O Beautiful!

    United States of America  2018.07.04

    In issue: Stamp(s): 20   

    Printing: Lithography on self-adhesive paper

    Issued in: sheets of 20 (4*5) stamps by one set

  • Perforation: Harrow   Perforation type: 10 ¾x10 ¾

    Subject:

    First-Class Mail Forever stamp, suitable for payment of the letter on the USA, weighing 1 ounce (28,3 gr).

    On the day of release - 50 cents.

    Additional:

    With the release of the O Beautiful Forever stamps, the U.S. Postal Service commemorates the beauty and majesty of the United States through 20 captivating images that visually represent one of the nation’s most beloved songs, “America the Beautiful”.

    First published as a poem on July 4, 1895, “America the Beautiful” was written by poet Katharine Lee Bates (1859–1929) and set to the music of “Materna,” a melody composed by Samuel Augustus Ward (1848–1903). Considered by many to be the country’s unofficial national anthem, the song consists of four verses, each punctuated by the anthemic cry “America! America!” Today it remains one of the country's most popular patriotic songs.

    The stamps include a national seashore, national parks, state parks, parks managed by the U.S. Forest Service and the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. The stamps highlight some of the nation’s hidden gems, such as wheat fields in Wisconsin and Montana and the lush, fertile landscape surrounding Orinda, CA. The stamps also celebrate the country’s ephemeral wonders, including a double rainbow arching over a Kansas field, the aurora borealis lighting up Three Fingers Mountain in Washington, and a quietly stunning spring sunset over the green hills of Livermore, CA.

    Stamp Rows Themed to O Beautiful and Locations of Stamp Images.
    Each row of the 20-stamp pane illustrates one of five phrases from the song “America the Beautiful” famous first verses: “Spacious Skies” (top row), “Waves of Grain” (second row), “Mountain Majesties” (third row), “The Fruited Plain” (fourth row) and “Sea to Shining Sea” (bottom row). Each of the five phrases appears to the left of the row of stamps to which it applies.

    Third stamp of second row - is Grasslands Wildlife Management Area, Merced County, CA, photograph by Gary Crabbe. It includes typical windmill farmers pump.