New USPS stamps mark fiftieth anniversary of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer TV special

Four new stamps from the United States Postal Service mark the fiftieth anniversary of the world's longest-running Christmas TV special.

The stamps celebrate the launch, on 6 December 1964, of the TV show Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, which has aired on US TV every year since. Featuring the voice of Burl Ives as a singing snowman narrator, the programme told the story of a misfit reindeer whose red nose makes him stand out in his community but eventually leads to a very special job.

The programme was based on the 1939 poem 'Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer' by Robert L May. The show enjoys a similar status to the festive cartoon 'The Snowman' in the UK, being shown each festive season, often more than once.

The four stamps were designed by Greg Breeding and show colour photographs of characters from the film, namely: Rudolph, the singing snowman, Santa Claus and Hermey. The stamp artwork features still frames from the special, which was produced by Rankin/Bass using stop-motion animation.

Issue date: 6 November, 2014

(Images copyright USPS)

Read much more about newly issued stamps from across the world in the November 2014 issue of Stamp & Coin Mart. Order the print edition right here, or download the issue using the links below…