Portrait Christmas Seals have pictures of people famous in the fight against Tuberculosis, and other lung diseases. They were issued in 1938 and 1946. (Green's v1, p7)
The 1938 Portrait Seals were located in the four corners of the sheets and were different than the other ninety-six seals. The four portrait seals contained the images and names of four men active in furthering the work to eliminate TB.
Seal #1 shows an image of Dr. Rene Laennec of France, who in 1816 invented the stethoscope.
Seal #10 shows an image of Dr. Robert Koch of Germany, who in 1882 proved TB to be a germ born disease.
Seal #91 shows an image of Dr. Edward L. Trudeau of New York, who in 1885 established the first Umnited States TB sanatorium at Saranac Lake, New York.
Seal # 100 shows an image of Einar Holbell, the Danish postal clerk who in 1904 started the sale of Christmas Seals in Denmark.
The 1938 Portrait Christmas Seals are usually collected in blocks of four; one portrait seal with three regular seals.
The 1946 Portrait Christmas Seals were located in the center of the sheet. There were four portrait seals, and ninety-six normal seals in a sheet. The four portarit seals contained images of the people considered responsible for the sale of the first Christmas Seal in 1907.
Seal #45 - Jacob Riis, who first called attention to the 1904 Danish Christmas Seal and urged that the U.S. adopt the idea to raise funds to fight TB.
Seal #46 - Miss Emily Bissel, who designed the seal.
Seal #55 - E.A. Van Valkenburg, editor of the Philadelphia North American, the newspaper which publicized the seal.
Seal #56 - Leigh Mitchell Hodges, the man whose interest was aroused by Miss Bissell, and who wrote the articles which aroused public support for the sale of the first seals.
The 1946 Portrait Christmas Seals are usually collected in a block of sixteen (16) with twelve (12) normal seals.
Further, be sure to check out our supplies, catalogs, or album pages. Enjoy your collection.
William J Kozersky