A commemorative U.S. postage stamp honoring the late Nancy Reagan had its design unveiled at The White House Monday, drawing praise from family members, a former Reagan aide, as well as first lady Jill Biden, a Democrat.
The stamp, which will be issued July 6 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, California, shows Mrs. Reagan — who died in 2016 at age 94 and is buried at the library next to her late husband — in her “signature red color,” a U.S. Postal Service spokesman said.
The image on the vertical-format commemorative is a detail from the official 1987 White House oil-on-canvas portrait by Aaron Shikler. It depicts Mrs. Reagan in a flowing James Galanos gown. USPS art director Greg Breeding designed the stamp, the agency said.
The stamp will appear four days before a two-cent rate increase in the one-ounce first-class rate for which it will be issued. Initially, the stamp will retail for 58 cents, a price that will increase to 60 cents on July 10. Because it is a “forever” stamp, those purchased at the lower price will always prepay that one-ounce rate, however.
Democrat Mrs. Biden lauded Mrs. Reagan, a GOP predecessor, as a presidential spouse who served “the American people with grace” and who “found the humanity” in a job for which there are “no instructions to guide us.”
Mrs. Reagan, she added, “traveled the country listening to American stories, and just brought them home to her husband. She raised attention on issues that she cared about. And she spoke bravely about her cancer as was mentioned and [about] her mastectomy.”
The first lady said, “With this stamp, we are affirming that she made such a difference. You know, we can all change the world in big ways. And small ones. And Mrs. Reagan reminds us that we need both.”
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said Mrs. Reagan would be the sixth presidential spouse to receive postal commemoration.
“The previous stamps were issued for Martha Washington, the first American woman ever featured on a postage stamp, Dolley Madison, Abigail Adams, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Lady Bird Johnson,” Mr. DeJoy noted.
Mrs. Reagan, the postal chief said, “was an inspiring individual. Her legacy of public service and her willingness to confront difficult and often highly personal topics throughout her eventful life made her one of the most influential and admired first ladies of modern times.”
Reagan Presidential Foundation Board Chairman Frederick J. Ryan Jr. said, “Mrs. Reagan was a crucial confidant and essential partner … It’s no exaggeration to say there would not have been a successful Ronald Reagan if it were not for Nancy Reagan.”
And Anne Peterson, Mrs. Reagan’s niece, said her late aunt “was fiercely loyal to her husband and her country, always placing them first.”
She added Mrs. Reagan “knew she was a guest in the nation’s house and as such, she treated it and the people who cared for it with the deepest respect and consideration.”
Ron Reagan, in a statement released by the USPS, said his late mother “would, of course, have reacted modestly to this wonderful commemoration. But secretly she would be very pleased.”
• Mark A. Kellner can be reached at mkellner@washingtontimes.com.
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