The Mount Rushmore commemorative, issued August 11, 1952, honored the massive sculpture's 25th anniversary. Busts of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt appear in the sculpture, which is located in South Dakota's Black Hills. Gutzon Borglum (1867-1941) created the tribute from solid rock.
William K. Schrage of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing designed the Mount Rushmore commemorative. Photographs furnished by Black Hills Studio, the South Dakota Highway Commission, and a picture postcard published by Rushmore Photo served as Schrage's models. Matthew D. Fenton engraved the vignette, and George A. Payne engraved the frame, numerals, and lettering. All three were employees of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Six 200-subject electric-eye printing plates (#24669-24674) were made for and used on the rotary Stickney Press. Plates were used in pairs on the press, so each rotation of the press produced two sheets of 200 stamps, each of which was divided into four fifty-subject panes for distribution to post offices. Stamps were perforated 10.5 x11 and printed on unwatermarked paper.
The 3-cent Mount Rushmore stamp paid the postage rate for a one ounce first-class domestic letter.
