page_title: Presidents of the United States on U.S. postage stamps
section_title: Abraham Lincoln
hierarchical_section_title: Presidents of the United States on U.S. postage stamps / Abraham Lincoln
caption_attribution_description: English: US Postage stamp, Abraham Lincoln, 1882 issue, 6c, rose
context_page_description: Presidents of the United States have frequently appeared on U.S. postage stamps since the mid-1800s. The United States Post Office Department released its first two postage stamps in 1847, featuring George Washington on one, and Benjamin Franklin on the other. The advent of presidents on postage stamps has been definitive to U.S. postage stamp design since the first issues were released and set the precedent that U.S. stamp designs would follow for many generations.
  The paper postage stamp itself was born of utility, as something simple and easy to use was needed to confirm that postage had been paid for an item of mail. People could purchase several stamps at one time and no longer had to make a special trip to pay for postage each time an item was mailed. The postage stamp design was usually printed from a fine engraving and were almost impossible to forge adequately. This is where the appearance of presidents on stamps was introduced. Moreover, the subject theme of a president, along with the honors associated with it, is what began to define the stamp issues in ways that took it beyond the physical postage stamp itself and is why people began to collect them.
context_section_description: Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 to 1865. The first Republican to be elected president, he successfully led the United States through its Civil War, thus preserving the Union and bringing an end to slavery, first issuing the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, and then promoting ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution. His presidency was cut short when he was assassinated in April 1865, only six weeks into his second term.
  Second only to the number of times George Washington has been featured on the face of U.S. postage, Lincoln's appearances on U.S. postage are more numerous than those of all the remaining presidents. His first appearance on U.S. postage came on or near the one-year anniversary of his death.
  The first postage stamp to honor Abraham Lincoln displayed above was issued either on April 14, 1866, one year to the day after his death in 1865, or about a week thereafter (experts and U.S. Postal records disagree). The engraving of Lincoln was modeled after a photograph taken by Mathew Brady.
  The 90¢ issue of 1869 displays an engraving of Lincoln that was fashioned after the same photograph taken by Mathew Brady used as a model for the 1866 issue. A total of only 47,460 stamps were printed by the National Bank Note Company.
  The 6¢ 1870 issue depicts an engraving of Lincoln, modeled after a sculpture by Thomas Dow Jones.
  There are several other prominent artists behind the designs of Lincoln stamps. The 1890 issue was printed by the American Bank Note Company. Alfred Jones engraved the portrait, modeling it after a photo of Lincoln taken by Mathew Brady, arguably the most important photographer of the Civil War era. Among the most notable postage stamp designer-artists is Clair Aubrey Huston who designed the Bureau stamps using an existing engraving for the vignette.
  The 4¢ issue of 1898 was engraved by George F.C. Smillie, an engraver at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, who had made the earlier engraving in 1898. Smillie also based his work on a photograph of Lincoln taken in 1864 by Mathew Brady.
  The 5-cent blue stamp was designed by R. Ostrander Smith. The engraving was done by Marcus W. Baldwin, also taken from the photograph by Mathew Brady.
  The 3¢ issues of 1923, 1925 and 1927 depict Abraham Lincoln. Clair Aubrey Houston designed the stamp using an existing engraving of Lincoln used by the Bureau in 1894 for the vignette. George Smillie, an engraver at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, had made the earlier engraving in 1898. Smillie based his work on a photograph of Lincoln taken in 1864 by Mathew Brady. The issued was first released on Lincoln's birthday, February 12, 1923, in Washington, D.C., and in Hodgenville, Kentucky, near Lincoln's birthplace. With the postal rate increase from 2 cents to 3 cents in 1932, Lincoln became the first president other than Washington to be featured on a definitive stamp for the normal letter rate. Since two Washington 3-cent stamps were also available by then, the Post Office discontinued the production of the 3-cent Lincoln, ceasing deliveries of it in July 1933 and canceling all printing plates for it. Owing to popular demand, however – particularly from collectors who wished to have examples of the stamp postmarked February 12, 1934 (the 125th anniversary of Lincoln's birth) – the 3-cent Lincoln was reissued from new plates on February 7 of that year.
  Lincoln appears on the 16¢ issue of the 1938 Presidential Series. A bust displayed in the Senate Gallery, sculpted by Sarah Fisher Ames, was the model that inspired Lincoln's likeness on the engraving for this issue. First issued in Washington, D.C. on October 20, 1938.
  The next definitive series, the Liberty Issue, featured Lincoln on its 4¢ stamp, released on November 16, 1954. This issue paid the 1st class mail rate until 1963. Designed by Charles R. Chickering, the design was modeled after by an original drawing from a photograph of a Douglas Volk portrait. During its use it was considered the most popular po
caption: Issue of 1882
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