Sale 2471 - Printed & Manuscript African Americana, March 29, 2018

220 c   (HISTORY—POSTAL.) ArtCraft artwork for Black Heritage Series first day covers. 37 pieces of original art: photographic reproductions with airbrushing, ink, graphite, and collage, each laid down on board, matted to 14 x 11 inches and sleeved; minimal wear, but with original manuscript filing notes, crop marks, and layout tape. [Worcester, MA], circa 1967-98 [1,500/2,500] The United States Postal Service began an annual series of Black Heritage stamps in 1978. Philatelists often collect stamps which are cancelled on the first day of issue, using decorative first day covers produced by private firms. Offered here is the original artwork for many of the Black Heritage first day covers produced byWashington Press for the ArtCraft firm, one of the leaders in the field. Some are signed and dated by the veteran artist for the press, Hal Bailey. Highlights include: HarrietTubman, with art dated 10 October 1977 for the first Black Heritage cover produced in 1978, * Martin Luther King, Jr., with art dated 13 September 1978 for the 1979 cover, second in the series * and Sojourner Truth from 1986, with the original engraved 8 x 4-inch metal printing plate. Many are paired with the final product: a cancelled first-day cover. Some of the first-day covers were for African-Americans who were not actually included in the annual Black Heritage series. For example, Frederick Douglass is here commemorated for stamps issued in 1967 for the “Prominent Americans” series and a 1995 CivilWar series.A complete list of subjects is available upon request. 221 c   (HISTORY—POSTAL.) Binder of 190 first-day postal covers, almost all with African-American themes. Commemorative printed envelopes, each about 3 1 / 2 x 6 1 / 2 inches, with stamps affixed and bearing postal cancellations; condition generally strong. Vp, 1940-89 [300/400] Includes a wide variety of cancelled postal covers, often with several examples for the same stamp. The earliest is for a stamp honoring Booker T. Washington in 1940; also includes covers honoring George Washington Carver, Sojourner Truth, the Emancipation Proclamation, Frderick Douglass, W.C. Handy, Henry O. Tanner, Paul Dunbar, Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King, Benjamin Banneker, Roy Campanella, Ralph Bunche, Jackie Robinson, Scott Joplin, Carter Woodson, Duke Ellington, A. Philip Randolph, and more. 220