April 29, 2016 - WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service previewed its stunning pane of 16 National Parks Forever stamps yesterday in this collection that celebrates the National Park Service on its 100th anniversary. The first-day-of-issue will be June 2. View the complete set of stamps.
Designing the National Parks Stamp Pane
The National Park System consists of more than 400 park sites. The stamp pane includes 16 stamp images featuring existing art or photography representing the regional diversity of national parks. All stamps show national parks or plants, animals, artwork, objects and structures found in or associated with a national park. Small type on the margin of each stamp indicates the park’s location.
The stamps are arranged to approximate their locations around America: Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve on the upper left; Maine’s Acadia National Park on the upper right; Hawaii’s Haleakala National Park on the bottom left; and Florida’s and Mississippi’s Gulf Islands National Seashore on the bottom right.
Top Row
The top row includes stamps of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in Alaska, Mount Rainier National Park in Washington State, Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park in Vermont, and Acadia National Park in Maine.
Second Row
The second row from the top includes two stamps, one on either side of the central selvage image. The stamp on the left features Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona and the stamp on the right features Assateague Island National Seashore located in Maryland and Virginia.
Third Row
The third row from the top includes four stamps, two on either side of the central selvage image. The stamps depict San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park in California, Arches National Park in Utah, Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota, and Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens in Washington, DC.
Fourth Row
The fourth row from the top includes two stamps, one on either side of the central selvage image. The stamp on the left features Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico and the stamp on the right features Everglades National Park in Florida.
Fifth Row
The fifth and bottom row of the pane includes four stamps featuring Haleakala National Park in Hawaii, Yellowstone National Park, located in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico, and Gulf Islands National Seashore located in Florida and Mississippi.
Center Image
The image in the center is a detail of artwork from the 1-cent Yosemite stamp issued in 1934, rendered here in light brown. Text superimposed over the center image reads: “Our national parks tell distinctly American stories. Whether they inspire you to marvel at grand vistas, travel along scenic waterways and winding paths, or visit historic buildings and homes, discovery and exploration await.” A banner across the top of the pane reads “NATIONAL PARKS.”
Text on the back of the stamp pane (verso text)
In the 100 years since its creation in 1916, the National Park Service has been the steward of an ongoing story that every American continues to write.
Our first national park — as well as the world’s — was established with the creation of Yellowstone in 1872, and Americans have long envisioned parks as places of wild wonders and breathtaking views. Those “crown jewels” will always be iconic American landscapes, but our park system is now even more remarkable for its breadth. Parkways, monuments, seashores, scenic rivers, urban parks, recreation areas, historic buildings and homes — our park system encompasses all of these and more. Parks also offer American history on a human scale, interpreting and making accessible such complex events as the Civil War and the civil rights movement, and they preserve irreplaceable resources for future study and enjoyment, from ancient fossils and fragile ecosystems to an amazing array of artifacts and art.
Each year, millions of people seek out the more than 400 sites in the national park system, where they find endless opportunities for adventure, education, and fun. With the enthusiastic support of visitors, our parks will continue to delight and inspire all Americans and impart a profound legacy for generations to come.
Four of the images on these stamps were provided by the National Park Service and represent just a glimpse of their priceless holdings. The oil-on-canvas painting Scenery in the Grand Tetons by Albert Bierstadt (detail; first row, second from right) is in the collection of Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park. The chromolithograph-on-canvas Grand Canyon of Arizona, from Hermit Rim Road by Thomas Moran (detail; second row, left) is in the collection of Grand Canyon National Park. The three-masted, steel-hulled, square-rigged Balclutha (third row, first from left) is a familiar sight at San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. The pastel-on-paper Administration Building, Frijoles Canyon (fourth row, left) by Helmuth Naumer Sr., is in the collection of Bandelier National Monument. The image at the center is a detail of the 1-cent Yosemite stamp issued in 1934, rendered here in light brown. The other images on these stamps are the work of independent photographers — evidence of the vast artistic inspiration our national parks can provide. (End of verso text.)
Source: NPS