About This Stamp
The 2009 Express Mail stamp features Old Faithful Geyser, one of the most popular attractions at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. Old Faithful is one of more than 150 active geysers located in the park's Upper Geyser Basin. It received its name from members of the 1870 Washburn Expedition to the region, who noted the large size and apparent consistency of the geyser's eruptions.
A geyser is a type of hot spring. As water underground is heated by molten rock, it rises to the surface, where the geyser's narrow vent restricts the water's circulation. Pressure builds underground until the geyser erupts, throwing forth a powerful burst of hot water and steam. There are two types of geysers. Fountain geysers usually erupt from a pool of water. Cone geysers, like Old Faithful, shoot a narrow and steady jet of water from a cone-shaped mound at the surface.
Yellowstone National Park straddles Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho and is home to several hundred geysers. Old Faithful is not the largest geyser in the park, but its eruptions are more frequent than other large geysers and have been carefully observed for decades. This has resulted in a vast accumulation of data that makes it possible to devise formulas to attempt to predict its eruptions. Nevertheless, Old Faithful can surprise everyone with completely unexpected behavior from time to time.
According to the National Park Service, Old Faithful lies dormant for an average of 90 minutes between eruptions; however, even this average figure varies from month to month and year to year. Each eruption — which can last from more than one minute up to five minutes — throws 3,700 to 8,400 gallons of boiling water into the air at a height of 106 to 184 feet. The length of the eruption, as well as its height and volume, changes daily.
Stamp Art Director
Carl T. Herrman
As an art director for the U.S. Postal Service® for more than 15 years, Carl T. Herrman designed more than 50 stamps and guided more than 250 stamp projects, including Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Humphrey Bogart, and Comic Strip Classics. He also served as art director for five of the Celebrate the Century stamp panes. He has won more than 260 awards for design and design management, including two gold medals from the Society of Illustrators.
Herrman’s career has included positions as Director of Creative Services and adjunct professor at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, and Director of Marketing and Publications for the University of California at Irvine. He has provided consulting services for the Smithsonian Institution, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and numerous academic institutions. Herrman lives in Carlsbad,California.
Stamp Artist
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.