Highlights Archives
1948 Centennial Stamp Contest Entries on Exhibit
A selection of postage stamp designs submitted in conjunction with the centennial of Wisconsin statehood in 1948 will be on exhibit at the Wisconsin Historical Society through March 15. Society archivists combed through a collection of more than 50 stamp designs submitted as part of a statewide centennial stamp design contest, selecting 18 of their favorites for exhibition in four cases on the first floor of the Society's headquarters building. The exhibit is open free to the public Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Images of the designs can be also be viewed in the Centennial Stamp Design Contest Gallery on Wisconsin Historical Images. The Wisconsin Magazine of History also features the collection in its winter 2005-2006 issue in a photo essay that includes a selection of contest entries — some beautiful, some intriguing, and all heartfelt expressions of the pride their creators had for their home state.
In 1947, with the state centennial fast approaching, the Milwaukee Philatelic Society sponsored a contest to design a centennial stamp. More than 50 Wisconsin residents responded. The designs detail familiar Wisconsin symbols: scenes of the state's natural beauty, views of the state Capitol, wheels of cheese, agricultural bounty, manufacturing enterprise, and mascots such as badgers and Old Abe the Civil War Eagle. Despite the declaration of a contest winner by the Milwaukee Philatelic Society, the U.S. Postal Service ultimately adopted a design created at the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Fortunately, the efforts of the would-be designers from Wisconsin were not entirely in vain. The stamp designs presented in the online gallery, the magazine's photo essay and the exhibit are preserved in the collections of the Society's archives.
:: Posted December 19, 2005
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