Iowa State students will be seeing more of the famous Iowa-native painter Grant Wood’s work in a slightly smaller depiction than Parks Library’s giant mural.

The Iowa Sesquicentennial stamp was unveiled Tuesday by Gov. Terry Branstad, Iowa Sesquicentennial Commission (ISC) Chairman and former governor Robert Ray and Postal Service officials. The stamp commemorates Iowa’s 150th birthday as a state and will be available in Dubuque Aug. 1, 1996 and nationwide Aug. 2.

The stamp depicts Wood’s “Young Corn.”

The stamp selection process took a lot of time, said Steven Courtright, acting Des Moines Postmaster.

Stamp designs for the new year are traditionally unveiled in Washington. For the first time the stamp program was unveiled in a three-day series of unveilings in 11 cities across the United States from November 7-9.

“We were very excited that Des Moines was chosen as one of the unveiling sites,” said Amelia Morris, ISC public relations director.

Dubuque was chosen as the first-issue site because it was one of Iowa’s first incorporated towns, Courtright said.

“Not only will there be a special stamp in honor of Iowa, but there will also be a special stamp cancellation used across the state,” Morris said. The cancellation stamp, which is run across the postage stamp during letter processing, will feature a picture yet to be determined and will say “Iowa Sesquicentennial.”

The first day of issue is important to stamp collectors, said the owner of Stamps and Stuff in West Des Moines, Barbara Koepp.

Two to three weeks before the first day of issue one can purchase an envelope with an emblem on it relating to the specific stamp, Koepp said.

“If you won’t be in Dubuque on Aug. 1 you can mail the envelope to Dubuque to be stamped with the first-day issue date,” Koepp said. “The only cost is return postage.”