New Stamps Showcase Photographer’s Love of Route 66
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As Route 66 continues its centennial celebration, the U.S. Postal Service is getting in on the festivities.
A set of eight Forever stamps commemorating the iconic highway has been released, each featuring an image from one of the eight states it traverses - all taken by photographer David J. Schwartz, who has a lifelong passion for the road and the landmarks along its route.
Established in 1926, Route 66 ("The Mother Road") is a 2,448-mile highway running from Chicago to Santa Monica. Though decommissioned in 1985, it remains a premier American road trip, with its centennial in November 2026 highlighting its enduring legacy as a major migration and cultural route. Having made 42 trips along Route 66 over the past 20 years, Schwartz is intimately acquainted with his subject. “It’s just an incredible journey and you just get such a beautiful slice of America going through it,” he told the Associated Press.
Schwartz runs a website called Pics on Route 66, and his work caught the attention of Greg Breeding, an art director for stamp design at the Postal Service. “They’re as if you were there,” Breeding said of the images, “which makes them especially useful for stamps.”
The set contains two of each stamp as well as a larger surrounding photo of the open road in Seligman, Arizona. Schwartz shared: “I hope they really inspire people to get out there and travel the road and support the mom-and-pop businesses and keep Route 66 alive for another 100 years.”
Schwartz's 'Artist Statement' on his website declares: "Route 66 is not history viewed from behind a velvet rope... It is a living road that people can still set into, experience for themselves, and become part of... The Mother Road nurtures those who take time to experience it."
