PASADENA, Calif.--Aug. 8, 2003--Avery Dennison Corporation announced today that the U.S. Postal Service has issued the first commemorative self-adhesive stamps printed under a new long-term contract awarded to the Company by the Postal Service to produce definitive and commemorative self-adhesive postage stamps. The first self-adhesive stamps printed by Avery Dennison under the new agreement, Early Football Heroes, was issued by the U.S. Postal Service in an unveiling ceremony held earlier today at the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame's Enshrinement Festival in South Bend, Indiana. The new 37-cent self-adhesive Early Football Heroes stamps are available in panes of 20 stamps and feature images of Walter Camp (1880s), Ernie Nevers (1920s), Red Grange (1920s) and Bronko Nagurski (1930s). The new stamps will be available for purchase August 9 at U.S. Postal Service Postal Centers by calling 1-800-STAMP-24, or online at the U.S. Postal Service Postal Store: www.usps.com/shop. "Avery Dennison has enjoyed a long relationship with the U.S. Postal Service. We worked with the Postal Service to develop the first U.S. self-adhesive stamp in 1974 and have produced billions more postage stamps in recent years as the format has grown in popularity with postal customers," commented Philip M. Neal, chairman and chief executive officer of Avery Dennison. "The craftsmanship and ease-of-use of self-adhesive stamps produced by Avery Dennison have long been a source of pride for our employees and a benefit to the millions of daily stamp users and collectors." Avery Dennison was one of three suppliers awarded long-term stamp-printing contracts by the U.S. Postal Service. The master contracts include an initial term of four years and have an estimated aggregate value of $230 million for all three suppliers. The contracts also feature three two-year options that the U.S. Postal Service may exercise for a potential contractual term of 10 years. If all of the option years are exercised, the value of the contracts over 10 years, for all three suppliers, would be approximately $570 million. Other new issue self-adhesive stamps to be printed in 2003 and covered under the new contract include: Roy Acuff, Reptiles and Amphibians, Stop Family Violence, Snowy Egret and Atlas. Previously issued stamps to be reprinted in 2003 and covered under the new contract include: Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Eid, Flag, Antique Toys, and Washington.