August 22, 2014, it would then be possible to submit a second proposal before August 22, 2017. That would be allowed because we would have waited out the required three years before submitting a second proposal, but we would also have a shot at having the second proposal approved at least three years before our target date of August 22, 2020. In other words, the timing could allow for two proposals, if necessary, to double our chances -- if I understand the regulations.

Possible Campaign Strategies -- We need to somehow do some research to determine how many signatures will be needed, maybe by contacting others who have mounted a similar campaign recently.
Individual letters and other petitions, in addition to the on-line one, are allowed and should be encouraged, but not, I'm assuming, to be mailed before June 5, 2014.
For the on-line petition, maybe we should set an overall goal and also maybe designate some intermediate goals along the way. Maybe "Ray-style" events could be staged outside libraries and bookstores to promote the idea. Flyers on bulletin boards, etc. Every member of the Ray Bradbury Board should email everyone on his contact list and ask them to sign the on-line petition.

We have 71 signatures as of July 6, 2012, and if we're shooting for June 5, 2014, we have less than 23 months to go!

What have I left out? What have I got wrong? What sounds O.K.? What other ideas do YOU have?

No further ideas, but to help everyone get in the mood here are some forthcoming stamps:









This seems to be the place to watch for announcements of planned issues:

http://www.stampnewsnow.com/uspsnewissues.html

A USA stamp for Ray Bradbury would be a wonderful honor. I'll look forward to it.

By the way, there is an Israeli stamp honoring Isaac Asimov, but not an American one.

Here is an editorial by Robert Silverberg, discussing the possibility of an Isaac Asimov stamp:

http://www.asimovs.com/_issue_0412/ref.shtml

If you haven't already done so, please sign the petition for the Ray Bradbury Postage Stamp Campaign at http://www.gopetition.com/peti...-stamp-campaign.html

I have also emailed American Masters at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/feedback/ to recommend that Ray be the subject of one of their excellently produced American Masters specials on PBS.

It's easy. Let's encourage everyone on the Board to do the same!

Ray's Legacy depends upon all of us!