Lewis and Clark Expedition

This special stamp was issued to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

The stamp is 0.84 by 1.44 inches in dimension, arranged horizontally with a single outline frame, printed by the rotary process in brown, electric-eye perforated and issued in sheets of 50.

The central design of the stamp portrays the landing of Lewis and Clark on the banks of the Missouri River preparatory to going into the expedition's winter quarters. The main figures, Lewis in the foreground and Clark directly behind him, are drawn from the Lewis and Clark Monument (Charles Keck, sculptor) in Charlottesville, Va.

Behind them stands the Shoshone Indian girl Sacagawea, taken from the statue of Sacagawea (Leonard Crunelle, sculptor) in the State Capital grounds at Bismarck, N. Dak. The Indian heroine accompanied Lewis and Clark on the expedition, and the Bird Woman, as she was known, is remembered chiefly for her aid in securing the friendship of the Shoshone Indians and in guiding the expedition over the Great Divide.

When Sacagawea reached the Great Divide she was reunited with the Shoshones from whom she had been kidnapped previously. It was through her efforts that Lewis and Clark were able to get ponies from the Shoshones to continue their overland journey. Behind Sacagawea is shown the figure of her husband, Charbonneau, a French Canadian trapper and interpreter. The keelboat shown in the middle foreground was drawn from the description as given in the book "Lewis and Clark" by John Bakeless.

The wording "Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1804, 1954" is arranged in two lines across the top of the stamp in dark modified Roman. Arranged across the bottom of the stamp in one line appears "United States Postage" in white-face Gothic and the denomination "3¢" in modified white-face Roman.

This stamp was first placed on sale at Sioux City, Iowa, on July 28, 1954.