Chrismas Stockings

During the late 1950s and early 1960s, the post office received over a thousand letters a year requesting they offer a Christmas stamp for sending Christmas cards and the like. This was approved eventually. The first Christmas stamp was issued on November 1, 1962. It was just a wreath with some candles and the word Christmas (see the bottom of the Mercury album page). It was a start that led to several Christmas and generic holiday stamps issued each year.

On this album page, the art for the stamp showing a Christmas stocking was created by Lou Nolan. This was the second US stamp he designed. The first was a block of four Christmas toys in 1992 (see the Simple Holidays page). Nolan based art for the stamp on this page, though, on a stocking his wife made for him in 1976. It shows a red stocking stuffed with a teddy bear, a candy cane, an orange (a British tradition), a wrapped present, and a sprig of evergreen. That’s a huge stocking to hold all of these things. Notice the stocking is seemingly hooked by a red ribbon from Greetings text.

Note

These holiday stamps are moderately pleasing. I like that the post office has been issuing St. Valentine Day stamps. That day and Christmas are the most popular day to send people cards. It’s nice to have special stamps for those cards.

Contains 12 spots: own 12 – 12 unused, 0 used.
Page is finished.
Album or Web Page Last changed Mar 7, 2025

Stamp Details

The table below lists information about the stamps shown on this page of Lighthouse’s stamp album. For more details about a particular stamp, click on its description. That will take you to the related web page of Colnect.

spot

own

catalog

subject

description

comment

Other Definitives

1.1	✓	2598	American Bald Eagle	29c (feb 1994) definitive, multicolor
1.2	✓	2813	Love (Heart as Rising Sun)	29c (jan 1994) comm., multicolor
1.3	✓	2599	Statue of Liberty	29c (jun 1994) definitive, multicolor

Love & Greetings

2.1	✓	2814C	Love (Doves & Roses)	29c (jun 1994) comm., multicolor
2.2	✓	2814	Love (Doves & Roses)	29c (feb 1994) comm., multicolor
2.3	✓	2815	Love & Doves	52c (feb 1994) comm., multicolor

Christmas & Holidays

3.1	✓	2871	Madonna & Child Elisabetta Sirani	29c (oct 1994) comm., multicolor
3.2	✓	2874	Cardinal in Snow	29c (oct 1994) comm., multicolor
3.3	✓	2872	Christmas Stocking	29c (oct 1994) comm., multicolor
4.1	✓	2871A	Madonna & Child Elisabetta Sirani	29c (oct 1994) comm., multicolor
4.2	✓	2873	Santa Claus	29c (oct 1994) comm., multicolor
4.3	✓	2872a	Christmas Stocking	29c (oct 1994) comm., multicolor

Footnotes

Spot refers to the postion of the stamp on the album page (e.g., 3.2 indicates row 3, position 2).
Amt. is an abbreviation for the face amount of the stamp.
Own indicates the stamp status: ✓ for unused; ✗ for used or canceled; ⭑ signifies I ordered one; ; ✨ indicates it was bought recently; ✠ means an auction bid is pending; and ◎ is used, and it costs too much for unused.
To search by catalog number, go to the search box and enter it in the catalog number box. However, it’s a bit broken; I need to fix it.