About This Stamp
With this stamp, the U.S. Postal Service hopes to raise awareness of issues surrounding Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia among older people. The disease is named after Alois Alzheimer, a German doctor who did important research into its causes.
Experts estimate that more than five million Americans are living with Alzheimer's disease (AD). There is presently no cure, but scientists around the world are conducting research to learn more about causes and treatment.
In 1906, Alois Alzheimer examined the brain tissue of a patient who had suffered from a puzzling mental illness and found abnormalities now associated with AD. The only way to diagnose AD with certainty is to examine brain tissue during an autopsy, so the diagnosis is only "probable" while patients are living.
Persons suffering from AD-related dementia have trouble carrying out daily activities. The disease initially affects the parts of the brain that control language, thought, and memory. Symptoms may include asking the same question repeatedly, becoming lost in familiar places or disoriented in familiar routines, and ignoring personal safety, hygiene, and nutrition. As the disease progresses, perceptual, language, and motor skills deteriorate.
Though it typically affects people over 60 years of age, AD should not be considered an inevitable part of aging. The average patient lives up to 10 years after being diagnosed; the rate of progression varies from person to person.
Each case of Alzheimer's disease takes a toll on caregivers as well. There are groups that provide education and support for caregivers and family members. For patients, some drugs have shown promise at ameliorating the symptoms of AD during its earlier stages. Scientists are studying other potential treatments in hopes of ultimately preventing or halting the progression of the disease.
Art Director & Designer
Ethel Kessler
Ethel Kessler is an award-winning designer and art director who has worked with corporations, museums, public and private institutions, professional service organizations, and now, the United States Postal Service.
After earning a B.F.A. in visual communications from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Kessler worked as a graphic designer and project manager for the exhibits division of the United States Information Agency. Her work was distributed internationally on subjects such as Immigration, Entrepreneurship, Renovation of American Cities, and the Bicentennial of 1976. She was also responsible for exhibits in Morocco, Botswana, and El Salvador.
In 1981, she established Kessler Design, Inc., for which she is creative director and designer. Clients have included the Clinton Government reorganization, the Smithsonian Institution, National Geographic Television, the National Park Service, and the American Institute of Architects.
She has been an art director for the U.S. Postal Service’s stamp development program for more than 25 years. As an art director for USPS, Kessler has been responsible for creating more than 500 stamp designs, including the Breast Cancer Research stamp illustrated by Whitney Sherman. Issued in 1998, the stamp is still on sale and has raised more $98 million for breast cancer research. Other Kessler projects include the popular and highly regarded Nature of America 120 stamp series, a collaboration with nationally acclaimed nature illustrator John Dawson, the 12-year Lunar New Year series with Kam Mak, the American Filmmaking: Behind the Scenes 10 stamps issued in 2003, a 2016 pane of stamps celebrating the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, and the 2023 stamp honoring Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And many, many others.
Stamp Artist
Matt Mahurin
For more than 20 years, Matt Mahurin has worked as an illustrator, photographer, film director, and teacher. His political and social illustrations have appeared in publications such as Newsweek, Mother Jones, Esquire, and The London Observer. He has created more than 40 TIME magazine covers and regularly contributes political drawings to the Op-Ed pages of the Sunday Los Angeles Times and The New York Times.
A selection of Mahurin's photographs is found in the permanent collection of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, and as well in a number of photographic essays that have focused on topics such as the homeless, people with AIDS, the Texas prison system, and the countries of Nicaragua, Haiti, Japan, and France. He has published three books of personal fine art photographs.
Mahurin's film Mugshot—he wrote and directed it—was chosen best film at the 1996 Hamptons International Film Festival. He also has to his credit a documentary, I Like Killing Flies, and other feature films such as Feel. In demand as a director of music videos, Mahurin has worked for musicians and bands such as Peter Gabriel, Pearl Jam, Ice-T, Metallica, and Joni Mitchell.
Born in Los Angeles, California, today Mahurin lives in Northport, New York, and works out of a studio in the city. His January 1998 Rolling Stone cover image of Marilyn Manson won the Alfred Eisenstaedt Cover of the Year award; his work has been acknowledged with gold and silver medals from the Society of Illustrators as well as the Eastman Kodak Award for Lifetime Achievement.
His first project for the U.S. Postal Service® was the 2008 Alzheimer's Awareness stamp; that stamp image will be reversed to face right on the 2017 Alzheimer’s semipostal.