The Postal Service will release its Women’s Rowing stamps on May 13.
The Forever stamps will come in panes of 20 and feature two designs: one with rowers stroking forward and the other, backward.
The two stamp designs are placed in five alternating rows on the pane, one stroking forward, the next back, giving an overall impression of movement on the water. The selvage sets the scene with a watery backdrop and a coxswain at the beginning of each row.
The stamps follow the March release of Title IX, a stamp honoring the law mandating equal treatment for women in education at federally funded institutions.
Female rowers in the United States distinguished themselves as soon as they had the chance. In their first Olympic competition in 1976, the U.S. women’s team won bronze.
The team’s next games were in 1984 (the United States boycotted the Summer Olympics in 1980), where they won gold — a feat the team replicated in 2008, 2012 and 2016.
Nancy Stahl illustrated and designed the stamps and Ethel Kessler was the art director.
The Women’s Rowing stamps will be available at usps.com and at Post Offices nationwide.
