About This Stamp
The second American Scientists issuance honors theoretical physicist John Bardeen, biochemist Gerty Cori, astronomer Edwin Hubble, and structural chemist Linus Pauling.
For each stamp in this block of four, artist Victor Stabin created a collage featuring a portrait of the scientist along with diagrams or photographic representations that are associated with major contributions made by the scientist. Information about the specific elements in each collage is contained in the individual design briefs below.
John Bardeen:
The stamp art collage includes a painted portrait of John Bardeen and a schematic diagram of an electrical transistor with three labeled terminals: “B” for the base; “E” for the emitter; and “C” for the collector. The artist based his portrait on an undated black-and-white photograph of John Bardeen.
Gerty Cori:
The stamp art collage includes a painted portrait of Gerty Cori and a chemical diagram of glucose-1-phosphate, a compound that came to be known as the Cori ester. The artist based his portrait on a 1947 black-and-white photograph of Gerty Cori.
Edwin Hubble:
Positioned against a photographic backdrop of stars are a painted portrait of Edwin Hubble and a colorized 1949 photo of the dome housing the 100-inch Hooker telescope at Mount Wilson Observatory. The artist based his portrait on an undated black-and-white photograph of Edwin Hubble from the collection of The Huntington Library in San Marino, California.
Linus Pauling:
The stamp art collage includes a painted portrait of Linus Pauling and photographic representations of healthy red blood cells and damaged sickle cells. The artist based his portrait on a 1963 black-and-white photograph of Linus Pauling.
Art Director
Carl T. Herrman
As an art director for the U.S. Postal Service® for more than 15 years, Carl T. Herrman designed more than 50 stamps and guided more than 250 stamp projects, including Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Humphrey Bogart, and Comic Strip Classics. He also served as art director for five of the Celebrate the Century stamp panes. He has won more than 260 awards for design and design management, including two gold medals from the Society of Illustrators.
Herrman’s career has included positions as Director of Creative Services and adjunct professor at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, and Director of Marketing and Publications for the University of California at Irvine. He has provided consulting services for the Smithsonian Institution, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and numerous academic institutions. Herrman lives in Carlsbad,California.