About This Stamp
An Alaskan dog sled was the subject of the 17-cent coil stamp issued August 20, 1986, in Anchorage, Alaska. The denomination represented the rate for the second ounce of first-class mail, and the stamp replaced the 17-cent Electric Auto coil stamp issued in 1982.
Initially, the Dog Sled stamp was produced only in coils of 100 because adequate supplies of the Electric Auto stamp remained in coils of 500 and 3,000 as well. There was no precanceled version.
The stamp's design was prepared in pen and ink and featured a frontal view of a sled without reins or traces. It was probable that the earliest types of sleds were used in the Middle East to haul materials over bare ground. They are still found in many parts of the world where snow-covered terrain limits other forms of transportation.
In North America sleds were first used by the Inuits, who fashioned wood, bone, and rawhide into sleds that were both lightweight and durable. Because of their loyalty and strength, dogs were most often used to haul sleds over snow. Pulled by a team of Alaskan huskies, dog sleds transport up to 1,000 pounds across hundreds of miles of glacial terrain.
Over the years, dog sleds have been put to a large number of uses, including mail delivery. And as a sport, dog sledding continued to grow in popularity. Events such as the 1,049-mile Iditarod Sled Dog Trail Race provide drivers with the unique opportunity to test their skills and the endurance of their teams in fierce competition with both opponents and the environment.
The stamp was designed by Lou Nolan of McLean, Virginia. Art director was Derry Noyes. Typographer was Bradbury Thompson. Engravers were Edward P. Archer (vignette), Gary J. Slaght (lettering), and Michael Ryan (numerals) of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The intaglio process was used.
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.