Before the widespread use of photography, magazines relied on illustrators to provide images for their stories and advertisements. The need for women illustrators to portray domestic and feminine scenes in women’s magazines and advertisements gave many women the chance to earn a living as artists. Jessie Wilcox Smith, Rose O’Neill, and Neysa McMein are three examples of accomplished female illustrators.
These three women’s stamps were designed by Carl Herrman for the American Illustrators Issue. The Jessie Wilcox Smith stamp contains her illustration, "The First Lesson," which appeared in Ladies Home Journal in 1904. The Rose O’Neill stamp contains her undated picture, "Kewpie with Kewpie Doodle Dog." And the Neysa McMein stamp contains a portrait of her as an artist.
