1978 15c Photography

U.S. #1758
1978 15¢ Photography
Issue Date: June 26, 1978
City: Las Vegas, NV
Quantity: 161,228,000
Printed By: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Photogravure
Perforations: 11
Color: Multicolored

The first commemorative stamp to bear the new 15¢ postage rate, this stamp was issued in recognition of the contributions photography has made to American life. 

U.S. Scott #1758 is a 15-cent multicolored commemorative stamp issued on June 26, 1978, in Las Vegas, Nevada, honoring the art and science of photography. Printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing using photogravure and perforated 11, the stamp was produced in a quantity of 161,228,000. The design depicts a classic large-format bellows camera alongside color filters and a flash bulb — equipment that captures both the technical craft and the creative artistry that photography brought to American life. The choice of photogravure as the printing method adds a fitting layer of irony: the stamp celebrating photography was itself printed using a process that relies on photographic techniques to transfer the image to the printing plate.

Scott #1758 holds a notable distinction in U.S. postal history as the first commemorative stamp to bear the new 15-cent postage rate, which took effect in 1978. It was issued in recognition of the enormous contribution photography has made to American culture, communication, journalism, science, and art. By 1978, photography had been transforming American life for nearly a century and a half, from Matthew Brady's Civil War documentation to Edward Steichen's fashion photography, from Ansel Adams's landscape work to the photojournalism that shaped public understanding of the Vietnam era.