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Postage stamp honoring Jimmy Carter unveiled

Former President Jimmy Carter, here in 2014 at the Plains train depot that served as his presidential campaign headquarters in 1976, will be honored with a Forever stamp bearing his likeness. (Curtis Compton/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS)
By Vanessa McCray Atlanta Journal-Constitution

ATLANTA – There will soon be a new spot to honor former President Jimmy Carter: the corner of an envelope.

The U.S. Postal Service will start selling a Forever stamp commemorating Carter on Oct. 1, which would have been his 101st birthday. The stamp will be released in Atlanta, where he served as governor and is the home of the Carter Presidential Center.

Carter, who died Dec. 29 at age 100 in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, is the only Georgian to win a term in the White House.

The rectangular stamp, designed in distinguished tones of deep browns and depicting Carter with a slight smile, was unveiled at his namesake Jimmy Carter National Historical Park on Saturday.

The art is based on Herbert E. Abrams’ 1982 oil-on-linen painting, created in preparation for Carter’s official White House portrait, according to officials.

“The stamp program celebrates the best in American culture, places and people, and it is difficult to consider a more fitting honoree than former President Jimmy Carter,” Peter Pastre, the Postal Service’s government relations and public policy vice president, said in a statement. “In his support and leadership of his beloved community, state and nation, he lent his quiet, thoughtful and deliberate energy around causes he believed in, and most certainly in his conduct and accomplishments as a former president, Jimmy Carter truly personified the best in America.”

As a Forever stamp, the Carter stamp will always be equal in value to the cost to mail a standard 1-ounce first-class envelope, currently 78 cents.

Kim Carter Fuller, the late president’s niece and the executive director of the Friends of Jimmy Carter, called it an honor for the family to be involved in the design’s recent unveiling.

“Together we’ve had the distinct privilege of a front-row seat to his life and legacy, and today’s reveal gives the world an opportunity to share his legacy with others on a daily basis,” she said in a statement.

Last month, the tiny Plains post office building, located near the train depot that served as Carter’s humble campaign headquarters, was dedicated to Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter.