About This Stamp
Two 29-cent Wood Duck booklet stamps were issued on April 12, 1990, at the Colopex '91 stamp show in Columbus, Ohio. The booklets of two panes of 10 stamps were produced by two different contractors, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and KCS Industries. This was the first time the United States Postal Service employed two printers for a stamp in a single format.
The magenta, cyan, yellow, and black stamp was designed by Robert Giusti, printed on the Bureau of Engraving and Printing seven-color Andreotti gravure press (601), and distributed in two panes of 10 horizontal stamps, five stamps across and two down on the pane. Gravure printing cylinders with 480 subjects were used to print the stamp. Cylinder markings are printed on each pane stub binding. The stamp was perforated 10 on the Goebel booklet machine stroke perforator.
The KCS Industries stamp was printed on the Champlain gravure presses at J.W. Fergusson, formatted in two panes of 10 horizontal stamps, five stamps across and two down on the pane. Line red was used to print the "29 USA" logo, in contrast to the Bureau version of the stamp with the logo in black. Gravure printing cylinders with 400 subjects were used to print the stamp. One group of five cylinder numbers preceded by the letter 'K' was printed on each pane stub binding. The stamp was perforated 11.
The wood duck (Aix sponsa) is a medium-sized perching duck. The adult male has distinctive multi-colored iridescent plumage and red eyes. The female, less colorful, has a white eye-ring and a whitish throat. Both have crested heads. The duck is approximately 19–21 inches long and weigh 16–30 ounces.
The ducks breed wooded swamps, shallow lakes, marshes, or ponds in eastern North America and the west coast of the United States. They usually nest in cavities in trees close to water. The wood duck is the only North American duck that regularly produces two broods in one year.
The wood duck is the state waterfowl of Mississippi.
Stamp Art Director
Derry Noyes
For more than 40 years Derry Noyes has designed and provided art direction for close to 800 United States postage stamps and stamp products. She holds a bachelor of arts degree from Hampshire College and a master of fine arts degree from Yale University.
Noyes worked as a graphics designer at Beveridge and Associates, a Washington, D.C., firm, until 1979 when she established her own design firm, Derry Noyes Graphics. Her clients have included museums, corporations, foundations, and architectural and educational institutions. Her work has been honored by American Illustration, the Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington, Communication Arts, Critique magazine, Graphis, Creativity International, and the Society of Illustrators.
Before becoming an art director for the U.S. Postal Service, she served as a member of the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee from 1981 to 1983.
Noyes is a resident of Washington, D.C.
Stamp Artist
Robert Giusti
Born in Switzerland and raised in New York City, Robert Giusti studied painting, sculpture, and graphics at the Tyler School of Fine Arts in Philadelphia and Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. The son of a graphic designer, Giusti grew up in an environment where expression of creativity was highly encouraged — the perfect atmosphere for a budding artist.
Giusti returned to New York after finishing school, finding success in the art world there. He began to work in advertising and publishing before setting out as a freelance illustrator and designer, gaining acclaim for his unique style. Some of the clients he has worked with throughout his career include United Airlines, Columbia Records, The New York Times, ExxonMobil, NBC, and TIME.
Since childhood, Giusti has had a fascination with animals, enamored with their simple, honest beauty that lends itself to imaginative recreations. His portfolio of stamps created for the U.S. Postal Service features an array of colorful wildlife. His love for abstract paintings and concepts has remained steadfast through the years.
Currently, Giusti is illustrating covers for Der Spiegel magazine, as well as their children's publications. His work has been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world, winning him silver and gold medals from the Society of Illustrators, among many others.
Giusti lives in Bridgewater, Connecticut, with his wife, Grace, and their two dogs, Lupo and Baci. Songbirds in Snow (2016), Songbirds (2014), and Tufted Puffins (2013) are his most recent projects for the Postal Service. Other designs by Giusti include Cardinal (1991), Wild Animals (1992), Tropical Birds (1998), and Red Fox (1999).