On April 10, 1999, the Postal Service issued the Fruit Berries, a group of 33-cent multicolored self-adhesive definitives, se-tenant with four designs: blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries. The stamps were issued in three formats: a convertible booklet of twenty, a booklet of fifteen, and a coil, in rolls of one hundred. The stamps incorporated a “1999” year date in the lower left corner below the design.
The cyan, magenta, yellow, and black Blackberries (Scott 3297) self-adhesive stamp (convertible booklet) was printed for the Banknote Corporation of America by Guilford Gravure on a Cerutti 8/C gravure press and distributed in booklets of twenty, three stamps across and seven down on the pane, including a label in the lower right corner. Gravure printing cylinders of twenty-one subjects were used to print the stamps. One set of four cylinder numbers preceded by the letter ‘B’ appears on the first peel-off strip. The stamp has die-cut simulated serpentine 11¼ x 11½ perforations cut on an Innotech rotary die cutter.
The cyan, magenta, yellow, and black Blackberries (Scott 3301) self-adhesive stamp was also printed for the Banknote Corporation of America by Guilford Gravure on a Cerutti 8/C gravure press and distributed in booklets of fifteen, two stamps across and eight down on the pane, including a label in the lower right corner. Gravure printing cylinders of three hundred subjects were used to print the stamps. One set of four cylinder numbers preceded by the letter ‘B’ appears on the first peel-off strip. The stamp has die-cut simulated serpentine perforations, 9½ x 10 on two or three sides of each stamp, cut on an Innotech rotary die cutter.
The magenta, yellow, cyan, and black Blackberries (Scott 3304) coil self-adhesive stamp was also printed for the Banknote Corporation of America by Guilford Gravure on a Cerutti 8/C gravure press and distributed in rolls of one hundred. Gravure printing cylinders of 384 subjects were used to print the stamps. One set of four cylinder numbers preceded by the letter ‘B’ appears centered in the bottom selvage on every 12th stamp, which is always a Blackberry stamp. The stamp has vertical die-cut simulated serpentine 8½ perforations cut on a George Schmidt rotary die cutter. The sequence of the four designs on the roll is Blackberry-Strawberry-Blueberry-Raspberry.
On June 16, 2000, USPS issued the Fruit Berries in a fourth format, a linerless roll of one hundred self-adhesive stamps with horizontal die-cut simulated serpentine perforations. The stamps incorporated a “2000” year date in the lower left corner of the design. The Fruit Berries were the first regularly issued horizontal U.S. coil stamps since the 3-cent Francis Parkman (Scott 1297) Prominent American stamp in 1975.
The magenta, yellow, cyan, and black Blackberries (Scott 3406) coil self-adhesive stamp was printed by Guilford Gravure on a Cerutti 8/C gravure press and distributed in rolls of one hundred. Gravure printing cylinders of 384 subjects were used to print the stamps. One set of four cylinder numbers preceded by the letter ‘G’ appears on every 12th stamp--always a Blackberry stamp--along the right-side straight edge, reading bottom to top. The stamp has vertical die-cut simulated serpentine 8½ perforations cut on a George Schmidt rotary die cutter. The sequence of the four designs on the roll is Strawberry- Blackberry-Raspberry- Blueberry.
The blackberry is a widespread and well known shrub growing to 10 feet and producing a soft-bodied fruit. The blackberry has dense arching stems carrying short, curved, very sharp spines. It grows at fast daily rates in woods, scrub, hillsides, and hedgerows, colonizing large areas in a relatively short time. It has palmate leaves of three to five leaflets with flowers of white or pink, ripening to a black or dark purple fruit, the blackberry.
The Blackberry is the official state fruit of Alabama (2004) and Kentucky (2004).
References:
Linn’s U.S. Stamp Yearbook 1999
Linn’s U.S. Stamp Yearbook 2000
Scott 2005 Specialized Catalogue of U.S. Stamps and Covers
