Front:
CHICAGO
UNITED STATESOFAMERICA
1492
UNITED STNTESOFA
1992
ERICA
AGE ONE
HICAGO
22
1992
CO
60601
Back:
COLUMBUS IN SIGHT OF LAND
First Day of Issue: May 22, 1992
First Issue Location: Chicago, Illinois
At two in the morning on October 12, 1492, a sailor
named Juan Rodríguez Bermejo or Rodrigo de Triana
sighted land from the deck of the Pinta, one of Christopher
Columbus' three ships. It had been more than a month
since the men had seen land as they bobbed west on an
empty, lonely ocean. According to legend, disbelievers
among the crew were finally convinced that Columbus
was divinely inspired and fell to their knees in front of
him. This legend was the inspiration of a painting created
by George William Henry Powell (1823-1879). In the
center of Powell's painting stands a staunch, controlled
Columbus among his elated and reverent men. It is
believed that engravers crafted the 1-cent Columbus in
Sight of Land stamp from Powell's work. Of the 16
commemorative stamps issued in 1893 for the Chicago
Exposition, this stamp departs the farthest from the origi-
nal painting. The original, which is held in a private
collection in New York City, was once thought "lost."
No. 92-28
First Day of Issue Postcard Collection™
©1992 Fleetwood, Cheyenne, WY 82008-0001
Original painting Columbus in Sight of Land by Gherman A. Komlev after stamp
engraving inspired by G.W.H. Powell painting in private collection.
Fleetwood
