About This Stamp
Known by several nicknames — the Silver State, the Battle Born State, the Sagebrush State — Nevada became the 36th state on October 31, 1864. The U.S. Postal Service® joins the celebration of Nevada's 150th anniversary with a stamp showcasing one of the state's many hauntingly beautiful landscapes.
Artist Ron Spears, a Nevada resident, created the stamp art, which depicts a close-up view of an area in Fire Canyon, part of Valley of Fire, Nevada's oldest state park. Captured by Spears at dawn, the sandstone formations glow in shades of brilliant reds and yellows—a result of various quantities of iron in the rock — highlighted by deep purple and blue shadows. The colors contrast dramatically with the whiteness of the silica in the foreground.
The Nevada Territory, part of the land transferred to the U.S. at the end of the Mexican-American War, moved rapidly toward statehood after the Civil War began in 1861. Overwhelmingly approved by the territory’s voters on September 7, 1864, the Nevada constitution was relayed to Washington, D.C., via telegraph at the cost of more than $4,000 — around $59,000 in today's dollars. President Abraham Lincoln declared the territory a state on October 31.
Nevada is a study in contrasts. It takes its name from the Spanish word for "snow-capped," reflecting the higher mountain ranges where the snow remains year round, yet a vast portion of the state is desert. Home to glitzy Las Vegas in the south, Nevada shares the pristine waters and forested slopes of Lake Tahoe with California in the north. Forests cover more than 12 percent of Nevada, but it is the driest state in the U.S., with only 7.5 inches of precipitation annually. The vast majority of the state’s population lives in cities and towns, yet Nevada has a history that reflects the frontier spirit of the American West.
Nevada's state symbols reflect its rich natural treasures and diverse landscapes. The state bird is the mountain bluebird, which thrives in the high country. The single-leaf piñon, which grows in rocky soil, and the bristlecone pine, which grows at higher elevations, are the state trees. The desert is home to the state flower, the sagebrush (Artemisia tridentate), which flourishes in arid environments. The desert bighorn sheep, the state animal, thrives in Nevada's mountainous desert country.
Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamp using original art by Ron Spears.
The Nevada Statehood stamp is being issued as a Forever® stamp. This Forever stamp will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail® one-ounce rate.
Stamp Art Director, Stamp Designer
Antonio Alcalá
Antonio Alcalá served on the Postmaster General’s Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee from 2010 until 2011, when he left to become an art director for the U.S. Postal Service's stamp development program.
He is founder and co-owner of Studio A, a design practice working with museums and arts institutions. His clients include: the National Gallery of Art, Library of Congress, National Portrait Gallery, National Museum of Women in the Arts, The Phillips Collection, and Smithsonian Institution. He also lectures at colleges including the Corcoran College of Art + Design, SVA, Pratt, and MICA.
In 2008, his work and contributions to the field of graphic design were recognized with his selection as an AIGA Fellow. He has judged international competitions for the Society of Illustrators, American Illustration, AIGA, and Graphis. Alcalá also serves on the Smithsonian National Postal Museum and Poster House Museum’s advisory councils. His designs are represented in the AIGA Design Archives, the National Postal Museum, and the Library of Congress Permanent Collection of Graphic Design.
Alcalá graduated from Yale University with a BA in history and from the Yale School of Art with an MFA in graphic design. He lives with his wife in Alexandria, Virginia.