I was at the post office today and saw a great poster for the new "Pioneers of American Industrial Design" sheet of Forever stamps. Apparently the U.S. Postal Service commissioned Smithsonian Cooper Hewett Museum to help create the pane of 12 stamps.

Each stamp features the name of a designer and a photograph of an object created by the designer, as well as a description of the object and the year or years when the object was created. The selvage (a new design term I just learned which means the edge of fabric or paper meant to be cut off and discarded) features a photograph of the "Airflow" fan designed by Robert Heller around 1937.

Longtime philatelic art director Derry Noyes selected the objects that appear on the stamps (and presumably designed the whole striking look of the sheet). Derry Noyes is the daughter of famed industrial designer and architect Eliot Noyes, whose iconic IBM Selectric typewriter is featured on one of the 12 stamps. (Read Noyes's recent interview with Dwell magazine about the Selectric and her father here.)

Here is the full roster of designers & objects featured on the pane of stamps (each gets a nice biographical profile on the verso side of the pane):

The Peter Müller-Munk stamp features a photograph of the “Normandie” pitcher, introduced by the Revere Copper and Brass Company in 1935. The photograph is from The Liliane and David M. Stewart Collection at the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal.

The Frederick Hurten Rhead stamp features a photograph of two pitchers from the Fiesta dinnerware line designed for The Homer Laughlin China Company in 1936. Denis Farley photographed the pitchers for The Macdonald Stewart Foundation.

The Raymond Loewy stamp features a photograph of a sleek pencil sharpener prototype created in 1933. The photograph is from Christie's Images.

The Donald Deskey stamp features a photograph of a table lamp that Deskey designed around 1927–29. The photograph is from Wright, the auction house, in Chicago, Illinois.

The Russel Wright stamp features a photograph of a fork, knife, and spoon from the “Highlight/Pinch” line of flatware designed by Wright in 1950. Sally Andersen-Bruce photographed the flatware for the stamp.

The Henry Dreyfuss stamp features a photograph of the Model 302 Bell telephone introduced in 1937. Sally Andersen-Bruce photographed the telephone for the stamp.

The Norman Bel Geddes stamp features a photograph of the “Patriot” radio, designed for Emerson Radio and Phonograph Corporation in 1940. The radio is part of the John C. Waddell Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, New York.

The Dave Chapman stamp features a photograph of two sewing machines from the Special Collections Research Center at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York.

The Greta von Nessen stamp features a photograph of the “Anywhere” lamp, designed in 1951 for Nessen Studio, Inc. The photograph is from the Museum of Modern Art in New York, New York.

The Eliot Noyes stamp features a photograph of the “Selectric” typewriter, which was introduced by IBM in 1961. Sally Andersen-Bruce photographed the typewriter for the stamp.

The Walter Dorwin Teague stamp features a photograph of the “Baby Brownie” camera, introduced by Eastman Kodak Company in 1934. Sally Andersen-Bruce photographed the camera for the stamp.

The Gilbert Rohde stamp features a photograph of an electric clock created for the Herman Miller Clock Company in 1933. The clock is part of the John C. Waddell Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, New York.

You don't have to go to the post office in person to get these stamps. Buy them online for $7.78 per pane.

Meanwhile, I’d like to get a hold of the poster. And I have to decide whether to actually use these stamps or save them for some reason.

No related posts, but check around GlimmerSite for lots of other interesting articles.