American Composer Stamps

American Composer Stamps

This post features the American composer stamps from 1940. Historically, the United States has been a country that has released few music-themed postage stamps. Before the postal service began celebrating American popular music in the 1980s and 1990s, they were remarkably rare. These stamps devoted to popular music will be the topic of future posts.

One of the rare examples, are the American Composer stamps of 1940. This series featured five composers from various genres of American music. The Smithsonian National Postal Museum has a post with information about each stamp and the composers they honor. See it here.

It is important to remember that governments print postage stamps and, like currency, they carry political and cultural messages. For example, many colonial stamps from the 19th and 20th centuries carry the images of white European royalty. These were obvious reminders that reinforced the colonial status of the territories. Many stamps have more subtle messages about the historical and societal context in which they were created.

First Day Cover from May 3, 1940. Dedicated to the John Philip Sousa 2 cent stamp, which was a part of the American Composers series introduced by the U. S. Postal Service that year. Scott # 880.

Establishing American Music

All of that leads to the consideration of the American Composer series of postage stamps released in 1940. Even as the United States rose to wealth and prominence as a global power, it maintained a cultural inferiority complex. Institutions of refined music were started in order to educate the American populace, and prove to Europeans the nation’s sophistication.

This began in a small way even before the Civil War. For example, one of the predecessor orchestras of the New York Philharmonic was established in 1842. However it really accelerated in the final decades of the nineteenth century and continued through World War II. Many of the finest classical music, dance, and opera organizations in the United States were established in this period.

Likewise, it was important to cultivate and support American artists. Conservatories proliferated throughout the country to train as many as possible in the musical arts. The most talented American musicians went to Europe to obtain the finest musical training. There was an expectation that these musicians would help to raise the status of the United States and compete on the global stage.

The American Composer Stamps

That is the context that helps to interpret the 1940 release of the American composer stamps. The series includes five stamps in denominations from 1 cent to 10 cents, each with the image of an individual composer. Those stamps are:

1 cent stamp featured Stephen Collins Foster
2 cent stamp featured John Philip Sousa
3 cent stamp featured Victor Herbert
5 cent stamp featured Edward A. MacDowell
10 cent stamp featured Ethelbert Nevin

Edward MacDowell stamp, 1940.
Scott # 882.

Without offending any particular composer or those that love their music—and my first piano teacher absolutely loved the music of Edward MacDowell. There can really be no debate that this series is a rather lackluster list, and collectively, if not individually pretty mediocre. Especially if you compare it to an earlier series released in 1922 by the country of Austria that featured the likes of Bruckner, Haydn, Schubert, Beethoven, and Mozart.

Well, you might say, of course the young United States couldn’t compete in such a list with the Viennese composers who largely defined the western canon. Of course, I agree, but then I wonder why even try? The government issued these stamps in order to raise the profile of these musicians and the status of American music in general. While all of the musicians were very popular in 1940, the list hasn’t aged well.

First Day Cover of Victor Herbert postage stamp, 1940. Scott # 881.

Compositional Styles

Beyond its overall mediocrity, what is most striking about the list is that it is quite diverse. At least in its representation of composers across genres of music. Sousa, perhaps the most famous, wrote great marches for concert bands. MacDowell is known for his beautiful piano compositions. Victor Herbert is significant for his light operas, laying the groundwork for the emergence of the Broadway musicals. Stephen Foster was the most successful writer of 19th century popular songs. And then there is Ethelbert Nevin. I have to admit that I had not even heard of him until I got this stamp. Though well-respected as a pianist in his own lifetime, his musical compositions are little performed today.

First Day Cover featuring American composer Ethelbert Nevin, 1940. Scott # 883.

Race

There is an obvious racial aspect to this list. Consider the inclusion of Stephen Foster. Hailed as America’s first professional songwriter, was often condescending to African Americans. His most famous song, “Oh Susana” is written in a supposed black dialect. Its lyric about a “banjo on my knee,” is an overt reference to the minstrel show and its representation of the banjo as a comedic instrument of black musicians. Songs such as “Old Kentucky Home,” and “Old Folks at Home,” helped to create nostalgia about the South. This contributed to the Lost Cause mentality that glorified the period of slavery and rebellion, and laid the groundwork for segregation.

Well into the twentieth century, Foster’s songs formed the core repertoire of the minstrel stage. There is a long-standing debate about whether or not Foster, who was a Northerner, was racist or if his lyrics merely reflect his time. Regardless of his personal beliefs, his music was used by generations of white musicians to denigrate Black people and culture. These connotations were still fresh to those purchasing these stamps in 1940.

Stephen Foster stamp, 1940.
Scott # 879

An Obvious Omission

But more importantly, are the important composers who could have been included in this series, but were not. From the vantage point of the twenty-first century, it is easy to see that the biggest contribution to music in the twentieth century came from African-American composers and musicians who created Ragtime, Blues, Jazz, Rock & Roll, Hip-Hop, and more. Of course, most of those styles didn’t exist in 1940.

Where are the jazz and blues musicians? The U.S. Postal service actually had a rule in effect until 2011 that living people couldn’t be featured on stamps, so even many of the biggest blues and jazz musicians could not have appeared in this series.

I would argue there is still one glaring omission, who is more significant to American music than several who were on these stamps. That is the “King of Ragtime,” Scott Joplin. An African-American pianist, he wrote more than 100 piano rags including immense hits like “The Entertainer,” and the “Maple Leaf Rag.” Joplin also wrote a ballet and two operas before his death in 1917. Presumably, Joplin was left out of the American Composer series due to his race. Joplin did appear on a 1983 stamp as part of the Black Heritage series.

Scott Joplin Commemorative Postage Stamp | Commemorative stamps ...
Scott Joplin stamp, 1983.
Scott #2044.

One other interesting fact. Booker T. Washington became the first African-American to appear on a U.S. postage stamp in 1940, the same year of the Composer series. For more information about black Americans on postage stamps check out this online exhibit at the U.S. Postal Museum.