About This Stamp
This stamp in the Scenic American Landscapes series features a photograph of Trunk Bay on the northern coast of St. John, one of the U.S. Virgin Islands. St. John is known for its beautiful beaches, abundant plant life, and the coral reefs along its coast. The island is also rich in history, and visitors to St. John can see pre-Columbian relics and the remains of Danish colonial sugar plantations.
In 1917, during World War I, the United States purchased St. John and other nearby islands from Denmark to prevent enemy forces from establishing strongholds there. The islands have since remained American territories.
Encompassing more than half of St. John as well as a very small portion of neighboring St. Thomas, Virgin Islands National Park was established in 1956. Today the park consists of approximately 14,688 acres, 5,650 of which are underwater.
Art Director & Designer
Ethel Kessler
Ethel Kessler is an award-winning designer and art director who has worked with corporations, museums, public and private institutions, professional service organizations, and now, the United States Postal Service.
After earning a B.F.A. in visual communications from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Kessler worked as a graphic designer and project manager for the exhibits division of the United States Information Agency. Her work was distributed internationally on subjects such as Immigration, Entrepreneurship, Renovation of American Cities, and the Bicentennial of 1976. She was also responsible for exhibits in Morocco, Botswana, and El Salvador.
In 1981, she established Kessler Design, Inc., for which she is creative director and designer. Clients have included the Clinton Government reorganization, the Smithsonian Institution, National Geographic Television, the National Park Service, and the American Institute of Architects.
She has been an art director for the U.S. Postal Service’s stamp development program for more than 25 years. As an art director for USPS, Kessler has been responsible for creating more than 500 stamp designs, including the Breast Cancer Research stamp illustrated by Whitney Sherman. Issued in 1998, the stamp is still on sale and has raised more $98 million for breast cancer research. Other Kessler projects include the popular and highly regarded Nature of America 120 stamp series, a collaboration with nationally acclaimed nature illustrator John Dawson, the 12-year Lunar New Year series with Kam Mak, the American Filmmaking: Behind the Scenes 10 stamps issued in 2003, a 2016 pane of stamps celebrating the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, and the 2023 stamp honoring Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And many, many others.