New Stamps Put a Face on the ‘40s

Rosie the Riveter, Slinky toys, jitterbug dancing. If you remember these ‘40s icons, you are old enough--or retro enough--to appreciate the U.S. Postal Service’s newest line of Celebrate the Century stamps.

On Feb. 18, the service will issue a collectible sheet of 15 stamps commemorating the decade that gave birth to a generation of baby boomers and sent women to work. The stamps provocatively embody the women’s war effort in the form of Rosie, femme fatale of the assembly line, whose “We Can Do It!” motto became a rallying cry for women long after their husbands returned from war.

When World War II ended, millions of servicemen got busy starting families and training for careers on the GI Bill--the subject of another ‘40s stamp. It was an era of postwar prosperity and pre-’50s optimism that, in stamps at least, will forever be remembered for saddle shoes and jukeboxes.

Stamp subjects for the first half of the century were selected by the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee. But any citizen can vote on stamps honoring the second half. Ballots are available at post offices across the nation.