From BookRiot: “We don’t shy away from artists that people wouldn’t probably instantly recognize. We see the stamp program as an educational piece for the country—part of our history” … Support our news coverage by subscribing to our Kindle Nation Daily Digest. Joining is free right now!

One of the biggest struggles for the United States Postal Service (USPS) stamp program is awareness. At a time when the USPS needs support both financially and politically, it’s important for consumers to know that a lot goes into everything that makes the post office run. Including—even especially—the stamps.

You walk into the post office with a stack of envelopes and order a book of stamps. Perhaps you scan the designs available and choose the one that’s most appealing, or the one that makes you smile. Maybe you just turn the package or letter over and they stamp it for you, and you never even see the designs applied. Maybe, every once in a while, you receive an envelope with a special stamp affixed, and it holds your attention for a moment.

Stamps Services at the Postal Service produces more than 14 billion stamps and generates an estimated $4.5 billion in revenue each year. The Postal Service relies on the sale of this postage, as well as from products and services, to fund its operations—receiving no tax dollars for its operating expenses. The USPS provides an extensive amount of information on the selection process, criteria, and artwork of stamps, as well as additional information about them, on their website, but they’re always looking to expand awareness of the hard work that goes into the stamps that send your mail.

“Ultimately, stamps are just a ticket to show that you paid for your service,” said Bill Gicker, director of stamp services at the U.S. Postal Service. “But we make them so much more.” Book Riot spoke to Gicker about the process of creating a stamp, the Literary Art stamp series, and other bookish stamps, and what goals the USPS has behind the artistic and historical work they do with their stamps.