1963 Mr. Zip Washington 5 Cent Stamp Booklet - Slogan 3 - Complete Booklet - 1963 Zip Code Introduction 20 Stamp Book - Sc#BK113

This listing is for the photographed 1963 "Mr. Zip" Zip Code Promotion Booklet with 20 Washington 5 cent stamps. The front and back covers of the booklet feature the character "Mr. Zip", who was created by the US Postal Service to promote the use of zip codes among Americans in the years after their introduction. Inside the booklet are four sheets of five 5c stamps that feature a portrait of George Washington, and in the upper left section of every page is the slogan "Add ZIP to your mail, always use ZIP code", which is the third slogan type printed in these booklets. The booklet is complete, meaning that it includes all of the stamp sheets that it originally came with, making this a rarer and sought after find among postal history collectors! Excellent condition, interesting piece of history. Sc#BK113 (Scott Number BK113).

ZIP Codes were first introduced by the United States Post Office Department (later USPS) on July 1st, 1963, as a response to the growing need for a nationwide system for organizing and delivering mail efficiently. The name "ZIP" was chosen not only to represent the acronym "Zone Improvement Plan", but also to suggest to Americans that their mail would travel faster if they addressed it using a ZIP code. Around the same time that the ZIP codes were introduced, the cartoon character "Mr. Zip" (informally "Zippy") was created by the US Post Office and became the face of their promotional campaign for the use of the ZIP code. He was based on a 1957 character created by Howard Wilcox for Chase Manhattan Bank's bank-by-mail campaign. The character design was then acquired by AT&T, who gave it to the US Post Office Department. Mr. Zip was used extensively on promotional items for the Post Office, with heads of the department seeking to make him as recognizable to the American public as the Department of Agricultures famous "Smokey the Bear". But, by the late 1970s Mr. Zip had been widely phased out of the departments advertising, his only remaining presence being on the blank portion of stamp sheets until the design was discontinued in 1986. The USPS still holds the rights to the character, who has mainly been used for commemorative items or children's education programs. 

Thanks for stopping by!

1963 Mr. Zip Washington 5 Cent Stamp Booklet - Slogan 3 - Complete Booklet - 1963 Zip Code Introduction 20 Stamp Book - Sc#BK113