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All About the Hobby of Philately
(Stamp Collecting) 

       
Types of Collections: First Day Ceremony Programs



First Day of Issue Ceremony Programs are produced by the United States Postal Service (USPS) and sometimes in cooperation with the sponsoring organization of the event.  They contain details  of the ceremony, a list of the speakers and the background of the stamp issue. Most first day ceremonies are open to the public and are attended by postal officials, relatives of the honoree, and guest speakers. The program depicted on the left is for the 1997 Kwanzaa Celebration issue.

First Day Ceremony guests included the designer Synthia St. James, actors Wesley Snipes and Kim Coles and Dr. Maulana Karenga who founded the Kwanzaa Celebration in 1966.

Select the following links to view the program:
Narrative and First Day Cancel 
Speakers and Events 

 



First Day Ceremonial Programs have become a very popular collecting area among topical specialists. This second program at the left was produced for the 1980 Benjamin Banneker issue.

Select the following links to view the program:
Speakers and Events 
Narrative and First Day Cancel 

NOTE: The program is autographed by Jerry Pinkney who designed the first nine stamps in the Black Heritage Series.

 

 

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