Butler is famous for bringing the Acadian and Micmac music traditions to the public. With her national appearances on CBC Television’s Singalong Jubilee, she soon became quite popular and is now regarded as the world’s best-known Acadian singer.

As a child Butler had collected stamps and appreciated their historical value. Now that she is on a stamp she feels deeply moved by the Canada Post tribute.

The fourth member of the series is Stompin’ Tom Connors. He was born in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1936. He was raised by an adoptive family on Prince Edward Island and at the age of 13 began trekking and playing music across Canada until he had his first big break in Timmins, Ontario.  His nickname “Stompin’” is due to his habit of stamping his foot while playing guitar.

Connors’ deep love for Canada comes across in many of his numerous songs.

Despite her many successes in film and radio, McDaniel was often criticized for the stereotypical rolls that she played.  She is known for saying “I’d rather make $700 a week playing a maid than earn $7 a day being a maid.”  She worked tirelessly behind the scenes to change the way that African American’s were treated in the entertainment industry.

In 1947, Hattie McDaniel starred in a radio show called “The Beulah Show”.  While there, she was able to negotiate the right to alter the scripts of the shows when they did not meet her approval.  She also gained praise from the NAACP by convincing producers that it was not necessary for her to speak in dialect that would be detrimental to her race.  In 1951 The Beulah Show moved to television and McDaniel starred in the first three episodes until she discovered that she had breast cancer.  Sadly, she died on October 26, 1952.

Hattie McDaniel took her place among the 28 other honorees in the popular United States Postal Service’s Black Heritage commemorative postage stamp series. If you would like to add this 39-cent Hattie McDaniel postage stamp to your collection, contact Stamp Center today.

Arriving in Hollywood in 1931, she is credited with appearing in more than 90 films throughout her vast career.  It is widely believed however, that she appeared in as many as 300 films, performing many un-credited roles such as chorus singers, extras and maids.  She is most known for her performances in Gone With the Wind, Since You Went Away, Show Boat, and In This Our Life.  Her greatest working accomplishment came when she achieved the great honor of winning an Oscar for her performance as “Mammy” in the 1939 film Gone With the Wind.  It should be noted that Hattie McDaniel was the first African American to ever win an Academy Award for that performance!

Please check back on Monday for the conclusion.

The 39 cent postage stamps were unveiled in March of 2006 at the Mickey Mantle restaurant in New York City.  The official first day ceremony was held at Yankee Stadium just before the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox were due to play in July of 2006.

There are four well known baseball players that are represented in this stamp set.  Roy Campanella, played for the Brooklyn Dodgers and was the first African American catcher in the Major Leagues.  His extensive baseball career included being named MVP three times and he played in five World Series Games.  Hank Greenberg was baseballs first Jewish baseball player in the Major Leagues.  He had a very impressive batting average and was named to play in four All-Star teams.  Playing for the New York Giants for 22 years, Mel Ott was the first player to hit 500 home runs.  Mickey Mantle was, and still is, considered one of the best baseball players of all time.  He was a switch hitter who was known for his speed and agility on the field.

These Baseball Sluggers postage stamps would be a great addition to any stamp collection.  If you would like to add them to yours, contact Stamp Center today.  Stamp Center offers free shipping to our US customers and $4.50 flat rate shipping to our international customers.

Stamp Dealers are a great resource for purchasing postage stamps.  They have extensive knowledge about their products and often times have entire collections available to purchase.

Stamp Center is a stamp collecting dealer that provides stamp collection values, stamp collection appraisals and also sells new issue foreign stamps from countries around the world.  Stamp Center is also able to locate those hard to find rare postage stamps for you that will make your collection complete.

Not only does Stamp Center strive to find some fantastic stamps to add to your collection, we also love to save our customers money.  Effective October 13, 2009, all orders shipped out to our customers in the United States and Canada will be sent out for free!  Our foreign customers will also enjoy our reduced flat rate shipping which is only $4.50!

Be sure to check out all of the amazing postage stamps that are available from countries near and far which are listed at Stamp Center.

Henry Mancini was born on April 16, 1924.  He learned to play the piccolo and flute from his father at a very young age.  Mancini attended the Julliard School of Music after high school for one year before he was drafted into the United States Army.  After his discharge from the Army, he entered the music industry where he began composing musical scores for movies and then television series.  Some of his most memorial scores include, The Pink Panther, Moon River, The Peter Gunn Theme, and The Great Race. 

Henry Mancini died on June 14, 1994, but not before winning 20 Grammy’s and 2 Oscars.

If you would like to add this very nice Henry Mancini sheetlet to your collection, contact Stamp Center today.

In 1995, the United States Postal Service began producing the now popular postage stamp series called the “Legends of Hollywood” which has honored many of Hollywood’s beloved actors.  In September of 2009, Gary Cooper became the 15th person to be honored with a postage stamp in that series.

Frank James Cooper, otherwise known as Gary Cooper, was born on May 7, 1901 in Helena, Montana.  Cooper began his film career as a stunt riding cowboy extra for a movie studio.  He earned a good living for that time, $10 per day, plus a box lunch, or even more, if he fell off the horse in a spectacular way.  It did not take long for Cooper’s acting talents to be recognized by studio executives.  He first began doing silent films, but as soon as sound films became available the world was graced with the voice they so craved.  Cooper eventually performed along side many Hollywood starlets and became one of Hollywood’s most desirable leading male actors.

This is the second postage stamp that Gary Cooper has appeared on thanks to the United States Postal Service.  The first was in 1990 as part of the “Classic Films” stamp set which featured The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, Stagecoach, and Beau Geste, which showcased Gary Cooper.

This sparked a wave of outrage from musicians, patrons, and the First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.  Instead of using Constitution Hall, a free concert was arranged instead on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC.  Over 75,000 people were attendance and millions of radio listeners tuned in to Anderson’s remarkable performance.

In 1943, Anderson finally had her chance to perform at Constitution Hall for a benefit concert.  She insisted that the Daughters of the American Revolution, who are the owners of the hall, suspend their segregation policies as a condition of her performing there.  They did and she was a huge success.

Despite the trials and tribulations that Marian Anderson had to endure, she always handled herself with poise and grace.  She was given many awards in her lifetime, including the American Medal of Freedom and the National Medal of Arts.

If you are looking to add the Marian Anderson commemorative postage stamps to your collection, contact Stamp Center today.   You can also find stamps for Anna Julia, Charles W. Chesnutt, Ella Fitzgerald, Hattie, and Patricia Harris, who were also part of the Black Heritage stamp series, available at Stamp Center.

Marian Anderson

Born in 1897, or 1902, depending on whether you believe her birth certificate or Anderson herself, she began her singing career at the very young age of six.  She spent much of her adolescent years teaching herself piano and performing at various places where she her race was accepted.

As with many African American’s at that time, Anderson experienced her share of racism.  One event in particular brought the racism issue into the nation’s forefront.  In 1939, Marian Anderson was already a very successful performer. At that time, she was touring in America and around the world about 70 times a year.

Reportedly, her agent tried to book a concert at Washington DC’s Constitutional Hall, which was the city’s most important concert center at that time.  The concert hall had instated a new clause banning anyone who was not “white” from performing at the facility.

Please check back on Wednesday for the conclusion to this post.

James Cagney began his acting career after WWI in a vaudeville troupe making $35 per week.  Funny enough, he could neither sing, nor dance, but was hired to do both of those jobs with the troupe.  In 1929 Cagney starred in “Penny Arcade” and his acting career took flight.  During his career Cagney played a variety of characters.  Many people will remember him for his performances as a tough guy or a gangster, but loved him as the song and dance man too.

James Cagney fans will be glad to know that they can still find the hard to locate US James Cagney postage stamps, and ones from Gambia and Ghana too, available at Stamp Center.