About This Stamp
The U.S. Postal Service® issued this Priority Mail® stamp to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Lili‘uokalani Gardens in Hilo, Hawai‘i. Built on land donated by Queen Lili‘uokalani (1838–1917), the last Hawaiian monarch to govern the islands, the gardens were dedicated in 1917 and named in her honor.
The stamp art features one of the gardens' most iconic structures, the red wooden shelter on a stone bridge spanning a portion of the pond. To the right behind the bridge is a stone lantern donated by the Hilo Women's Friendship Association in 1916. To the left and on the zigzag path leading to the red bridge are lanterns that date from 1968, donated by several prefectures in Japan to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the original Japanese sugarcane workers to the islands. Behind the lanterns and bridge are some of the trees and shrubs — including banyan, mango, and cycad — that make the gardens such a peaceful and serene haven. The artist first prepared a pencil sketch of the scene and then scanned it into the computer to create the final art digitally.
Hilo's Lili‘uokalani Gardens are Japanese in style but could exist nowhere but Hawai‘i, with remains of lava flows, plantings of tropical trees and flowers, and a view of the majestic volcano Mauna Kea, Hawai‘i’s highest point. Great expanses of green lawn create a unique open landscape where visitors can stroll on curving paths, cross tide-fed ponds on authentic Japanese bridges, and rest at the numerous benches and gazebos to contemplate the serene beauty of the gardens. From the gardens, visitors can see the sunrise and watch early morning fishermen casting their lines into the waters of Hilo Bay.
On the grounds of the Lili‘uokalani Gardens is a traditional Japanese teahouse called Shoroan. Donated by the fifteenth grandmaster of the Urasenke School of Tea in Japan, the teahouse is used for tea ceremonies. The gardens, managed by Hawai‘i County’s Department of Parks & Recreation, are free and open seven days a week year-round.
Art director Greg Breeding designed the stamp with original art by Dan Cosgrove.
Stamp Art Director, Stamp Designer
Greg Breeding
Greg Breeding is a graphic designer and principal of Journey Group, a design company he co-founded in 1992, located in Charlottesville, Virginia. He was creative director until 2013, at which time he began serving as president and continued in that role through 2023.
Breeding’s fascination with modernism began while studying design at Virginia Commonwealth University. His affinity with the movement continues and motivates his ongoing advanced studies at the Basel School of Design in Switzerland most every summer.
As an art director for postage stamp design since 2012, Breeding has designed more than 100 stamps covering a diverse array of subjects, from Star Wars droids and Batman to Harlem Renaissance writers and the transcontinental railroad.
His work has been recognized in annual design competitions held by Graphis, AIGA, PRINT magazine, and Communication Arts.
Breeding lives in North Garden, Virginia, with his wife and enjoys nothing so much as frolicking on the floor with his grandchildren.
Stamp Artist and Typographer
Dan Cosgrove
A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Dan Cosgrove graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1978 with a major in graphic design. After briefly working for the National Park Service in Denver and as a designer at Cato Johnson in Cincinnati, Cosgrove moved to Chicago in 1980 and began a freelance career in digital and traditional illustration.
Cosgrove's designs have appeared in numerous ads, posters, covers, and on packaging. Recent clients include Cunard Line, Dunlop Tire, Fiat, J P Morgan Chase, Miller Brewing Company, Netflix, The New York Times, Shell Oil company, SohoPress, and The Wall Street Journal. In recognition of his work Cosgrove has received awards from Communications Arts and the Society of Illustrators (Gold Medal).
The 2008 Express Mail® and Priority Mail® stamps featuring Mount Rushmore and Hoover Dam were Cosgrove's first projects for the U.S. Postal Service. Since then, Cosgrove has illustrated 27 additional Express Mail and Priority Mail Express stamps. Recent designs include Florida Everglades (Priority Mail) (2023), Great Smoky Mountains (Priority Mail Express) (2023), Monument Valley (Priority Mail) (2022), and Palace of Fine Arts (Priority Mail Express) (2022). He also created the stamp art for USS Missouri (2019).
Cosgrove and his wife live in Clarendon Hills, Illinois.