Portland Head lighthouse - Maine
N 43° 37.383 W 070° 12.470
19T E 402551 N 4830715
Portland Head lighthouse - one of five lighthouses in the sixth issuance in the U.S. Postal Service Lighthouse series.
Waymark Code: WMK7ZG
Location: Maine, United States
Date Posted: 02/25/2014
Views: 14
On July 13, 2013, in Portland, Maine; New Castle, New Hampshire; Narragansett, Rhode Island; New London, Connecticut, and Boston, Massachusetts, the Postal Service issued the New England Coastal Lighthouses commemorative First-Class Mail stamps in five designs in a pressure-sensitive adhesive pane of 20 stamps.
The sixth issuance in the popular U.S. Postal Service Lighthouse series featured five New England Coastal Lighthouses: Portland Head (Cape Elizabeth, Maine); Portsmouth Harbor (New Castle, New Hampshire); Point Judith (Narragansett, Rhode Island); New London Harbor (New London, Connecticut); and Boston Harbor (Boston, Massachusetts). Each stamp shows a close-up view of one of the five lighthouses that captures not only the down-to-earth aspect of the tower, but also the mysterious qualities that compel us to come closer. The stamp art for each of the lighthouses is a painting based on contemporary photographs. The Lighthouse series, begun in 1990, was designed by art directors Howard E. Paine of Delaplane, VA, and Greg Breeding of Charlottesville, VA, painted by artist Howard Koslow of Toms River, NJ.
Maine’s oldest lighthouse, Portland Head was established in 1791. The construction of the tower was among the first acts of the Lighthouse Establishment, a federal agency created in 1789. The original rubblestone lighthouse still stands and looks much as it did in the late 1800s. The 80-foot lighthouse had two types of Fresnel lenses during its history, a second-order and a fourth-order.
A Fresnel lens makes it possible to project a relatively low power light source to be seen at great distances. Rated in numerical orders, the first order Fresnel lens was one of the largest and enabled the light from a lighthouse to be seen more than 20 miles away. Depending on the light pattern projected, called the “light signature,” a mariner could navigate by lighthouses. Mainers carried regional light lists to identify lighthouses by the flash pattern such as the time between flashes. Similarly, during fair weather and daylight conditions, a mariner could also navigate by distinct patterns or colors painted on a lighthouse, known as “day marks.”
The Portland Head lighthouse was automated in 1989, and a modern DCB-224 optic (high powered rotating spotlight) installed. A beautiful Victorian keepers’ duplex, built on the station in 1891, now houses the Museum at Portland Head Light. The lighthouse has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1973 and is owned and managed by the Town of Cape Elizabeth, Maine.
The tower and the keepers' house together are considered one of the most beautiful stations in the U.S., and they are among the most frequently photographed subjects in Maine.
Stamp Issuing Country: United States
Date of Issue: July 13, 2013
Denomination: Forever - initially issued at 46¢
Color: multicolored dominated by orange
Stamp Type: Single Stamp
Relevant Web Site: Not listed
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