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Celebrating the WPA

New stamps showcase poster art

Sheet of WPA poster stamps
The WPA Posters stamps, which USPS will release March 7, feature 10 designs.

The Postal Service will release stamps March 7 that highlight the posters of the Work Projects Administration (WPA).

Formed in 1935 as the Works Progress Administration — and renamed the Work Projects Administration in 1939 — the WPA provided millions of jobs during the Great Depression.

The WPA’s Federal Art Program’s Poster Division lasted until 1943, when it was absorbed into World War II programs.

At the program’s height, cities in 18 states had poster project offices that printed 2 million posters of approximately 35,000 designs.

Posters were displayed in public spaces and municipal buildings to encourage domestic travel, education, health, conservation and other civic ideals while stimulating morale and the economy.

Decades of obscurity followed the posters’ disappearance from the American scene, but appreciation of their distinctive style and artistic influence has grown since their re-discovery.

The stamps feature 10 designs that will be available in booklets of 20.

PMG Megan J. Brennan will dedicate the stamps March 7 at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, NY.

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