Santa Claus Se-tenant "Santa with Horn" and Blue Coat Stamps (Victorian Era, Christmas, Holidays, Winter, Toys, Blue) Vintage Unused USPS Postage 34c

Add nostalgic flair to your holiday letters with these vintage unused "Santa with Horn" and Blue Coat postage stamps! This nostalgic holiday design is perfect for adding a touch of class to your holiday cards and letters or winter save-the-dates and weddings. In pristine mint condition and valid for current postage use, each stamp holds a face value of 34-cents. These USPS postage stamps are suitable for current mailing when used with the total required postage based on the weight of your correspondence. Embrace the charm of winter with this enchanting postage stamp!

STAMP INFORMATION:

• Name: Santa Claus Se-tenant "Santa with Horn" and Blue Coat
• Series: Contemporary Christmas
• Year Issued: 2001
• Face Value: 34-cents (USD) per stamp
• Topic(s): Christmas, Holidays, Winter, Toys, Gifts
• Color(s): Blue, Multicolored
• Printing Method: Photogravure
• Scott Number: 3538
• Adhesion Type: Self-Adhesive
• Condition: Genuine Unused USPS Postage Stamps, Ready to Use for USPS Mailings, Mint Condition

STAMP HISTORY: The 2001 34c "Santa with Horn" and Blue Coat postage stamp was part of the "Santa Claus Se-tenant" set, a Contemporary Christmas issue that celebrated the American evolution of the Santa figure. Issued on October 10, 2001, in Santa Claus, Indiana, the stamp features an image derived from a chromolithograph dating from the late 19th or early 20th century. The stamp’s image portrays a portly and jovial Santa Claus with a full white beard, a blue suit trimmed in gold, a blue cap, and a small horn attached to his belt. This artwork is characteristic of the chromolithography process, which was widely used for commercial purposes during that era. The stamp, along with others in the set, was issued to offer a festive, secular option for holiday mail and was available in panes and booklet formats.

STAMP MEANING & SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE: The use of chromolithographs dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries highlights Santa's evolution from the Dutch "Sinterklaas," based on the 4th-century Christian bishop Saint Nicholas, into the jolly, rotund figure popularized by illustrators like Thomas Nast. This period coincided with the Victorian era's emphasis on family and childhood innocence, solidifying Santa's image as a generous, gift-giving figure rather than his more somber, ecclesiastical origins. The stamps' artwork is sourced from a time when chromolithography, a labor-intensive but affordable color printing process, made high-quality, colorful images of Santa widely available to the public, turning him into a commercial and artistic staple. Spiritually, while the stamps feature a secular Santa, the character's roots in Saint Nicholas connect him to Christian themes of generosity and giving, reflecting a transformation that made holiday imagery accessible to a wider, secular audience. The stamp's release in Santa Claus, Indiana, further emphasizes this cultural adoption and celebration of the secular, gift-giving aspect of the holiday. 

SERIES HISTORY: The 2001 34c Contemporary Christmas stamp set, officially titled the "Santa Claus Se-tenant" stamps, showcases four designs featuring Santa Claus as depicted in chromolithographs created between the 1880s and the 1920s. These stamps, issued on October 10, 2001 in Santa Claus, Indiana, were part of the USPS's annual holiday releases, which include both contemporary and traditional designs to add a festive touch to mail and offer secular Christmas-themed correspondence options. The stamps illustrate the evolution of the modern Santa Claus during that period, transitioning from more traditional St. Nick figures to the jolly and rotund Santa we recognize today. The artwork was curated from historical chromolithographs, but cannot be attributed to a single artist as many commercial firms produced these images during that time.

Chromolithography, a revolutionary color printing process developed in the 19th century, used multiple lithographic stones, one for each color, to produce detailed, high-quality, full-color images. This technique democratized access to color art by making reproductions of paintings, illustrations, and advertisements widely and affordably available. The process was incredibly labor-intensive; a "chromist" meticulously separated the original image into its constituent colors. A separate porous limestone was then prepared for each color, with the design drawn onto the stone using a greasy medium. A single sheet of paper would pass through a printing press as many times as there were colors in the final print. A chromolithograph could require anywhere from eight to nearly 40 stones, with each pass needing perfect registration (alignment) for colors to overlap correctly. Early chromolithography used hand presses, which later evolved into power presses to meet consumer demand. Since the process didn't utilize the modern CMYK model, different shades and tints were achieved by overprinting various transparent colors.

GENUINE USPS POSTAGE: These unused vintage postage stamps are perfectly valid for use as current postage for mailing with USPS as long as you use the adequate amount of postage to achieve standard postage rates according to the weight of your mailing. Check current postage rates at USPS.com.

QUESTIONS? We love hearing from our customers and replies to inquires are usually sent the same day. Need more of this stamp? Looking for a particular stamp not found on our website? Want a curated postage set for your special life event?  Contact us with questions about vintage postage stamps and our services… 

ABOUT HERITAGE POST HOUSE: Jennifer Kramer is the founder of Heritage Post House, a boutique vintage postage house located in Northern California. Jennifer sources the most beautiful unused vintage postage stamps ever issued by USPS and artfully arranges them into curated postage sets that are sure to add a special touch to your invitations, announcements, and special mailings. In addition to creating pre-arranged postage sets, Jennifer also works with couples (and their stationers) to create one-of-a-kind custom postage arrangements for wedding invitations, save the dates, and other special occasions.