WASHINGTON, D.C. — New from the U.S. Postal Service is the Love Skywriting Forever stamp.

“The Postal Service issued its first Love stamp in 1973, and over the years, these stamps have dressed up billions of birthday greetings, wedding invitations, birth announcements, and, of course, Valentine’s Day cards and letters,” said U.S. Postal Service Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President David Williams. “From the moment they’re spotted on an envelope, these miniature works of art foretell good news. And with this particular stamp, we can really say, once and for all, that ‘love is in the air’ — and in the mail.”

The stamp depicts the word “Love” written in white cursive script against a blue sky with wispy clouds and the edges of the letters just beginning to blur. Underlining the word is a decorative swirl of smoke that emphasizes the message. A small, stylized plane, dwarfed by the giant letters, completes the end of the swirl, with smoke trailing from its tail.

Skywriting

Skywriting had its heyday as an advertising medium from the 1920s to the 1950s. A message is created by a small airplane that emits vaporized fluid from its exhaust system to form letters in the air. Still used occasionally for advertising slogans, skywriting today commonly broadcasts romantic — and very public — declarations of love.

“I think it’s safe to say more people have walked on the moon than are professional skywriters today,” said Skytypers CEO Greg Stinis, who began skywriting more than 50 years ago while working for his father, Andy Stinis, who started the company in 1932, and whose plane hangs in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

All photos by Mark Saunders, USPS

The Lindbergh Connection

“My Dad was friends with Charles Lindbergh and helped him push the Spirit of St. Louis onto the runway for his historic 1927 New York to Paris solo flight,” he noted. “Similar to Lindbergh, Dad also flew mail for 20 years in his amphibious Mallard aircraft to Walker’s Cay in the Bahamas.”

Recreating the Stamp

On the day the stamp was released, Jan. 7, Stinis took off from the Chino airport in his Grumman Tiger (AA5-B) to recreate the stamp in the sky.

His “paint” was an environmentally safe parrifin-based liquid that is injected into the plane’s exhaust manifold before it passes through a 3-inch diameter exhaust pipe and mushroom to a 60-foot diameter vapor.

To replicate the stamp image, the “L” in Love must be 6,000 feet tall — more than four times the height of the Empire State Building. The remaining letters were each 2,000 feet tall. It took about 10 minutes to complete the stamp recreation.

Stinis’ plane’s speed was between 135 mph and near-stall as he made the tight, curly elements in the letters. The skywriting was visible for 20 miles.

“I’ve created more than 2,000 skywritings in 50 years, and this one will be one of most challenging because the letter “L” is three times the size of the others and in script,” said Stinis at the time. “I usually create block letters, so the timing and visual ques and maneuvers are new. Time is against me. once I start I can’t stop writing or the whole message will blow away.”

Louise Fili of New York City designed the stamp, which is illustrated by Jessica Hische of San Francisco. Derry Noyes of Washington, DC, was the art director.

The Love Skywriting stamp is being issued as a Forever stamp and will always be equal to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce price.