This US souvenir sheet of 1936, issued for the TIPEX
exhibition, consists of four contemporary commemoratives, imperforate.
A souvenir sheet or miniature sheet is a small group of postage stamps
still attached to the sheet on which they were printed. They may be either
regular issues that just happen to be printed in small groups (typical of many
early stamps), or special issues often commemorating some event, such as a
national anniversary, philatelic exhibition, or government program. The number
of stamps ranges from one to about 25; larger sheets of stamps are simply
called "sheets" with no qualifier.
The stamps on the sheet may be perforated in the usual way, or imperforate.
The margins or selvage of the sheet may have additional printing, ranging from
a simple statement of the occasion being commemorated, up to a full picture of
which the stamp(s) are just a small part.
Both the stamps and the entire sheet are valid for mailing, although they are
almost always sold above face value and kept in mint collection by collectors;
a handful of usages may be found as philatelic covers.
Luxembourg apparently issued the first souvenir sheet in 1923, a single one
franc stamp, not otherwise available, inset in a larger blank sheet. The
purpose was to honor the birth of a princess. However, somewhat similar issues
by that country go back to the royal coronation of 1906. The United States
issued its first one in 1926, and produced a series in the 1930s, and has
issued others over the years. Since 1955 the United Nations has occasionally
produced them.
While some of the earliest souvenir sheets are valuable (for instance the
US White Plains sheet of 1926 is worth hundreds of dollars), modern ones are
typically produced in considerable quantities, and have no special value.
A miniature sheet from the
Republic of China (Taiwan), in which the stamps form a part of the
larger image.
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A miniature sheet from
France,
in which each stamp is featured twice, once in the main picture and
once at the bottom in a more traditional display.
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Celebrate the Century souvenir sheet issued by the
United States. Fifteen stamps are depicted with perforations
running to the edge of the sheetlet.
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Hannakah joint souvenir leaf.jpg
Souvenir leaf for the joint Israel-U.S. 1996
holiday stamp commemorating
Hanukkah.
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References
