Every year on February 14, Valentine's Day is celebrated worldwide. This 'holiday,' which originated in America, is more often celebrated here between lovers, but not in the way Americans observe the day. The 'LOVE' stamp has been issued in America since 1973, and annually since 1982. What do you actually know about the history of the 'LOVE' stamps? Over the years, Dutch 'hearts' or 'love' stamps have also been issued, and in 1997, even Valentine's stamps with a scratch-off layer.

History of the first LOVE stamp

The Museum of Modern Art once had a Christmas card program that invited artists, some of whom were well-known, to submit compositions that would be turned into cards. Participants included Robert Indiana, whose 'LOVE' card from 1965 became one of the iconic images of the 20th century. See the picture below. The cards are visible: (first row) Hannah Wilke, Loren MacIver, Joel Meyerowitz; (middle row) Robert Indiana, Jules Olitski, Florence Bezrutczyk, Jack Youngerman; (back row) Bruno Munari, Ben Shahn, Xanti Schawinsky.

In 1972, the US Postal Service commissioned pop artist Robert Indiana to turn his painting of the word 'LOVE', created for the Museum of Modern Art's 1965 Christmas card, into a postage stamp. It was released in Philadelphia, the 'City of Brotherly Love', on January 26, 1973, in time for Valentine's Day. The 8-cent stamp paid the domestic first-class letter rate. It was printed in red, green, and violet-blue ink on the Andreotti press in sheets of 200 sheets. These were further subdivided into four panels, each containing fifty stamps, for mailing to post offices. The Postal Service did not call this issue a 'Love' stamp, but called it 'A Special Stamp for Someone Special'. The stamp was so popular among the population that more than 300 million stamps were printed. Robert Indiana died on May 19, 2018, at his home in Maine. He was 89. Mr. Indiana, born Robert Clark on September 13, 1928, was already a successful pop artist when he designed the 8¢ stamp based on his own block arrangement of the word 'LOVE'.

He developed his design – with 'LO' at the top, 'VE' at the bottom, and the letter 'O' tilted to the right – in the 1960s. In 1970, he used the same design to create a three-by-three-meter sculpture from Corten steel, an alloy designed to take on a weathered appearance when exposed to the elements. There are few pop images that are more widely recognized than Indiana's LOVE. Originally designed as a Christmas card commissioned by The Museum of Modern Art in 1965, LOVE has appeared in prints, paintings, sculptures, banners, rings, tapestries, and stamps. Full of erotic, religious, autobiographical, and political underpinnings—especially when it was co-opted as an emblem of the idealism of the sixties—LOVE is both accessible and complex in meaning. In printed works, Indiana has depicted LOVE in a variety of colors, compositions, and techniques. He even translated it into Hebrew for a print and a sculpture in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

Later LOVE stamps

American graphic designer and icon Bradbury Thompson was a prolific stamp designer, but also had a major influence on the United States' issuance program. Thompson was in charge of the popular LOVE series from the beginning, collaborating with Robert Indiana on the first issue of 1973 and Mary Faulconer on her floral motif from 1982. His own stamp in the series, issued in 1984, is a typographic design featuring the word 'LOVE' stacked five times, with the 'V' replaced by hearts of various colors across the spectrum.  [One_half] [/ One_half] [one_half_last]                  The 'LOVE' series was issued starting in 1982 and continues to this day. Choose your favorite LOVE stamps released from this collage.

LOVE stamp 2021

America kicks off its annual issuance program with the LOVE stamp on January 14, 2021. The designer is Bailey Sullivan. The new stamp features 'a colorful and airy digital image,' according to the Postal Service. USPS: 'The playful, graphic lettering on these stamps adds color and individuality to your mail, making it clear that thought has gone into the message and attention has been paid to the exterior.' Over the years, Love stamps have featured a variety of graphic elements, from lacy Valentine's Day to computer-designed hearts and whimsical floral themes. Most Love stamps are issued in January or early February to offer senders the opportunity to use the new stamp when sending Valentine's Day greetings.  Loveland, Colorado, has been designated as the official issuing city, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are no plans for a first-day ceremony open to the public. Two illustrated first-day stamps for the new LOVE stamp have been unveiled by the Post Office, one in black and the other in colors resembling those used to print the stamp. The black stamp features a heart with an arrow through it and the letters 'LOVE' in a pattern similar to the stamp design. The color stamp also resembles the stamp design, featuring 'LOVE' text and multiple hearts.

John Paul Young – Love Is In The Air (1978)

  Video John Paul Young – Love Is In The Air (1978): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNC0kIzM1Fo

Dutch love stamps

Especially for Valentine's Day, PTT Post issued a sheet of ten surprise stamps on January 21, 1997. So what is so special about this sheet of love? To begin with, a heart is depicted on every surprise stamp. A scratch-off layer has been applied to the heart. Beneath this scratch-off layer lies a secret message. Each stamp contains a secret message that is only visible after scratching. The secret messages are listed on the margin of the sheet. The designers are Petra Janssen and Edwin Vollebergh of Studio Boot in Den Bosch. Edition: 5 million sheets.

Personal messages about love can be sent since 2005 with the 'Tien voor de liefde' stamp, designed by Gielijn Escher. Gielijn Escher used the classic symbol for love: the red heart. Two red hearts together form the shape of lips.

In 2006, the same design by Gielijn Escher appeared, now with a value of 44 cents.

The 'The Choice of the Netherlands' stamps were designed by Dutch postal users, so that is, you and me. The theme was love, and the result is not exactly pretty. On March 18, 2008, the sheet below was released in the format of the personalized stamps. Personally, I think the heart-shaped page is a bullseye.

Reissued in 2010, the same design by Gielijn Escher, now with a value of 1.

PostNL introduced the love stamp in 2015. It is specifically intended for sending love mail, such as wedding announcements or on Valentine's Day. The designer is Marenthe Otten. She chose a design: a heart containing a smaller heart. Explanation of Marenthe Otten's design: 'In one spot, there is a small white heart, exactly in the same place as the human heart. The heart is surrounded by blue dots. These touch the heart, but not each other. And if you look at the design longer, you see the image dancing, just like love. Because love is always in motion, love flows. The choice of the colors pink, red, white, and blue was easy for me; on this stamp, they represent romance, warmth, passion, and walking on clouds with your head and heart when you have been touched by love.'

Previous Valentine's Day blogs:

14 February 2020: https://www.postzegelblog.nl/2020/02/14/14-februari-2020-wordt-weer-valentijnsdag-gevierd/ 14 February 2019: https://www.postzegelblog.nl/2019/02/14/wereldwijd-wordt-valentijnsdag-op-14-februari-gevierd/ 14 February 2018: https://www.postzegelblog.nl/2018/02/14/love-is-in-the-air-%e2%80%93-valentijnspostzegels/