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#1241
1963 5c John James Audubon
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U.S. #1241
5¢ John James Audubon
American Painting Series
Issue Date: December 7, 1963
City: Henderson, KY
Quantity: 175,175,000
Printed by: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Giori Press
Perforations: 11
Color: Dark blue and multicolored
The third stamp in the American Painting Series, U.S. #1241 honors John James Audubon.
The design reproduces Audubon's own painting of the Columbia Jay — now known as Steller's Jay — from his landmark work The Birds of America, rendered here in rich blues, greens, and earth tones against a cream background. The inscription "Audubon, American Artist" appears in flowing script alongside the two birds perched on a leafy branch. The stamp was printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing using a combination of engraving and lithography, giving the design a depth and richness that sets it apart from many stamps of the era.
John James Audubon was born in 1785 in Haiti and raised partly in France before emigrating to the United States as a young man. He settled first in Pennsylvania and later made his way into the American frontier, spending years traveling through the South and Midwest to observe and paint birds in their natural habitats. His working method was distinctive — he wired freshly killed birds into lifelike poses and painted them life-size, resulting in illustrations of extraordinary energy and anatomical detail. Between 1827 and 1838 he published The Birds of America in four large volumes, containing 435 hand-colored aquatint engravings. The work was produced in London because no American printer had the capacity to produce it at the scale Audubon required.
Audubon died in 1851, but his influence on American art and natural history has never faded. The National Audubon Society, founded in 1905 in his honor, remains one of the most active bird conservation organizations in the world. The 1963 stamp captures his legacy beautifully, reproducing the vivid color and lifelike composition of his original paintings in miniature.
U.S. #1241
5¢ John James Audubon
American Painting Series
Issue Date: December 7, 1963
City: Henderson, KY
Quantity: 175,175,000
Printed by: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Giori Press
Perforations: 11
Color: Dark blue and multicolored
The third stamp in the American Painting Series, U.S. #1241 honors John James Audubon.
The design reproduces Audubon's own painting of the Columbia Jay — now known as Steller's Jay — from his landmark work The Birds of America, rendered here in rich blues, greens, and earth tones against a cream background. The inscription "Audubon, American Artist" appears in flowing script alongside the two birds perched on a leafy branch. The stamp was printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing using a combination of engraving and lithography, giving the design a depth and richness that sets it apart from many stamps of the era.
John James Audubon was born in 1785 in Haiti and raised partly in France before emigrating to the United States as a young man. He settled first in Pennsylvania and later made his way into the American frontier, spending years traveling through the South and Midwest to observe and paint birds in their natural habitats. His working method was distinctive — he wired freshly killed birds into lifelike poses and painted them life-size, resulting in illustrations of extraordinary energy and anatomical detail. Between 1827 and 1838 he published The Birds of America in four large volumes, containing 435 hand-colored aquatint engravings. The work was produced in London because no American printer had the capacity to produce it at the scale Audubon required.
Audubon died in 1851, but his influence on American art and natural history has never faded. The National Audubon Society, founded in 1905 in his honor, remains one of the most active bird conservation organizations in the world. The 1963 stamp captures his legacy beautifully, reproducing the vivid color and lifelike composition of his original paintings in miniature.
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