United States, Scott #5781, used(o), 2023 booklet, Tulip Blossoms; based on close-up photography by Denise Ippolito; tulips are a member of the lily family; they originated as a wild flower in Central Asia; brought to Persia along the Silk Route in 10th century; in the 16th century, they were the rage in Constantinople; the word tulip derives from the Persian word for ‘turban’, an allusion to the flower’s bowl shape; carried by diplomats to western Europe, they became a favorite of the Dutch, who further developed and commercially cultivated the flower; even today, the tulip trade remains an important part of the Dutch economy; Dutch immigrants brought the bulb to America in the early 1600s, and is part of American gardens almost everywhere except the deep South; we now import more than one billion bulbs per year, issued as a booklet stamp at an individual forever value of (63 cents), offset lithography printed by the Banknote Corporation of America (BCA), non-water soluble serpentine die cut self-adhesives with a simulated perforation: 10¾x11, stamp is from either of two locations, middle top of the first panel next to the booklet label or middle top right in the second panel, each has the same configuration (imperforated at top, perforated at the right, left, and bottom - {IPPP}, thus two stamps of the twenty have this perforation configuration, larger size: 23x30¼mm, purple petals with a white base, Scott supplemental catalog value: 25¢, very slightly off-centered which is unusually good for a booklet stamp, light, black-inked, vertical, wavy line cancel over the right portion of the stamp and over the main image, good perforations; stamp was soaked from the mailing envelope using the Bestine solvent and placed on a piece of black trimmed card stock for an attractive album mounting; mounting and centering warrants a selling price premium. This is not a 'bait-and-switch;' the stamp you see will be the one you receive.
Please review my terms of sale. If you are not ordering from the United States, there is a $US1.55 additional postage expense that needs to be added to the price of the stamp. If you are ordering from the United States, there is only a $US0.68 added postage expense. Also, if you make additional purchases from my offerings, they can all go in one mailing at no extra shipping expense for the added purchases. I will send the purchase by US first class mail, since the relatively low value of the stamp does not warrant signature or tracking mail. Hence the buyer assumes risk of loss or non-delivery. I will keep a scan of my mailing to verify that the correct mailing address was used. If not satisfied, return the stamp to me at your own expense, and I will refund the cost, but not my postage to you. If the stamp is not as described, I will refund the cost and reimburse you for postage both ways.
By way of reference, I am an American Philatelic Society member (195176) and an American Stamp Dealers' Association (ASDA) member. Thank you for looking, and I hope this is the perfect stamp to fill that gap in your collection.
