Stamps of the 1933 Chicago World's Fair

Seventy-five years ago, the city of Chicago staged its second world’s fair, A Century of Progress, to celebrate its centennial.

The U.S. Post Office Department issued three stamp designs with a total of seven varieties according to the National Postal Museum.

On May 25, 1933, a 1-cent stamp for the postcard rate and a 3-cent stamp for the letter rate promoted the fair just days before it opened. It depicted Fort Dearborn. A replica of the fort was a popular attraction at the fair.

The violet 3-cent stamp’s vignette featured the fair’s Federal Building and had Roman numerals for its value. It the first U.S. stamp since the 1847 10-cent George Washington to feature that element.

For the American Philatelic Society convention, held August 21 to 26 in Chicago’s central business district, the post office issued the same two stamp designs but in a different format - souvenir sheets of twenty-five stamps.

Two more varieties appeared March 15, 1935, after collector protests following the discovery that complete sheets had been presented as gifts to government officials.

On October 2, 1933, another stamp was issued.

The 50-cent green Graf Zeppelin stamp (Scott C18) depicted the famous German airship over the Atlantic Ocean with the Federal Building of A Century of Progress in the lower left. If you look closely you can see fairgoers on the steps.

For more on the stamps of the 1933 Chicago World's Fair, click here.