2024 Holiday Postage Set

Enfield Post 2024 Holiday Postage set is here! This curated set of stamps will mail your holiday cards with all the extra luxurious, whimsical Christmas cheer you are looking for!

Purchase your sets here.

For this set of unused postage stamps, I paired some non-traditional stamps with a few classic, and “officially” Christmas stamps. It includes…

  • 6c Christmas - This 1969 stamp take its image from an undated folk art painting titled Winter Sunday in Norway, Maine. You can see the original painting, in the permanent collection of the Fenimore Art Museum, at this link. I love the script on the sides of this one!

  • 37c Audubon - My longtime client requested these for her christmas postage this year and I couldn’t get them out of my head! I had to include them in my own sets for you all. This 2002 USPS Issue (and one of many Audubon stamps!) takes its image from an 1830s watercolor by John James Audubon. Swipe through these pictures to see the original artwork

  • 3c Gardening + Horticulture - one of the most popular stamps among my clients, this rich green classical statue stamp from 1958 is a stamp for all seasons. It was issued in conjunction with a centennial celebration of the birth of noted horticulturalist Liberty Hyde Bailey who, coincidentally, died on Christmas day in 1954!

  • 22c Poinsettia - USPS has issued many poinsettia stamps since the 1960s (when they started with holiday stamps), but this one is my favorite. I love the rich red and the layout of the design. Fun fact, the First Day ceremony for this 1985 stamp was held in Nazareth, Michigan.

  • 10c Currier and Ives - This famous print duo has art on two different holiday postage stamps, (and other non-holiday stamps!), this 1974 issue being the first. Currier and Ives was prolific in the 19th century, publishing more than 7,000 images that graced the walls of many American homes. The iconic sledders in this stamp are now on the company’s logo on its website.

Green Wedding Postage Set

I just sent this wedding postage set to one of my favorite stationers today. I love how much they leaned into green in all its marvelous shades! USPS has given us so many beautiful green stamps, we were able to pick and choose the most elegant options!

- 32c Garden Flowers, Snowdrop

- 18c Save Wetland Habitats

- 42c Green Heart

- 15c Grey Birch

- 44c Homer
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I rarely get to use that $.32 snowdrop stamp in a wedding postage set because it comes in a strip of five different flowers and they can be hard to Source. I was so excited to incorporate it in this order because the quantity of sets the bride needed was on the lower side. A win for all of us!
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The oldest stamp in this set is the $.15 grey birch, which is from a set of four different stamps in the American trees series issued in 1978. The series has always been really popular with my clients, the grey Birch, especially for people that want to bring something a little more delicate to their postage sets 💕


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8th Anniversary Sale

It’s hard to believe Enfield Post has been up and running for 8 years!

This weekend, we are celebrating this milestone with 30% off all unused stamps on etsy.

Shop here, and thank you for celebrating with us. Cheers!

Sale ends midnight September 16

1 Sealed Letter Podcast Interview

Last week I had the chance to record a conversation with someone I’ve looked up to for a long time. Kathryn Hastings has been sharing the gospel of letter writing, and specifically wax seals, to her thousands of followers for quite a while. She and I have a few things in common, like our art history backgrounds and our love of learning about the vintage items we handle. Her wax seals are truly works of art, and I’ve learned so much about seals and historical letter writing from her account. Connecting with her about vintage postage was a real treat! Please listen to our 30 minute interview here, and give her a follow!

Spooky Vibes

I’m excited to share with you my new postage set for fall 2024! I love this for fun snail mail over the next few weeks as we creep into the season of spookiness. I based the grouping on the 1998 Pure Food and Drug Act stamp from the Celebrate the Century series. That skeleton is too perfect!

Hope you enjoy this one. You can find it here.

Coppertone

A client reached out to me looking for stamps for a wedding postage set and I could tell this stationer was open to being more creative than usual. She was looking for coppery, muted tones with gold and gray accents but also needed to hit a postage minimum. She ended up loving the 20c Bicentennial stamp I proposed, which I have never used in a wedding set before. That stamp shows a group of men signing the Treaty of Paris, from 1783, in fancy silk clothing of the time. We also threw in the 15c Audio + Visual stamp from Progress in Electronics series, another first for a wedding set from Enfield Post.

My favorite in this grouping is the 1 1/2c Martha Washington stamp. Not only am I a big fan of the size and the 1/2c marking, I also like the femininity of her profile. This stamp is a win for me!

This postage set was for a pre-rate increase 2oz envelope

Calligraphy by EO Letters

Black, White and Green

One of my favorite stationer/calligraphy teams reached out to me for stamps with a very classic feel. The invitation suite they were working on was very elegant and black and white - the black tie, tuxedo vibe! Together, we went back and forth deciding on stamps that would not only be eye catching but also enhance the elegance of the invitation.

I pulled my favorite black and white stamps then incorporated the 3c Gardening and Horticulture stamp to pull out the green leaves of the 37c Magnolia stamp. The 13c Mallard was a fun bonus element to pull the whole look together.

- 37c Heade Magnolia

- 13c Mallard

- 22c Audubon

- 3c Gardening + Horticulture

- 5c Houston

- 37c Constellation

- 32c Centennial Olympic Games

July 2024 Curated Set

I am excited to show you the most recent Curated Postage set, inspired by Bridgerton! I leaned into pastels, florals and that fabulous Regency theme we all know in love. I hope you enjoy it! See it here.

This set of unused Postage Stamps totals 85 cents, enough to mail five one ounce letter as of July 2024. To review current USPS rates, see their website. Use of these stamps is adequate and welcome by the USPS.

- 18c Edna St Vincent Millay

- 29c Herbs (all five designs as pictured)

- 5c Beautification

- 13c Butterfly

- 20c Wolf Trap Farm

Valentine Postage

Valentine Postage Sets are here! This set will mail a one ounce envelope (replaces a forever stamp). You can get yours here!

12c Liberty torch (1981)

29c Dove and Roses, Love Series (1994)

3c Lafayette (1957)

3c Betsy Ross (1952)

25c Air Mail (1949)

Holiday Postage Sets

I’m delighted to share my 2023 holiday postage sets with you! Each of these postage sets will replace a “forever” stamp and mail a regular envelope within the US. They are the perfect addition to your holiday correspondence! Click and image below for more information.

New Fall Postage Sets for 2023

I'm delighted to share these pre-curated sets to mail one ounce or two ounce letters! I hope you enjoy these spooky-but-not-scary sets as much as I enjoyed putting them together for you. Find them here. 

Unused US Postage Stamps totaling 66 cents

- 42c Edgar Allen Poe

- 13c Raccoon

- 8c Pharmacy

- 3c Princeton

Unused US Postage Stamps totaling 91 cents

- 42c Edgar Allen Poe

- 13c Raccoon

- 13c Butterfly

- 10c Sleepy Hollow

- 8c Pharmacy

- 5c Shakespeare

A Rare Magnolia Flower

John and William Bartram, 1999


This beautiful stamp depicts a rare flower found in Georgia called the Franklinia. The flower was discovered by colonial father/son Botanists John and William Bartram.

This flower is depicted on two different USPS stamps. The original artwork for this stamp, a botanical drawing from the late 1700s, is depicted below. See the other Franklinia stamp from 1969 here. 

More about this flower from Mystic Stamp (my favorite resource for researching stamps): 

 It was discovered on the banks of the Alatahama River in Georgia in 1765 by John Bartram, who was exploring the area with his son William when he spotted a "curious looking shrub" on the opposite bank.  In 1767, he sent his son William back to gather seeds and leaves from the tree. This was fortuitous, because William continued to search for more specimens without success until 1791, when he finally realized that he and his father had found a completely new species, which he renamed in honor of his father's good friend Ben Franklin, who had recently died in 1790. Other researchers did find other specimens eventually, but they were not healthy and the plant was declared extinct in the wild in 1803.  All the trees in existence today come from the seeds that William collected in 1767 and nurtured for many years.

Vintage Stamps 101: What's the Value of Postage?

It is so confusing to figure out what the value of your vintage stamps are. They are expensive to buy and hard to find, but what does the post office say about their worth? Let me make it easy for you. The value of your stamps is staring you in the face!

Stamps hold their value. So they are worth exactly what the value on the stamp is. A 3c stamp from 1945 is still worth 3c according to the post office. It will get you 3c closer to whatever your mailing need is. Stamps never ever expire, and as long as they remain unused, they are still recognized by the post office. a 1c stamp from 1857 is still worth 1c in the eyes of your postal clerk. Even though it’s rare and special (which is why it’s expensive to buy!), it will still be worth only what what its face value is.

Fascinating, right?

If you have follow up questions on this topic, please email me gracie @ enfieldpost .com

Current USPS Rates

It can take a lot of vintage stamps to mail a letter in 2022 📬 Don’t know how much you need? When in doubt, ask a postal clerk!


Current rates (as of 10/4/2022)
* 1oz letter -60¢
* Additional ounce - 24¢
* Non-Machineable Surcharge - 39¢
* Postcards - 44¢
* International letters - $1.40

Examples

  1. 2 oz wedding invitation with an outer wax seal - $1.23

  2. Square 1oz Christmas Card - $0.99

  3. 1oz Letter with wax seal - $0.99

  4. 2 oz letter - $0.84

  5. 3 oz party invitation with wax seal - $1.47

Monet Goes to Mexico

I was contacted a few months ago by one of my favorite stationers, Ink & Press Co., to curate a set with a romantic coastal theme. She told me to think: “Money goes to Mexico.” How fun is that? We landed on a lovely combination of postage in pastel tones with a few distinct highlights that I want to talk more about.

First, the 29c herb stamps from 2011. These were issued after Forever stamps became a thing in 2007, so why the 29c denomination? It’s because they are postcard stamps! (side note: As we stand on the precipice of yet another price increase, it’s hard to believe it will soon be 44c to mail a postcard yet 11 years ago it was almost 1/2 of that!). These herbs were issued in a collection of five designs, each of which highlights a different kitchen garden herb that also has ties to folklore.

The other stamp I want to mention is the 8c National Parks Zion stamp. This stamp is part of my favorite series maybe…. ever? I hate to actually type that because I don’t want to commit publicly, but I think I need to say it!

First, a bit of history: Zion National Park was established in 1919 but it was a bit slower to gain popularity among tourists because there were fewer roads to it. At the time this stamp was issued in 1934, Zion was only 15 years old. Theodore Roosevelt was President at the time and, as an avid philatelist, was involved in the stamps issued during his presidency. The Secretary of the Interior at the time, Harold Ickes, encouraged the President to issue a series of stamps honoring the National Park system as he was convinced the American People did not know these huge tracts of reserved land existed. Ten parks were chosen for this special series, all issued in 1934 to celebrate what had been declared National Parks Year.

  • 1c - Yosemite

  • 2c - Grand Canyon

  • 3c - Mount Rainier

  • 4c - Mesa Verde

  • 5c - Yellowstone

  • 6c - Crater Lake

  • 7c - Acadia

  • 8c - Zion

  • 9c - Glacier

  • 10c - Great Smoky Mountains

These stamps are especially difficult to source for weddings because they are hard to find. They are part of a set that people simply don’t want to break, so it’s not as easy as other stamps I typically work with. Also, my experience is that sourcing any pre-WW2 stamp in a large quantity is not something to be counted on, so I rarely do it!

However, this special couple wanted to honor their home of Utah in their stamp collection, and no other options were working. It had to be these, so I had to find them. And find them I did!

So how do you think we did? Did Monet make it to Mexico with these stamps?

If you are interested in wedding postage, please reach out gracie @ enfieldpost.com

Biltmore Estate, 1981

I don't know about you, but I have been loving the new series The Gilded Age on HBO. I am a sucker for opulence and gaudy wealth on TV, and when they throw in a little drama, I can't say no. It was on my mind as I was recently updating my shop and I stopped short at these Biltmore beauties.

USPS has released a number of stamps celebrating American architecture, with this 1981 release also including images of late 19th century architecture in Minnesota, San Francisco and New York. Biltmore House was designed by Richard Morris Hunt, who is also known for the pedestal under the Statue of Liberty and the facade of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. No biggie. He designed the Biltmore Estate for the Vanderbilt family, who are inspiration for the Russells in The Gilded Age.

George Vanderbilt II commissioned the house in the 1880s after acquiring over 700 parcels of land in the North Carolina mountains. Construction took 6 years and ended with a giant Christmas Eve party in 1895. All was wonderful until income tax became a thing in 1913. The estate languished for a bit, but opened tours to the public in 1930, which continue to this day even though it is still privately owned by the Vanderbilt descendants. It is currently the largest privately owned residence in the United States. 

Biltmore House in 1900

Biltmore House in 1900

A recent image of Biltmore House

Rainbow Unused Postage Sets Now Available!

I’m happy to be releasing my new curated postage sets today. I’ve combined 7 sets, one in each color of the rainbow plus a rainbow LOVE stamp from the 1980s. I had a little fun putting this one together by involving my instagram community. I asked them to vote on a combination they like best. Taking that feedback and coupling with the knowledge of what I already had in stock, I landed on this beauty. I think it works!

Get yours here!

Unused Stamps totalling 58 cents

- 3c Sagamore from 1953

- 3c Kansas Territorial Centennial form 1954

- 3c Brooklyn from 1951

- 3c Moina Michael from 1948

- 13c Peace Bridge from 1977

- 13c Swallowtail Butterfly 1977

- 20c Love from 1984

This set of unused Postage Stamps totals 58 cents, enough to mail a one ounce letter as of March 2022. To review current USPS rates, see here. Use of these stamps is adequate and welcome by the USPS.

Shop Announcement

Back in January I announced that my etsy shop would be closed through March 1 so I could focus on wedding postage and my non-stamp career goals in writing. I took advantage of that time and have successfully published two pieces and helped over 30 couples find postage for their wedding invitations! However, I know some are waiting for me to reopen my Etsy shop. Due to many issues with Etsy, specifically the fees incurred that do not suit a shop with items at my price point, I will continue to pause my Etsy shop. However, I will be slowly stocking my shop here at Enfield Post digital HQ (find it in the tabs up top). I will continue to build inventory there while I serve my wedding stationery clients. If you are ever looking for a specific stamp, please let me know and I'm happy to help you find it. Thank you for your patience with me as I continue figuring out the best way to exist in the online realm.

Email Gracie @ enfieldpost .com for special requests

Find the apple stamps in the image above here.