About This Stamp
The American flag has long symbolized the strength and spirit of our nation. This U.S. Flag First-Class Mail® stamp features a detail of Emmanuel Faure's vivid photograph of a U.S. flag waving against the background of the sky.
On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress passed the Flag Act, stating that the U.S. flag should consist of 13 alternating red and white stripes and 13 white stars in a blue field. In 1818, Congress passed legislation stipulating that the number of stars on the American flag should match the number of states in the Union. There are 13 stripes and 50 stars on the current flag.
The words “USA FOREVER” are printed on the bottom of the stamp. Terrence W. McCaffrey was the art director of the project and Greg Breeding designed the stamp. The self-adhesive U.S. Flag First-Class Mail® stamp was issued in coils of 100 and in booklets of 10 and 20.
Stamp Art Director
Terrence W. McCaffrey
Terrence W. McCaffrey attended the Corcoran School of Art, majoring in graphic design. Prior to joining the U.S. Postal Service®, he was employed by a Bethesda-based computer firm, where he advanced from intern designer to Assistant Art Director.
McCaffrey joined the Post Office Department in 1970 as a designer in the Communications Department. His original duties included redesigning the employee magazine and all other corporate materials to reflect the new corporate identity that came into effect in 1971 when the Department became the U.S. Postal Service.
Over the next 20 years McCaffrey was responsible for the design of more than 300 lobby posters; promotional material for various services such as Express Mail and Priority Mail™; employee magazines, newsletters, and slide shows; and philatelic products.
In 1990, McCaffrey joined Stamp Services as a member of the stamp design team, also assuming responsibility for the design of all philatelic products. In 1992, he was named Creative Director for the Stamp Design group, with responsibility for all stamp and stationery design. McCaffrey was appointed Manager of the Stamp Development group in 2000. Among his responsibilities were stamp subject and design development, rights of publicity, philatelic products, the USA Philatelic catalog, the philatelic archives, and overseeing the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee.
During his long and productive career at the Postal Service™, McCaffrey served as art director for more than three-dozen issuances. He personally designed a number of U.S. postage stamps, including the Mars Pathfinder Souvenir Sheet; Raphael Cherubs (Love Series); the $2.90 Priority Mail Eagle; the $9.95 Express Mail Eagle; Interphil 76; Energy Conservation and Development; and Happy Birthday. He also co-designed the 15-stamp Star Wars issuance, five Art of Disney issuances, and the Send a Hello and Mail a Smile issuances.
McCaffrey retired in December 2010. He lives in New Braunfels, Texas.
Stamp Designer and Typographer
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.