Y3603

American Filmmaking: Behind the Scenes

Costume Design

Cover Announcement 

On the day the ballots were mailed for this year's Oscar Awards, the Postal Service issued a set of ten new Film-making stamps. The working title for this series is "Behind the Scenes" as they honor different aspects of making motion pictures. Specifically, the ten stamps represent art direction, cinematography, film editing, special effects, sound, screenwriting, directing, costume design, music, and makeup.

This new issue provided me with a great opportunity to produce hand painted cachets for my choice of ten of the most entertaining American movies ever made. ln my opinion, this will be the finest ten cover set I've ever offered, and I expect it to sell out almost immediately. 

The ten movies that I've chosen to depict are blockbusters. Stagecoach - the first truly great movie Western * Titanic * a poignant love story on the ill-fated voyage * Casablanca - perhaps Hollywood's most classic film * On the Waterfront - the memorable drama with the young Marlon Brando * The Sound of Music - set amid the panoramic beauty of the Austrian Alps * The Grapes of Wrath - a tale of human endurance from the dustbowl of Depression era Oklahoma to the promise of Southern California * The Bridge on the River Kwai - a war story of adventure and character study that captivated audiences * Doctor Zhivago - an epic film that combined the expanse and intrigue of Russia with Hollywood's large production expertise * On the Town - shot on New York City locations - a tale of sailors on leave that combined the singing and dancing talents of Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly * Gone With the Wind - set in the old South, this 1939 classic excited audiences nationwide.

As you can imagine, this Collins set will become very popular within the hobby. For each of the movie cachets, I've used one of the new 'Behind the Scenes" stamps. I will be sending these covers at the rate of one-per month.