This year, Big Bend National Park celebrated its 75th anniversary, and very soon, U.S. Postal Service customers will be able to share a little of its scenic beauty with neighbors around the country with an official Priority Mail stamp.
Every year, USPS’s Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee fields about 30,000 suggestions for stamp art. Of the thousands of ideas submitted, the committee chooses about 25 to 30, according to USPS spokesperson Becky Hernandez.
Hernandez said the committee looks for ideas celebrating “people, beautiful parts of America, culture, events.”
“Big Bend is definitely a beautiful part of America and that’s why it was chosen,” said Hernandez.
The stamp features art by Ohio native Dan Cosgrove, whose recent commissions also include work for Texas Monthly magazine, Netflix, Shell Oil and the New York Times.
Echoing the classic artwork of WPA-era National Park posters, the Big Bend stamp depicts the Rio Grande flowing between the sheer limestone cliffs of Santa Elena Canyon, in a remote part of Big Bend National Park. The nearest town to the scenic location is Terlingua, 22 miles away.
INBOX: @USPS will issue a priority mail stamp next year featuring Big Bend National Park.
— Carlos E. Morales (@celizario) December 12, 2019
The stamp highlights the Rio Grande as it flows through the limestone cliffs of Santa Elena Canyon. pic.twitter.com/t1q9EgqOzJ
Apart from the upcoming Big Bend stamp, Texas has been featured on a few postal service stamps in the past. In 2012, the USPS issued a Texas flag stamp as part of their “Flags of our Nation” series. Before that, the postal service unveiled a Texas stamp that featured a Texas longhorn grazing in front of the Alamo. The words “Greetings From Texas” and a yellow rose bordered the 2002 stamp. In 1986, the Republic of Texas was honored with a 22-cent Sesquicentennial stamp, and in 1945, the Postal Service issued a 3-cent stamp celebrating the 100th anniversary of Texas' statehood. The first stamp honoring Texas was issued in 1936, celebrating the 100th anniversary of Texas independence.
Along with a stamp commemorating Michigan’s Grand Island Ice Caves, also featuring art by Cosgrove, the Big Bend stamp will be released on Jan. 18, 2020. Priority Mail stamps start at $7.35, and allow customers to ship and track packages to any of the 50 states for delivery within one to three days.
