Winterthur Featured on U.S. Postal Service American Garden Stamp Series

The Winterthur stamp, above, features the reflecting pond in the Marian Coffin-designed formal garden./Photos courtesy of the U.S. Postal Service

The stamp commemorates the formal garden’s Reflecting Pool surrounded by lush azaleas, designed by Marian Coffin.

Among northern Delaware’s many Instagram-worthy locations, Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library stands out for its architecture, immaculately maintained gardens and expansive collection of antiques.

That photo-friendliness has been documented for decades on rolls of film, phones and memory cards, but only recently has been celebrated in a way that reaches anyone who needs to mail a letter. The U.S. Postal Service has immortalized Winterthur alongside nine other botanic, municipal and public spaces in its American Gardens series, issued May 13.

Other gardens featured include Brooklyn Botanic Garden, left, and Alfred P. Maclay Gardens State Park./Courtesy of the U.S. Postal Service

Winterthur is the former estate of Henry Francis du Pont, who, along with being one of the scions of the DuPont chemical empire, was a horticulturalist with a remarkable green thumb. He put it to use on a grand scale, personally designing the estate’s 70 acres of gardens to reflect distinctive color schemes, palettes and collections of plants.

“Winterthur is extraordinarily pleased to be so honored by the Postal Service and grateful that it will share the beauty of our historic gardens with the nation,” says Carol B. Cadou, the Charles B. Montgomery director and CEO of Winterthur. “I believe our founder, Henry Francis du Pont, would have been very proud to have Americans everywhere see his stunning landscape designs.”

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The Winterthur image chosen for the stamp series and taken by photographer Allen Rokach shows the reflecting pool, surrounded by blooming azaleas, in the formal garden designed by du Pont friend Marian Coffin, “a true trailblazer and the first woman in this country to own a landscape architecture firm,” says Mark Nardone, Winterthur’s communications manager. “We are delighted to have an extra special reason to celebrate her in this Year of the Woman.”

Among the other gardens represented are Biltmore Estate Gardens in Asheville, North Carolina; Brooklyn Botanic Garden in New York City; The Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California; and Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens in Akron, Ohio.

“The Winterthur garden is Mr. du Pont’s masterwork, so it is a remarkable artifact,” says Chris Strand, director of garden and estate at Winterthur. “We manage it carefully to preserve the design intent and skill of Mr. du Pont and the many staff who have cared for it for over a century, and we love sharing that vision with visitors every day.”

To purchase the American Gardens stamp series, visit your nearest U.S. Post Office or usps.com/shopstamps. Published as “First-Class Postage” in the July 2020 issue of Delaware Today magazine.