It was intended to print the Trans-Mississippi issue with a black vignette and a frame in color. The bi-color idea had to be abandoned because of the fact that the Spanish American War, which broke out in April, 1898, necessitated the printing of enormous quantities of revenue stamps and the facilities of the Bureau were taxed to the utmost . The time and manpower needed for the printing of stamps in two colors could not be spared and it was necessary for the Bureau to abandon the proposed bi-color stamps in favor of stamps of single colors.

The $2 vignette was originally planned to be on the 2¢ denomination. However, the purpose of the exposition was to increase to the attraction of investing in the farming in the west and the more popular 2¢ stamp would have a wider audience of the rural scene,

For the vignette was based on an engraving used for the 1896 Republican National Convention ticket.

The subject of the vignette was the 'Eads Bridge' that spanned the Mississippi, connecting the cities of St. Louis, Missouri and East St. Louis, Illinois.

At the time of its construction in 1874 it was the longest arch bridge in the world, it was the first large-scale use of steel as a structural material and Its foundations were the deepest underwater constructions.

A contemporary engraving of Eads Bridge