• Lunar New Year, Jan. 8: The second of artist Kam Mak’s designs pictures a fanciful lion’s head, a parade costume. Mak’s designs do not relate directly to the animal of the new year, which will be the ox in 2009. A small ox in Clarence Lee’s cut-paper style appears in the corner of the design.
MetroExpo DC 2008 Year of the Rat Cachet

• Oregon Statehood, Jan. 14: The sesquicentennial of the 1859 event, using a seacoast scene by artist Gregory Manchess. This design was released in late August in Oregon. The stamp will be issued in Jan., although statehood date was Feb. 14.
As part of the celebration, a First Day of Sale postmark will be available at all 326 other post offices across OR on the day of the stamp’s release.

• Express Mail - Old Faithful, Jan. 16: The $17.50 Express Mail stamp depicts Yellowstone National Park’s Old Faithful erupting in the warm glow of an autumn sunset while several bison graze nearby. The definitive stamp will be issued at the SANDICAL Show in San Diego, CA and will be available nationwide that day.

• Priority Mail - Redwood Forest, Jan. 16: The $4.95 Priority Mail stamp, paying tribute to America’s redwood forests, depicts two people walking through a forest of redwood trees. The definitive stamp will be issued at the SANDICAL Stamp Show in San Diego, CA and will be available nationwide that day.

• Edgar Allen Poe, Jan. 16: The bicentennial of the birth of the Gothic poet and story teller earns a stamp with a portrait by Michael Deas. It will be issued in a decorative pane with a margin scene of his poem “The Raven.”

• Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial, Feb. 9: Many people are disappointed that the 200th anniversary of the birth of this great statesman only rates four stamps. Artist Mark Summers used his scratchboard style to portray Lincoln as a rail splitter, a lawyer, a politician and president. The block will be issued before Lincoln’s February 12th birthday.

Rail-Splitter – The stamp showing Lincoln as a rail-splitter includes the earliest-known photograph of Lincoln, dated 1846, by N. H. Shepherd, and depicts Lincoln as a youth splitting a log for a rail fence on what was then the American frontier. When he was a candidate for president in 1860, the Republican Party used the image of Lincoln as a “rail-splitter” to enhance his appeal to the workingman.

Lawyer – The stamp featuring Lincoln as a lawyer includes a photograph of Lincoln, dated May 7, 1858, by Abraham Byers, and shows Lincoln in a courtroom in Illinois, the state where he was a practicing attorney for nearly 25 years.

Politician – The stamp of Lincoln as a politician includes a Feb. 27, 1860, photograph of Lincoln by Mathew Brady, and shows Lincoln debating Stephen A. Douglas during their 1858 campaign for a U.S. Senate seat from Illinois.

President – The stamp featuring Lincoln as president, includes a Nov. 8, 1863, photograph of Lincoln by Alexander Gardner, and depicts Lincoln conferring with generals Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman toward the end of the Civil War. The depiction is based on “The Peacemakers” (1868), a painting by George P. A. Healy.

• Postal Stationery–Miami U, Ohio, Feb. 17: There is only one piece of postal stationery on the schedule, a postal card (the Postal Service prefers to call them Stamped Cards) honoring the bicentennial of Miami University in Ohio. The design shows McCracken Hall on campus.

• Civil Rights Pioneers, Feb. 21: Souvenir Sheet of 6 honoring 12 individuals: Mary Church Terrell, Mary White Ovington, J. R. Clifford, Joel Elias Spingarn, Oswald Garrison Villard, Daisy Gatson Bates, Charles Hamilton Houston, Walter White, Medgar Evers, Fannie Lou Hamer, Ella Baker, Ruby Hurley, NY City.

Mary Church Terrell (1863-1954) Throughout her long life as a writer, activist, and lecturer, she was a powerful advocate for racial justice and women’s rights in America and abroad.

Mary White Ovington (1865-1951) This journalist and social worker believed passionately in racial equality and was a founder of the NAACP.

J. R. Clifford (1848-1933) He was the first black attorney licensed in West Virginia; in two landmark cases before his state’s Supreme Court, he attacked racial discrimination in education.

Joel Elias Spingarn (1875-1939) Because coverage of blacks in the media tended to be negative, he endowed the prestigious Spingarn Medal, awarded annually since 1915, to highlight black achievement.

Oswald Garrison Villard (1872-1949) He was one of the founders of the NAACP and wrote the “Call” leading to its formation.

Daisy Gatson Bates (1914-1999) She mentored nine black students who enrolled at all-white Central High School in Little Rock, AR, in 1957. The students used her home as an organizational hub.

Charles Hamilton Houston (1895-1950) This lawyer and educator was a main architect of the civil rights movement. He believed in using laws to better the lives of underprivileged citizens.

Walter White (1893-1955) Blue eyes and a fair complexion enabled this leader of the NAACP to make daring undercover investigations.

Medgar Evers (1925-1963) He served with distinction as an official of the NAACP in Mississippi until his assassination in 1963.

Fannie Lou Hamer (1917-1977) She was a Mississippi sharecropper who fought for black voting rights and spoke for many when she said, “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.”

Ella Baker (1903-1986) Her lifetime of activism made her a skillful organizer. She encouraged women and young people to assume positions of leadership in the civil rights movement.

Ruby Hurley (1909-1980) As a courageous and capable official with the NAACP, she did difficult, dangerous work in the South.

• Richard Wright, April 9: This year former Chicago Post Office employee and renowned author Richard Wright (1908-1960) becomes the 25th inductee into its Literary Arts series. The dedication ceremony will take place in the lobby of the Chicago Post Office.

• Koi Fish Stamped Cards, April 17: These stamped cards feature colorful carp known as koi. Many Americans collect koi, prizing these large freshwater fish for their bold, bright colors in striking combinations and patterns. The stamp art is by Kam Mak, who left Hong Kong as a child and grew up in New York City’s Chinatown. He based the art on his own photographs of koi.

• U.S. Flag, May 1: One of the most recognizable symbols in the world; the American flag has regularly appeared on definitive stamps intended for mail use, and recent commemoratives have displayed the flag as well. This new stamp, a photograph by Rick Barrentine of Duluth, GA, depicts a detail of an American flag.
44¢ PSA Coil of 100 to be issued May 8, 2009.
44¢ Booklet of 10 to be issued June 5, 2009.

• Wedding, May 1: Two designs, for the new one-ounce and two-ounce rates, feature a wedding ring and a wedding cake. Photographed by Renée Comet of Washington, DC.

• Love–King & Queen of Hearts, May 8: Artist Gene Greco based his design on antique playing cards picturing the King and Queen of Hearts, to carry the new rate. The se-tenent designs will be issued in booklet form.

• Seabiscuit Stamped Env., May 11: An unassuming champion, Seabiscuit raised the hopes and spirits of a beleaguered nation during the Great Depression with a series of unlikely victories. A small, dull brown, unattractive horse, he ran perhaps his greatest race against just a single horse: the 1937 Triple Crown winner War Admiral. Held on Nov. 1, 1938, at Pimlico in Maryland, the race drew around 40,000 spectators and was broadcast on the radio to 40 million listeners across the country, including President Franklin D. Roosevelt. War Admiral, the favorite to win, ran his fastest time at the track distance by 1-3/16 miles. However, Seabiscuit won the race by four lengths and set a blazing track record in the process. Artist John Mattos created the design, which depicts a scene from the exciting 1938 match race between Seabiscuit and War Admiral.

• Forever Personalized Stamped Env., May 11: With this new Forever personalized stamped envelope you can include your name, your company’s name, address, and even a short message or slogan as part of the personalization. This envelope is available only through the Personalized Stamped Envelope Program.
Call 1-800-STAMP-24 to order.

• Mary Woodard Lasker, May 15: This stamp in the Distinguished Americans series honors Mary Woodard Lasker (1900-1994), philanthropist, political strategist, and ardent advocate of medical research for major diseases. Lasker persuaded the nation’s leaders to adopt dramatic increases in public funding for biomedical research, and her efforts helped make cancer research a national priority. Created by Mark Summers, the stamp artwork is based on an undated, black-and-white photograph. Summers is noted for his scratchboard technique, a style distinguished by a dense network of lines etched with exquisite precision.

• Forever, May 15: Non-denominated first class rate (44¢). PSA double-sided bookletof 20.

• Bob Hope, May 29: The USPS has announced that it will issue on May 29 at an undesignated site in California a commemorative stamp honoring Bob Hope. The design was unveiled during festivities to rename the Ellis Island Research Library to the Bob Hope Memorial Library.

• Celebrate, June 10: First issued in 2007, this stamp helps to acknowledge a host of happy occasions, from birthdays to anniversaries and more.

• United States Supreme Court Justices, September: Louis D. Brandeis, William J. Brennan, Jr., Felix Frankfurter and Joseph Story are celebrated on a souvenir sheet of four. The men cover a considerable range in the history of the Court.

Joseph Story ranks as one of the nation’s most influential jurists. The author of volumes of legal commentary, Story — who viewed law as a science — gave shape to American jurisprudence while also making the law more accessible to practicing attorneys. His devotion to the uniform enforcement of federal regulations by all the states helped establish the preeminence of the Supreme Court.

Louis D. Brandeis was the associate justice most responsible for helping the Supreme Court shape the tools it needed to interpret the Constitution in light of the sociological and economic conditions of the 20th century. “If we would guide by the light of reason,” he once exhorted his colleagues, “we must let our minds be bold.” A progressive and champion of reform, Brandeis devoted his life to social justice. He defended the right of every citizen to speak freely, and his groundbreaking conception of the right to privacy continues to impact legal thought today.

Felix Frankfurter was one of the most enigmatic and controversial figures ever to sit on the Supreme Court. As the Court’s strongest proponent of judicial restraint, Frankfurter — who served 23 years as an associate justice — believed that judges should disregard their own social views when making decisions. “History teaches,” he wrote, “that the independence of the judiciary is jeopardized when courts become embroiled in the passions of the day.”

William J. Brennan, Jr., author of numerous landmark decisions and the inspiration behind many others, believed that law is an essential force for social and political change. Brennan — the Court’s most determined opponent of the death penalty — championed equal rights for all citizens and steadfastly regarded the Constitution as a living document that should be interpreted to fit modern life. “The genius of the Constitution,” he declared, “rests not in any static meaning in a world that is dead and gone, but in the adaptability of its great principles to cope with current problems and needs.”