Gresham puts its postmark on sesquicentennial

By Mara Stine

First Published in The Gresham Outlook, Jan 13, 2009

A local businessman is putting his stamp on the state’s sesquicentennial celebration.

John Clark, owner of Stamp-Connection in downtown Gresham, designed an innovative stamp that’s being used to postmark mail at 326 post offices in Oregon.

Using a see-through acrylic mounting, Clark created a postmark stamp that allows post offices to postmark a special commemorative stamp designed for the state’s 150th birthday without marring its scenic image.

Modeled after an acrylic stamp the company designed about three years ago for WheresGeorge.com — an Internet-based movement in which people stamp paper currency and track its journey online — the postmark stamp depicts an outline of the state.

Each community in the state, and there are 326 of them, has its own postmark with the name of the city at the bottom.

Because the stamp is clear, whoever’s using it can center the postage stamp in the middle of the state outline, creating just a ridge of cancellation on the stamp’s perforated edge, Clark said. That way, the stamp’s image, and therefore its value, remains pristine for collectors.

Huh? You mean the stamp doesn’t need to be covered in ink to be cancelled?

Nope, said Kerry Jeffrey, customer relations coordinator for the Portland district. In order for a postage stamp to be considered cancelled or postmarked, it just has to have ink somewhere on it. But because most cancellations are done by machine, not by hand, they typically cover a large portion of the stamp.

Stamp collectors, however, want to preserve the stamp’s image and a big inky postmark can lower its value.

“That’s where the acrylic came in,” Clark said. “People think we sell rubber stamps. We actually sell solutions to their problems. And in this case, it was a great solution.”

Hobbyists such as scrapbookers have used acrylic stamps artistically for some time, but the stamps are not designed for rigorous, repetitive long-term use.

When Clark explained the see-through postmark stamp to Jeffrey, “his eyes lit up,” Clark said. “He was getting giddy.”

Postmark stamps traditionally consist of a wooden block handle/mount and a hard rubber stamp. As a result, “Applying the postmark is really more an art than a science,” Jeffrey said. “There’s a little bit of randomness involved.”

Clark’s clearly innovative design allows the post office an unprecedented level of post-mark precision.

Not only does the design allow stamps to be postmarked without inking up the stamp’s image, but being able to see where the postmark goes opens up a whole new realm of postmark possibilities.

For example, a trumpet stamp’s postmark could depict musical notes, Jeffrey said.

Clark feels honored his product was chosen for a project of statewide historical significance like the sesquicentennial. His design will be seen across the globe. And stamp collectors live for this sort of thing, colleting both the stamp and special postmark. In fact, Jeffrey expects some collectors to amass each of the state’s 326 postmarks.

Now Clark is working on a new line of acrylic-mounted stamps to be marketed through his business. “There’s a lot of applications we’re seeing where the stamp lining up is important,” he said, such as signature stamps for letters.

He also hopes to work with post offices in other states on similar projects … and he just might get his wish.

Jeffrey just got a call from the postal service’s national cancellation unit in Kansas City.

“They’re requesting a prototype,” he said.

Stamp depicts state’s coastline

Oregon was welcomed as the 33rd state in the union on Feb. 14, 1859. The issuance of a commemorative postal stamp and 326 community-based postmarks are the first of many 2009 events and celebrations planned to mark the state’s sesquicentennial.

The commemorative postal stamps showcase Oregon’s rugged coastline and are available while supplies last starting Wednesday, Jan. 14. Special postmarks also are available at local post offices upon request the same day.

After that each post office will keep its commemorative postmark stamp for 60 days for use upon request from collectors.

“It’s only good for mailing things on Jan. 14,” said Kerry Jeffrey, customer relations coordinator for the U.S. Postal Service’s Portland district. “After that it becomes a collector’s item.”

More information on the state’s sesquicentennial is available at www.oregon150.org .