United States, Scott #5555, used(o), 2021, Black Heritage Issue, stamp honors August Wilson (1945-2005) an American playwright; Wilson, born Fredrick August Kittel, Jr in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, fourth of six children to a white German immigrant, who was a baker, and who was married to an Daisy Wilson, an African-American woman who cleaned homes for a living; the economically depressed neighborhood where he was raised was inhabited predominantly by Black Americans along with Jewish and Italian immigrants; life was tough for the Kittel siblings as they were biracial; Wilson struggled with finding a sense of belonging and did not feel that he truly fit into either the African-American culture or the white culture; from these humble beginnings, Wilson went on to become a renowned playwright; often referred to as ‘the theater’s poet of Black America;' he is best known for a series of 10 plays collectively called the ‘Pittsburgh Cycle,' which chronicled the experiences and heritage of a city-based African-American community in the 20th century; this stamp was the 44th stamp in the Black Heritage series; issued as a forever stamp at a counter price of 55 cents, offset lithography printed by Ashton Potter USA (APU), non-water soluble self-adhesive panes, serpentine die cut simulated 10¾ perforations, ‘USPS’ in microprint on the subject's left suit collar, multicolored, Scott supplemental catalog value: 25¢; , nicely centered, light, black-inked, horizontal, large font, fancy script, message cancellation across the top half of the stamp, good perforations, this stamp was soaked from the mailing envelope using the Bestine solvent and placed on a piece of black trimmed card stock for an attractive album mounting, centering and mounting warrants a selling price premium. This is not a 'bait-and-switch;' the stamp you see will be the one you receive.
Please review my terms of sale. If you are not ordering from the United States, there is a $US1.55 additional postage expense that needs to be added to the price of the stamp. If you are ordering from the United States, there is only a $US0.68 added postage expense. Also, if you make additional purchases from my offerings, they can all go in one mailing at no extra shipping expense for the added purchases. I will send the purchase by US first class mail, since the relatively low value of the stamp does not warrant signature or tracking mail. Hence the buyer assumes risk of loss or non-delivery. I will keep a scan of my mailing to verify that the correct mailing address was used. If not satisfied, return the stamp to me at your own expense, and I will refund the cost, but not my postage to you. If the stamp is not as described, I will refund the cost and reimburse you for postage both ways.
By way of reference, I am an American Philatelic Society member (195176) and an American Stamp Dealers Association (ASDA) member. Thank you for looking, and I hope this is the perfect stamp to fill that gap in your collection.