USPS on 14 August 1964 issued a first day cover stamp commemorating the 400th birth anniversary of William Shakespeare. Over 123,000,000 were printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The method of printing was Rotary Press with 10 1/2 x 11 perforations. The colour was black brown on tan paper. Cancellation was in Stratford, Conneticut.
It was first issued at the home of the American Shakespeare Festival Theatre and Academy in Stratford, Connecticut. The stamp pictures the legendary playwright on the stage of an Elizabethan theatre. He holds a quill in his right hand, next to which is the famed skull of Yorick from the play, Hamlet.
William Shakespeare was born in Stratford, England, in 1564. So it was only fitting that Stratford, Connecticut, bearing the name of Shakespeare’s hometown, became the site of the American Shakespeare Festival Theater.
The American Shakespeare Festival Theater opened in 1955. During the 1960s, its performances earned the theatre an international reputation. It featured many world-renowned actors and actresses, including Katharine Hepburn, Jessica Tandy, and Hal Holbrook. Unfortunately the theatre is no longer used for performances.
Shakespeare produced the majority of his works between 1589 and 1613. Many of his early plays were comedies and histories. He then transitioned to tragedies (such as Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth) until about 1608. After that, he spent his final writing years on tragicomedies, also known as romances, and worked with other playwrights.
Shakespeare spent much of his life between time with his family in Stratford and as part of the theatre scene in London. It’s believed he retired to Stratford in 1613 but continued to visit London in his later years. He died in Stratford on April 23, 1616, at the age of 52. Today, Shakespeare is considered the greatest English writer, England’s national poet and the Bard of Avon. Over the course of his life, he wrote about 39 plays, 154 sonnets, and two long narrative poems.
Source: Mystic Stamps
William Shakespeare was born in Stratford, England, in 1564. So it was only fitting that Stratford, Connecticut, bearing the name of Shakespeare’s hometown, became the site of the American Shakespeare Festival Theater.
The American Shakespeare Festival Theater opened in 1955. During the 1960s, its performances earned the theatre an international reputation. It featured many world-renowned actors and actresses, including Katharine Hepburn, Jessica Tandy, and Hal Holbrook. Unfortunately the theatre is no longer used for performances.
Shakespeare produced the majority of his works between 1589 and 1613. Many of his early plays were comedies and histories. He then transitioned to tragedies (such as Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth) until about 1608. After that, he spent his final writing years on tragicomedies, also known as romances, and worked with other playwrights.
Shakespeare spent much of his life between time with his family in Stratford and as part of the theatre scene in London. It’s believed he retired to Stratford in 1613 but continued to visit London in his later years. He died in Stratford on April 23, 1616, at the age of 52. Today, Shakespeare is considered the greatest English writer, England’s national poet and the Bard of Avon. Over the course of his life, he wrote about 39 plays, 154 sonnets, and two long narrative poems.
Source: Mystic Stamps
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