About This Stamp
The greatest number of butte formations in the United States rise in Utah and Arizona. These steep-sided, flat-top formations grace the non-denominated Butte Nonprofit Organization definitive stamps, first issued at the Scopex Stamp Show in State College, Pennsylvania. A pair of butte formations — the East Mitten and the West Mitten buttes, located in the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Arizona — inspired the stamps' images.
This stamp, along with many other non-denominated definitive stamps of the 1990s, was intended for use by businesses and organizations for different mail services, in this case third-class bulk mail.
The Butte stamp was issued for use by nonprofit organizations. When issued in 1995 and throughout its use by nonprofit organizations, its postage value was five cents. It could be used indefinitely by nonprofits to pay for third-class bulk mail. If the postage was more that five cents for a piece of mail (due to the item's weight and/or an increase in the rate for third-class class bulk mail), the difference owed was calculated and paid at the post office at the time of mailing.
The United States Postal Service released two versions of the Butte Nonprofit Organization stamp. The first was issued on March 10, 1995, in a horizontal coil format with 9.8 measure perforations vertically. The second was issued on June 15, 1996, in a horizontal coil format with 11.5 serpentine die cut measure perforations vertically.
Art Director
Phil Jordan
Phil Jordan grew up in New Bern, North Carolina, and attended East Carolina University. After Army service in Alaska, he graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a degree in visual communications. He worked in advertising and in design at a trade association before joining Beveridge and Associates, Inc., where he provided art direction for corporate, institutional, and government design projects. A partner in the firm, he left after 18 years to establish his own design firm where he managed projects for USAir, NASA, McGraw-Hill, IBM, and Smithsonian Books, among others. He was Design Director of Air & Space/Smithsonian magazine for 15 years. His work appeared in numerous exhibitions and publications such as Graphis and Communications Arts. A past president of the Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington, he was an art director for the U.S. Postal Service from 1991 to 2014. A resident of Falls Church, Virginia, he is a retired glider pilot and a member of the Skyline Soaring Club.
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).