US Postage Stamps: 1940 - Famous Americans Series: American Authors

The five American Author stamps are part of the Famous American Stamp series of 1940. The series was proposed in 1938 and the public was invited to give their input to determine which famous Americans would be displayed on the stamps. Originally, the plan was to issue ten stamps, but as recommendations increased it became difficult to choose who to include and who to leave out. The series was increased to 35 stamps and divided into seven different categories, each containing five stamps. In addition to the American author category, stamps honoring famous American artists, composers, educators, inventors, poets and scientists were issued. Each category included five stamps of different denominations (one, two, three, five and ten cents) arranged in the order of their birth, the oldest first. The series was continued in later years with the addition of famous Americans such as Thomas Edison, George Washington Carver and Edgar Allan Poe on three cent stamps with designs similar to the original 35 stamps.

Washington Irving was born in 1783 and is considered by many to be the United States’ first successful writer.   His first published work was a series of letters in the Morning Chronicle in 1802, but his most famous works were published in 1819 in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. (these were published under the pen name Geoffrey Crayon at the time).  This book included his best known short stories, “Rip Van Winkle” and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”.  Irving spent many years in Europe and was the first American writer to gain international fame for his writings.  In addition to short stories and essays, he wrote a number of biographies, including a five volume set on the life of George Washington.

Born in 1789, James Fennimore Cooper wrote many books on a variety of topics, but is best known for his adventure novels such as The Last of the Mohicans and the Leatherstocking series.  His family was well to do, and he attended Yale until he was expelled for blowing up another student's door as a prank.  He then worked as a sailor for a time before he published his first book at the age of 21.  During his life he was a prolific writer and popular in both Europe and America.  Although he is best remembered for his historical adventure novels and sea tales, he also wrote a variety of controversial essays and novels regarding the politics of the time. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson was born in 1803 and is famous for his essays, poetry and lectures.  He was friends with many of the important writers and poets of the day including Wordsworth, Coleridge, Thoreau and Carlyle.  A strong believer in the value of non-conformity and self-reliance, he was also instrumental in creating the transcendental faith.  He was also a strong supporter of social justice and spoke and wrote about slavery, the plight of Native Americans, educational reform and other issues of the day.  Emerson was a dynamic and in demand lecturer and gave over 1500 lectures in his lifetime and many of his lectures were later developed into his published essays.  His most famous works are Nature, and his first and second series of Essays.

Louisa May Alcott was born in 1832 and is best known for her most famous novel, Little Women, which was also made into a classic film as well as a number of remakes over the years.  Her family was a literary family and her parents were members of the Transcendental Club along with Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.  Her first book, Flower Fables, was published in 1849, but it was not until 1868 with the publication of Little Women that she achieved literary success.  Over the next 18 years she wrote three sequels to Little Women; Good Wives, Little Men and Jo's Boys.  Alcott also wrote many other books during her lifetime including a variety of children’s' books as well as sensational novels and stories under the pen name A.M. Barnard.

Samuel Clemens, or Mark Twain as he is more commonly known, was born in 1835 and is considered by many to be one of the greatest American writers of all time, writing such classics as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Prior to making his living as a writer he worked as a typesetter, a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River, and a gold miner. As a journalist he wrote his first famous story, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. He followed this with many more stories and novels that brought international fame. In addition to his classic novels, Clemens is well known for his travelogues such as The Innocents Abroad. He was also a noted public speaker, and was in great demand as a lecturer.