# 2280b - 1988 25c Flag Over Yosemite, Error

U.S. #2280b
1988 25¢ Flag Over Yosemite, coil
Imperforate Error Pair with Block Tagging

• Scarce Imperforate Error Pair
• 16^th face-difference American Flag definitive stamp

Stamp Category:  Definitive
Series:  US Flags
Value:  25¢, first-class rate
First Day of Issue:  May 20, 1988
First Day City:  Yosemite National Park, California
Quantity Issued:  Several thousand pairs known
Printed by:  Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method:  Engraved
Format:  Coils of 100, 500, and 3,000
Perforations:  Imperforate

Why the stamp was issued:  To pay the first-class rate.  It was also part of a USPS response to customer comments asking for more “colorful and creative” stamps.”

About the stamp design:  Peter Cocci illustrated the image on this stamp, picturing the US flag waving above Yosemite’s Half Dome.  The dome is printed in blue above a blue-green forest of ponderosa pine trees next to the Merced River.

About the printing process:  The initial run of stamps was printed on the B press in 500- and 3,000 stamp coils.  Additional stamps were later printed in coils of 100 on the C press.  The only way to tell the stamps apart is by the location of the plate numbers.  It appears at 48-stamp intervals on the C press and 52-stamp intervals on the B press.

First Day City:  The First Day ceremony for this stamp was held in front of the post office at Yosemite National Park, with a picturesque waterfall behind the ceremony.

Unusual fact about this stamp:  This imperforate error can be identified by the tagging.  2280b has rectangular block tagging covering just the design.  2280c was printed on prephosphored paper with tagging that covers the entire stamp.

About US Flag Stamps:  The American flag first appeared as a smaller element of a US stamp on the 1869 Eagle and Shield Pictorial (US #121).  A handful of stamps in the coming years included the flag in much the same way.  Then, on July 4, 1957, the US Post Office issued its first stamp with the American flag as the central element (US #1094).  It was also the first stamp printed by the Giori press, which allowed the design to be printed in its natural colors in one step.

Upon hearing the news, some collectors and citizens were outraged.  Because the stamps would be canceled, they saw it as disrespectful.  They flooded the post office with angry letters citing American legal code that prohibited the reproduction of “the national emblem for disloyal or commercial purposes.”  Conversely, many people were also happy about the stamp, praising its beautiful colors and patriotic design.  The Post Office stated the stamp was meant to be a reminder of America’s heritage and hard-won liberty.

The stamp proved popular and was followed by two more commemoratives featuring updated 49- and 50-star flags in 1959 and 1960, respectively.  Then in 1963, the Post Office started a new tradition.  Nearly every year since, there’s been at least one definitive picturing the US flag.  For many years, it was the flag “over” something such as a national landmark.  Over time, the USPS has grown creative to find new ways to celebrate the American flag every year with a different design.

History the stamp represents:  On October 1, 1890, Yosemite National Park was officially established.

The first humans to visit the Yosemite area arrived about 10,000 years ago, and it was first settled around 3,000 years ago.  By 1200 AD, the area’s main inhabitants were the Sierra Miwoks, though other Miwok, Monos, and Shoshone tribes visited often to trade.

Among the early white visitors was Jim Savage, who ran a mining camp on the Merced River, about 10 miles west of the Yosemite Valley.  In December 1850, Native Americans raided his camp and several others, then retreated back to the mountains.  The following year, the California governor organized the 200-man Mariposa Battalion to stop the raids.  Jim Savage was placed in charge of the battalion and entered the west end of the Yosemite Valley while following a band of Ahwahneechee led by Chief Tenaya.  Letters and articles written by members of the battalion during and after the battle helped bring attention to the little-known valley.

Eventually, the battalion captured Tenaya’s tribe, and they were escorted to a reservation.  Accompanying the battalion was Doctor Lafayette Bunnell, who named several of Yosemite Valley’s features, including the valley itself.  He chose to name the valley after a local tribe the Sierra Miwoks feared, the Yooh’meti.  Bunnell and Savage pronounced it “Yosemite” and translated it as “full-grown grizzly bear.”  Later, more accurate translations found it meant, “they are killers,” referring to the violent tribe who called themselves the Ahwahneechee.

In 1855, entrepreneur James Mason Hutchings and artist Thomas Ayres toured the area with two Native American guides.  Hutchings wanted to see the valley after hearing stories from the Mariposa Battalion about a waterfall “nearly a thousand feet tall.”  Upon reaching Inspiration Point, Hutchings wrote in his journal, “We came upon a high point clear of trees from whence we had our first view of the singular and romantic valley; and as the scene opened in full view before us, we were almost speechless with wondering admiration at its wild and sublime grandeur.”

Upon their return, Hutchings wrote several articles and books and Ayres’ sketches were the first accurate drawings of several park features.  Hutchings returned to the valley several times, writing more articles and books.  He began publishing Hutchings’ Illustrated California Magazine, hoping to establish himself as the voice of the Yosemite Valley.

In the mid-1850s, Galen Clark became one of the first Americans to live in the valley.  He discovered the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoia in Wawona, a Native camp in the Yosemite Valley, and spent the rest of his life trying to protect it.  Although Clark was not the first to see the trees, he was likely the first to count and measure them.

Within his first few years in the valley, Clark built a log cabin, constructed roads, and put up a bridge over the Merced River for visitors entering Yosemite.  At his cabin (known as Clark’s Station) he offered visitors shelter, meals, and a place to graze their horses.

Around 1860, Unitarian minister Thomas Starr King visited Yosemite and was amazed at the negative impact of settlement and commercial ventures on the land.  He published several articles in the Boston Evening Transcript promoting the establishment of Yosemite as a National Park.  He was likely the first person to spread this idea to a large audience.  Oliver Wendell Holmes and John Greenleaf Whittier were among his supporters.  Frederick Law Olmsted was so interested by his writing that he visited the valley in 1863 to see the damage for himself.

Others concerned about the valley’s safety included Galen Clark and Senator John Conness.  The work of these men, plus Olmsted, photos from Carleton Watkins, and geologic reports from an 1863 survey forced legislators to take action.  On June 30, 1864 President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill creating the Yosemite Grant.  This was the first time a park had been set aside specifically for preservation and public use by the federal government.  However, the Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoia Trees were made a California state park.

John Muir arrived in the Yosemite Valley in 1868 and was so taken with its natural beauty that he lived there for several years.  Growing concerned over the area’s protection, he frequently invited people to camp there with him to share his ideas on preservation.  One of these visitors was Robert Underwood Johnson, editor of The Century Magazine.  Johnson gave Muir a national audience for his writing.  Together, they lobbied Congress to establish Yosemite as a National Park.  On October 1, 1890, their efforts paid off, and President Benjamin Harrison officially declared Yosemite a National Park.  The Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove were added to the park in 1906.