Paul Calle, Postage Stamp Designer, Passes On

"Paul Calle, a commercial artist whose most famous work was no bigger than a postage stamp, died on Thursday in Stamford, Conn. Mr. Calle, one of the most highly regarded stamp designers in the nation, was 82," writes Margalit Fox of the New York Times.

She goes on to say, "Mr. Calle (pronounced KAL-ee) designed more than 40 United States stamps, licked by generations of postwar Americans. He was best known for the 10-cent stamp, commissioned by NASA and issued in 1969, commemorating the Apollo 11 moon landing that year.

 "With [son]Chris, he designed two 1994 stamps — a 29-cent first-class stamp and a $9.95 express-mail stamp — commemorating the moon landing’s 25th anniversary. Father and son also collaborated on stamps for Sweden, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and the United Nations."

On July 16, 1969, the day Apollo 11 when the astronauts lifted off, one of the things they carried was the engraved printing plate of Mr. Calle’s commemorative stamp. As the moon lacked a post office, a proof made from the plate was hand-canceled by the men aboard the spacecraft according to the Times article.

Interviewed after the moon landing, Mr. Calle divulged "the secret of his rigorous craft:" “When you do a stamp,” he's quoted as saying, “think big, but draw small.”

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