# 3025 - 1996 32c Winter Garden Flowers: Crocus

US #3025
1996 Crocus

• One of five designs showing flowers that bloom in winter
• From last stamps in Garden Flower series

Category of Stamp:  Commemorative
Set:  Garden Flowers
Value:  32¢, First-Class mail rate
First Day of Issue:  January 19, 1996
First Day City:  Kennett Square, Pennsylvania
Quantity Issued:  160,000,000
Printed by:  Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Lithographed and Engraved
Format:  Booklets of 20 (4 panes of 5) from offset printing plate of 360 (20 across, 18 down) and intaglio sleeves of 720 (20 across, 36 down)
Perforations:  10.9

Reason the stamp was issued:  This was the last booklet in a series picturing garden flowers in different seasons.  It fulfilled the First-Class postage rate.

About the stamp design:  These stamps, like the others in this series, were created as a continuous se-tenant, so they look to be growing in the same garden.  The flowers were chosen because they bloom in the winter somewhere in the US.  They include: the anemone, crocus, pansy, snowdrop, and winter aconite.
All the stamps in this series were designed by Ned Seidler, a nature artist who had worked for National Geographic magazine for 18 years.  He created a single watercolor painting of the garden scene, which was used for the five-stamp set. 

Special design details:  Because all of the plant species shown on the stamps grow close to the ground, the dirt can be seen on the bottom of the stamps.  The other stamps in the series don’t have the dirt showing.

About the printing process:  Most of the stamps’ images were printed using offset lithography.  The black lettering was done with intaglio engraving.

First Day City:  The stamps were dedicated at a ceremony at the Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.  These gardens contain world-renown horticultural displays.

About The Garden Flower Series:

On May 15, 1993, the USPS issued the first installment in the Garden Flower Series, which would honor flowers that bloom in each of the four seasons.

This series was borne out of the 1992 Wildflowers issue.  Initially, that project had begun when the USPS asked an artist to produce color sketches of a group of garden flowers.  Instead, the artist gave the USPS illustrations of wildflowers.  The USPS liked them so much, they decided to create a 50-stamp pane, showing wildflowers that can be found in each state.

The USPS still liked the garden flowers idea and felt it would also meet consumer demand.  Part of the push behind these stamps had come from the sale of stamps in supermarkets and other retailers.  People had reported that they wanted “bright, pretty American stamps,” so the USPS thought that flower booklets might please the public.  They ran TV commercials and full-page advertisements in stamp publications announcing “The flowers are in bloom at your post office.  Buy them while they last!” and “Pick up a bunch.”  The Garden Flowers booklet was the first to be produced on the new Goebel booklet machine, which was the first to print multicolor covers.

The stamps were issued on May 15, 1993, in Spokane, Washington at the 55th annual Spokane Lilac Festival and International Lilac Society Convention.  A USPS representative said, “These are supposed to be refreshing, happy stamps that are colorful and bright.”  Though they didn’t announce it at the time, these stamps were to be the first in a new series of seasonal flower booklets.

The second booklet in the series was issued on April 28, 1994, at the Greater Cincinnati, Ohio, Flower and Garden Show.  It featured summer garden flowers.  Some people took issue with one of the stamps, which used the word “gladiola.”  A member of the Connecticut Gladiolus Society sent a letter to the postmaster general saying that “The correct name is gladiolus, not gladiola.  The word gladiolus, singular and plural, has been accepted for more than 50 years by all the local gladiolus societies in the United States and by the North American Gladiolus Council.”  The USPS responded that they had simply chosen to go with the more popular “gladiola.”

The third booklet in the series was issued on September 19, 1995, at the Quail Botanical Gardens in Encinitas, California.  This booklet featured fall blooms, though some people noted that depending on where you live in the country, some of these flowers could grow in the summer or even the spring.  One USPS representative responded that “The idea with this series was to show a grouping of flowers that would be together somewhere in a garden at the same time.  It’s not scientific.  It’s meant to be more for mass-market appeal, as opposed to botanical.”

The final booklet in the series was issued on January 19, 1996, in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.  The flowers selected for these stamps are the hardiest plants that grow anywhere in the country that experiences winter weather.

History the stamp represents:  Native to Spain, North Africa, and Mediterranean regions, the crocus has been used for centuries. A scroll from 1552 B.C. was found listing the medicinal uses of crocus, and a jug decorated with crocuses and dating back to 1500 B.C. was uncovered in Crete.
A popular garden flower, the crocus is the subject of many stories about its origin. According to Greek mythology, Mercury created the flower from Crocus, Europa’s son, whom Mercury accidentally killed. Another legend tells of the youth Crocus who was deeply in love with Smilax. Rejected by Smilax, Crocus begged the gods to help him. Taking pity on him, the gods changed him into a lovely flower.
Cultivated crocus are the source of the valuable herb saffron. Even today, the price of saffron is more than $4.50 for one fortieth of an ounce, which is a little less than $3000 for a pound! However, it takes over 4,000 crocus blossoms to make an ounce of saffron. At one time, dye made from the stigma was also quite valuable. Symbolizing wealth, the golden cloth was worn by aristocrats and noblemen. During his reign however, King Henry VIII outlawed sheets made from the golden cloth. His reasoning: white sheets were washed more often, making them more sanitary.