‘Sesame Street’ Stamps From U.S. Postal Service To Honor 50th Anniversary Of Series

Philatelists everywhere are excited about a new batch of postage stamps that will be released later this year from the U.S. Postal Service, as they will feature 16 well-known characters from the beloved children’s series Sesame Street. The stamps are being issued to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the popular educational show, which made its debut on television on November 10, 1969.

While the U.S. Postal Service revealed what the Sesame Street stamps will look like, the government agency did not say when they will be going on sale. Also, there is usually a first-day-of-issue ceremony when new stamps are released, and details about the event, including its date and location, will be announced at a later time.

Each stamp in the colorful collection will be dated 2019, and will feature a headshot of a different Muppet on it. The characters being immortalized are: Big Bird, Ernie (who is holding his favorite rubber duckie), Bert, Cookie Monster, Rosita, The Count, Oscar the Grouch (his pet worm, Slimey, is in the photo too), Abby Cadabby, Henry Monster, Julia, Guy Smiley, Snuffleupagus, Elmo, Telly, Grover, and Zoe.

Derry Noyes, the Postal Service’s art director, designed the Sesame Street stamps, which are “forever stamps,” meaning they will always be good to use when mailing a standard envelope.

Some of the other stamps that the post office plans to issue in 2019 include a single stamp honoring 1950s tennis champ Maureen Connolly Brinker, aka “Little Mo”; a four-stamp Tyrannosaurus rex collection; and a four-stamp Spooky Silhouettes collection featuring a black cat and raven, ghosts, a spider, and bats for Halloween.

Meanwhile, there was other big Sesame Street news revealed earlier this week.

Entertainment Weekly reported on a new book, Sunny Day: A Celebration of Sesame Street, that will be published by Random House Children’s Books on October 22. The illustrated hardcover for kids between the ages of 4 and 8 pays tribute to the show’s iconic theme song, and features a different artist’s interpretation of the classic lyrics in each spread.

“Readers young and old who open this book will hear the iconic theme play in their heads as they enjoy the striking art created by an incredible group of illustrators,” said Mallory Loehr, the senior vice president and publishing director of Random House Books for Young Readers Group.

Additionally, Deadline revealed that a live-action Sesame Street movie from Warner Bros. will hit the silver screen on January 15, 2021. The family musical is slated to start filming in July, with Portlandia co-creator Jonathan Krisel directing. Actress Anne Hathaway is reportedly set to star in the movie alongside all of the Muppets from the hit series.