About This Stamp
In 2022, the U.S. Postal Service issued Blueberries, a four-cent definitive stamp. The stamp will be sold in coils of 3,000 and 10,000 and in panes of 20.
The stamp features a pen, ink, and watercolor illustration of a cluster of blueberries and leaves.
Several blueberry species are native to North America. These deciduous perennial shrubs range in size from less than one to more than 13 feet tall and produce sweet, edible fruits in colors from light blue to black when ripe.
Though wild blueberries are abundant, before the 20th century the fruit was not cultivated. While others had tried to domesticate the plant, it was Frederick Coville, a United States Department of Agriculture scientist, who discovered, after much trial and error, that the plants thrive in acidic soil. Soon after he published his results in 1910, he began a long collaboration with Elizabeth White, a New Jersey cranberry farmer, to hybridize wild blueberries and bring to market the first fruits of this newly domesticated plant.
Today, the highbush blueberry is the most widely cultivated of the blueberry species; it is grown extensively in Michigan, Georgia, Florida, Oregon, Washington, New Jersey, California, and North Carolina as well as in many other states. The southern rabbiteye species, which can tolerate higher temperatures, also flourishes in the American South. Many acres of lowbush blueberry are intensively managed in Maine. Most of the world’s blueberries are grown in North America, but the fruit’s popularity has spread worldwide, especially to Europe and Australia, and now is rapidly being planted in South America, Africa, and parts of Asia.
Blueberries are culinary wonders, used in everything from compotes and cobblers to smoothies and salads. They are also a tasty snack all by themselves, with added benefits—blueberries are an excellent source of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Art director Derry Noyes designed this stamp with an existing illustration by John Burgoyne.
Stamp Art Director, Stamp Designer
Derry Noyes
For more than 40 years Derry Noyes has designed and provided art direction for close to 800 United States postage stamps and stamp products. She holds a bachelor of arts degree from Hampshire College and a master of fine arts degree from Yale University.
Noyes worked as a graphics designer at Beveridge and Associates, a Washington, D.C., firm, until 1979 when she established her own design firm, Derry Noyes Graphics. Her clients have included museums, corporations, foundations, and architectural and educational institutions. Her work has been honored by American Illustration, the Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington, Communication Arts, Critique magazine, Graphis, Creativity International, and the Society of Illustrators.
Before becoming an art director for the U.S. Postal Service, she served as a member of the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee from 1981 to 1983.
Noyes is a resident of Washington, D.C.
Existing Art By
John Burgoyne
John Burgoyne was raised in Massachusetts, where he developed a passion for art at a very early age. After graduating from Massachusetts College of Art, Burgoyne embarked on a career as an illustrator. Today he works from his studio on Sandy Neck, Cape Cod, in Massachusetts.
Burgoyne’s illustrations have appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines, such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, National Geographic, Cook's Illustrated, New York, Town and Country, Garden & Gun, Golf Digest, and Golf. His corporate clients have included Apple, American Express, Anheuser-Busch, Nike, Delta, IBM, the United States Postal Service, Volkswagen, Daimler Chrysler, Publix, A+E, and A24 Films. He has also created art for the Florida Aquarium, Bermuda Aquarium, and the Bermuda National Trust. Burgoyne's vineyard clients include Harlan Estate, Spottswoode, Trinchero, and Chappellet.
A member of the New York Society of Illustrators, Burgoyne has received more than 100 awards in the United States and Europe. His work has been recognized by the Society of Illustrators, Communication Arts, the Hatch Awards, Graphis, Print, One Show, Clio, and the New York Art Directors Club.
Existing illustrations of fruits by Burgoyne have appeared on the Apples postcard stamps (2013); on three 2016 low-denomination stamp issuances: Apples (one cent), Grapes (five cents), and Pears (ten cents); on one 2017 issuance, Strawberries (three cents); and on one 2018 issuance, Meyer Lemons (two cents). He created original illustrations for the Otters in Snow Forever® stamps (2021).