About This Stamp
This stamp features a white quill pen dipping into a red-white-and-blue inkwell accented with stars, clearly suggesting the American flag. The inkwell and the antique writing implement combine to evoke the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and other documents of national significance.
The quill pen was the most common writing instrument at the time of America’s founding, and was used in the creation of our formative documents. Such pens were typically made from goose feathers, though feathers from other birds also served the purpose.
Stamp 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.