With these five stamps, the U.S. Postal Service® celebrates the beauty of bonsai, a horticultural art form that has become quite popular in the United States. The word “bonsai” is Japanese for “plant in a pot.” It also refers to the practice of cultivating plants — usually trees — in trays, pots, or other containers. One of the common styles of bonsai is depicted on each stamp: (1) a Sierra Juniper in semi-cascade style, (2) a Trident Maple in informal upright style, (3) a Black Pine in formal upright style, (4) an Azalea plant in multiple-trunk style, and (5) a Banyan in cascade style. John Dawson painted the stamp art. Ethel Kessler was the art director.
Issue: | Bonsai |
Item Number: | 688000 |
Denomination & Type of Issue: | First-Class Mail Forever |
Format: | Booklet of 20 (5 designs) |
Series: | N/A |
Issue Date & City: | January 23, 2012, Sacramento,
CA 95813 |
Designer: | Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD |
Art Director: | Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD |
Typographer: | Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD |
Artist: | John D. Dawson, Hilo, HI |
Modeler: | Joseph Sheeran |
Manufacturing Process: | Offset/Microprint “USPS” |
Engraver: | N/A |
Printer: | Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd. (APU) |
Printed at: | Williamsville, NY |
Press Type: | Mueller Martini, A76 |
Stamps per Booklet: | 20 |
Print Quantity: | 400 million stamps |
Paper Type: | Prephosphored Type I |
Adhesive Type: | Pressure-sensitive |
Processed at: | Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd. (APU) |
Stamp Orientation: | Horizontal |
Image Area (w x h): | 1.05 x 0.77 in./26.67 x 19.56 mm |
Overall Size (w x h): | 1.19 x 0.91 in./30.23 x 23.11 mm |
Booklet Size (w x h): | 2.38 x 5.76 in./60.45 x 146.30 mm |
Colors: | Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, PMS 7C (Cool Gray) |
Plate Size: | 880 stamps per revolution |
Plate Numbers: | “P” followed by five (5) single digits |
Marginal Markings: |
Front Cover: | Header: “BONSAI Twenty First-Class Forever Stamps Barcode • © 2011 USPS in peel strip area • Plate numbers in peel strip area |
