About This Stamp
This issuance in the Distinguished Americans series honors Dr. Jonas Salk (1914–1995), who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 for developing the first safe and effective vaccine against paralytic poliomyelitis. Periodic outbreaks of this worldwide viral disease — also called infantile paralysis or simply “polio” — paralyzed or killed thousands of people annually in the United States alone before the Salk vaccine became available in 1955.
Artist Mark Summers created the portrait on the stamp. As reference, he used a photograph (courtesy of the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation) of Dr. Salk taken in the Virus Research Laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh in October 1954. At the time of the photograph, Dr. Salk was checking the results of a polio test funded by the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis through its March of Dimes campaign. (In 1979, the “March of Dimes” also became the official name of the foundation.)
The artist is noted for his scratchboard technique, a style distinguished by a dense network of horizontal lines etched with exquisite precision. Summers also created art for previous issuances in this series: Joseph W. Stilwell (2000), Claude Pepper (2000), Hattie W. Caraway (2001), Edna Ferber (2002), and Wilma Rudolph (2004).
Stamp Art Director
Richard Sheaff
Stamp Artist
Mark Summers
Mark Summers works out of his studio in Waterdown, Ontario, Canada. He is known for his detail-rich, black-and-white portraits of literary and historical figures. His drawings, which are regularly featured in the New York Times Book Review section, are distinguished by a dense network of horizontal lines etched with exquisite precision. This scratchboard technique, reminiscent of turn-of-the-century engraved illustrations, has been used by Summers in numerous stamp designs for the U.S. Postal Service including those honoring Claude Pepper (2000), Wilma Rudolph (2004), Harriet Beecher Stowe (2007), James A. Michener (2008), and Abraham Lincoln (2009). While attending the Ontario College of Art in 1976, Summers was introduced to the scratchboard technique by the respected Canadian political cartoonist Duncan Macpherson.
Summers' present endeavors include illustrating book covers, as well as editorial, institutional, and advertising artwork. Some of his best known work was done for Barnes & Noble bookstores where his drawings appear on shopping bags, banners, and vans. Publishing clients include TIME magazine, Rolling Stone (where he currently illustrates the back page of each issue), Sports Illustrated, and The Atlantic. Summers has also created logos for Eddie Bauer and comedian Tim Allen.
Summers has been honored by the Society of Illustrators with two gold medals and one silver medal. He was selected by the Society to receive the coveted Hamilton King award in 2000. In 2019 he was inducted into the Illustrators Hall of Fame.
The 2026 Sarah Orne Jewett stamp is Summers' latest project for the Postal Service.