A list of my philatelic presentations to date

Yes, another blogging hiatus. Let's see if I can get revved up again by starting with a simple post.

I have recently compiled a list of my philatelic presentations. These involve my two collecting themes: the IGY, and North American earthquakes, and a few more general pieces. I also now include a link to the list in my email signature block. Most of these presentations can be found online via links to recorded zoom talk, pdfs, or PowerPoint/Google Slide decks. 

My latest presentation was on April 24 about my earthquake collection, presented to the Rochester (NY) Philatelic Association.

I'll now be working on a poster and a presentation about the 1925 Santa Barbara earthquake during this centennial year.

PHILATELIC PRESENTATIONS - IGY

Operation Deep Freeze and the International Geophysical Year. Presented at the Philatelic Society of Lancaster Open House and Exhibition, Nov. 13, 2024.

U.S. in focus: International Geophysical Year [interview with Rod Juell], The American Stamp Collector & Dealer, No. 190, September, 2024, p. 14-18, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ESMiHL7wZBvySHQk3THzZJK3l4EFCFFV/view?usp=sharing.

International Geophysical Year polar cover. Ice Cap News, 69(3), July, 2024, p. 69.

The IGY and Me: Science, History, Culture, Philately and Memorabilia of the International Geophysical Year (1957-58). Blog; https://internationalgeophysicalyear.blogspot.com/.

The United States stamp for the International Geophysical Year. American Topical Association one-page exhibits, 2024, https://americantopical.org/My-One-Page-Exhibit.

Covers featuring administrator-scientists of the IGY Program. American Topical Association one-page exhibits, 2023. https://americantopical.org/My-One-Page-Exhibit.

The IGY and me: An introduction to my topical stamp collection and blog. Philatelic Society of Lancaster County presentation, April 27, 2022; pdf; slide deck. 

Geoscientific themes of IGY stamps. American Topical Association one-page exhibits, 2021, https://americantopical.org/My-One-Page-Exhibit. 

The IGY and American popular culture. Franklin and Marshall College, Department of Earth and Environment Lite Lunch series, October, 2008.

The IGY and American popular culture. International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics, Perugia, Italy, July 2-13, 2007

PHILATELIC PRESENTATIONS - EARTHQUAKES

North American earthquakes on stamps, postcards, and letters [pdf and PowerPoint]. Presented to the Rochester Philatelic Association, April 24, 2025.

The “collision” of the USS Constitution with the Long Beach earthquake, March 10, 1933. Presented to the Universal Ship Cancellation Society. Feb. 22, 2025. YouTube recording here. Google slide deck here. 

A personal letter from Joe [Dimaggio] [pdf, p. 3]. Presented at LASO [Learning About Stamps Online] Show and Tell, Feb. 18, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAYvOXxoOrY [starting at 9:10].

The Loma Prieta 1989 “World Series” earthquake jolted Joe Dimaggio. Presented at the Philatelic Society of Lancaster Open House and Exhibition, Nov. 13, 2024.

The Santa Barbara earthquake. Part of Stamp Chat S2E6: Show and Tell - Topical Collections, American Philatelic Society, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iEYwWunXvo&list=PLPW21u9emdXRXw4R_q1wNUCsuUgMxtUQr, 22:10-32:10.

U.S. earthquakes (not) on stamps. Philatelic Society of Lancaster County presentation, March 13, 2024; pdf; slide deck.

Mail sent soon after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. American Topical Association one-page exhibits, 2024, https://americantopical.org/My-One-Page-Exhibit.

Old Ironsides encounters the Long Beach earthquake. American Topical Association one-page exhibits, 2022, https://americantopical.org/My-One-Page-Exhibit.

PHILATELIC PRESENTATIONS – GENERAL

A visit to the Nuwara Eliya post office and philatelic bureau in Sri Lanka. Philatelic Society of Lancaster County newsletter. March 2025, p. 5-12, https://lcps-stamps.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/PSLC-Newsletter-2025-03.pdf.

A serendipitous visit to the Thailand 2023 World Stamp Championship. Philatelic Society of Lancaster County newsletter. Dec. 2023, p. 10-12, https://lcps-stamps.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/PSLC-Newsletter-2023-12.pdf.

Geophilately as a means of informal science education. Geological Society of America annual meeting, Pittsburgh, Oct. 15-18, 2023, https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/11uigQohlpkoor0E6n5_XLtwLmSy5SVKWfB4vNEo_xWQ/edit?usp=sharing.

Geo-philately: Earth sciences on postage stamps. Short course organized by Rob Sternberg, Northeast Section, Geological Society of America, Lancaster, PA, March 20-22, 2022, https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1orqKjIwiBxUW6CB4_WMFwfhi0Gc-3QcT5qP46vgn_rs/edit?usp=sharing.

Operation Deep Freeze and the IGY, and other philatelic presentations

My energies have been directed elsewhere rather than blogging. I'm sorry to not be a more consistent poster, which I think is one hallmark of a good blogger. I'll be away on a trip for a few weeks, so I wanted to make a post before I take off. I will probably not be back here until next year, so happy holidays to everyone.

I recently put together a 1-page exhibit for an open house of the Philatelic Society of Lancaster County. The theme is on the IGY and Operation Deep Freeze, the program by the U.S. Navy to provide support for U.S. efforts in Antarctica before and during the IGY. Here is a link to the presentation, and an image of it is below.

The focus of the poster ended up being on covers relating to people important in Deep Freeze. I will use this as a starting point for a submission to the American Topical Association's 2025 My One-Page Exhibit online program, and then for a piece I hope to write up later next year for the Ice Cap News, published by the American Society of Polar Philatelists.

I have compiled a list of various philatelic presentations I have made, mostly in the last couple of years. Some are on the IGY, and the rest are related to my other collecting interest, North American earthquakes. Most are hyperlinked in one way or another:

Operation Deep Freeze and the International Geophysical Year. Presented at the Philatelic Society of Lancaster Open House and Exhibition, Nov. 13, 2024.

The Loma Prieta 1989 “World Series” Earthquake Jolted Joe Dimaggio. Presented at the Philatelic Society of Lancaster Open House and Exhibition, Nov. 13, 2024.

U.S. in focus: International Geophysical Year [interview with Rod Juell], The American Stamp Collector & Dealer, No. 190, September, 2024, p. 14-18, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1u0BWdNjiTrTHEiBTgsaySMEbImMQV_F9/view?usp=sharing

The Santa Barbara earthquake. Part of Stamp Chat S2E6: Show and Tell - Topical Collections, American Philatelic Society, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iEYwWunXvo&list=PLPW21u9emdXRXw4R_q1wNUCsuUgMxtUQr, 22:10-32:10

International Geophysical Year polar cover. Ice Cap News, 69(3), July, 2024, p. 69.

The IGY and Me: Science, History, Culture, Philately and Memorabilia of the International Geophysical Year (1957-58). Blog; https://internationalgeophysicalyear.blogspot.com/

U.S. Earthquakes (Not) on Stamps. Philatelic Society of Lancaster County presentation, March 13, 2024, https://lcps-stamps.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2024-03-13-Sternberg-Rob-Earthquakes-Not-on-Stamps.pdf, https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1vsbvE9Xmnv3JA6ItR-ATHD9jEUZr4H5d/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=105300384927793089550&rtpof=true&sd=true

Mail Sent Soon After the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. American Topical Association one-page exhibits, 2024, https://ataexhibits.com/mope/mail-sent-soon-after-the-1906-san-francisco-earthquake/

The United States Stamp for the International Geophysical Year. American Topical Association one-page exhibits, 2024, https://ataexhibits.com/mope/the-united-states-stamp-for-the-international-geophysical-year/

A Serendipitous Visit to the Thailand 2023 World Stamp Championship. Philatelic Society of Lancaster County newsletter, Dec. 2023, p. 10-12, https://lcps-stamps.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/PSLC-Newsletter-2023-12.pdf

Geophilately as a Means of Informal Science Education. Geological Society of America annual meeting, Pittsburgh, Oct. 15-18, 2023, https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/11uigQohlpkoor0E6n5_XLtwLmSy5SVKWfB4vNEo_xWQ/edit?usp=sharing

Covers Featuring Administrator-Scientists of the IGY Program. American Topical Association one-page exhibits, 2023, https://ataexhibits.com/mope/covers-featuring-administrator-scientists-of-the-igy-program/

The IGY and me: An introduction to my topical stamp collection and blog. Philatelic Society of Lancaster County presentation, April 27, 2022, https://lcps-stamps.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/2022-04-28-Sternberg-R-International-Geophysical-Stamp.pdf, https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1vsbvE9Xmnv3JA6ItR-ATHD9jEUZr4H5d/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=105300384927793089550&rtpof=true&sd=true

Geo-philately: Earth Sciences on Postage Stamps. Short course organized by Rob Sternberg, Northeast Section, Geological Society of America, Lancaster, PA, March 20-22, 2022, https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1orqKjIwiBxUW6CB4_WMFwfhi0Gc-3QcT5qP46vgn_rs/edit?usp=sharing

Old Ironsides Encounters the Long Beach Earthquake. American Topical Association one-page exhibits, 2022, https://ataexhibits.com/mope/old-ironsides-encounters-the-long-beach-earthquake/

Geoscientific Themes of IGY Stamps. American Topical Association one-page exhibits, 2021, https://ataexhibits.com/geoscientific-themes-of-igy-stamps-by-rob-sternberg/

The IGY and American Popular Culture. Franklin and Marshall College, Department of Earth and Environment Lite Lunch series, October, 2008.

The IGY and American Popular Culture. International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics, Perugia, Italy, July 2-13, 2007.

My interview on the IGY stamp, now out in the American Stamp Collector and Dealer magazine

Wow, I have been gone for a while. My energy for blogging has definitely been on the low side, but I have lots of ideas, so we'll see if I can get back on track with more regular postings.

In my posts of Jan. 31, Feb. 8, Feb. 19, Feb. 25, and Feb. 29, I showed the progress of an interview in writing that I was doing for a stamp magazine. The article is now out. It was featured in a column by Rodney Juell (I've mentioned him in previous posts, as co-editor of the excellent reference work, Encyclopedia of United Stamps and Stamp Collecting) for The American Stamp Dealer & Collector. The title is "U.S. in focus: International Geophysical Year." Here is a link to a pdf of the article: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1u0BWdNjiTrTHEiBTgsaySMEbImMQV_F9/view?usp=drive_link.

Rod and the magazine did a great job of formatting the text and images. And it even was the subject of the cover image for that issue, shown below.

Cover image for the American Stamp Collector & Dealer, Sept. 2024

Although the link to the pdf of the article might be more readable, here are images of the pages:

The American Stamp Collector & Dealer magazine is a publication of The American Stamp Dealers Association, Inc., "a professional organization serving philately and its dealers since 1914 ... members represent all segments of the philatelic marketplace - retail, wholesale, auctions, and online ... membership is international in scope ... representing dealers in thirty-six states and nineteen countries."

By the way, today is the 67th anniversary of the 1957 launch during the IGY of the first space satellite, Sputnik 1. Maybe I'll follow up shortly with another post related to that historic event.

My American Topical Association 1-page exhibits for 2024

Our eclipse trip to Columbus, Indiana, was great. We spent two days looking at the many examples of modern architecture. On the day of the eclipse, the clouds cleared and we had a perfect view of totality. We could see sunspots, the corona, neon-red solar prominences, Bailey's beads, and the diamond ring effect. Wow.  

Tree leaves could be used as pinhole cameras while the eclipse was partial. Some folks had fancier viewing devices. We sat on the patio of the Cleo Rogers Memorial Library designed by I.M. Pei, and watched the sun behind the Large Arch sculpture by Henry Moore and over Eliel Saarinen’s First Christian Church. Of course, except for during totality, we wore our eclipse glasses.

The eclipse swag wasn't great in Columbus. There were much better postcards when I was in Casper for the eclipse seven years ago. So I bought a regular postcard with the C-for-Columbus icon and an architecturally themed picture, put an eclipse sticker on the address side, and got it postmarked in Columbus on the day of the eclipse.

On to the main topic for today. The American Topical Association (ATA), dedicated to the genre of philately known as topical collecting, has an online one-page exhibit display series, now in its fourth year. 

“My One-Page Exhibit!” is a virtual program that encourages experienced and novice exhibitors to tell a story related to philatelic materials from their collections. Since the inaugural year, “My One-Page Exhibit!” has attracted philatelists of all experience levels and from around the world. Originally designed to display these mini-exhibits through the final day of Stamp Collecting Month (October), the site has been expanded to make past years' exhibits available for everyone.

This year there were over 200 submissions. I entered two exhibits, one for each of my collecting interests. They are designed to fit an 11" x 17" page. One of these, of course, is on the IGY. The other represents my collection about North American earthquakes, which so far is not detailed in a blog or otherwise, although I am contemplating publicizing it via social media.

My IGY 1-page exhibit, "The United States Stamp for the International Geophysical Year," focuses on the U.S. IGY stamp itself, using material that I have largely covered in previous blog posts, but reorganized for this exhibit.

You can see the exhibit online. It includes links to the higher resolution scans of the various philatelic items in my Flickr account.

This is an image of the exhibit:

And, if you need a third option, you can look at or download a pdf file of the exhibit stored in my Google drive.

There was another exhibit submitted about the IGY which I was pleased to find: "To the Karman line and beyond!: An introduction to the International Geophysical Year," by Sarah Giavedoni. You can see her exhibit here.

My earthquake 1-page exhibit is titled "Mail Sent Soon After the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake." It shows the corner of a cover sent right before the earthquake, and three postcards sent from San Francisco within a week of the event, including messages about the earthquake.

You can see that exhibit online. It also includes links to the higher resolution scans of the various philatelic items.

This is an image of that exhibit:

Again, if you need a third option, you can look at or download a pdf file.

Thanks to the ATA for providing this opportunity which matches the level at which I would prefer to display parts of my collections. There is a more traditional and formal type of philatelic exhibiting, which can include hundreds of items on multiple frames. The rules governing such exhibits are extensive, and the judging can be tough (although helpful), so I've not risen to that challenge yet. If you are interested, here is a 32-page document on how to prepare a philatelic exhibit, from the American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors.

Solar eclipses and the IGY

Last night I was watching the PBS Nova show on the Great American Eclipse, taking place next Monday. (I have been watching Nova for over 40 years.) There are many other great sources for learning about the eclipse, such as this one from Astronomy Magazine. The Nova show made me think I should do a quick post on eclipses and the IGY.

Here is a briefer summary from National Geographic of what happens during a solar eclipse:

My editor and I are headed off to Columbus, Indiana, to see the eclipse, weather permitting. This will be my third total eclipse experience. My first was in March 7, 1970. I was driving down from college with a roomie to see it in Virginia, when I rear ended the car in front of me, and was towed to the car hospital. But we did get to see the eclipse from there! Then seven years ago (eclipses follow various rhythms, including a recurrence after seven years), I went to Casper Wyoming to see the eclipse of Aug. 21, 2017.

Cover from the 2017 eclipse in Casper, Wyoming. Stamp is Scott 5211, when the fingertip heat is applied to the thermochromic ink, the thermochromic ink disappears, revealing the photo of the Moon underneath. Cachet by KSC.

People had all kinds of ways of observing this event:

Solar studies were a major component of the IGY. In fact, the IGY was scheduled to be at a time of solar maximum, and when eclipses would occur. The U.S. IGY stamp as well as a number of IGY cover cachets illustrate solar activity.

First Day cover for U.S. IGY stamp (Scott 1107) showing solar activity, with a hand-painted solar cachet by B. Kraft. Cover US120 in my collection.

In a previous post about the IGY calendar, I noted that these eclipses were noted as special days of observation on the IGY calendar.

Most calendar years have two solar eclipses. And, there were three solar eclipses during the 18-month long IGY:

Oct. 23, 1957 - total

April 19, 1958 - annular

Oct. 12, 1958 - total

Plans for observing the last one, which provided better geography for observing than the other total eclipse, are described in the IGY Bulletin, number 12, June, 1958, p. 1-6. Walter Sullivan discusses the eclipse observations in his great book on the IGY, Assault on the Unknown, McGraw-Hill, 1961, Chapter 11, Eclipse, pp. 182-188. I may say more about these articles in my next post, but I need to finish packing. 

Why travel 10 hours to see a total eclipse, when I could see a 90% eclipse here in Lancaster? You can experience so much more during totality. This xkcd cartoon illustrates the difference:

xkcd 2914. "A partial eclipse is like a cool sunset. A total eclipse is like someone broke the sky."

I am taking my eclipse glasses to watch the eclipse develop outside of  the 4 minutes of totality, so be sure you also view the sun safely! Never look at the sun directly except when it totally eclipsed.

Do you have any favorite background stories or anecdotes relating to this stamp (interview question #5)?

Rather than answer the question originally posed, I will instead discuss why the a U.S. never issued an IGY-related stamp that you might have expected. Again, I rely below on some earlier posts (links shown) and NASA web pages.

The IGY events that almost certainly most captivated the attention of the public were the launchings of the first artificial satellites by both the Soviet Union and the U.S., a key area of research that had been planned for the IGY. Ironically, the beginning of the so-called "space race" took place during the IGY which trumpeted international scientific cooperation.

In 1952, the International Council of Scientific Unions had announced the establishment of the International Geophysical Year. In Oct. 1954, the Council adopted a resolution calling for artificial satellites to be launched during the IGY. It was fully expected that both the U.S. and the Soviet Union would do this. In July 1955, the White House announced plans to launch an Earth-orbiting satellite for the IGY. In Sept. 1955, the Naval Research Laboratory's Vanguard proposal was chosen to carry out this mission. 

On Oct. 4, 1957, the Soviet Union successfully launched the first satellite, Sputnik I. The Soviets struck again on Nov. 3 when Sputnik II was launched, carrying a much heavier payload (with consequent fears about ICBMs carrying nuclear warheads), including Laika, the dog. The United States attempt to respond with a Project Vanguard launch on Dec. 6 was a disaster, as the rocket only rose a few feet above the platform before it disintegrated in flames. During the next Vanguard test on Feb. 5, 1958, the launch vehicle reached an altitude of four miles but then exploded. At this point, the Army stepped in with Project Explorer under the direction of Wernher von Braun, which led to the first successful U.S. orbital launch of Explorer I aboard a Redstone rocket on Jan. 31,1958. Data collected with a geiger counter on this mission led to the discovery of the Van Allen radiation belts.

Celebrating the launch of Explorer I are: William H. Pickering, director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory; James A. Van Allen, physicist who designed and built the instrument on Explorer that detected the eponymous radiation belts; and Wernher von Braun, leader of the Army's team which built the first stage Redstone booster that was part of the Jupiter C rocket that carried Explorer 1 into space. (Photo from NASA)

The Soviet Union and some of its allies wasted no time issuing stamps honoring the Sputnik launches. A stamp (Scott SU 1991, blow left) depicting Soviet rocket pioneer Konstantin Tsiolkovsky was issued on Oct. 7, 1957, just three days of the launch of Sputnik I. This was the bicentennial year of Tsiolkovsky's birth, but the date of issue was neither his birth nor death date. It hardly seems like a coincidence that the stamp was issued so shortly after the Sputnik launch. 

The same stamp (SU 2021, above right) was issued just seven weeks later on Nov. 28, 1957 with the overprint message of "First in the World Artificial Satellite."

Another Soviet Union stamp (SU 1992, right) for the launching of the first artificial earth satellite, depicting a satellite in orbit, was issued on Nov. 5, just a month after the launch of Sputnik I.

Sputnik II was similarly lauded with a set of four stamps (SU 2032-2035) issued on Dec. 30, 1957, eight weeks after the launch.

The U.S., on the other hand, did not issue a stamp honoring Explorer I after its successful launch as the third satellite into Earth orbit. I had speculated to myself that the U.S. did not want to highlight this milestone because its Cold War rival had won this first leg of the space race, and feared being seen as the loser in this competition. My opinion was confirmed thanks to Matin Modarressi (see his American Philatelic Society presentation on The Role of Stamps in U.S. Foreign Relations). Matin sent me the link to a document (https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP80B01676R002700050014-5.pdf) dated Oct. 8, 1958, signed by CIA director Allen Dulles. It was from the Operations Coordinating Board (OCB), a committee of the United States Executive created in 1953 by an executive order of Pres. Eisenhower to provide oversight of United States covert operations. It stated that:

A suggestion by the Army was then brought up having to do with the possibility of a commemorative postage stamp in honor of the launching of Explorer 1. The majority of the Board felt that it might be unwise to issue such a stamp in view of the obvious disparity which now exists between our accomplishments in the satellite field and those of the USSR.

Fascinating documentation confirming my hypothesis! Also present at that OCB meeting was Abbott Washburn, mentioned in an earlier post as Deputy Director of the United States Information Agency and simultaneously a member of the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee. Yes, stamps can be propaganda, as Matin pointed out in this piece.

In a similar fashion, I have learned from my other topical collection on North American earthquakes that the U.S. has never issued a stamp on an earthquake, or any natural disaster for that matter, even though other countries do so, to respect the tragedy or honor rebuilding efforts (see this article by Raymond Burby). The Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee listed its criteria for possible U.S. stamps in 2019 (see statement here), one of which states that:

The stamp program commemorates positive contributions to American life, history, culture and environment; therefore, negative occurrences and disasters will not be commemorated on U.S. postage stamps or stationery [italics mine].

That would seem to rule out earthquake stamps, as well as being second to another country. 

Finally, in 1999, Explorer 1 got its U.S. philatelic due (see stamp below), as a milestone event of the 1950s as part of the 1950s sheet (see below) in the series of 10 sheets to Celebrate the Century:

Scott US 3187d, front and back

Scott US 3187, souvenir sheet

Can you tell us how this stamp came to be selected for issue by the Post Office Department (interview question #4)?

Arthur E. Summerfield was the 57th Postmaster General (1953-61), an appointee of President Eisenhower. He presided over a modernization of the Post Office Department (known as the United States Postal Service since 1971). On March 26, 1957, just three months before the beginning of the International Geophysical Year, he created the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC) in order to utilize public input to recommend stamp subjects to the PMG for final approval. These suggestions were to pay more attention to the design and aesthetic appeal of stamps and also to reinforce the interests of stamp collectors.

CSAC (Post Office Department photo; from the Bureau Specialist, vol. 28, June, 1957, p. 184)

CSAC held its first meeting at the Post Office Department in Washington, D. C. on April 30, 1957. Shown are, from left to right, Robert E. Fellers, Director, Division of Philately, Post Office Department; Abbott Washburn, Deputy Director, United States Information Agency; Franklin R. Bruns, Jr., Curator, Division of Philately and Postal History; H. L. Lindquist, Chairman, National Federation of Stamp Clubs; Sol Glass, President, Bureau Issues Association, Inc.; Summerfeld; Arnold Copeland, President,The Westport Artists, Inc.; Ervine Metzl, President, Society Of Illustrators; William H, Buckley, President, New York Art Directors Club; and L. Rohe Walter, Special Assistant to the postmaster General. The Committee includes representatives of the post office department, the communities of philatelists, and the profession of designers/illustrators. Very brief bio notes for each member were given in an earlier post.

On Nov. 2, 1957, Summerfield made known a list of nine selections for commemorative postage recommended by CSAC to be issued during 1958, one of these being a stamp honoring the International Geophysical year. The stamp was announced in the Postal Bulletin of April 24, 1958. The U.S. ended up issuing a total of 18 commemorative stamps and three airmail stamps in 1958.

Ervine Metzl designed the IGY stamp with an original drawing on which the stamp was based. Metzl, an illustrator who was on the CSAC as a representative of the art and design community, explained that “In the small confines of a postage stamp we have endeavored to picture a man’s wonder at the unknown together with his determination to understand it and his need for Spiritual inspiration to further his knowledge.” He discussed his ideas of effective graphic design in his book The Poster: Its History and Its Art (Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1963, 183 p.). Metzl designed a total of 10 U.S. postage stamps.  

Illustration of Ervine Metzl, from the jacket of his book The Poster: Its History and Its Art 

The U.S. IGY stamp is rather dramatic. Just exactly what does it depict (interview question #3)?

 On to question #3 for my interview:

The U.S. IGY stamp is rather dramatic. Just exactly what does it depict?

Let's look at the stamp again (in quadruple, as a plate block):

Scott 1107 plate block from my collection

Drawing on a previous post, there are two main elements in the stamp image: the outreached hands and the solar surface.

The nearly touching hands are excerpted from The Creation of Adam, a fresco painted ca. 1510 by Michelangelo as part of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in The Vatican. It illustrates the biblical creation narrative from the Book of Genesis in which God breathes life into Adam.

The postcard from my collection shown below contains an image of The Creation of Adam. The IGY stamp on the card has the cancellation date and place for the FDOI of the stamp, but does not bear the First Day of Issue slogan. 

Postcard FDOI front, with Michelangelo's Creation of Adam, US 182 in my collection

As for the image of the solar surface and solar prominences in the stamp, among the fourteen scientific areas of study for the IGY, #6 was the study of solar activity. The Postal Bulletin dated April 24, 1958, volume 79, issue 20080, states that:

The design of the stamp is based on a photograph of the sun and depicts an area of intense solar activity such as occurs periodically and is among the phenomena being studied during the 18-month long period of the International Geophysical Year.

Ervine Metzl, the designer of the stamp, explained that 'In the small confines of a postage stamp we have endeavored to picture a man's wonder at the unknown together with his determination to understand it and his need for spiritual inspiration to further his knowledge.'

I noted several aspects of Scott 1107 in this post. The orange solar prominences add a nice touch of color. This was the fifth [correction to the original post] U.S. stamp (after Scott 1042 Statue of Liberty, 1094 Old Glory, 1096 Magsaysay, and 1098 whooping cranes) printed using the engravure/intaglio method by the Giori Press, which allowed for simultaneous application of two or three differently colored inks. It was also one of the last three U.S. stamps issued with a 3¢ denomination. The rate for first-class postage had been unchanged since 1932, but went to 4¢ on August 1, 1958. This 26-year period was the longest in U.S. postal history with no rate change.

These days, much attention is given to the integrated teaching of STEM fields - science, technology, engineering, and math. This can be taken a step further to integrate pedagogies and understandings from the humanities/arts, as indicated by the acronym STEAM. Scott 1107 anticipated the STEAM spirit by incorporating imagery derived from both the arts and the sciences to suggest the importance and awesomeness of studying the natural world.

One thing I like about the U.S. stamp design is that it does not focus on national chest thumping. Some other countries' IGY stamps used Antarctic maps to pictorialize their territorial claims, to note historical scientific accomplishments related to the themes of the IGY, or to honor IGY missions carried out by particular countries. The U.S. IGY stamp instead celebrates the general theme of science and the acquisition of knowledge during that period of large-scale international scientific cooperation.