James Dean Stamp Issued at Fairmount, Indiana
Updated 26 April 1998. URL is http://our.tentativetimes.net/dean/stampday.html
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This is a link to the table of Contents of Our Dean SectionSecond Day of Issue,
James Dean Stamp,
Fairmount, Indiana
Here is Marcus Winslow unveiling the new stamp at Fairmount, 25 June 1996. Photo credit: Jane BauerFairmount is Granted Second Day of Issue Postmark
On June 25, 1996, Fairmount Indiana celebrated the James Dean stamp. The US Postal Service let Hollywood, California have the first day of issue, so many of us ignored that and opted to support Fairmount.
One thousand fans turned out on this clear sunny day. Main street was roped off downtown. The Fairmount Post Office had ordered over thirty times as many stamps as it usually does for a new issue. It set up various locations where people hand-cancelled many different items. Almost anything with a stamp on it could be postmarked.
Other booths made the downtown area festive. Many of the activities took place in the nearby James Dean Memorial Park. It has a copy of Kenneth Kendall’s head of James Dean, the original of which is at Griffith Observatory, a setting in Rebel Without a Cause. Yes, I know I had the name wrong earlier. It really is Griffith. In fact, Randall Riese writes in The Unabridged James Dean that Jimmy appeared in a Pepsi commercial filmed in Griffith Park in 1950.
In the afternoon, at the memorial service, the TV showed speeches by Jimmy’s cousin, Marcus Winslow; by Bob Pulley, Dean’s childhood chum, and by Nikki Bazooka, a major fan. Other speakers included representatives of Hoosier politicians; Jimmy’s second cousin Chuck Winslow; Darlene Campbell,the President of the lively Fairmount Historical Society; Tom Alvarez, who has made a documentary on Dean (due to show on August 11 on the Learning Channel;) and Anne Warr, another local historian. She spoke about his funeral service at Friends Church.
In charge of the details was Postmaster Marilyn Huddleston.
Otto also has some large postcards from this event. Each has the Dean stamp on the front, with the Fairmount cancellation stamp. One of these postcards shows the Fairmount Historical Museum, a charming old brick house, with James Dean’s photo in the red Rebel jacket in one corner.
The other large postcard, similarly stamped and cancelled on the front, shows downtown Fairmount with three headshots, one from each movie. Remember, Fairmount has not changed. You expect to see Jimmy walking past you as you stroll the streets.
Otto has three envelopes with the stamp:
One has James Dean walking on Washington Street outside the drugstore and Citizens Exchange Bank in Fairmount. This shot was taken in 1955 by Dennis Stock. (Not the same pic as the large postcard.) Only 1000 copies of this cachet were printed.
Another has four head shots from Dean’s youth.
The third shows three headshots, one from each of Dean’s three movies. This is similar to the heads on the postcard but has a different East Of Eden photo. All photos are owned by CMG Corporation; see Marcus Winslow’s pageYou can buy envelopes with the stamp cancelled in Cholame, California too.
Mark K. Kinnaman
You can buy postmarked sheets of stamps and envelopes, some with original art work, framed, from Mark K. Kinnaman, mark@parlorcity.com. Visit Mark’s tasteful web page. You can call him at (219) 486-6230 or write to him at 9315 St Joe Road, Fort Wayne, IN 46835 US. He makes collages with the cancelled envelopes (day of issue cancellations) and has gone to extreme ends to get all three postmarks (the third one is from James Dean days.)
You can also buy these stamps and envelopes from Marc in Fairmount. Check out his own web page.
The James Dean Gallery gave a free stamp with each ($3.75) paid admission. It has had special cachets printed too. They remain on sale at the Gallery.
Jump back to the James Dean page guide
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My writing is ©1996 Sandra Weinhardt