About This Stamp
With these five stamps, the U.S. Postal Service celebrates the beauty of bonsai. The word “bonsai” (Japanese for “plant in a pot”) refers to the art of cultivating plants — usually trees — in trays, pots, or other containers. Favorite bonsai plants include evergreens, maples, and azaleas, but many other trees and shrubs are also suitable. A large number of bonsai are on permanent display in Washington, D.C., at the United States National Arboretum.
One of the common styles of bonsai is shown on each of these five stamps. The first stamp depicts a Sierra juniper in semi-cascade style, in which the tip projects over the pot rim but does not extend below the base. Second is a trident maple in informal upright style, in which the trunk bends slightly to the left or right. Third is a black pine in formal upright style, with the trunk straight and tapering evenly, with symmetrical branches, from base to apex. Fourth is an azalea plant in multiple-trunk style, with several trunks emerging from one root system. The fifth and final stamp shows a banyan in cascade style, in which the trunk evokes a stream flowing down a mountainside, with the tip extending below the pot’s base. The plants depicted are roughly 15 to 20 inches tall.
Although no one knows when the first bonsai was created, it is generally accepted that Buddhist monks brought the practice from China to Japan about a thousand years ago. The bonsai collection at the National Arboretum began in 1976 when the Nippon Bonsai Association in Tokyo, Japan, presented the people of the United States with 53 plants as part of the U.S. bicentennial commemoration.
A bonsai master begins with seeds, cuttings, a naturally stunted tree, or a very young tree. Over time, he or she prunes the roots and branches, uses wire to shape and “train” the branches, and sometimes scrapes or peels bark to achieve desired effects. The plant is watered and repotted when necessary, and can live a hundred years or more.
Art director and stamp designer Ethel Kessler worked with artist John D. Dawson on this issuance. The Bonsai stamps are being issued as Forever® stamps in self-adhesive booklets of 20 (4 of each design). Forever stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce rate. At the time of issuance, the Bonsai stamps are being sold at a price of 45 cents each, or $9.00 per booklet.
Stamp Art Director, Stamp Designer
Ethel Kessler
Ethel Kessler is an award-winning designer and art director who has worked with corporations, museums, public and private institutions, professional service organizations, and now, the United States Postal Service.
After earning a B.F.A. in visual communications from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Kessler worked as a graphic designer and project manager for the exhibits division of the United States Information Agency. Her work was distributed internationally on subjects such as Immigration, Entrepreneurship, Renovation of American Cities, and the Bicentennial of 1976. She was also responsible for exhibits in Morocco, Botswana, and El Salvador.
In 1981, she established Kessler Design, Inc., for which she is creative director and designer. Clients have included the Clinton Government reorganization, the Smithsonian Institution, National Geographic Television, the National Park Service, and the American Institute of Architects.
She has been an art director for the U.S. Postal Service’s stamp development program for more than 25 years. As an art director for USPS, Kessler has been responsible for creating more than 500 stamp designs, including the Breast Cancer Research stamp illustrated by Whitney Sherman. Issued in 1998, the stamp is still on sale and has raised more $98 million for breast cancer research. Other Kessler projects include the popular and highly regarded Nature of America 120 stamp series, a collaboration with nationally acclaimed nature illustrator John Dawson, the 12-year Lunar New Year series with Kam Mak, the American Filmmaking: Behind the Scenes 10 stamps issued in 2003, a 2016 pane of stamps celebrating the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, and the 2023 stamp honoring Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And many, many others.