Women in the the Visual Arts and Literature

Edna Ferber

83-cent Edna Ferber stamp
This 83-cent stamp was reissued June 2003, after originally being issued on July 29, 2002. The stamp was issued in Appleton, Wisconsin, for the Distinguished Americans Series and was designed by Richard Sheaff.

Edna Ferber (1885-1968) wrote novels, plays, and short stories that detail life in midwestern America. She began her career as a journalist and worked for the Appleton Daily Crescent and the Milwaukee Journal. Many of her novels were also made into movies from the 1930’s to the 1950’s. In 1924 she won the Pulitzer Prize for her novel, So Big, a story of a widow that provides for her son by running the family farm. She also wrote the novel Show Boat that later became a successful musical and movie.

29-cent Showboat stamp
This 29-cent stamp was issued on July 14, 1993, in New York’s Times Square as part of the Legends of American Music Series. The stamp was designed by Wilson McLean and depicts a scene from Edna Ferber’s play "Show Boat."