1 - 
Lunar New Year (Tiger) (January)
As with other stamps in this second Lunar New Year series, this design is by Kam Mak.It shows narcissus flowers, but there's also the Clarence Lee cut paper design for the tiger and the calligraphy in the upper left of the design.
2 - Mackinac Bridge (Priority Mail) (January)
The Mackinac Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Straits of Mackinac to connect the non-contiguous Upper and Lower peninsulas of the U.S. state of Michigan. Envisioned since the 1880s, the bridge was completed only after many decades of struggles to begin construction. Designed by engineer David B. Steinman, the bridge (familiarly known as "Big Mac" and "Mighty Mac") connects the city of St. Ignace on the north end with the village of Mackinaw City on the south. It is the longest suspension bridge between anchorages in the Western hemisphere.
3 - Bixby Creek Bridge (Express Mail) (January)
Bixby Creek Bridge is a reinforced concrete open-spandrel arch bridge in Big Sur, California. It is located 120 miles (190 km) south of San Francisco and 13 miles (21 km) south of Carmel in Monterey County along California Highway One. Bixby Creek Bridge is important historically because it introduced automobile travel to Big Sur, connecting the remote coastal towns to each other.
4 - Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games (Snowboarding) (January)
The stamp shows a snowboarder, and the art was digitally composed. The vertical-format stamp reads "Vancouver 2010" across the top; not all U.S. Olympics stamps have the name of the games, but this one does.
5 - Katharine Hepburn (Legends of Hollywood)
Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907-June 29, 2003) was an American actress of film, television and stage. Hepburn holds the record for the most Best Actress Oscar wins with four, from 12 nominations. Hepburn won an Emmy Award in 1976 for her lead role in Love Among the Ruins, and was nominated for four other Emmys, two Tony Awards and eight Golden Globes. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Hepburn as the greatest female star in the history of American cinema.
6 - Distinguished SailorsWilliam S. Sims, Arleigh A. Burke, John McCloy and Doris Miller. We've had Distinguished Soldiers and Distinguished Marines, and now this issue (and Distinguished Airmen is undoubtedly next). The four are: William S. Sims, a reformer and rear admiral in World War I, and also a Pulitzer Prize winner for his anthology, "Victory at Sea"; Arleigh A. Burke, a top destroyer commander in World War II, who was nicknamed "30-Knot Burke"; John McCloy, who joined the Merchant Marines at age 15, then enlisted in the Navy on the eve of the Spanish American War and Doris Miller, one of the first American heroes of World War II. An African-American able to enlist in the Navy only as a mess attendant, during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Miller carried wounded shipmates to safety, including the captain of his ship, then manned a 50-calibre machine gun, despite having no training in its operation. He was the most recognized sailor of World War II, says Dave Failor, executive director of USPS Stamp Services, and received the Navy Cross, but he was Killed in Action later in the War.
7 - Kate SmithKathryn Elizabeth "Kate" Smith (May 1, 1907-June 17, 1986) was an American singer, best known for her rendition of Irving Berlin's "God Bless America". Smith had a radio, TV and recording career spanning five decades, reaching its most-remembered zenith in the 1940s. Her musical career began in earnest when she was discovered by Columbia Records vice president Ted Collins in 1930, who became her longtime partner and manager and who put her on the radio in 1931. She sang the controversial top twenty song of 1931, "That's Why Darkies Were Born". She starred in the 1932 movie Hello Everybody!, with co-stars Randolph Scott and Sally Blane, and in the 1943 wartime picture This is the Army she sang "God Bless America". Irving Berlin wrote the song in 1918. Her theme song was "When the Moon Comes Over the Mountain", the lyrics of which she helped write. She greeted audiences with "Hello, everybody!" and signed off with "Thanks for listenin'."
8 - Negro Leagues Baseball (2 stamps horizontal se-tenant: safe at home scene, Rube Foster)
This is a se-tenant issue of two stamps, but the first like this I've seen for a self-adhesive U.S. issue: The white border is on the top and bottom of both stamps, but only on the left side of the left stamp, which shows a runner sliding into home as the catcher tries to apply the tag and the umpire calls him safe; and only on the right side of the closeup of Rube Foster, a player, manager and executive of the leagues. He is considered by many to have been the "best African-American pitcher of the 1900s." On the right-hand stamp, he is looking into the camera, and might be standing in that "well" behind home plate during the play at the plate. Dave Failor, executive director of USPS Stamp Services, says the players and umpire are not meant to represent any specific people, and the stadium is also generic.
9 - Sunday FunniesDennis the Menace, Calvin and Hobbes, Archie, Garfield and Beetle Bailey. There will be five stamps in this issue: Archie (with Betty and Veronica); Calvin and Hobbes (as Todd predicted), Beetle Bailey, with Sargent Oliver B. Snorkel yelling at him; Garfield, with Odie; and Dennis the Menace.
10 - Oscar Micheaux (Black Heritage) (June)
Oscar Devereaux Micheaux (2 January 1884-25 March 1951) was an American author and film director. Although predated by the short lived Lincoln Motion Picture Company that put out smaller films, he is regarded as the first African-American feature filmmaker, and the most prominent producer of race films.[ Despite his pioneering in the fields of both independent film-making and African-American cinema, his films are widely regarded to be among the worst ever made.
11 - Boy Scouts Centennial (July)
The United States Postal Service has just announced that a Celebrate Scouting stamp will be issued in 2010. The unveiling ceremony is scheduled for November 12, 2009 at 10:00am in the Smithsonian National Postal Museum, Washington DC.
12 - Cowboys of the Silver ScreenThe four subjects are: William S. Hart, Tom Mix, Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. The stamp designs look like movie posters, with rosy-cheeked head shots of each of the men. Dave Failor, executive director of USPS Stamp Services gave some biographical trivia about these actors: The "S" in Hart's name stood for "Shakespeare," and he was born in Newburgh, NY, although he did live in the West. Roy Rogers' real name, or birth name, was "Leonard Slye," not exactly a great name for an actor playing heroes! Tom Mix died in an auto accident in 1940. And Gene Autry is the only person to have FIVE stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, for his success 5 different fields. Autry owned television stations, hotels, and the California Angels, and one of his hit songs was "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." You hear his rendition every December. (First recorded in 1948, I believe, but I didn't check.)
13 - Abstract Expressionists Ten worksHans Hoffman - "The Golden Wall", Mark Rothko - "Orange and Yellow", Robert Motherwell - "Elegy to the Spanish Republic #34", Jackson Pollock - "Convergence", Joan Mitchell - "La Grande Vallée 0", Arshile Gorky - "The Liver Is the Cock's Comb", Adolph Gottlieb - "Romanesque Façade", Willem de Kooning - "Asheville", Clyfford Still - "1948-C" and Barnett Newman - "Achilles". These stamps are not placed on the souvenir sheet in rows, and they are not all the same size or aspect ratio (height vs. width). None of the works was cropped to fit on the stamps, nor are these details: Each stamp shows the complete work "because we didn't feel you could do justice" to the art otherwise. Dave Failor, executive director of USPS Stamp Services, expects to hear complaints from collectors: "Hhow do I put them in my album?" This strikes me as one of those issues we see from time to time that is issued for the satisfaction of the artists employed by the USPS and those on CSAC. I doubt they'll be welcome either by mailers or stamp collectors, and predict they will be hard to find in post offices.
14 - Nature of America: Hawaiian Rain ForestŐhi'a tehua (Myrtle family)/Hawai'i 'Amakhi (Honeycreeper)/Hawai'i Elepaio (Flycatcher), 'Őma 'o (Hawai'i Thrush)/Kanawao (Hydrangea family)/'Őhelo kau lă'au (Heath family), Koele Mountain Damselfly/'Ă (Hawai'ian Raspberry), Hawai'i Ăkepa (Honeycreeper)/'Őpe'ape'a (Hawai'ian Hoary Bat), 'Őhă (Bellflower family), 'Apapane (Honeycreeper)/Hawai'ian Mint, Pulelehua (Kamahameha Butterfly)/Kőlea lau nui (Myrsine family)/'llihia (African Violet family), Jewel Orchid, 'I'iwi (Honeycreeper)/Hăhă (Bellflower family) and 'Ala'ala wai nui (Black Pepper family)/Happy face Spider
15 - Animal Rescue (Social Awareness)
There will be 10 different stamps, five cats and 5 dogs, in a booklet format. The stamps say "Animal Rescue/Adopt A Pet." The photographs are by Sally Anderson. All the animals in the photos were in shelters at the time, and were eventually adopted. Dave Failor, executive director of USPS Stamp Services says CSAC and USPS staff were split between dog and cat people, so there will be two different booklet covers, one with a dog, one with a cat. Failor says he still gets letters calling for more stamps like the Spay/Neuter pair of a few years ago.
16 - Pansies in a Basket (Love)The design shows bright purple flowers in a white basket.
17 - Winslow Homer (American Treasures), "Boys in the Pasture"We were given the title as "Boys in A Field" but it appears to be "Boys in The Pasture" (1874). This will be part of the Treasures of America series. Dave Failor, executive director of USPS Stamp Services, says this may be issued in a booklet, but Forever stamps appear to be dominating the booklet field. He also indicated it might be issued at StampShow 2010, since many of the Treasures series have been, but he didn't say it would be, either.
18 - Julia de Burgos (Literary Arts)Julia de Burgos (February 17, 1914-July 6, 1953) is considered by many as the greatest poet to have been born in Puerto Rico, and along with Gabriela Mistral, is considered as one of the greatest poets of Latin America. She was also an advocate for the independence of Puerto Rico and an ardent civil rights activist for women and African/Afro-Caribbean writers.
19 - Flags of Our Nation IVMontana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina and North Dakota.
20 - Holiday Evergreens Ponderosa Pine, Easter Red Cedar, Balsam Fir and Blue Spruce.
21 - Christmas: "Madonna of the Candelabra" The religious Christmas stamp in 2010 is based on "Madonna of the Candelabra" by Raphael, now at the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore.
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- Set four of Flags of Our Nation includes flags of Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina and North Dakota.
