2003 37c Patriotic Flags

U.S. #3776-80
37¢ Patriotic Flags
Issue Date: April 3, 2003
City: New York, NY
Quantity: 60,000,000
Printed By: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd
Printing Method: Lithographed
Perforations: Serpentine Die Cut 10 x 9.75
Color: Multicolored

This stamp was issued on April 3, 2003, in New York City as one of five designs in the Old Glory set, part of the Postal Service's second prestige booklet, following the 2000 Submarines booklet as only the second issue of its kind. The Old Glory booklet ran twenty six pages and explored how the American flag motif has appeared throughout everyday American life over the years, from business and political materials to songbooks, postcards, playing cards, and folk art, with this particular stamp representing the folk art category within that broader theme.

The stamp reproduces a twentieth century folk art piece showing Uncle Sam pedaling a high wheel bicycle while carrying a small flag reading "Liberty." The original piece was crafted from cast iron with oak trim, giving the whimsical figure a solid, sculptural quality that translated well into the stamp's design. Uncle Sam has served as a personification of the United States government since the early nineteenth century, and folk artists of the twentieth century often reimagined the character in playful, everyday scenarios like this one, blending patriotic symbolism with a lighthearted sense of Americana.

This design was one of several images selected for the booklet by designer Richard Sheaff, chosen specifically to showcase the surprising range of contexts in which the flag and its related imagery have appeared throughout American history. Issued alongside four companion stamps depicting a presidential campaign badge, a woven silk bookmark, a folding fan, and a carved wooden figure of Lady Liberty, this stamp offers a charming and unexpected entry point into the broader story of how patriotic imagery has been woven into American folk art traditions.