Stamp honoring ‘Shark Lady’ Eugenie Clark to debut May 4 in Sarasota, Fla.

By Charles Snee

Renowned marine biologist and ichthyologist Eugenie Clark (1922-2015) will be honored on a United States nondenominated (58¢) commemorative forever stamp to be issued May 4 on the centennial of her birth.

The Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in Sarasota, Fla., will host the first-day ceremony for the stamp celebrating Clark, who founded the laboratory (then called the Cape Haze Marine Laboratory) in 1955.

The ceremony, which is free and open to the public, is scheduled for 11 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Collectors desiring to attend the ceremony are encouraged to register online.

Angela Curtis, vice president of retail and post office operations for the U.S. Postal Service, will serve as the dedicating official.

Joining Curtis on the dais will be Michael Crosby, president and CEO of the Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium, and Aya Konstantinou, Clark’s daughter.

Artist Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya designed the stamp, which features a photograph of a young, smiling Clark sporting a diver’s mask and snorkel on her forehead. The photo was taken by veteran underwater photographer David Doubilet, who is primarily known for his work in National Geographic magazine.

Reinhard Dirscherl’s photo of a lemon shark appears in the background, just above Clark’s right shoulder.

“Eugenie Clark” in block capital letters is printed in blue on a wavy yellow banner in the bottom left corner.

“Wavy blue elements in the stamp’s background evoke an undersea scene,” the Postal Service said.

Banknote Corporation of America in Browns Summit, N.C., printed 18 million Eugenie Clark stamps on 120-subject press sheets that were processed into panes of 20 for sale at post offices.

Seven different colors — black and six Pantone Matching System shades — were used to print the stamp. The plate number that appears in each corner of a pane consists of the letter “B” followed by seven single digits, one for each color.

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