The United States Postal Service continues its tradition of celebrating the American flag by issuing these stamps in sets of 20, 100, 3,000, and 10,000.
The four stamps depict the American flag flying majestically at different times of day. Despite the ever-changing shapes and colors of the clouds, the sun always shines upon the flag. These low-angle shots draw the eye to the wondrous spectacle of the sky. Illustrators used opaque watercolors to create these designs on canvas.
The design of the stars and stripes on the American flag dates back to June 14, 1777, when the Continental Congress mandated that the flag should have 13 horizontal stripes and 13 stars to commemorate the original 13 colonies. Except for the period from 1795 to 1818 when the flag had 15 stripes (representing the 15 states of the Union), all subsequent versions of the flag have maintained 13 stripes. The Flag Act of 1818 standardized the number of stripes to 13 and stipulated that a star be added for each new state. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation designating June 14th as Flag Day, a holiday officially recognized by Congress in 1949.
Since the creation of the first flag, the American flag has undergone 27 changes as more states joined the Union. The current flag was designed in 1959 when Hawaii became the 50th state, and this 50-star flag was officially adopted on July 4, 1960. The current flag design is the longest-used flag in American history.
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