2019

• The ribbon leaf wreath is inspired by French floral art. Aspidistra leaves, folded and manipulated to resemble ribbons, create a long-lasting wreath.
• Gilded pinecones and magnolia pods grace the wreath trimmed with cranberry red ribbon.
• The woodland bush ivy and red winterberry wreath presents a classic red and green palette.
• Red and gold ribbons adorns the wreath made from gilded dried hydrangea, eucalyptus and nandina foliage, red berries, and small ornaments.

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George Herbert Walker Bush (June 12, 1924 – November 30, 2018) was an American politician who served as the 41st president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 and the 43rd vice president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. A member of the Republican Party, he held posts that included those of congressman, ambassador, and CIA director. Until his son George W. Bush became the 43rd president in 2001, he was usually known simply as George Bush. 

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50th anniversary of the first moon landing. There will be two different stamps. In an understandable departure from their “no living American” rules, one stamp features a photograph of Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin in his space suit on the surface of the moon. The image was taken by astronaut Neil Armstrong. Despite much better alternatives, the other stamp reproduces a photograph of the moon taken in 2010, showing a dot to indicate the landing site of the lunar module in the Sea of Tranquility. 

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In 2018, it was estimated that 86 million Americans had watched the series as children. As of 2018, Sesame Street has won 189 Emmy Awards and 11 Grammy Awards, more than any other children's show.

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This new set of four stamps celebrates Halloween, a holiday that lets children and adults delight in the things that scare us. With the approach of autumn, Spooky Silhouettes stamps will offer fun, frightful scenes that symbolize this annual celebration. 

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With this pane of 16 stamps, the Postal Service brings Tyrannosaurus rex to life some 66 million years after its demise. One design illustrates a face-to-face encounter with a T.rex approaching through a forest clearing; another shows the same young adult T.rex with a young Triceratops, both dinosaurs shown in fossil form. The third and fourth stamps depict a newly hatched T.rex covered with downy feathers and a bare-skinned juvenile T.rex chasing a primitive mammal. Described as “the Nation’s T.rex,” the young adult depicted on two of the stamps, was discovered on federal land in Montana and is one of the most studied and important specimens ever found. Its remains will soon be on display at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

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This set honors artist Ellsworth Kelly. Per the Postal People, “Kelly pioneered a distinctive style of abstraction based on real elements reduced to their essential forms.” His artworks include paintings, sculpture and works on paper. The 20 stamps on the pane feature 10 pieces, each represented twice: Yellow White (1961), Colors for a Large Wall (1951), Blue Red Rocker (1963), Spectrum I (1953), South Ferry (1956), Blue Green (1962), Orange Red Relief (for Delphine Seyrig) (1990), Meschers (1951), Red Blue (1964) and Gaza (1956). A detail from Blue Yellow Red III (1971) appears in the selvage (not shown here). Derry Noyes served as art director and designer for this issue.

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This issue honors tennis champion Maureen Connolly Brinker. The stamp art features an oil-on-linen painting of the tennis star by Gregory Manchess. Based on a black-and-white photograph taken in 1952, the portrait is described as “a colorful interpretation” of Connolly hitting a low volley. Nicknamed "Little Mo," the 5-foot-4-inch dynamo used powerful groundstrokes to become the first woman to win all four major tennis tournaments in a calendar year.

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The Postal Service honors the nation’s brave and loyal military working dogs with this new booklet of 20 stamps. Each block of four stamps features one stamp of each of four breeds—German shepherd, Labrador retriever, Belgian Malinois and Dutch shepherd—that commonly serve in America's armed forces.

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Three new stamps in a pane of 18 mark the 150th anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, a massive engineering feat that reduced travel time across the country from as many as six months to about one week and made the American West an integral part of the nation. 

Two different stamps feature the Jupiter and the No. 119 locomotives that powered the trains carrying the officers and guests of two train companies to the "Golden Spike Ceremony," held when the two rail lines were joined at Promontory Summit in Utah.  A third stamp portrays the famous golden spike that was used for the historic final connection, and was a prominent part of the ceremony. 

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Among the 2019 postal rate changes, the additional per ounce rate for First Class was reduced from 21¢ to 15¢ per ounce. To meet this rate, the Postal Service brought back the design that was first used in 2017, when the add-on rate was 21¢. The primary difference will be that it will bear a 2019 year date instead of the previous 2017 date. 

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Hearts Blossom is the latest stamp in the Love series from the U.S. Postal Service. The stamp art features the word “Love” in cursive script below 12 colorful hearts meant to visually express love’s joyful, bountiful nature.

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The Year of the Boar is the 12th and final stamp in the Celebrating Lunar New Year series. The Year of the Boar begins on Feb. 5, 2019, and ends on Jan. 24, 2020.

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The 42nd stamp in the Black Heritage series honors Gregory Hines (1946–2003), whose unique style of tap dancing injected new artistry and excitement into a traditional American form. A versatile performer who danced, acted and sang on Broadway, on television and in movies,

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This issuance celebrates the beauty of cactus flowers with a booklet of 20 stamps. Each stamp depicts a photograph of the flower of one of these ten cacti: Opuntia engelmannii, Rebutia minuscula, Echinocereus dasyacanthus, Echinocereus poselgeri, Echinocereus coccineus, Pelecyphora aselliformis, Parodia microsperma, Echinocactus horizonthalonius, Thelocactus heterochromus and Parodia scopa.

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This stamp celebrates the bicentennial of Alabama statehood. Alabama became the 22nd state in the Union on Dec. 14, 1819. The stamp art is a photograph taken at sunset in Cheaha State Park. Alabama photographer Joe Miller took the picture from the park’s Pulpit Rock Trail. With Pulpit Rock in the foreground, most of the area in the valley below the overlook is part of the Talladega National Forest, which surrounds the state park. The name of the state and the year of statehood are included in the stamp art.

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With this new stamp in the Music Icons series, the U.S. Postal Service honors Marvin Gaye (1939–1984) — the “Prince of Soul” — one of the most influential music performers of his generation. 

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The Postal Service celebrates USS Missouri (BB-63), America’s last battleship, with the issuance of a commemorative stamp in 2019, coinciding with the 75th anniversary of Missouri’s commissioning on June 11, 1944. 

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This pane of 10 stamps features five different murals designed to add a touch of beauty to Post Office walls and help boost the morale of Americans during the era of the Great Depression. On the stamp art, the town or city and state in which the work of art is located is printed underneath each mural. The murals included are: "Kiowas Moving Camp" (1936) Anadarko, Oklahoma; "Mountains and Yucca" (1937) Deming, New Mexico; "Antelope" (1939) Florence, Colorado; "Sugarloaf Mountain" (1940) Rockville, Maryland; and "Air Mail" (1941) Piggott, Arkansas.

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With this new 2019 stamp, the Postal Service celebrates the American flag, the most recognizable symbol of our nation. 

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This issuance celebrates Wild and Scenic Rivers — exceptional American streams that run freely through natural landscapes without man-made alterations. The pane of a dozen different designs features photographs that represent the more than 200 rivers or river segments designated within the Wild and Scenic Rivers System. First row, left to right: Merced River (Michael Melford, photographer), Owyhee River (Michael Melford, photographer), Koyukuk River (Michael Melford, photographer) Second row, left to right: Niobrara River (Michael Melford, photographer), Snake River (Tim Palmer, photographer), Flathead River (Tim Palmer, photographer) Third row, left to right: Missouri River (Bob Wick, staff photographer for Bureau of Land Management), Skagit River (Tim Palmer, photographer), Deschutes River (Bob Wick, BLM, photographer) Fourth row, left to right: Tlikakila River (Michael Melford, photographer), Ontonagon River (Tim Palmer, photographer), Clarion River (Bob Wick, BLM, photographer). Small type on the bottom of each stamp indicates the name of the river.

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With this stamp, the 32nd in the Literary Arts series, the Postal Service honors poet Walt Whitman (1819–1892) on the bicentennial of his birth.

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In 2019, the Postal Service issues Frogs, four new stamps in a booklet of 20, featuring digital illustrations of four North American frogs: the Pacific tree frog, the northern leopard frog, the American green tree frog and the squirrel tree frog. 

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Four whimsical se-tenant stamps celebrate the fun of America's state and county fairs. The stamps were designed to work together as a panorama of fair activities, while each stamp also works as an individual picture. The stamp on the far left shows farmers unloading produce behind a white fence. In the second stamp, a child holding a chicken sits atop the same fence, with carnival rides — a Ferris wheel and merry-go-round — in the background. Those rides can be seen in the third stamp, where some fairgoers admire the livestock behind the fence while others walk, balloons in hand, toward a sweets stand. The last stamp shows children at the stand buying treats from the vendor.

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This stamp issuance celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, held in the small farming community of Bethel, New York, in August 1969. It was the most famous rock festival in history and an expression of the youth counterculture of the 1960s.

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The Winter Berries booklet of 20 stamps celebrates four of winter’s small yet vibrant offerings: the winterberry (Ilex verticillata), the juniper berry (Juniperus communis), the beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) and the soapberry (Sapindus saponaria). The stamp art features highly detailed botanical portraits of each plant that highlight the bold colors and rich textures of their berries.

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Celebrating the desolate beauty of the Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia) and its distinct desert environment, this Priority Mail stamp depicts a common scene throughout much of the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts. Using the bold colors of the sun’s reflection off of the trees, rocks, and other shrubby vegetation, artist Dan Cosgrove illuminates the desert scene in warm, golden hues.

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With this Priority Mail Express stamp, the Postal Service commemorates the Bethesda Fountain, one of Central Park's most iconic structures. Dedicated in 1873, the fountain is a gathering place beloved by New Yorkers and out-of-town visitors alike. The stamp art features a stylized depiction of the fountain. The illustration was first rendered as a pencil sketch and then scanned and finished digitally. 

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Four new postcard stamps celebrate the beauty and wonder of coral reefs. Each stamp depicts a type of stony coral, along with associated reef fish, in a highly stylized manner: elkhorn coral, shown with two French angelfish; brain coral, with a spotted moray eel; staghorn coral, with bluestriped grunts; pillar coral, with a coney grouper and neon gobies. 

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California Dogface

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