About This Stamp
This presorted first-class coil stamp features an artistic rendering by Tom Engeman of a detail of the Great Seal of the United States. The stamp design includes the head and outstretched right wing of the American bald eagle, a portion of the shield on its breast, and the tip of the olive branch held in its right talon.
The coil includes 10 stamps based on the original eagle design. In each version the eagle — in gold, green, blue, red, or gray — appears against a background of a contrasting color.
Stamp Art Director
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
Tom Engeman
Nationally acclaimed artist Tom Engeman, a resident of Kensington, Maryland, is well known for his poster and stamp designs. The winner of numerous design awards, he lists among his career accomplishments being the first art director for Washingtonian magazine, designing Historic Preservation magazine, and creating posters for the Metro, Washington’s new subway system, which were stolen as soon as they went up.
Among his many designs for the U.S. Postal Service are the Liberty Bell Forever® stamp, 60 stamps for the Flags of Our Nation series that began in 2008, and eight butterfly-themed stamps, the first issued in 2010, intended for use on large greeting card envelopes and other mail of nonstandard shapes and sizes. Engeman's most recent butterfly stamp design is Colorado Hairstreak (2021).