George Washington - Yellow - Gilbert Stuart - 1795

The stamp is yellow in color. The sides and top are slightly indented along the center and are bordered by a narrow panel having dark center and white edges. In the upper part, overlapping the border at the top and sides is a narrow white edged panel with double curve and small acanthus scrolls at each end containing in two lines the words "United States postage" in white Roman letters on a dark background. The panel is widened at the center to provide space for "Postage." In the center of the stamp is a large oval with white edge and dark ground inclosing the portrait of Washington taken from a painting by Gilbert Stuart in 1795, now in the possession of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Within the oval under the portrait is a narrow curved panel with white edge and dark ground containing in Gothic lettering the name "Washington" in the center and the dates on each side, "1732" at the left and "1932" at the right. In each lower corner is a white edged panel, slightly shield-shaped on the bottom line, in which appears the numeral "1" in white Roman on a dark background. At the base of the stamp in a horizontal line is the word "Cents" in white Roman letters on a dark background.

In cooperation with the national celebration of the two hundredth anniversary of the birth of George Washington, the Department authorized a special series of 12 postage stamps in denominations of ½ cent to 10 cents, inclusive, to be kept on sale in post offices throughout the anniversary period in lieu of the regular series of stamps.

The stamps are of regulation size, 0.75 by 0.87 inch in dimension, arranged vertically, and have as the central designs portraits of Washington modeled from the works of noted artists