A 20-cent stamp paying tribute to our nation's elderly persons was issued on May 21, 1982, in Sun City, Arizona. The stamp was intended to help American people become aware that older persons enrich society with their experience and creative energies. Issuance of the stamp also focused attention on Older Americans Month in May.
The design was unveiled on December 3, 1981, at the White House Conference on Aging at the Sheraton Washington Hotel in Washington, DC. The stamp depicts an older woman holding an infant. Looking on are an older man and a young girl, whose head is resting on the woman's shoulder. The design is intended to portray love, dignity, and respect among the generations. In developing the design, artist Paul Calle of Stamford, Connecticut, reviewed his collection of photographs featuring people of various ages and then executed his pencil line drawing using composite images from the photographs and not depicting actual persons.
Frank J. Waslick modeled the stamp. It was printed in the intaglio process, with fifty stamps per pane.
Reference:
Postal Bulletin (April 22, 1982).
Mint. Commemorative stamp "Aging Together" with image of an intergenerational group of a young girl, infant, older woman and older man.
