Every Stamp Tells a Story: The National Philatelic Collection

ISBN-13:	9781935623427
Publisher:	Smithsonian Institution Press
Publication date:	12/02/2014
Series:	Smithsonian Contribution to Knowledge
Pages:	151
Sales rank:	809,656
Product dimensions:	7.90(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.70(d)

Every stamp and piece of mail tells a story. In fact, each often tells multiple stories, ranging from concept to art design to production to usage, often with tales of politics, history, technology, biography, genealogy, economics, geography, disaster, and triumph. The lens of philately offers a fresh and engaging story of American history, culture, and identity, and it can also help deepen the understanding of world cultures. The William H. Gross Stamp Gallery, opened at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in September 2013, has many such stories to tell. Chief philately curator Cheryl R. Ganz guides readers through some of the gallery's nearly 20,000 objects that together illustrate the history of our nation's postal operations and postage stamps.