7.18 Cubic feet (10 letter size document boxes, 3 legal size document boxes, one tall document box, and one oversize folder.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Place:
New Bern (N.C.)
Fort Greely (Alaska)
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
Date:
1992-2015
Summary:
Phil Jordan was a Stamp Art Director for the United States Postal Service (USPS). Jordan's involvement with the USPS started in 1991 and ended 23 years later having worked on 300 stamps. The collection consists primarily of stamp design files created and maintained by Jordan during his time as a Stamp Art Director for the United States Postal Service (USPS) from 1991 to 2014. The majority of the files relate to stamps that were issued by the USPS while a smaller portion of the files are related to unissued stamps that Jordan worked on. As a Stamp Art Director, Jordan was responisbile for leading and providing direction for stamp designs and regularly worked with researchers, artists, painters, illustrators, photographers, and typographers to bring to fruition an aesthetic vision for each stamp.
Scope and Contents:
The Phil Jordan collection consists primarily of stamp design files created and maintained by Jordan during his time as a Stamp Art Director for the United States Postal Service (USPS) from 1991 to 2013. The majority of the files relate to stamps that were issued by the USPS while a smaller portion of the files are related to unissued stamps that Jordan worked on. As a Stamp Art Director, Jordan was responsible for leading and providing direction for stamp designs and regularly worked with researchers, artists, painters, illustrators, photographers, and typographers to bring to fruition an aesthetic vision for each stamp.
Of the some 300 stamps Jordan was responsible for, some that are represented in this collection include stamps related to hospice care (Jordan consider his work on this stamp to be amongst the most rewarding); legends of baseball; the Civil War Sesquicentennial; legends of Hollywood; the Indianapolis 500; literary arts; Owney the postal dog; the Washington, D.C. cherry blossom centennial; bicycling; ʻĪd al-Fiṭr; Grand Central Terminal in New York City; the USS Arizona Memorial; Wilt Chamberlain; the 225th anniversary of the U.S. Coast Guard; and the 50th anniversary of supersonic flight.
In addition, there are portfolios that provide visual documentation of Jordan's work on stamps, correspondence related to stamp design inquiries, and some biographical information.
Materials in the collection include correspondence, drawings, illustrations, color photographs, color transparencies, maps, news releases, notes, research materials, brochures, and clippings. Some materials are in electronic format.
Many of the stamps that Jordan worked on as Stamp Art Director can be found at the National Postal Museum.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged into five series.
Series
Series 1: Issued Stamps Issued Stamps, 1999-2011
Series 2: Unissued Stamps, 1998-2006
Series 3: Portfolios, 1993-2015
Series 4: General Files, 1992-2013
Series 5: Oversize, 1994-2015
Biographical / Historical:
Phil Jordan was a Stamp Art Director for the United States Postal Service (USPS). Jordan's involvement with the USPS started in 1991 and ended 23 years later having worked on 300 stamps.
Jordan grew up in New Bern, North Carolina and attended East Carolina University. After a period of service with the Army Arctic Indoctrination School in Fort Greely, Alaska, Jordan graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a degree in visual communications. Early in his career he worked as an artist for the Richmond Times-Dispatch and the Baughman Company offset lithographers while attending school on the GI Bill.
Later he worked at the advertising agency Robert Kline and Co. Inc. as their art supervisor before serving as the assistant art director the United States Chamber of Commerce. Next, he joined Beveridge and Associates, Inc. guiding art direction for corporate, institutional and government design projects. Eventually becoming a partner at the firm, Jordan left after 18 years to form his own communications consulting firm where he managed projects for USAir, NASA, McGraw-Hill, IBM, the National Air and Space Museum, and Smithsonian Books.
Jordan was responsible for the formats of the Air and Space and Smithsonian magazines and was their Design Director for fifteen years. From there his work as consulting art director for the United States Postal Service's Stamp Development Department saw him art direct and produce 300 postage stamps as well as other stamp collateral publications for 23 years. Among some of the stamps he worked on include the 2011 Neon! Celebrate stamp, the 2012 Major League Baseball All-Stars stamps, the 2013 Civil War stamps; the 2012 Cherry Blossom Centennial stamps; the 1997 Classic American Aircraft stamps; and the 2003 First Flight stamp.
Jordan's work has been featured in a number of exhibitions and in publications such as Graphis, Society of Illustrators, and Communication Arts. A recipient of professional awards from these organizations over the years, he was also the recipient of the NASA Group Achievement Award. He is a past president of the Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington and was an avid glider pilot, being a founding member of the Skyline Soaring Club and the former long-time editor of Skylines newsletter.
Provenance:
Donated by Phil Jordan, 2015. This collection was initially part of the museum collections (Accession 2015.2015), but was released to the NPM Archives in December 2023.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Access to original archival materials is by appointment only. Researchers must submit request for appointment in writing. Please direct reference inquiries to the National Postal Museum Archives: NPM_Archives@si.edu.
Rights:
The National Postal Museum Archives makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use and the NPM Rights and Reproductions for additional information. Please direct reference inquiries to the National Postal Museum Archives: NPM_Archives@si.edu.
0.28 Cubic feet (1 folder, Document, 15 x 12 inches (38 x 30 cm))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
April 16, 1989
Summary:
This decorative certificate was designed to commemorate the occasion on April 16, 1989, when Air France signed a letter of agreement with the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM) to donate Air France Concorde "Fox Alpha" (r/n F-BVFA) to NASM at the end of the aircraft's operational service.
Scope and Contents:
This decorative certificate (15 x 12 inches, 38 x 30 cm) with hand-lettered calligraphy and gold foil embellishments was designed to commemorate the occasion when Air France signed a letter of agreement with the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM) to donate Air France Concorde "Fox Alpha" (r/n F-BVFA) to NASM at the end of the aircraft's operational service. Dated April 16, 1989, the certificate was signed at Dulles International Airport, Chantilly, Virginia, by Dr. Martin Harwitt, National Air and Space Museum Director, and an Air France representative. Note that this is not an official donation certificate but a decorative commemoration of a statement of intent to donate.
Arrangement:
None.
Biographical / Historical:
The first supersonic airliner to enter service, Concorde flew thousands of passengers across the Atlantic at twice the speed of sound for over 25 years. Designed and built by Aérospatiale of France and the British Aviation Corporation (BAC), the graceful Concorde was a stunning technological achievement that could not overcome serious economic problems. In 1976 Air France and British Airways jointly inaugurated Concorde service to destinations around the globe. Carrying up to 100 passengers in great comfort, Concorde catered to first class passengers for whom speed was critical. It could cross the Atlantic in fewer than four hours—half the time of a conventional jet airliner—but its high operating costs resulted in very high fares that limited the number of passengers who could afford to fly on it. These problems and a shrinking market eventually forced the reduction of service until all Concordes were retired in 2003.
In 1989, two 18th-century copies of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (Déclaration des droits de l'Homme et du citoyen de 1789) and the French Constitution of 1791 were loaned to the Smithsonian by the French National Archives to be exhibited in celebration of the French bicentennial. The documents arrived April 16, 1989, at Dulles International Airport (Chantilly, Virginia) aboard Air France Concorde "Fox Alpha" (r/n F-BVFA). On that day, Air France signed a letter of agreement stating their intention to donate Concorde F-BVFA to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum upon the aircraft's retirement. A historically significant aircraft, Concorde F-BVFA had, in 1976, been the first Air France Concorde to open service to Rio de Janeiro, Washington, DC, and New York. On June 12, 2003, Air France honored that agreement, donating Concorde F-BVFA to the Museum upon the completion of its last flight.
Related Materials:
Air France Concorde "Fox Alpha" (r/n F-BVFA) can be found in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum collection: Concorde, Fox Alpha, Air France, A20030139000.
Provenance:
Transferred from National Air and Space Museum Registrar, gift, 1989, NASM.1989.0106
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.