Purple Martin Stamped Envelope

A favorite backyard bird, the largest swallow in North America now perches on the Purple Martin Stamped Envelope. Two colorful illustrations depict the bird resting on a branch and flying through the air. 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 stink bugs.

Art director William J. Gicker designed the stamps, using illustrations created by artist Matthew Frey.

The Purple Martin Stamped Envelope is being issued as a Forever® stamped envelope. As with Forever® stamps, the value of the postage on Forever® stamped envelopes is always equal to the value of the current First-Class Mail one-ounce rate.