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Rodney Lawrence Hurst, Sr. Stamp Collection Rodney Lawrence Hurst, Sr. Papers

2-12-2015

Black Heritage Stamp Series: Robert Robinson Taylor Black Heritage Stamp Series: Robert Robinson Taylor

United States Postal Service. Stamp Division

Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unf.edu/hurst_stamps

Part of the African American Studies Commons, and the United States History Commons

Recommended Citation Recommended Citation Black Heritage Stamp Series: Robert Robinson Taylor. 2015. Rodney Lawrence Hurst, Sr. Papers. University of North Florida. Thomas G. Carpenter Library. Special Collections and Archives. UNF Digital Commons. https://digitalcommons.unf.edu/hurst_stamps/28

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Rodney Lawrence Hurst, Sr. Papers at UNF Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Rodney Lawrence Hurst, Sr. Stamp Collection by an authorized administrator of UNF Digital Commons. For more information, please contact Digital Projects. © 2-12-2015 All Rights Reserved Footer logo

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AMERICAN COMMEMORATIVE CANCELLATIONS

Issue Date February 12, 2015

First Day City Washington, DC

Designer Derry Noyes

Washington, DC

Art Director Derry Noyes

Typographer Derry Noyes

Modeler Joseph Sheeran

Manufacturing Process Offset/ Microprint

"USPS"

Printer Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd.

(APU)

Engraver N/A

A

Ill

Colors Cyan, Magenta,

Yellow, Black

Image Area {w x h) 0.84 X 1.42 in.

21.34 x 36.07 mm

Format Pane of 20 (1 design)

Plate Numbers "P" followed by four

single digits

Marginal Markings Header,

"BLACK HERITAGE"•

"38th IN A SERIES"•

© 2014 USPS, plate

numbers, USPS logo,

plate position diagram,

barcodes, descriptive

text, promotional text

Robert Robinson Taylor

For more than three decades, Robert Robinson Taylor (1868-1942)

supervised the design and construction of the Tuskegee Institute in

Alabama while also overseeing the school's programs in industrial

education and the building trades. He is believed to have been both the

first black graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the

country's first academically trained black architect. Through his calm

leadership and quiet dignity, he expanded opportunities for African

Americans in fields that had largely been closed to them.

Upon graduating from MIT in 1892, Taylor accepted a job offer from

educator and activist Booker T. Washington, who had founded the

Tuskegee Institute not only to help African Americans acquire valuable

practical skills, but also to show the world what an all-black institution

could accomplish. Before the decade was over, Taylor had established a

beginning architecture curriculum, and Tuskegee soon offered a certificate

in architectural drawing to help graduates enter collegiate architecture

programs or win entry-level positions in architectural offices. Over time,

Taylor also transformed Tuskegee's makeshift campus with dozens of

new, state-of-the-art buildings.

This stamp, the 38th in the Black Heritage series, features a photograph

ofTaylor taken circa 1890, when he was around 22 years old and a

student at MIT. In a talk he gave on MIT's 50th anniversary in 1911, Taylor

summarized how the school had helped his career at Tuskegee. In the

process, he encapsulated both his personal strengths and his lasting

legacy: "the love of doing things correctly, of putting logical ways of

thinking into the humblest task, of studying surrounding conditions, of

soil, of climate, of materials and of using them to the best advantage in

contributing to build up the immediate community in which the persons

live, and in this way increasing the power and grandeur of the nation."

Washington, DC 20066 February 12, 2015

ROBERT ROBINSON TAYLOR I , ' I jl ti I" I I i I I ji I ij I ii ji i I fl I I I I I I I ' If ii ii i I ij if ij

,011 United States Postal Service (1506)

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AMERICAN COMMEMORATIVE PANELS

R 8 11 1

· --o er· .. .. ~-_..- ··a __

THE 38TH STAMP IN THE Black Heritage

series honors architect and educator Robert

Robinson Taylor (1868-1942). For more than

three decades, Taylor supervised the design

and construction of the Tuskegee Institute in

Alabama while also overseeing the school's

programs in industrial education and the

building trades. He is believed to have been

both the first black graduate of the Massachu­

setts Institute ofTechnology (MIT) and the

country's first academically trained black

architect. Through his calm leadership and

quiet dignity, he earned the admiration of

colleagues and students alike while expand­

ing opportunities for African Americans in

fields that had largely been closed to them.

Upon Taylor's arrival at the Tuskegee

campus in 1892, the school was an assort­

ment of cottages, cabins, and simple

buildings scattered across an abandoned

plantation. In the years that followed, Taylor

designed and oversaw the construction of

dozens of new, state-of-the-art buildings.

Before the decade was over, he had also

established a beginning architecture

curriculum, and Tuskegee soon began

offering a certificate in architectural drawing,

which would help graduates enter collegiate

architecture programs or win entry-level

positions in architectural offices. Taylor's

efforts furthered Booker T. Washington's

dream of producing not just African-American

builders and carpenters, but designers and

architects who planned the buildings as well.

Designed by art director Derry Noyes, this

stamp features a photograph of Taylor taken

circa 1890, when he was around 22 years old

and a student at MIT-where he was always at

or near the top of his class.

R. 'R.TAYl..O~, Ai:rc.c:H.-r._ Tv5~e.0i1::.e. 1 Ai..A. 1q 10

top, right, and stomp portrait: Courtesy MIT Museum; left, bottom right, and intaglio: The Tuskegee University Archives, Tuskegee University

Stamps printed by Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd. (APU)/No. 946 in a series/February 12, 2015/ Printed in U.S.A./© 2015 United States Postal Service

~ UNITED ST/JTES IEif/l, POST/JL SERVICE®

BLACK HERITAGE 38th IN A SERIES

P1 1 1 P1 1 1

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-.,,. -__,-...., = "'= o -o=

Remembered for his calm determination and quiet dignity, Robert Robinson Taylor (1868-1942) is believed to have been both the first black graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the country's first academically trained black architect-accomplishments that helped open a new profession to African Americans.

In 1892, after graduating from MIT, this young man from Wilmington, North Carolina, accepted an offer from educator and activist Booker T. Washington to teach at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, where he soon set about shaping the appearance of the burgeoning school. Over the course of nearly 40 years, Taylor designed dozens of essential buildings, including libraries, dormitories, lecture halls, industrial workshops, and a handsome chapel, transforming a makeshift campus on an abandoned plantation into a confident, state-of-the-art institution.

Taylor's work as a teacher and administrator was equally vital to the Tuskegee mission. While overseeing programs to train skilled artisans, he also estab­lished a curriculum with a certificate to help graduates enter collegiate architecture programs or earn entry-level positions at firms. His work furthered Booker T. Washington's dream of fostering not just African-American builders and carpenters, but architects who could plan the buildings as well.

Taylor was admired for his decades of leadership at Tuskegee, and in 1911 he gave a speech that summarized the profound benefits of his education. In doing so, he encapsulated not only his personal strengths, but also his lasting legacy: "the love of doing things correctly, of putting logical ways of thinking into the humblest task . . . and in this way increasing the power and grandeur of the nation."

Discover more stamps and collectibles I USPS.com/stamps I © 2014 USPS

0 ebay.com/stamps I '91 800 782-6724 I O Facebook.com/USPS I C) Twitter.com/USPS

~ UNITEDST/J.TES IIiffl, POST/J.L SERVICE®

iiiiiii

PLATE POSITION

E§

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Robert Robinson Taylor LIMITED EDITION FOREVER® STAMP

First-Day-of-Issue Stamp Dedication Ceremony Thursday, February 12, 2015 ■ 11 A.M.

Smithsonian National Postal Museum (Atrium) 2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE ■ Washington, DC 20002

Introduction of Master of Ceremonies Kelvin Williams District Manager, Capital District United States Postal Service

Master of Ceremonies A'Lelia Bundles Chairman National Archives Foundation

Presentation of Colors The Joint Forces Color Guard

National Anthem and "Lift Every Voice and Sing" Howard University Singers

J. Weldon Norris Conductor

Words of Inspiration Dr. B~.Jiichardson Dean ,rL > Andrew R nkin Memorial Chapel Howard University

Welcome Allen Kane Director Smithsonian National Pasta Museum

Recognition of Honored Guests A'Lelia Bundles

R. R.TAYl-Ol<

~RC.l-l"-r.

Official Sta Megan J. Postmaster United Stat

President Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Dr.BrianJo~nso ~ President ..........-. Tuskegee Un sit

Valerie Jarrett Senior Advisor to the President of the United States

Musical Selection Howard University Singers

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Robert Robinson Taylor Remembered for his calm determination and quiet dignity, Robert Robinson Taylor (1868-1942) is believed to have been both the first black graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the country's first academically trained black architect-accomplishments that helped open a new profession to African Americans.

In 1892, after graduating from MIT, this young man from Wilmington, NC, accepted an offer from educator and activist Booker T. Washington to teach at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, where he soon set about shaping the appearance of the burgeoning school. Over the course of nearly 40 years, Taylor designed ~

dozens of essential buildings, including libraries, dormitories, lecture halls, industrial workshops, and a handsome chapel, transforming a makeshift campus on an abandoned plantation into a confident, state-of-the-art institution.

Taylor's work as a teacher and administrator was equally vital to the Tuskegee mission. While overseeing programs to train skilled artisans, he also established a curriculum with a certificate to help graduates enter collegiate architecture programs or earn entry-level positions at firms. His work furthered Booker T. Washington's dream of fostering not just African American builders and carpenters, but architects who could plan the buildings as well.

Taylor was admired for his decades of leadership at Tuskegee, and in 1911 he gave a speech that summarized the profound benefits of his education. In doing so, he encapsulated not only his personal strengths, but also his lasting legacy: "the love of doing things correctly, of putting logical ways of thinking into the humblest task ... and in this way increasing the power and grandeur of the nation."

This stamp, the 38th in the Black Heritage series, features a photograph of Taylor taken circa 1890, when he was a student at MIT. Derry Noyes served as art director for this issuance.

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Ill 0 -

-~ W .. hington, DC 20066 FebNary 12, 2015

ROBERT ROBINSON TAYLOR 11 I ij I I 'l" 11 I I I I I I I I I I I) I I I Ji I Ii ii I I I I j I I I Ji I I I ii ••

FIRST-DAY-OF-ISSUE

CEREMONY P R O G R A M ~ UNITEDST/JTES

~ POST/JL SERVICE®

Celebrate the Art of Stamps Rod

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A First Day of Issue

ROBERT ROBINSON TAYLOR

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