About This Stamp
Celebration Boutonniere is a stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service®. Similar in design to the two-ounce Celebration Corsage stamp, it can be used on RSVP envelopes often enclosed with wedding invitations. It is also perfect for party invitations, thank-you notes, announcements, or any other correspondence.
The stamp art features a photograph of an arrangement of ranunculus, with floral accents of succulents, Astrantia, Berzelia, and clubmoss greenery. The ribbon wrapping the stems harmonizes with the colors and textures of the plant material. The tight, tailored arrangement creates a masculine look appropriate for a boutonniere.
For centuries, boutonnieres — or buttonhole flowers, as they were called in Britain — were a staple of a well-dressed man’s outfit. For most of the 20th century, a single flower pinned to a lapel or inserted into a jacket buttonhole was part of a sophisticated, debonair man’s wardrobe. Today, boutonnieres, still very fashionable, are worn at weddings by the groom, groomsmen, father of the groom, and best man, and at other special occasions, including proms, anniversaries, retirement parties, or military memorial services.
Art director Ethel Kessler designed the stamp. The boutonniere was arranged by floral designer Carol Caggiano and photographed by Renée Comet.
A Forever® stamp, Celebration Boutonniere will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail® one-ounce price.
Stamp Art Director, Designer, and Typographer
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.
Photographer
Renée Comet
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1957, commercial photographer Renée Comet went to college to become a nurse. Her direction changed in her freshman year when she bought a camera and fell in love with photography. After transferring to Rochester Institute of Technology, Comet pursued a degree in photo illustration, graduating in 1980.
Hired by Time-Life Books in 1985 to photograph a cookbook series, Comet moved to Washington, D.C., where her company, Renée Comet Photography, Inc., is located today. Specializing in food and still photography, Comet has provided the photographs for nearly 75 cookbooks, including Extreme Brownie; The Founding Farmers Cookbook; Olive Oil, Sea Salt & Pepper; The New Jewish Table; Dining with the Washingtons; Mitsitam Café Cookbook, National Museum of the American Indian; The Artful Pie; The Artful Vegan; and Dining at Monticello.
Her client list includes the Food Network, PopCorners, Glutino, Marriott International, Australian Lamb, California Almond Board, Ritz-Carlton, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Butterball Turkey, The Washington Post, and the American Diabetes Association.
More than ten of Comet's photographs have been featured on U.S. stamps including two Rose and Love Letter designs (2011), the Wedding Cake and Wedding Rings stamps (2009), the Celebration Corsage and Celebration Boutonniere stamps (2017), and most recently the Garden Corsage and Contemporary Boutonniere stamps (2020).