About This Stamp
Americans have been intrigued by elephants since the first one arrived on our shores in 1796. The cute and fun stamp from the U.S. Postal Service celebrates the affection and ever-evolving connection between humans and elephants.
A fanciful, digital illustration of an elephant interacting with its young calf depicts the affectionate nature of these beloved animals. Two stylized plants and a bright orange sun add whimsy and color to this cute, lighthearted stamp.
There is something about elephants that makes people love them. The flapping ears and the mouth seemingly curved into a smile have captured hearts the world over. But it’s more than that. They fascinate because they display a social complexity and full emotional range that reflect those of humans. Elephants, like humans, are one of the longest living land mammals. They practice teamwork, demonstrate the capacity for empathy and grief, and establish lifelong bonds of family. Herds are organized into complex matriarchal societies; calves are raised and mentored by the entire herd.
America’s feelings toward elephants have evolved since that 18th-century introduction. The relationship was hard on elephants: While Americans loved the floppy-eared giants, they were not always conscientious in doing their best to provide care and nurturing for the emotional and sensitive creatures. However, changing attitudes in the United States have increased the awareness of conditions of captive elephants, and enabled legislation to ban ivory importation and to support conservation efforts for elephants in the wild.
Artist Rafael López created the original art and designed the stamp. Derry Noyes was the art director.
The Elephants stamp is being issued as a Forever® stamp in booklets of 20. This Forever stamp is always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail® one-ounce price.
Stamp 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 Designer
Rafael López
Rafael López was born in Mexico City and was raised by his parents, both architects, in the rich visual heritage, music, and surrealism of his native culture. In 1985, he earned his B.F.A. from ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California.
An internationally recognized illustrator and artist, López is a founder of the Urban Art Trail movement, created to add color and art to his San Diego neighborhood. His murals are also found around the country in locations as diverse as children’s hospitals, public schools, farmer’s markets, and freeway underpasses. This community work is the subject of the children’s book Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed a Neighborhood (2016).
López illustrated two New York Times bestsellers: Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You (2019), written by Sonia Sotomayor, and The Day You Begin (2018), written by Jacqueline Woodson. He also is a three-time Pura Belpre Medal award-winning illustrator for Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreño Played Piano for President Lincoln (2019), Drum Dream Girl (2016), and Book Fiesta! (2010).
Among López’s many clients are Amnesty International, Apple, HarperCollins, the Library of Congress, The New York Times, the Grammy Awards, United States Forest Service, the Washington Post, and the World Wildlife Fund.
López lives and works in an industrial loft in downtown San Diego and at his home and studio in the colonial town of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
López designed and illustrated the 2022 Mariachi stamps and the 2022 Elephants stamp for the U.S. Postal Service. His previous projects were Latin Music Legends (2011), Mendez v. Westminster (2007), and one design for Let’s Dance/Bailemos (2005).