Front:
ILMING
ONS
29
1988
19850
New Sweden 1638,
PENNSYA
USAirmail
44
MARYLAND
DELAWARE
NEWJERSEY
DE
Back:
NEW SWEDEN SETTLEMENT
First Day of Issue: March 29, 1988
First Issue Location: Wilmington, Delaware
Searching for the promises of a new land, brave adven-
turers crossed the seas 350 years ago. They came in
Swedish ships and headed for the Minquas Kill, which
they named Christina River after the young queen of
Sweden. There, where the River flows into the Delaware
at Wilmington, they built a fort, Fort Christina — the
beginnings of the New Sweden settlement. Befriending
the Indians, they managed to secure a deed for land
extending from the area south of Wilmington to what is
now Philadelphia. The agreement was signed on March
29, 1638. The colony grew, adding to its numbers many
Finns, for, at that time, much of Finland was a part of
Sweden. Though they faced trials in settling a wilderness,
many survived, and the settlement prospered. Thus, on
the 350th anniversary of the New Sweden settlement,
the U.S. Postal Service, for the first time, issued a stamp
simultaneously with two other nations — Sweden and
Finland. The stamp is based on an illustration from a
1702 book by Thomas C. Holm.
No. 88-18
©1988 The Maximum Card Collection
A Division of Unicover Corporation • Cheyenne, WY 82008-0007
Original painting by Shannon Stirnweis.
