1997 32c Classic Movie Monsters: Lon Chaney, Jr. as The Wolf Man

# 3172 - 1997 32c Classic Movie Monsters: Lon Chaney, Jr. as The Wolf Man

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US #3172
1997 Lon Chaney, Jr. as The Wolf Man – Classic Movie Monsters

  • Honors Lon Chaney, Jr. in his role as The Wolf Man
  • Part of the Classic Movie Monsters Series – one of USPS’s efforts to get young people interested in stamp collecting
  • Issued at the beginning of Stamp Collecting Month
  • Includes scrambled indicia


Stamp Category: 
Commemorative
Set:  Classic Movie Monsters
Value: 
32¢, First Class Mail Rate
First Day of Issue:  September 30, 1997
First Day City:  Universal City, California
Quantity Issued:  145,000,000
Printed by:  Printed for Stamp Venturers by J.W. Fergusson & Sons of Richmond Virginia with Scrambled Indicia by Graphic Security Systems Corporation of Lake Worth, Florida
Printing Method:  Photogravure, Scrambled Indicia
Format:  Panes of 20 (Vertical 5 across, 4 down)
Perforations:  10.2 x 10.1
Tagging:  Overall tagging that stops short of each margin, leaving 14 outside stamps partly untagged

Why the stamp was issued:  To honor “Classic Movie Monster,” The Wolf Man, and actor Lon Chaney, Jr. who famously played the character.

About the stamp design:  Pictures a portrait by artist Thomas Blackshear (previous stamp artist for the 1990 Classic Films, 1993 Joe Louis, and 1995 Jazz Musicians stamps).  Blackshear later said creating the stamp art was a “treat” because “monsters have always been a passion with me.  I used to collect Famous Monsters of Filmland when I was a kid… Also, I had almost every monster model kit that was ever put out.” 

The name of the actor is printed in small white dropout type with the character’s name in large, brightly colored lettering suggestive of classic movie posters.

Scrambled indicia:  The stamp includes a hidden image only viewable with a special stamp decoder.  Scrambled indicia was a new tactic used by the USPS beginning with the 1997 US Air Force stamp to attempt to combat counterfeiting.  This stamp pictures howling wolves when viewed with the decoder.

First Day City:  The First Day of Issue Ceremony for these stamps was held at Universal Studios, Hollywood, in California.

About the Classic Movie Monsters set:  These five stamps were issued to kick off Stamp Collecting Month and honor “Classic Movie Monsters” from Universal Studios films and the actors who played them.  The set was also part of the USPS’s efforts to attract young people to stamp collecting.

On the pane of  20, there are photographs of the actors on either side of the “Classic Movie Monsters” inscription along with each actor’s signature.  All five stamps include scrambled indicia.  Here are the hidden images that can be seen on each:

Phantom of the Opera – Floating masks
Dracula – Bats
Frankenstein – Bolts of electricity
Mummy – Ancient Egyptian gods/goddesses
Wolf Man – Howling wolves

History the stamp represents:  In 1941, The Wolf Man frightened audiences with its tale of Larry Talbot, a man who returns to his homeland in Wales and is attacked by a wolf-like creature (played by Bela Lugosi).  Talbot survives the attack only to discover that the creature’s bite has turned him into a “lycanthrope” – a man who is involuntarily transformed into a werewolf when the moon is full.

The werewolf is a violent creature who roams the countryside at night attacking human prey.  Doomed to a life of misery and mayhem, Talbot is tortured by his dual existence.  The werewolf’s rampage is finally put to an end when Talbot’s father slays the creature with his silver-tipped cane.  Talbot then peacefully assumes human form. 

Lon Chaney, Jr. is the talented actor who so convincingly became the Wolf Man.  In fact, the highlight of this film was his on-screen transformation into the werewolf.  Requiring many hours of make-up work, this chilling metamorphosis thrilled audiences.

Born Creighton Chaney, Lon Chaney, Jr. assumed his father’s name due to pressure from the entertainment industry.  His first major role was as Lenny, the childlike giant in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men (1939). In all, Lon Chaney, Jr. appeared in about 170 films.

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US #3172
1997 Lon Chaney, Jr. as The Wolf Man – Classic Movie Monsters

  • Honors Lon Chaney, Jr. in his role as The Wolf Man
  • Part of the Classic Movie Monsters Series – one of USPS’s efforts to get young people interested in stamp collecting
  • Issued at the beginning of Stamp Collecting Month
  • Includes scrambled indicia


Stamp Category: 
Commemorative
Set:  Classic Movie Monsters
Value: 
32¢, First Class Mail Rate
First Day of Issue:  September 30, 1997
First Day City:  Universal City, California
Quantity Issued:  145,000,000
Printed by:  Printed for Stamp Venturers by J.W. Fergusson & Sons of Richmond Virginia with Scrambled Indicia by Graphic Security Systems Corporation of Lake Worth, Florida
Printing Method:  Photogravure, Scrambled Indicia
Format:  Panes of 20 (Vertical 5 across, 4 down)
Perforations:  10.2 x 10.1
Tagging:  Overall tagging that stops short of each margin, leaving 14 outside stamps partly untagged

Why the stamp was issued:  To honor “Classic Movie Monster,” The Wolf Man, and actor Lon Chaney, Jr. who famously played the character.

About the stamp design:  Pictures a portrait by artist Thomas Blackshear (previous stamp artist for the 1990 Classic Films, 1993 Joe Louis, and 1995 Jazz Musicians stamps).  Blackshear later said creating the stamp art was a “treat” because “monsters have always been a passion with me.  I used to collect Famous Monsters of Filmland when I was a kid… Also, I had almost every monster model kit that was ever put out.” 

The name of the actor is printed in small white dropout type with the character’s name in large, brightly colored lettering suggestive of classic movie posters.

Scrambled indicia:  The stamp includes a hidden image only viewable with a special stamp decoder.  Scrambled indicia was a new tactic used by the USPS beginning with the 1997 US Air Force stamp to attempt to combat counterfeiting.  This stamp pictures howling wolves when viewed with the decoder.

First Day City:  The First Day of Issue Ceremony for these stamps was held at Universal Studios, Hollywood, in California.

About the Classic Movie Monsters set:  These five stamps were issued to kick off Stamp Collecting Month and honor “Classic Movie Monsters” from Universal Studios films and the actors who played them.  The set was also part of the USPS’s efforts to attract young people to stamp collecting.

On the pane of  20, there are photographs of the actors on either side of the “Classic Movie Monsters” inscription along with each actor’s signature.  All five stamps include scrambled indicia.  Here are the hidden images that can be seen on each:

Phantom of the Opera – Floating masks
Dracula – Bats
Frankenstein – Bolts of electricity
Mummy – Ancient Egyptian gods/goddesses
Wolf Man – Howling wolves

History the stamp represents:  In 1941, The Wolf Man frightened audiences with its tale of Larry Talbot, a man who returns to his homeland in Wales and is attacked by a wolf-like creature (played by Bela Lugosi).  Talbot survives the attack only to discover that the creature’s bite has turned him into a “lycanthrope” – a man who is involuntarily transformed into a werewolf when the moon is full.

The werewolf is a violent creature who roams the countryside at night attacking human prey.  Doomed to a life of misery and mayhem, Talbot is tortured by his dual existence.  The werewolf’s rampage is finally put to an end when Talbot’s father slays the creature with his silver-tipped cane.  Talbot then peacefully assumes human form. 

Lon Chaney, Jr. is the talented actor who so convincingly became the Wolf Man.  In fact, the highlight of this film was his on-screen transformation into the werewolf.  Requiring many hours of make-up work, this chilling metamorphosis thrilled audiences.

Born Creighton Chaney, Lon Chaney, Jr. assumed his father’s name due to pressure from the entertainment industry.  His first major role was as Lenny, the childlike giant in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men (1939). In all, Lon Chaney, Jr. appeared in about 170 films.