About This Stamp
A 22-cent commemorative stamp honoring the 100th anniversary of the accounting profession in the United States was issued on September 21, 1987, in New York City. The First Day of Issue ceremony occurred at Radio City Music Hall during the opening of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' (AICPA) five-day centennial membership meeting and exposition.
The need for accurate recordkeeping dates back 5,000 years, when people maintained records of receipts and disbursements on clay tablets. However, accounting as it exists today had its origins in 15th-century Italy.
In the last century, the certified public accountant's responsibilities have grown from the simple reporting of financial information to detailed consultation on all types of business decisions. Advances in computer technology have revolutionized the profession by reducing the time and costs of performing accounting services and by enabling CPAs to make informed audit decisions. In turn, business and government have benefited from the profession's expanded ability to serve in an increasingly complex economy.
Lou Nolan, McLean, Virginia, designed the stamp. He also designed the 17-cent Dog Sled and 3.4-cent School Bus issues.
The stamps were printed in the offset/intaglio process by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and issued in panes of 50.
Art Director
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.
Stamp Artist
Lou Nolan
Longtime stamp artist Lou Nolan studied fine art at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, DC, his hometown, and graduated from New York's Parsons School of Design in 1952. After working as a book designer and illustrator in New York, he returned to Washington to begin a freelance career. Following a ten-year partnership at a graphic design firm, Nolan returned to freelancing. By the time he retired in 1995, he had created designs for NASA, the Smithsonian Institution, each branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, and many federal agencies. His work was honored by the Art Directors Club of New York and Print magazine. He won gold and silver medals from the Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington.
Nolan designed many stamp products for the U.S. Postal Service® and more than a dozen stamps, including the first five in the American Design series that began in 2002. Some of these stamps have been reprinted in recent years including the Chippendale Chair (2007, 2014), the American Clock (2008), and the Tiffany Lamp (2007, 2009).
Mr. Nolan died on October 24, 2008.