This is the Purple Martin #9 Regular Water-Activated Gum (WAG) Forever® Stamped Envelope. It comes in either a pack of 5 or box of 500 envelopes.
Art director William J. Gicker designed the stamp, using illustrations created by artist Matthew Frey. The stamp art features a large illustration of a purple martin perching and a smaller illustration showing the bird in flight.
A favorite backyard bird, the purple martin (Progne subis) is the largest swallow in North America. In the eastern U.S., purple martins live almost exclusively in backyard birdhouses. Native Americans were the first to build houses for these acrobatic fliers, hanging up hollow gourds for them to nest in. Purple martins make excellent neighbors, as they devour many insects that people find annoying, such as flies, wasps, and stinkbugs. In 1831, renowned bird artist James John Audubon remarked, "Almost every country tavern has a martin box on the upper part of its sign-board; and I have observed that the handsomer the box, the better does the inn generally prove to be."
The Purple Martin Stamped Envelope is being issued as a Forever® stamped envelope. Its postage will always be equal to the value of the First-Class Mail one-ounce rate.
Made in America.
Issue Date: January 23, 2012
SKUs featured on this page: 210704, 210705, 210708
