USPS reveals new stamp designs for 2024

The United States Postal Service has announced their stamp selection for 2024. The list covers a wide range of subjects and designs featuring original illustrations, photographs and art. 

The first U.S. postage stamps, authorized by Congress in 1847, featured Benjamin Franklin. Since then, the designs have taken on a life of their own, with stamp collecting now a popular hobby.

The Smithsonian National Postal Museum calls them “miniature gateways to the world.” Indeed, they are tiny, but full of history coupled with unique and varied aesthetics.

From Americana to more eccentric options, here is the list of stamps available next year: 

Americana Selection 

• U.S. Flags - The design, painted by illustrator Laura Stutzman, captures the heart and soul of the American flag. The flags are drawn upward, waving over cloudy, blue skies. Beyond the stripes and stars, the Postal Service hopes to celebrate the flag's significance.
• Bluegrass - Although Americanized, this genre has its roots in Scottish and Irish traditions, the U.S. Postal Service notes. Bluegrass is a combination of country, sacred songs, string band music and the blues. The design was created by USPS Art Director Antonio Alcalá, with art from Heather Moulder. The stamps include four string instruments: a guitar, fiddle, five-string banjo and mandolin.  
• Shaker Design - The stamps, featuring existing photographs by Michael Freeman, mark the 250th anniversary since the first arrival of Shakers in the United States. These communities created furniture, fabrics, communal buildings and houses for themselves. The stamps showcase the simplicity and utility of their designs. 

History Selection

• First Continental Congress, 1774 - The purpose of the stamp is to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the First Continental Congress in 1774. As the designer and typographer, Alcalá features a quote over a bright blue shade from the protest letter sent by Congress to the King of England. The quote reads, “We ask but for Peace, Liberty and Safety.” Furthermore, there are 12 stars, which represent the 12 colonies - Georgia excluded for not agreeing with the protest, bordering the left side of the stamp. 
• Underground Railroad - This stamp, issued to commemorate the Underground Railroad, features the slavery resistance efforts of Catherine Coffin, Frederick Douglass, Thomas Garret, Laura Haviland, Lewis Hayden, Harriet Jacobs, William Lambert, Jermain Loguen, William Still and Harriet Tubman. Designed by Alcalá, the stamps use existing images with eight lines of text below them. The pane’s verso features a map of general routes frequented by freedom seekers, as well as small biographies of each individual. 
• Constance Baker Motley - The 47th stamp in the Black Heritage series, Motley was the first African American woman to successfully argue a case requiring the desegregation of all recreational facilities in Memphis, Tennessee before the United States Supreme Court and to serve as a federal judge. The portrait, created by Charly Palmer, features Motley wearing a black dress over colorful strokes and a floral arrangement in the bottom right corner. 
• Saul Bellow - As a renowned novelist, Bellow received three National Book Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and a Nobel Prize. The stamp features a portrait of Bellow, created by Ethel Kessler, over a street scene of Chicago, where he lived most of his life. 

Holiday Selection 

• Christmas Madonna and Child - This new edition of the Christmas stamp features the "Madonna and Child" from the Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato, the non-confirmed painter of the original artwork. The stamps will be sold in booklets of 20. 
• Hanukkah - The stamp features a nine-branched Hanukkah before a blue background. All the candles are lit to signify the last evening of the Jewish holiday. 
• Kwanzaa - This stamp is the decimal celebration issue of Kwanzaa. The holiday itself is observed from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1. The stamp art features a drummer and two female dancers. Created by Ekua Holmes, the art is a recreation of a live performance witnessed by the artist. 
• Lunar New Year, Year of the Dragon - This will be the fifth edition of the Lunar New Year stamp that features the Year of the Dragon. The original art was created by Camille Chew and features a colorful, three-dimensional dragon mask made to emulate the long-standing tradition of crafting via paper cutting. 

Nature Selection 

• Pillars of Creation - This stamp features the Pillars of Creation within the Eagle Nebula. The image, showcasing red areas and ejecting stars, was captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. The stamp was designed by USPS art director Greg Breeding in collaboration with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). 
• Cosmic Cliffs - This is another collaboration with NASA, as well as the European Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency and the Space Telescope Science Institute. Breeding designed the stamp, which features the colored depiction of the Cosmic Cliffs of the Carina Nebula. The image itself was captured by the James Webb Space Telescope and showcases scattered red and yellow flares throughout the cliffs. As well as the formation of stars, dust and gas. 
• Autumn Colors - The warm shades of the autumnal season will be celebrated within 10 new stamps. The stamps feature various locations throughout the United States photographed by Allen Rokach, a renowned nature and garden photographer who passed away in 2021. 
• Winter Whimsy - Designed and illustrated by Bailey Sullivan, the stamps feature symmetrical snowflakes before a single-colored background. These colors include navy, blue, teal, tan or dark blue-green. The stamps will be sold in a booklet of 20. 

Animals Selection

• Save Manatees - The stamp issue will bring awareness about the ecological threats facing manatees. Particularly, how human vigilance can pose vital to their protection. The graphic design, created by Nancy Stahl, features a manatee near the surface of the water. 
• Protect Sea Turtles - The stamps were designed to feature the protected sea turtles under the Endangered Species Act. Designed by Derry Noyes, it showcases close-up photographs of six species - the loggerhead, leatherback, hawksbill, Kemp’s ridley, olive ridley and green sea turtle. 

• Horses - This stamp series features the profiles of six horses. The photographs were captured by Stephanie Moon and Karen Wegehenkel.

Floral Selection  

• Low Denomination Flowers - Each stamp will feature a different floral design. For one cent, a fringed tulip, two for daffodils, three for peonies, five for red tulips and 10 for poppies and coneflowers. The artwork was done by Harold Davis, who mixed elements of technology to create the designs. 
• Wedding Blooms - This stamp features a vertical graphic illustration of brightly colored flowers. The artwork was an existing piece by Kim Parker. The stamp is commonly used for birthday invitations, weddings, anniversaries and other festive occasions. 
• Celebration Blooms - Similar to the Wedding Bloom, this stamp features a horizontal graphic illustration of brightly colored flowers. The artwork was also done by Parker. USPS recommends their use for RSVP envelopes, party invitations, thank-you notes and celebratory occasions.  
• Garden Delight - Featuring photographs by Ben King, these stamps showcase the natural scenery of hummingbirds. The birds are hovering next to a zinnia, cigar flower and sunflower.
• $1 Floral Geometry - This new stamp is priced at one dollar. The design, created by the film Spaeth Hill, features a symmetrical floral pattern on a watercolor background. Their use is recommended for packages, large envelopes and other mailings. 

Eccentric Selection 

• Love - This ode to love features a stylized bird in flight before a red background. The bird, carrying a love note in its beak, was originally illustrated by Katie Kirk. 
• Radiant Star - Intended for bulk purposes, the stamp features a vibrant graphic design of a blue star. The star also has red and white stripes. The original stamp design was done by Carol Beehler and will be sold in coils of 3,000 and 10,000. 
• Pinback Buttons - Created to “add cheer and whimsical flair,” these stamps feature 10 typographic designs from 10 different artists. The stamps themselves are round with a shadow effect to emulate a three-dimensional pin.