First Class MaIL:

Santa Monica Mayor Herb Katz and Lucia Eames (daughter of Charles and Ray Eames) discuss the pane of 16 stamps during the dedication of Charles and Ray Eames stamp ceremony on Tuesday, June 17, at Eames’ Office in Santa Monica. The objects that appear on the stamps were selected from among hundreds of items created by the designers and represent the breadth of their extraordinary body of creative work. The pane of 16 stamps represents the Eameses’ significant contributions to modern design, including furniture, architecture, film, and exhibits. Today most of the Eameses’ furniture and many of their products are still being made and can be found in private homes and public spaces across the country. Charles and Ray Eames used new materials and technology to create high-quality products that addressed everyday problems and made modern design, including the molded plywood chair, accessible to all Americans. An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that visits every address in the nation — 146 million homes and businesses. It has 37,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products, and services to pay for operating expenses, not tax dollars. The Postal Service has annual revenues of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.