# Are there rules about putting pictures of foreigners on US stamps? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 15, 2007, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-rules-about-putting-pictures-of-foreigners-on-us-stamps/388011 "2007-01-15T01:12:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![According\_to\_Pliny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@According\_to\_Pliny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/According_to_Pliny)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2007, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-rules-about-putting-pictures-of-foreigners-on-us-stamps/388011/1 "2007-01-15T01:12:11Z")
There have been many, of course. Probably the first was Lafayette, and who can forget Dag Hammarskjold, on the misprinted UN stamp. Do they have to be dead? Do they have to be allies? Or like the Time MAgazine Man Of The Year could they be notorious do-badders? ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2007, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-rules-about-putting-pictures-of-foreigners-on-us-stamps/388011/2 "2007-01-15T01:30:18Z")
The Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee (which does the first winnowing of proposed new designs, reducing the 30,000-50,000 proposals to a much smaller number from which the Postmaster General chooses the final designs (approximately 35 annually) has standards but they do not appear to be available online, at least as far as I could Google. One standard is that topics generally must be American in focus. Another is that no living person except a former President may be depicted; that a person must have been dead at least ten years before being depicted, again excluding former Presidents, who are customarily honored with a stamp issue in the year following their death. I would point out that Lafayette (and Churchill, who was also commemorated on a U.S. stamp) are not strictly foreigners; they held honorary U.S. citizenships, along with a handful of others. AFAIK, enemies of the U.S. and the notorious are not generally considered acceptable, but I cannot cite a standard saying so, just observation of what does get chosen. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2007, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-rules-about-putting-pictures-of-foreigners-on-us-stamps/388011/3 "2007-01-15T01:37:32Z")
[QUOTE=According to Pliny] Do they have to be dead? [/QUOTE] Famous story, (smells of Urban Legend) Letter from Postmaster General to member of public who wanted his face on a stamp: \<\\> > **[J. Edward Day](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Edward_Day)** > > James Edward Day (October 11, 1914 – October 29, 1996) was an American lawyer and business executive, most widely known as the United States Postmaster General under whose leadership the ZIP code was introduced. James Edward Day was born in Jacksonville, Illinois. He received a B.A. from University of Chicago in 1935, then attended Harvard Law School, graduating in 1938. Following law school, Day joined Sidley, Austin, Burgess and Harper in Chicago, where he became a close friend of Adlai Steve... ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2007, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-rules-about-putting-pictures-of-foreigners-on-us-stamps/388011/4 "2007-01-15T02:25:54Z")
[QUOTE=Polycarp] One standard is … that no living person except a former President may be depicted; that a person must have been dead at least ten years before being depicted, again excluding former Presidents, who are customarily honored with a stamp issue in the year following their death. [/QUOTE] I had always understood as well that the “rule” was that you had to be dead to be on a stamp. That being said, how do [these guys](http://photo.stamps.com/) get away with letting you put _your own picture_ on your stamps? ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2007, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-rules-about-putting-pictures-of-foreigners-on-us-stamps/388011/5 "2007-01-15T03:51:10Z")
[QUOTE=Suburban Plankton] I had always understood as well that the “rule” was that you had to be dead to be on a stamp. That being said, how do [these guys](http://photo.stamps.com/) get away with letting you put _your own picture_ on your stamps? [/QUOTE] Much in the same way that those postage meters work. They are sort of a “partner” to USPS, but since PC Postage (the technology behind them, also called e-stamps by some) doesn’t actually require a picture of any kind (the barcode is the important part), they decided that there was a market for customized stamps. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2007, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-rules-about-putting-pictures-of-foreigners-on-us-stamps/388011/6 "2007-01-15T03:58:50Z")
[QUOTE=Suburban Plankton] I had always understood as well that the “rule” was that you had to be dead to be on a stamp. That being said, how do [these guys](http://photo.stamps.com/) get away with letting you put _your own picture_ on your stamps? [/QUOTE] Because they’re not stamps. Not in the strict sense of being perforated pieces of paper printed by the U.S. government that you can buy and affix to letters to pay for postage. Neither is a label from a postage meter. But it’s a means of imprinting postage, and in the amount that particular item of mail requires, which can be tricky if you just have first class and miscellaneous old stamps lying around and you have a 4-ounce 9x12 envelope to mail. These are third party imprints that have an arrangement to imprint with a value in postage and the USPS will accept them. They look like stamps. But they’re not official government issue. The Chicago Reader could get a slug (not Mr. Signorino) made for their postage meter that would imprint ‘FIGHTING IGNORANCE SINCE 1973’ along with postage and a Chicago postmark if they chose. And they could buy “stamps” with Cecil’s face on them from the PhotoStamps people (assuming Cecil let his photo be used). But if they chose to use USPS stamps, they’re stuck with eagles, flags, flowering cacti, famous American hamster breeders, or whatever the Postmaster General has decided this year’s stamp issues are going to be. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2007, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-rules-about-putting-pictures-of-foreigners-on-us-stamps/388011/7 "2007-01-15T04:57:49Z")
[QUOTE=Polycarp] (assuming Cecil let his photo be used). . [/QUOTE] Cecil has never been photographed. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2007, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-rules-about-putting-pictures-of-foreigners-on-us-stamps/388011/8 "2007-01-15T05:19:22Z")
[QUOTE=Peter Morris] Cecil has never been photographed. [/QUOTE] That’s why I used the subjunctive “let” rather than the indicative “lets” 😛 ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2007, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-rules-about-putting-pictures-of-foreigners-on-us-stamps/388011/9 "2007-01-15T05:42:24Z")
[QUOTE=According to Pliny] and who can forget Dag Hammarskjold, on the misprinted UN stamp. [/QUOTE] The controversy wasn’t so much that some Hammarskjold stamps were misprinted than the Postal Service commisioned _more_ stamps to be misprinted so the pre-existing ones wouldn’t be as valuable. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2007, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-rules-about-putting-pictures-of-foreigners-on-us-stamps/388011/10 "2007-01-15T16:32:51Z")
There have been many foreigners honored on US stamps who were not citizens. Copernicus Dante Alighieri Martin Luther Shakespeare Raoul Wallenberg ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2007, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-rules-about-putting-pictures-of-foreigners-on-us-stamps/388011/11 "2007-01-15T16:36:38Z")
I was under the impression that there was a rule against having living people on U.S. Currency, but nothing about stamps. (although the rule didn’t always exist – Lincoln appeared on U.S. currency, IIRC, during his lifetime). ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2007, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-rules-about-putting-pictures-of-foreigners-on-us-stamps/388011/12 "2007-01-15T18:05:11Z")
[QUOTE=Polycarp] I would point out that Lafayette (and Churchill, who was also commemorated on a U.S. stamp) are not strictly foreigners; they held honorary U.S. citizenships, along with a handful of others. [/QUOTE] Churchill’s mother was an [American citizen](http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1953/churchill-bio.html) . ---
**Author:** ![According\_to\_Pliny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@According\_to\_Pliny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/According_to_Pliny)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2007, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-rules-about-putting-pictures-of-foreigners-on-us-stamps/388011/13 "2007-01-15T20:01:18Z")
[QUOTE=Suburban Plankton] I had always understood as well that the “rule” was that you had to be dead to be on a stamp. That being said, how do [these guys](http://photo.stamps.com/) get away with letting you put _your own picture_ on your stamps? [/QUOTE] I’d completely forgotten about it when I asked the question about foreigners. My daughter’s picture is on those stamps. I got them for her a couple of years ago when they first came out in trial versions. They were soon blocked for about a year during some hearings. Some people had tried to sneak in pictures that were against their stated policies - things like swastikas, porn, and politicians photoshopped into compromising scenes. And there was one of Monica Lewinsky’s blue dress. I guess now they have better censors screening things. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-rules-about-putting-pictures-of-foreigners-on-us-stamps/388011/14 "2007-01-16T01:34:52Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] I was under the impression that there was a rule against having living people on U.S. Currency, but nothing about stamps. (although the rule didn’t always exist – Lincoln appeared on U.S. currency, IIRC, during his lifetime). [/QUOTE] > [@Suburban Plankton](#): > > I had always understood as well that the “rule” was that you had to be dead to be on a stamp… > [@Polycarp](#): > > …that a person must have been dead at least ten years before being depicted… Apparently it’s only [five years](http://www.usps.com/communications/organization/csac.htm) these days: > [@](#): > > 1. No living person shall be honored by portrayal on U.S. postage. > > 2. Commemorative stamps or postal stationery items honoring individuals usually will be issued on, or in conjunction with significant anniversaries of their birth, but no postal item will be issued sooner than five years after the individual’s death. The Committee will not accept or consider proposals for a subject until at least three years after his/her death. The only exception to the five-year rule is the issuance of stamps honoring deceased U.S. presidents. They may be honored with a memorial stamp on the first birth anniversary following death. ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-rules-about-putting-pictures-of-foreigners-on-us-stamps/388011/15 "2007-01-16T01:37:28Z")
[QUOTE=Peter Morris] Cecil has never been photographed. [/QUOTE] So what’s on Ed Zotti’s driver’s license? ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-rules-about-putting-pictures-of-foreigners-on-us-stamps/388011/16 "2007-01-16T08:24:04Z")
Weird questions: If a skilled artist draws the face of a non-approved person over a valid US stamp, can he, theoretically, be prosecuted ? What if he does not indicate the sender’s address? Would the Postal Service do a detective search? What if he addresses the letter to the Postmaster General? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-rules-about-putting-pictures-of-foreigners-on-us-stamps/388011/17 "2007-01-17T03:12:59Z")
[QUOTE=Gymnopithys] What if he does not indicate the sender’s address? Would the Postal Service do a detective search? [/QUOTE] There was recently a case in England in which a letter was successfully delivered to the correct address, despite the fact that the front of the envelope only had a map of southern England with an arrow reading “somewhere around here.” ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-rules-about-putting-pictures-of-foreigners-on-us-stamps/388011/18 "2007-01-17T04:31:45Z")
Groucho Marx once received a letter that had no words and only a very iffy caricature of him on the envelope. Sometimes the U.S. Postal Service can work miracles. A few years ago, a U.S. postage stamp was issued with the firemen at Ground Zero hoisting the American flag. All three individuals are still alive. I wrote to the Postmaster General asking about the no-living-people rule (not that I objected to the stamp, as such), but never heard back. As to foreigners, Frida Kahlo also had a stamp a year or two back. ---
**Author:** ![According\_to\_Pliny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@According\_to\_Pliny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/According_to_Pliny)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2007, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-rules-about-putting-pictures-of-foreigners-on-us-stamps/388011/19 "2007-01-22T17:35:04Z")
The Ripley’s Believe It Or Not museum in Florida has some envelopes that arrived without any address whatever! This was when it was a new newspaper feature, in the 20’s I think, and it was a rage like Guinness Records are today. Everyone wanted to appear in the paper as sending the oddest envelope. Since the Post Office was dealing with a lot of these jokers, one envelope got through with no address at all. Ripley’s implies that it was because their contest was so famous, but I suppose it’s more likely that you could see the message though the envelope. Or I suppose some fading ink system is possible? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2007, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-rules-about-putting-pictures-of-foreigners-on-us-stamps/388011/20 "2007-01-22T18:06:04Z")
[QUOTE=brianjedi] So what’s on Ed Zotti’s driver’s license? [/QUOTE] Whatever it is, I’ll bet it’s wrong. 😃