Paris, Texas 1916 Fire Centennial “SMILE!” cover

Paris is a city of 25,000 people and the seat of Lamar County in Northeast Texas. In 1916, the city suffered a fire that destroyed almost half the town, including most of the central businesses, many residences, the Federal Building, and the post office. In the century since, Paris has rebuilt and has begun to transform itself into a city of arts and culture, with an annual Art Fair and a regional historical museum.

This cover features a 1916 photograph of the devastation, subtly masked against flames. A fiery diagonal gash separates the vintage photo with one from the present day picturing the rebuilt downtown and the Paris Community Theater. I used the 22¢ Republic of Texas issue (Scott 2204) and the 33¢ "Smiley face" stamp from the Celebrate the Century series (Scott 3189m), and sent for a postmark commemorating the centenary of the fire that features the charming slogan the town used to encourage residents in their rebuilding efforts: the simple imperative "SMILE!"

You can order the "SMILE!" postmark for yourself until April 20th, 2016.