The issue honors the Mississippi River with a portfolio of ten different photographic images. Arranged on the pane in five rows of two stamps each, the images correspond to the states’ north-south and west-east sequence along the Mississippi River. Small type on the margin of each stamp indicates its location:
Top row: Minnesota and Wisconsin;
Second row: Iowa and Illinois;
Third row: Missouri and Kentucky;
Fourth row: Arkansas and Tennessee; and
Bottom row: Louisiana and Mississippi.
The reverse features a map of the central United States detailing the river’s course and its major tributaries. It is superimposed on a blue monochromatic version of the selvage images. Art director Ethel Kessler designed the stamp pane using existing photographs.