It's Time to Stick It
In just a few years, we’ll mark the centennial of an important milestone in world history – the moving assembly line. It’s something that is worthy of a commemorative U.S. postage stamp.
The United States Postal Service (USPS) recently released details of its 2011 postage stamp program. This year’s lineup features a diverse array of themes, including the centennial of the Indy 500 and a 12-part homage to famous American industrial designers.
In just a few years, we’ll mark the centennial of an important milestone in world history – the modern assembly line. On April 1, 1913, the first moving assembly line for a large-scale manufacturing application began to operate at Ford Motor Co.’s Highland Park, MI, factory. It was used to mass-produce flywheel magnetos, which were a key part of the Model T’s revolutionary ignition system.
Ford engineers tinkered with the concept and adopted it in other parts of the 4-story factory. On Jan. 14, 1914, the chassis assembly line became power-driven when an endless chain was attached to an electric motor. By the end of the year, manufacturing engineers developed chain-driven assembly lines for mass producing dashboards, bodies and upholstery.
I wrote about those historic events in the February 2003 issue of ASSEMBLY. They were milestones that forever transformed the way that numerous types of products are produced. And, I believe it’s something that is worthy of a commemorative postage stamp.
I urge the USPS to celebrate the centennial of the assembly line by issuing a stamp in either 2013 or 2014. How about a series of four stamps that depict a Model T (or a generic automobile) in various stages of assembly? Or, perhaps better yet, how about a block of four stamps that depict a wide variety of assembly lines, products and eras, such as a 1914 automobile, a 1944 bomber, a 1974 refrigerator and a 2014 wind turbine?
Today, I am submitting a letter to the USPS Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee, which is a 14-member panel “tasked with evaluating the merits of all stamp proposals.”
I encourage others to do the same. Tell the USPS that it’s time to stick an assembly line on a stamp. Here’s the snail mail address (ironically, there’re no e-mail address):
Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee
c/o Stamp Development
U.S. Postal Service
Suite 5013
1735 N. Lynn St.
Arlington, VA 22209-6432
In just a few years, we’ll mark the centennial of an important milestone in world history – the modern assembly line. On April 1, 1913, the first moving assembly line for a large-scale manufacturing application began to operate at Ford Motor Co.’s Highland Park, MI, factory. It was used to mass-produce flywheel magnetos, which were a key part of the Model T’s revolutionary ignition system.
Ford engineers tinkered with the concept and adopted it in other parts of the 4-story factory. On Jan. 14, 1914, the chassis assembly line became power-driven when an endless chain was attached to an electric motor. By the end of the year, manufacturing engineers developed chain-driven assembly lines for mass producing dashboards, bodies and upholstery.
I wrote about those historic events in the February 2003 issue of ASSEMBLY. They were milestones that forever transformed the way that numerous types of products are produced. And, I believe it’s something that is worthy of a commemorative postage stamp.
I urge the USPS to celebrate the centennial of the assembly line by issuing a stamp in either 2013 or 2014. How about a series of four stamps that depict a Model T (or a generic automobile) in various stages of assembly? Or, perhaps better yet, how about a block of four stamps that depict a wide variety of assembly lines, products and eras, such as a 1914 automobile, a 1944 bomber, a 1974 refrigerator and a 2014 wind turbine?
Today, I am submitting a letter to the USPS Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee, which is a 14-member panel “tasked with evaluating the merits of all stamp proposals.”
I encourage others to do the same. Tell the USPS that it’s time to stick an assembly line on a stamp. Here’s the snail mail address (ironically, there’re no e-mail address):
Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee
c/o Stamp Development
U.S. Postal Service
Suite 5013
1735 N. Lynn St.
Arlington, VA 22209-6432
