The United States Postal Service (USPS) has unveiled its latest Forever stamps, the Tulip Blossoms, in honor of Americans’ enduring love for the colorful and vibrant flower. A dedication ceremony was held at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival in Woodburn, Oregon, on April 7, 2023.
Linda Malone, the USPS engineering systems vice president, presided over the ceremony, noting the versatility of the tulip as a gift, symbolizing love, friendship, gratitude, and congratulations. She said the new tulip-themed stamps make a perfect accessory to any mailing.
While Americans love the tulip, this spectacular flower has its roots in Central Asia. The flower was traded along the Silk Road and was first cultivated in 10th-century Persia. By the 16th century, tulips had become all the rage in Constantinople, which is now Istanbul, Turkey. The word “tulip” comes from a Turkish version of the Persian word for “turban,” which refers to the flower’s shape.
The Dutch developed effective ways to cultivate and market the flower after diplomats in Constantinople shipped bulbs home to western Europe. The tulip trade remains an important part of the Dutch economy four centuries later. Dutch immigrants brought tulip bulbs to America, and the flower has become a dazzling part of the landscape in the US. The country now imports over 1 billion bulbs per year, and gardeners can choose from thousands of varieties.
Greg Breeding, an art director for USPS, designed the Tulip Blossoms stamps with existing photographs by Denise Ippolito. Ippolito photographed the ten different tulips in gardens and parks she encountered while traveling. Each stamp features a single flower shot in close-up, filling almost the entire frame of the stamp, with just the top of the stem visible. The tulips are available in various shades of yellow, orange, pink, green, and violet.
The Tulip Blossoms stamps will be issued as Forever stamps in booklets of 20 and coils of 3,000 and 10,000. The Tulip Blossoms Forever stamps are now available at all USPS locations nationwide and online.
To share the news of the Tulip Blossoms stamps, USPS is using the hashtag #TulipBlossomsStamps. The Tulip Blossoms stamps are the latest addition to the USPS’s collection of floral stamps, which includes a variety of flowers such as roses, orchids, and sunflowers.
The USPS’s Forever stamp program allows customers to purchase stamps at the current First-Class Mail one-ounce price, and these stamps remain valid for use in perpetuity, regardless of future price changes. The program began in 2007, and the Tulip Blossoms Forever stamps are the latest addition to the collection of stamps available through this program.