U.S. #3898
37¢ Love Bouquet
Love Series Booklet Stamp
Issue Date: February 18, 2005
City: Atlanta, GA
Printing Method: Photogravure
Color: Multicolored
Like miniature pieces of fine art, flower designs have appeared on U.S. Love Series stamps since the series began in 1973.
On the 1982 20¢-Love stamp, letters made from flowers spell the word “LOVE.” Both the 25¢ and 45¢ values of the 1988 Love stamps feature the flower of love, the rose. A dove sits in the center of a red-rose heart on the 1994 29¢ Love stamp, while a pair of doves nestle in a basket of flowers on the 52¢ stamp.
The 1999 Victorian-style 33¢ and 55¢ Love stamps display floral hearts on lace doilies. A rosebud forms the “O” in “LOVE” on the 2001 Love stamps, valued at 34¢ and 55¢.
The rose, the traditional flower of Valentine’s Day, appears repeatedly in Love stamp motifs. It is among the oldest of cultivated flowers. Roses were used to symbolize love in ancient Greece as early as 750 B.C. More flowers are sold in the U.S. on Valentine’s Day than on any other holiday, and roses are the ones most often chosen.
In 2005, flowers take center stage once again on the 37¢-Love Series stamp. Artist Vivienne Flesher created the stamp design, using chalk pastels to draw a hand-held bouquet of vividly colored flowers.