L. (Leon) Helguera Biography
Born in Mexico, Leon Helguera worked as an illustrator and cartoonist for several Mexican publications before coming to the United States. In 1943, his design for a stamp honoring the United Nations was chosen by the United States Post Office Department in a contest among leading American artists. As well as other designs, for United States Postage Stamps, Helguera also did numerous commercial posters including some for Pan American Airways.

Born in Mexico in 1899, Leon Helguera came to the United States at the age of 17 and by 1930 he had become a naturalized U.S. citizen. Professionally, he worked as a commercial artist in New York City and, prior to designing the Uncle Sam poster was commissioned by OWI to design posters to appeal to Spanish speakers in the Southwest  

He is well known for his stamps including the “United Nations” 2-cent stamp (1943), the U.S. 3-cent stamp commemorating the 300th Anniversary of New York City (1953), the 3-cent U.S. -Canada Friendship Issue (1947), and the joint Mexico-U.S. stamp commemorating Mexico’s War of Independence (1960). Helguera spent over 36 years in the United States before returning to live in Mexico.