About This Stamp
The Vibrant Leaves postcard stamps feature five different leaves in various stages of color.
Each stamp displays a single leaf from one tree species: from left, to right, a golden aspen, a variegated yellow and orange sassafras, a russet oak, a bright red maple, and a dark red sweetgum.
The aspen’s characteristic rustling sound comes from its long, flat leaf stalk which causes its silver-dollar sized leaves to flutter with the gentlest of winds. Part of the uniqueness of the sassafras tree is its smell: the citrusy leaves and stems; the cinnamon-scented bark; and roots that evoke a frothy root beer float on a hot summer day.
The mighty oak is an essential part of a forest’s ecosystem. Its acorns are important food sources for many types of wildlife, and its trunks and branches provide homes to hundreds of birds, insects, and animals.
Maple trees are prized for their sweet sap, which is then boiled and made into maple syrup. While all maples produce sap, sugar and black maples have the highest concentration of sugar, so they are most often used in maple sugar production.
Sweetgums, also known as redgums because of their reddish-colored bark, are named for the sweet-smelling resin they produce.
Art director Alcalá designed the stamps using existing photographs.
The word “POSTCARD” on the stamps indicates their usage value. Like a Forever® stamp, these stamps will always be valid for the rate printed on them.
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.