About This Stamp
The Constitution series stamp commemorating the bicentennial of the drafting of the Bill of Rights was issued on September 25, 1989, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This was the fifth stamp issued in the Constitution series in 1989.
Constitutional opponents led by Virginia's George Mason criticized the document for its lack of fundamental freedoms and individual liberties. Contesting that position, James Madison and his followers argued that personal guarantees were unnecessary since such liberties were inherent in the Constitution.
Ironically, it was Madison who began drafting the original Bill of Rights. Armed with nearly 200 state-ratified amendments, Madison composed a lengthy first draft that eventually became a dozen final proposals.
On September 25, 1789, delegates from the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate met in Congress Hall and approved 12 amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Two of these suggestions concerning the size of the House of Representatives and congressional salaries were not ratified. The remaining 10, known today as the "Bill of Rights," guarantee every American citizen specific personal liberties, including freedom of speech and religion, the right to a fair and speedy trial, and protection from illegal search and seizure.
Designed by Lou Nolan, the stamps were printed in the offset/intaglio process (D Press) by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and were issued in panes of 50.
Art Director
Derry Noyes
For more than 40 years Derry Noyes has designed and provided art direction for close to 800 United States postage stamps and stamp products. She holds a bachelor of arts degree from Hampshire College and a master of fine arts degree from Yale University.
Noyes worked as a graphics designer at Beveridge and Associates, a Washington, D.C., firm, until 1979 when she established her own design firm, Derry Noyes Graphics. Her clients have included museums, corporations, foundations, and architectural and educational institutions. Her work has been honored by American Illustration, the Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington, Communication Arts, Critique magazine, Graphis, Creativity International, and the Society of Illustrators.
Before becoming an art director for the U.S. Postal Service, she served as a member of the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee from 1981 to 1983.
Noyes is a resident of Washington, D.C.
Stamp Artist
Lou Nolan
Longtime stamp artist Lou Nolan studied fine art at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, DC, his hometown, and graduated from New York's Parsons School of Design in 1952. After working as a book designer and illustrator in New York, he returned to Washington to begin a freelance career. Following a ten-year partnership at a graphic design firm, Nolan returned to freelancing. By the time he retired in 1995, he had created designs for NASA, the Smithsonian Institution, each branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, and many federal agencies. His work was honored by the Art Directors Club of New York and Print magazine. He won gold and silver medals from the Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington.
Nolan designed many stamp products for the U.S. Postal Service® and more than a dozen stamps, including the first five in the American Design series that began in 2002. Some of these stamps have been reprinted in recent years including the Chippendale Chair (2007, 2014), the American Clock (2008), and the Tiffany Lamp (2007, 2009).
Mr. Nolan died on October 24, 2008.