Official State Flowers and Birds plus Wildflowers of the 50 States

State Flowers and Birds

The United States Postal Service created the definitive renderings of our 50 Official State Flowers and Birds with the classic 50-stamp issue of “State Birds and Flowers.” On April 14, 1982, these 50 beautiful stamps were introduced in Washington, DC and at all 50 State Capitals simultaneously.

Wildflowers of the 50 States

Ten years later, the postal service introduced another now-classic set of 50 stamps highlighting American wildflowers, one for each state. These beautiful stamps were released at Columbus, Ohio, on July 24, 1992.

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About the State Birds and Flowers Series: "I have never been more proud of any stamps than the ones we are issuing today..." said U.S. Postmaster General William F. Bolger, referring to this classic issue. The exquisite bird and flower art was done by famous wildlife painter Arthur Singer and his son, Alan. It was a huge project for all involved, and this issue has proven to be one of the most popular in postal history.

About the Wildflowers of the 50 States Series: This elaborate project involved choosing a wildflower species known to grow in each state and then creating a painting of it in the wild. Renowned nature painter Gordon Beningfield did the fifty pieces of artwork, and created a very popular issue of 50 stamps.

About the Artwork and First Day Covers shown on the State Pages:  American Meadows Inc. was among the charter subscribers for the specially-commissioned, limited edition engravings and First Day Covers for both of these classic stamp releases at the times of their original issues. Complete sets of the engravings are in the wildflower reference library at the American Meadows office in Williston, Vermont.

First Day Covers of new stamp issues are collected by many stamp collectors, and issues like the ones shown have been designed and produced since the 1920s by The Fleetwood Company, a division of Unicover, Inc. They feature the fine artworks commissioned by the USPS for United States stamps. First Day covers for recent years are available at Mystic Stamp/Fleetwood's website.

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