It’s bad enough that the U.S. Postal Service released a so-called “Forever” stamp it claimed contained the image of the Statue of Liberty — the one that stands in New York Harbor — when it was actually, and mistakenly, the image of the version that stands outside New York-New York Casino Hotel in Las Vegas.
But now the post office is being sued by the sculptor of the Las Vegas statue, who says the government never obtained permission to use his statue as the basis of the stamp’s image.
The Washington Post said the postal service released its “Forever” stamp in 2010, claiming that the image was of the original Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. A stamp collector subsequently noticed the discrepancy and alerted the federal agency. The postal service admitted its error and agreed to “reexamine” selection processes for stamps, The Post said.
But the sculptor of the Las Vegas statue says that’s not good enough and has come forward to sue. The New York Post said it’s not clear why he’s suing now and not when the stamp was originally released.
Apparently, though, the discrepancies between the two statues are marked.
One attorney for the sculptor, Robert Davidson, said in The New York Post that the replica statue is much more “fresh-faced” and “sultry” than the real one — and that it’s these differences that actually led the post office to prefer the Las Vegas model. But the government neglected to obtain permission to portray the sculpted mimic.
The postal service did not comment, The New York Post reported.
Other reported differences between the statues: The Las Vegas copy has different hair and touts a smirk.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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