The U.S. Postal Service unveiled a new stamp honoring author Sarah Orne Jewett on August 21 at the Sarah Orne Jewett Literary House in South Berwick, Maine, the town where she lived her entire life. The stamp is the 35th release in USPS’s Literary Arts series.
The design features a three-quarter profile portrait of Jewett based on an 1894 photograph, set against the rocky Maine coast and coniferous trees, with a ray of sunlight evoking a scene from her best-known novel, “The Country of the Pointed Firs.” Ethel Kessler, a USPS art director, designed the stamp using art by Mark Summers.
“Sarah Orne Jewett is the premier historical icon of South Berwick, and her writings captured 19th-century New England life,” South Berwick Postmaster Matthew Kirksey said at the unveiling. “I have personally read her moving work, and it is an honor to have her stamp unveiled in our community today. This stamp proudly ensures her timeless literary legacy continues to resonate across the nation and right here at home.”
USPS describes Jewett (1849-1909) as a foundational figure in American literary regionalism, known for intimate portrayals of New England characters and the landscape and culture that shaped them. Her work often emphasized what USPS calls the positive spirit of her native Maine, exploring a balance between individualism and communal life.
Jewett began publishing before age 20 and was established as a writer by 1880. Over her career, she published hundreds of short stories, poems and essays, along with 18 novels; “The Country of the Pointed Firs,” published in 1896, is considered her masterpiece. A carriage accident in 1902 ended her writing career, but she continued mentoring younger writers afterward, most notably Willa Cather. USPS notes that renewed interest in Jewett’s work in recent years has been driven in part by her strong female characters.
The stamp itself is a nondenominated 3-ounce rate stamp, marked “THREE OUNCE” to indicate its usage value for mail requiring that postage class, rather than a standard single-letter Forever stamp. Like Forever stamps, however, it will remain valid for its designated rate regardless of future postage price increases. It’s sold in panes of 20 at Post Office locations and through usps.com.
