“Bonsai is an art form that stems from ancient, oriental culture and the art of the Bonsai is a rare form of beauty and craftsmanship which takes a lot of care and patience,” Al Santos said in dedicating the stamps.

For each stamp design, artist John D. Dawson of Hilo, HI, painted a particular style of bonsai under the direction of art director Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, MD. 



The stamps, from left to right are: a Sierra juniper in semi-cascade style; a trident maple in informal upright style; a black pine in formal upright style; an azalea plant in multiple-trunk style; and, a banyan in cascade style. The plants depicted are roughly 15 to 20 inches tall.

For centuries, bonsai have served as objects of contemplation and meditation, as well as for decoration. According to Utsubo monogatari (The Tale of the Hollow Tree), a Japanese literary work dating from around a thousand years ago, “a tree that is left growing in its natural state is a crude thing. It is only when it is kept close to human beings who fashion it with loving care that its shape and style acquire the ability to move one.”