The U.S. Postal Service introduced a new booklet of
stamps designed especially for mailing wedding invitations
and RSVPs. The Our Wedding booklet contains 20 one-ounce
and 20 two-ounce first-class stamps.
Each one-ounce stamp is intended for use on the RSVP
envelope often enclosed with a wedding invitation. Each
two-ounce stamp will accommodate the heavier weight of
a wedding invitation with enclosures. The one-ounce first-
class stamp is also available by itself in a pane of 20 stamps,
self-adhesive.
Artist Michael Osborne designed the 2006 Our Wedding
stamps especially for mailing wedding invitations and
RSVPs. Both stamps feature an illustration of a white
dove-a time-honored symbol of peace, love, and fidelity-and
a heart, surrounded by calligraphic flourishes set against a
lavender background (one-ounce denomination) and a light
green background (two-ounce denomination).
Reminiscent of a bygone era when letter writing was a form
of art, the stamp design is based on Spencerian script, an
elegant mid-19th century form of cursive penmanship that is
growing popular again with commercial artists. To create
the stamp art, Osborne consulted vintage etiquette and
penmanship books that contain plates of calligraphic designs
used to embellish correspondence (including love letters)
during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Issue Type: Definitive

This issue in the Distinguished Americans series honors
virologist Albert Sabin (1906-1993), whose successful efforts
to develop a polio vaccine made him one of the most esteemed
scientists in the world. He received numerous awards, including
the National Medal of Science (1970) and the Presidential Medal
of Freedom (1986).

Issue Type: Definitive

This issue in the Distinguished Americans series honors
Dr. Jonas Salk (1914-1995), who was awarded the Presidential
Medal of Freedom in 1977 for developing the first safe and
effective vaccine against paralytic poliomyelitis.