Nature of America

Nature of America is a series of twelve self-adhesive stamp sheets that the United States Postal Service released annually between 1999 and 2010 starting with the Sonoran Desert sheet[3][5] and ending with the Hawaiian Rain Forest Sheet.[6][7] Like the Celebrate the Century stamp series, these were printed on large sheets 9"x8¾" (233mm x 171mm),[5] but differed from the former in that they were self adhesive[5] and not gummed.

This article is about the series of stamps. For nature in the U.S., see Environment of the United States.

Nature of America
Country of production	United States
Location of production	Browns Summit, NC [1] AVR, Clinton, SC Williamsville, NY
Designer	Ethel Kessler[2]
Printer	Banknote Corporation of America;[1] Ashton-Potter (USA) Ltd; American Packaging Corp. Avery Dennison; Sennett Security Products
Dimensions	233 mm × 171 mm (9.2 in × 6.7 in)
Perforation	Die cut
Commemorates	Ten U.S. geographical regions
Depicts	Flora and fauna of ten U.S. geographical regions
Notability	Educational series [3]
Nature of rarity	Not rare
Face value	33¢ x 10 ($3.30) 1999 and 2000 34¢ x 10 ($3.40) 2001 and 2002 37¢ x 10 ($3.70) 2003 to 2005, 39¢ x 10 ($3.90) 2006 41¢ x 10 ($4.10) 2007 42¢ x 10 ($4.20) 2008 44¢ x 10 ($4.40) 2009 and 2010
Estimated value	About $11.50 to 17.50 as per catalog [4]

Design process

The sheets were designed by Ethel Kessler[2] and illustrated by artist John D. Dawson[8][9] for the USPS.[10][11] The original idea for the series, conceived 1996,[2] was for a set of four American desert stamps.[2] This was inspired by the success of Desert Plants commemorative stamps released in 1981.[2] Artist John D. Dawson was recommended by art director Howard Paine[2] and selected for the illustration of these four stamps. Paine had worked with Dawson on three previous USPS issues: American Cats (1988), Idaho Statehood (1990), and Flowering Trees (1998).[2] From four stamps the idea expanded into a proposed set of six stamp sheets covering six ecosystems.[2] After the commercial success of the first sheets[2] the USPS decided to extend the series by six more ecosystems from the Sonoran Desert to the Hawaiian Rain Forest.

The design team drew inspiration from The World of Dinosaurs two-sheet issue of 1997.[2] These sheets were panoramic in design with punched perforations on a gummed sheet. Since the punched perforations would distract the visual continuity of the design,[2] the team decided to go for the self-adhesive format with serpentine die cutting for the individual stamps.[2] Each sheet consisted of a large panoramic image of a U.S. geographical region,[8] with the region's flora and fauna clearly visible. Ten stamps were die cut on to the design, each composing one or more species indigenous to the depicted region. The rear of sheet had a brief descriptive text of the stamp images,[8] accompanied with a graphic outline of the stamp images. The flora and fauna depicted were identified and labelled.[8]

The sheets

Starting with the Sonoran Desert sheet, the USPS issued a total of twelve sheets in the series. The sheets issued along with date and place of issue denomination and printer:[5]

Ecosystem	Date of issue	Place of issue	No. stamps in sheet	Face Value	Printer
Sonoran Desert	April 6, 1999	Tucson, Arizona[5]	10	33¢	Banknote Corporation of America[12]
Pacific Coast Rain Forest	March 28, 2000	Seattle, Washington [13]	10	33¢	Banknote Corporation of America[14]
Great Plains Prairie	March 29, 2001	Lincoln, Nebraska [15]	10	34¢	Ashton-Potter (USA) Ltd[16]
Longleaf Pine Forest[17]	April 26, 2002	Tallahassee, Florida [18]	10	34¢	American Packaging Corp. for Sennet Security[19]
Arctic Tundra	July 1, 2003	Fairbanks, Alaska[20]	10	37¢	Banknote Corporation of America [21]
Pacific Coral Reef[22]	Jan 2, 2004	Honolulu, Hawaii[23]	10	37¢	Avery Dennison[24]
Northeast Deciduous Forest	March 3, 2005	New York, New York[25]	10	37¢	Avery Dennison[26]
Southern Florida Wetland[27]	October 5, 2006	Naples, Florida [28]	10	39¢	Avery Dennison[29]
Alpine Tundra	August 28, 2007	Estes Park, Colorado [30]	10	41¢	Sennett Security Products[31]
Great Lakes Dunes	October 2, 2008	Empire, Michigan [32]	10	42¢	Avery Dennison[33]
Kelp Forest[34]	October 1, 2009	Monterey, California [35]	10	44¢	Avery Dennison[36]
Hawaiian Rain Forest[6]	September 1, 2010	Hawaii National Park[37]	10	44¢	Banknote Corporation of America, Inc[37]

References and sources

References

1. Stamp Announcement 09-45: Nature of America: Kelp Forest USPS 20 July 2013
2. Nature of America: A Look Back Archived July 9, 2013, at the Wayback Machine Beyond the Perf 23 Aug 2010
3. Sonoran Desert Inaugurates The `Nature Of America' Series Sun Sentinel 21 March 1999
4. Nature of America Archived May 26, 2013, at the Wayback Machine Mystic Co stamp catalog
5. "Sonoran Desert". National Postal Museum, Arago™. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
6. Hawaiian Rain Forest is final stamp in nature series New Jersey.com 19 August 2010
7. Nature to play major role in 199 postage Kingman Daily Miner - Nov 19, 1998
8. Nature of America stamp series includes stunning kelp forest scene New Jersey.com 4 November 2009
9. Hilo Artist’s Work to Be Featured on USPS Bonsai Stamp Series Archived January 29, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Big Island Newscenter Retrieved 22 August 2011
10. "Nature of America: Alpine Tundra". USPS Postal Store Archives. Archived from the original on January 7, 2008. Retrieved February 7, 2008.
11. "Meet the artist". Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved February 7, 2008.
12. 1999 33c Sonoran Desert s/a Pane/10 - Catalog # 3293 Mystic Stamp Co Retrieved 22 July 2013
13. "Pacific Coast Rain Forest". National Postal Museum, Arago™. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
14. 2000 33c Pacific Coast Rain Forest, s/a - Catalog # 3378 Mystic Stamp Co Retrieved 22 July 2013
15. "Great Plains Prairie". National Postal Museum, Arago™. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
16. 2001 34c Great Plains Prairie - Catalog # 3506 Mystic Stamp Co Retrieved 22 July 2013
17. New stamp series depicts Longleaf Pine Forest Times Daily - Feb 16, 2002
18. "Longleaf Pine Forest". National Postal Museum, Arago™. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
19. 2002 34c Longleaf Pine Forest s/a - Catalog # 3611 Mystic Stamp Co Retrieved 22 July 2013
20. "Arctic tundra". National Postal Museum, Arago™. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
21. 2003 37c Arctic Tundra - Catalog # 3802 Mystic Stamp Co Retrieved 22 July 2013
22. More in store for 2003 - stamps that is The Albany Herald - Dec 21, 2003
23. "Pacific Coral Reef". National Postal Museum, Arago™. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
24. STAMP ANNOUNCEMENT 03-33 Pacific Coral Reef Stamps USPS Retrieved 22 July 2013
25. "Northeast Deciduous Forest". National Postal Museum, Arago™. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
26. 2005 37c Northeast Deciduous Forest - Catalog # 3899 Mystic Stamp Co Retrieved 22 July 2013
27. Scores of new postage stamps Moscow-Pullman Daily News - Dec 1, 2005
28. "Southern Florida Wetland". National Postal Museum, Arago™. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
29. 2006 39c Southern Florida Wetland - Catalog # 4099 Mystic Stamp Co Retrieved 22 July 2013
30. "Alpine Tundra". National Postal Museum, Arago™. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
31. Stamp Announcement 07-37: Alpine Tundra USPS Retrieved 22 July 2013
32. "Great Lakes Dunes". National Postal Museum, Arago™. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
33. Stamp Announcement 08-43: Nature of America: Great Lakes Dunes USPS Retrieved 22 July 2013
34. National Stamp Collecting Month Starts With a 'Splash' Reuters 30 September 2009
35. "Kelp Forest". National Postal Museum, Arago™. Archived from the original on June 26, 2013. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
36. 2009 44c Kelp Forest - Catalog # 4423 Mystic Stamp Co Retrieved 22 July 2013
37. Stamp Announcement 10-22: Nature of America: Hawaiian Rain Forest USPS Retrieved 22 July 2013

Sources

• USPS News Releases
• Nature of America - US stamp sheets