BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (location):

BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (location): DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (location): :

Bruce Guthrie Photos Home Page: [Click here] to go to Bruce Guthrie Photos home page.

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underneath the file name (just above the picture). Spammers need not apply.

Slide Show: Want to see the pictures as a slide show? [Click here for Slideshow]

Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

Help? The Medium (Email) links are for screen viewing and emailing. You'll want bigger sizes for printing. [Click here for additional help]

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[313] SIPMMC_180203_019.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[314] SIPMMC_180203_021.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[315] SIPMMC_180203_025.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[316] SIPMMC_180203_029.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[317] SIPMMC_180203_031.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[318] SIPMMC_180203_035.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[319] SIPMMC_180203_037.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[320] SIPMMC_180203_041.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[321] SIPMMC_180203_047.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[322] SIPMMC_180203_051.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[323] SIPMMC_180203_054.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[324] SIPMMC_180203_058.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[325] SIPMMC_180203_061.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[326] SIPMMC_180203_063.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[327] SIPMMC_180203_066.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[328] SIPMMC_180203_068.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[329] SIPMMC_180203_071.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[330] SIPMMC_180203_074.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[331] SIPMMC_180203_078.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[332] SIPMMC_180203_080.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[333] SIPMMC_180203_083.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[334] SIPMMC_180203_086.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[335] SIPMMC_180203_088.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[336] SIPMMC_180203_090.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[337] SIPMMC_180203_097.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[338] SIPMMC_180203_099.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[339] SIPMMC_180203_102.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[340] SIPMMC_180203_106.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[341] SIPMMC_180203_108.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[342] SIPMMC_170405_02.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[343] SIPMMC_170405_03.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[344] SIPMMC_170405_07.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[345] SIPMMC_170405_14.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[346] SIPMMC_170405_17.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[347] SIPMMC_170405_20.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[348] SIPMMC_170405_23.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[349] SIPMMC_170405_25.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[350] SIPMMC_170405_29.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[351] SIPMMC_170405_32.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[352] SIPMMC_170405_37.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[353] SIPMMC_170405_41.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[354] SIPMMC_170405_43.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[355] SIPMMC_170405_47.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[356] SIPMMC_170405_50.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[357] SIPMMC_170405_53.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[358] SIPMMC_170405_57.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[359] SIPMMC_170405_58.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[360] SIPMMC_170405_62.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[361] SIPMMC_170405_68.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[362] SIPMMC_170405_69.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[363] MOVING_150525_01.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[364] MOVING_150525_05.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[365] MOVING_150525_08.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[366] MOVING_150525_13.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[367] MOVING_150525_19.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[368] MOVING_150525_22.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[369] MOVING_150525_26.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[370] MOVING_150525_28.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[371] MOVING_150525_30.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[372] MOVING_150525_32.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[373] MOVING_150525_35.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[374] MOVING_150525_40.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[375] MOVING_150525_43.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[376] MOVING_150525_44.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[377] MOVING_150525_47.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[378] MOVING_150525_50.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[379] MOVING_150525_53.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[380] MOVING_150525_56.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[381] MOVING_150525_60.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[382] MOVING_150525_68.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[383] MOVING_150525_79.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[384] SIPMBI_150525_001.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[385] SIPMBI_150525_004.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[386] SIPMBI_150525_010.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[387] SIPMBI_150525_013.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[388] SIPMBI_150525_017.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[389] SIPMBI_150525_019.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[390] SIPMBI_150525_024.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[391] SIPMBI_150525_026.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[392] SIPMBI_150525_028.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[393] SIPMBI_150525_033.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[394] SIPMBI_150525_041.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[395] SIPMBI_150525_042.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[396] SIPMBI_150525_045.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[397] SIPMBI_150525_050.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[398] SIPMBI_150525_062.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[399] SIPMBI_150525_070.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[400] SIPMBI_150525_074.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[401] SIPMBI_150525_080.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[402] SIPMBI_150525_087.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[403] SIPMBI_150525_095.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[404] SIPMBI_150525_101.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[405] SIPMBI_150525_105.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[406] SIPMBI_150525_109.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[407] SIPMBI_150525_114.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[408] SIPMBI_150525_121.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[409] SIPMBI_150525_126.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[410] SIPMBI_150525_131.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[411] SIPMBI_150525_137.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[412] SIPMBI_150525_140.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[413] SIPMBI_150525_142.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[414] SIPMBI_150525_145.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[415] SIPMBI_150525_146.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[416] SIPMBI_150525_149.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[417] SIPMBI_150525_152.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[418] SIPMBI_150525_156.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[419] SIPMBI_150525_160.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[420] SIPMBI_150525_163.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[421] SIPMBI_150525_165.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[422] SIPMBI_150525_167.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[423] SIPMBI_150525_170.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[424] SIPMBI_150525_173.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[425] SIPMBI_150525_178.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[426] SIPMBI_150525_180.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[427] SIPMBI_150525_183.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[428] SIPMBI_150525_188.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[429] STAMPG_150525_01.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[430] STAMPG_150525_06.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[431] STAMPG_150419_001.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[432] STAMPG_150419_016.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[433] STAMPG_150419_024.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[434] STAMPG_150419_028.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[435] STAMPG_150419_032.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[436] STAMPG_150419_035.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[437] STAMPG_150419_039.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[438] STAMPG_150419_043.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[439] STAMPG_150419_046.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[440] STAMPG_150419_050.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[441] STAMPG_150419_051.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[442] STAMPG_150419_058.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[443] STAMPG_150419_069.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[444] STAMPG_150419_075.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[445] STAMPG_150419_116.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[446] STAMPG_150419_125.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[447] STAMPG_150419_131.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[448] STAMPG_150419_142.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[449] STAMPG_150419_158.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[450] STAMPG_150419_169.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[451] STAMPG_150419_188.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[452] STAMPG_150419_204.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[453] STAMPG_150419_220.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[454] STAMPG_150419_221.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[455] STAMPG_150419_234.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[456] STAMPG_150419_243.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[457] STAMPG_150419_246.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[458] STAMPG_150419_268.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[459] STAMPG_150419_281.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[460] STAMPG_150419_284.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[461] STAMPG_150419_296.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[462] STAMPG_150419_309.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[463] STAMPG_150419_330.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[464] STAMPG_150419_348.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[465] STAMPG_150419_363.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[466] STAMPG_150419_382.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[467] STAMPG_150419_399.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[468] STAMPG_150419_414.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[469] STAMPG_150419_420.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[470] STAMPG_150419_427.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[471] STAMPG_150419_434.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[472] STAMPG_150419_441.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[473] STAMPG_150419_449.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[474] STAMPG_150419_456.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[475] STAMPG_150419_460.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[476] STAMPG_150419_463.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[477] STAMPG_150419_467.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[478] STAMPG_150419_475.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[479] STAMPG_150419_480.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[480] STAMPG_150419_483.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[481] STAMPG_150419_486.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[482] STAMPG_150419_493.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[483] STAMPG_150419_494.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[484] STAMPG_150419_502.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[485] STAMPS_150419_007.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[486] STAMPS_150419_011.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[487] STAMPS_150419_012.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[488] STAMPS_150419_019.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[489] STAMPS_150419_020.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[490] STAMPS_150419_023.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[491] STAMPS_150419_027.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[492] STAMPS_150419_035.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[493] STAMPS_150419_039.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[494] STAMPS_150419_046.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[495] STAMPS_150419_050.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[496] STAMPS_150419_055.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[497] STAMPS_150419_059.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[498] STAMPS_150419_063.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[499] STAMPS_150419_065.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[500] STAMPS_150419_069.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[501] STAMPS_150419_072.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[502] STAMPS_150419_073.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[503] STAMPS_150419_076.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[504] STAMPS_150419_079.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[505] STAMPS_150419_085.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[506] STAMPS_150419_089.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[507] STAMPS_150419_091.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[508] STAMPS_150419_095.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[509] STAMPS_150419_099.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[510] STAMPS_150419_103.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[511] STAMPS_150419_106.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[512] STAMPS_150419_110.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[513] STAMPS_150419_114.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[514] STAMPS_150419_121.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[515] STAMPS_150419_126.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[516] STAMPS_150419_129.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[517] STAMPS_150419_131.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[518] STAMPS_150419_135.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[519] STAMPS_150419_139.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[520] STAMPS_150419_143.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[521] STAMPS_150419_145.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[522] STAMPS_150419_149.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[523] STAMPS_150419_151.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[524] STAMPS_150419_155.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[525] STAMPS_150419_160.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[526] STAMPS_150419_161.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[527] STAMPS_150419_166.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[528] STAMPS_150419_172.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[529] STAMPS_150419_177.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[530] STAMPS_150419_179.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[531] STAMPS_150419_180.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[532] STAMPS_150419_186.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[533] STAMPS_150419_191.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[534] STAMPS_150419_198.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[535] STAMPS_150419_202.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[536] STAMPS_150419_207.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[537] STAMPS_150419_219.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[538] STAMPS_150419_222.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[539] STAMPS_150419_225.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[540] STAMPS_150419_229.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[541] STAMPS_150419_232.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[542] STAMPS_150419_236.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[543] STAMPS_150419_239.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[544] STAMPS_150419_244.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[545] STAMPS_150419_260.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[546] STAMPS_150419_267.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[547] STAMPS_150419_271.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[548] STAMPS_150419_279.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[549] STAMPS_150419_285.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[550] STAMPS_150419_289.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[551] STAMPS_150419_292.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[552] STAMPS_150419_297.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[553] STAMPS_150419_305.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[554] STAMPS_150419_318.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[555] STAMPS_150419_323.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[556] STAMPS_150419_330.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[557] STAMPG_150213_001.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[558] STAMPG_150213_010.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[559] STAMPG_150213_019.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[560] STAMPG_150213_022.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[561] STAMPG_150213_026.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[562] STAMPG_150213_030.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[563] STAMPG_150213_032.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[564] STAMPG_150213_035.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[565] STAMPG_150213_038.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[566] STAMPG_150213_043.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[567] STAMPG_150213_046.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[568] STAMPG_150213_051.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[569] STAMPG_150213_054.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[570] STAMPG_150213_058.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[571] STAMPG_150213_060.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[572] STAMPG_150213_066.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[573] STAMPG_150213_073.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[574] STAMPG_150213_075.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[575] STAMPG_150213_080.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[576] STAMPG_150213_083.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[577] STAMPG_150213_088.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[578] STAMPG_150213_092.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[579] STAMPG_150213_095.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[580] STAMPG_150213_103.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[581] STAMPG_150213_105.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[582] STAMPG_150213_108.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[583] STAMPG_150213_114.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[584] STAMPG_150213_118.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[585] STAMPG_150213_121.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[586] STAMPG_150213_126.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[587] STAMPG_150213_132.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[588] STAMPG_150213_136.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[589] STAMPG_150213_145.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[590] STAMPG_150213_148.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[591] STAMPG_150213_154.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[592] STAMPG_150213_161.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[593] STAMPG_150213_164.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[594] STAMPG_150213_168.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[595] STAMPG_150213_173.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[596] STAMPG_150213_177.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[597] STAMPG_150213_185.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[598] STAMPG_150213_192.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[599] STAMPG_150213_195.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[600] STAMPG_150213_198.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[601] STAMPG_150213_201.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[602] STAMPG_150213_203.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[603] STAMPG_150213_205.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[604] STAMPG_150213_211.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[605] STAMPG_150213_215.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[606] STAMPG_150213_219.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[607] STAMPG_150213_222.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[608] STAMPG_150213_224.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[609] STAMPG_150213_226.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[610] STAMPG_150213_230.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[611] STAMPG_150213_234.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[612] STAMPG_150213_238.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[613] STAMPG_150213_241.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[614] STAMPG_150213_245.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[615] STAMPG_150213_251.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[616] STAMPG_150213_257.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[617] STAMPG_150213_262.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[618] STAMPG_150213_265.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[619] STAMPG_150213_268.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[620] STAMPG_150213_272.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[621] STAMPG_150213_277.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[622] STAMPG_150213_281.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[623] STAMPG_150213_282.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[624] STAMPG_150213_284.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[625] STAMPG_150213_289.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[626] STAMPG_150213_296.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[627] STAMPG_150213_299.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[628] STAMPG_150213_301.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[629] STAMPG_150213_303.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[630] STAMPG_150213_311.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[631] STAMPG_150213_314.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[632] STAMPG_150213_318.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[633] STAMPG_150213_326.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[634] STAMPG_150213_329.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[635] STAMPG_150213_333.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[636] MMARKS_140706_001.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[637] MMARKS_140706_005.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[638] MMARKS_140706_013.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[639] MMARKS_140706_017.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[640] MMARKS_140706_023.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[641] MMARKS_140706_030.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[642] MMARKS_140706_037.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[643] MMARKS_140706_049.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[644] MMARKS_140706_054.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[645] MMARKS_140706_062.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[646] MMARKS_140706_065.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[647] MMARKS_140706_069.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[648] MMARKS_140706_074.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[649] MMARKS_140706_083.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[650] MMARKS_140706_093.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[651] MMARKS_140706_103.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[652] MMARKS_140706_110.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[653] MMARKS_140706_122.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[654] MMARKS_140706_125.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[655] MMARKS_140706_132.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[656] MMARKS_140706_135.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[657] MMARKS_140706_139.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[658] MMARKS_140706_144.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[659] MMARKS_140706_149.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[660] MMARKS_140706_158.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[661] MMARKS_140706_164.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[662] MMARKS_140706_171.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[663] MMARKS_140706_177.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[664] MMARKS_140706_183.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[665] MMARKS_140706_186.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[666] MMARKS_140706_193.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[667] MMARKS_140706_197.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[668] MMARKS_140706_203.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[669] MMARKS_140706_209.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[670] MMARKS_140706_214.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[671] MMARKS_140706_222.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[672] MMARKS_140706_230.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[673] MMARKS_140706_233.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[674] MMARKS_140706_236.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[675] MMARKS_140706_239.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[676] MMARKS_140706_248.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[677] MMARKS_140706_252.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[678] MMARKS_140706_259.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[679] MMARKS_140706_263.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[680] MMARKS_140706_270.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[681] MMARKS_140706_275.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[682] MMARKS_140706_293.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[683] MMARKS_140706_308.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[684] MMARKS_140706_311.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[685] MMARKS_140706_315.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[686] MMARKS_140706_320.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[687] MMARKS_140706_333.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[688] MMARKS_140706_342.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[689] MMARKS_140706_349.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[690] MMARKS_140706_353.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[691] MMARKS_140706_361.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[692] MMARKS_140706_364.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[693] MMARKS_140706_385.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[694] MMARKS_140706_388.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[695] MMARKS_140706_399.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[696] MMARKS_140706_406.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[697] MMARKS_140706_418.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[698] MMARKS_140706_432.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[699] MMARKS_140706_440.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[700] MMARKS_140706_451.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[701] MMARKS_140706_461.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[702] MMARKS_140706_466.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[703] MMARKS_140706_469.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[704] MMARKS_140706_475.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[705] MMARKS_140706_479.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[706] MMARKS_140706_484.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[707] MMARKS_140706_487.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[708] MMARKS_140706_493.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[709] MMARKS_140706_497.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[710] MMARKS_140706_503.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[711] MMARKS_140706_507.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[712] MMARKS_140706_511.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[713] MMARKS_140706_515.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[714] MMARKS_140706_518.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[715] MMARKS_140706_522.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[716] MMARKS_140706_524.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[717] MMARKS_140706_526.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[718] MMARKS_140706_528.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[719] MMARKS_140706_535.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[720] MMARKS_140706_538.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[721] MMARKS_140706_544.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[722] MMARKS_140706_548.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[723] MMARKS_140706_551.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[724] MMARKS_140706_555.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[725] MOVING_140706_02.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[726] MOVING_140706_05.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[727] SIPMCC_140706_001.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[728] SIPMCC_140706_004.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[729] SIPMCC_140706_011.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[730] SIPMCC_140706_015.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[731] SIPMCC_140706_019.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[732] SIPMCC_140706_020.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[733] SIPMCC_140706_025.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[734] SIPMCC_140706_027.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[735] SIPMCC_140706_032.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[736] SIPMCC_140706_036.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[737] SIPMCC_140706_046.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[738] SIPMCC_140706_049.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[739] SIPMCC_140706_055.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[740] SIPMCC_140706_063.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[741] SIPMCC_140706_066.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[742] SIPMCC_140706_070.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[743] SIPMCC_140706_073.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[744] SIPMCC_140706_077.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[745] SIPMCC_140706_082.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[746] SIPMCC_140706_084.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[747] SIPMCC_140706_091.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[748] SIPMCC_140706_096.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[749] SIPMCC_140706_100.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[750] SIPMCC_140706_104.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[751] SIPMCC_140706_109.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[752] SIPMCC_140706_112.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[753] SIPMCC_140706_116.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[754] SIPMCC_140706_121.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[755] SIPMCC_140706_125.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[756] SIPMCC_140706_129.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[757] SIPMCC_140706_132.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[758] SIPMCC_140706_136.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[759] SIPMCC_140706_139.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[760] SIPMCC_140706_142.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[761] SIPMCC_140706_145.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[762] SIPMCC_140706_148.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[763] SIPMCC_140706_155.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[764] SIPMCC_140706_159.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[765] SIPMCC_140706_163.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[766] SIPMCC_140706_169.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[767] SIPMCC_140706_172.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[768] SIPMCC_140706_177.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[769] SIPMCC_140706_181.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[770] SIPMCC_140706_189.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[771] STAMPG_140706_001.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[772] STAMPG_140706_006.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[773] STAMPG_140706_008.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[774] STAMPG_140706_020.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[775] STAMPG_140706_023.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[776] STAMPG_140706_027.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[777] STAMPG_140706_032.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[778] STAMPG_140706_039.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[779] STAMPG_140706_053.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[780] STAMPG_140706_059.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[781] STAMPG_140706_063.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[782] STAMPG_140706_069.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[783] STAMPG_140706_079.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[784] STAMPG_140706_092.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[785] STAMPG_140706_098.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[786] STAMPG_140706_102.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[787] STAMPG_140706_107.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[788] STAMPG_140706_115.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[789] STAMPG_140706_121.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[790] STAMPG_140706_122.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[791] STAMPG_140706_125.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[792] STAMPG_140706_127.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[793] STAMPG_140706_135.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[794] STAMPG_140706_137.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[795] STAMPG_140706_140.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[796] STAMPG_140706_145.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[797] STAMPG_140706_153.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[798] STAMPG_140706_157.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[799] STAMPG_140706_158.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[800] STAMPG_140706_170.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[801] STAMPG_140706_172.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[802] STAMPG_140706_179.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[803] STAMPG_140706_184.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[804] STAMPG_140706_191.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[805] STAMPS_140406_08.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[806] GEMS_131026_001.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[807] GEMS_131026_006.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[808] GEMS_131026_009.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[809] GEMS_131026_014.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[810] GEMS_131026_018.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[811] GEMS_131026_029.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[812] GEMS_131026_033.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[813] GEMS_131026_034.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[814] GEMS_131026_039.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[815] GEMS_131026_049.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[816] GEMS_131026_055.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[817] GEMS_131026_059.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[818] GEMS_131026_061.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[819] GEMS_131026_064.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[820] GEMS_131026_070.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[821] GEMS_131026_071.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[822] GEMS_131026_076.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[823] GEMS_131026_079.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[824] GEMS_131026_082.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[825] GEMS_131026_091.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[826] GEMS_131026_100.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[827] GEMS_131026_103.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[828] GEMS_131026_109.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[829] GEMS_131026_123.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[830] MMARKS_131026_004.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[831] MMARKS_131026_007.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[832] MMARKS_131026_010.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[833] MMARKS_131026_013.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[834] MMARKS_131026_017.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[835] MMARKS_131026_021.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[836] MMARKS_131026_026.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[837] MMARKS_131026_028.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[838] MMARKS_131026_031.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[839] MMARKS_131026_034.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[840] MMARKS_131026_036.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[841] MMARKS_131026_042.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[842] MMARKS_131026_045.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[843] MMARKS_131026_048.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[844] MMARKS_131026_051.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[845] MMARKS_131026_054.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[846] MMARKS_131026_057.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[847] MMARKS_131026_059.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[848] MMARKS_131026_064.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[849] MMARKS_131026_067.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[850] MMARKS_131026_071.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[851] MMARKS_131026_072.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[852] MMARKS_131026_080.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[853] MMARKS_131026_084.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[854] MMARKS_131026_090.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[855] MMARKS_131026_093.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[856] MMARKS_131026_096.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[857] MMARKS_131026_098.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[858] MMARKS_131026_101.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[859] MMARKS_131026_109.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[860] MMARKS_131026_113.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[861] MMARKS_131026_120.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[862] MMARKS_131026_133.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[863] MMARKS_131026_136.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[864] MMARKS_131026_145.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[865] MMARKS_131026_148.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[866] MMARKS_131026_153.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[867] MMARKS_131026_155.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[868] MMARKS_131026_159.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[869] MMARKS_131026_164.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[870] MMARKS_131026_166.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[871] MMARKS_131026_170.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[872] MMARKS_131026_173.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[873] MMARKS_131026_179.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[874] MMARKS_131026_185.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[875] MMARKS_131026_188.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[876] MMARKS_131026_191.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[877] MMARKS_131026_194.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[878] MMARKS_131026_198.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[879] MMARKS_131026_201.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[880] MMARKS_131026_208.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[881] MMARKS_131026_211.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[882] MMARKS_131026_217.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[883] MMARKS_131026_221.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[884] MMARKS_131026_228.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[885] MMARKS_131026_232.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[886] MMARKS_131026_237.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[887] MMARKS_131026_243.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[888] MMARKS_131026_246.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[889] MMARKS_131026_249.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[890] MMARKS_131026_253.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[891] MMARKS_131026_258.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[892] MMARKS_131026_261.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[893] MMARKS_131026_265.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[894] MMARKS_131026_268.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[895] MMARKS_131026_271.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[896] MMARKS_131026_277.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[897] MMARKS_131026_282.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[898] MMARKS_131026_283.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[899] MMARKS_131026_286.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[900] MMARKS_131026_290.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[901] MMARKS_131026_297.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[902] MMARKS_131026_302.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[903] MMARKS_131026_311.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[904] MMARKS_131026_316.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[905] MMARKS_131026_322.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[906] MMARKS_131026_325.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[907] MMARKS_131026_329.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[908] MMARKS_131026_331.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[909] MMARKS_131026_344.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[910] MMARKS_131026_347.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[911] MMARKS_131026_353.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[912] MMARKS_131026_360.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[913] MMARKS_131026_363.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[914] STAMPC_131026_002.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[915] STAMPC_131026_004.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[916] STAMPC_131026_008.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[917] STAMPC_131026_010.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[918] STAMPC_131026_013.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[919] STAMPC_131026_015.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[920] STAMPC_131026_018.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[921] STAMPC_131026_022.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[922] STAMPC_131026_024.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[923] STAMPC_131026_027.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[924] STAMPC_131026_031.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[925] STAMPC_131026_035.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[926] STAMPC_131026_038.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[927] STAMPC_131026_042.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[928] STAMPC_131026_044.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[929] STAMPC_131026_047.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[930] STAMPC_131026_050.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[931] STAMPC_131026_053.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[932] STAMPC_131026_056.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[933] STAMPC_131026_061.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[934] STAMPC_131026_070.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[935] STAMPC_131026_073.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[936] STAMPC_131026_079.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[937] STAMPC_131026_081.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[938] STAMPC_131026_088.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[939] STAMPC_131026_092.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[940] STAMPC_131026_095.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[941] STAMPC_131026_096.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[942] STAMPC_131026_100.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[943] STAMPC_131026_103.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[944] STAMPG_131026_001.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[945] STAMPG_131026_005.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[946] STAMPG_131026_008.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[947] STAMPG_131026_014.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[948] STAMPG_131026_019.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[949] STAMPG_131026_022.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[950] STAMPG_131026_025.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[951] STAMPG_131026_029.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[952] STAMPG_131026_033.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[953] STAMPG_131026_035.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[954] STAMPG_131026_041.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[955] STAMPG_131026_048.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[956] STAMPG_131026_051.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[957] STAMPG_131026_064.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[958] STAMPG_131026_075.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[959] STAMPG_131026_079.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[960] STAMPG_131026_084.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[961] STAMPG_131026_089.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[962] STAMPG_131026_090.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[963] STAMPG_131026_095.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[964] STAMPG_131026_098.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[965] STAMPG_131026_103.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[966] STAMPG_131026_112.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[967] STAMPS_131026_03.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[968] STAMPS_131026_07.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[969] STAMPS_131026_09.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[970] STAMPS_131026_12.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[971] STAMPS_131026_15.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[972] STAMPS_131026_18.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. MMARKS_210828_01.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2021_DC_SIPM_Mail_Marks DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (Gross Gallery 3): Mail Marks History (1 photo from 2021)
  The sign indicates where the COVID-19 hand tool can be used to open the display.
2. SIPMMC_210828_01.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2021_DC_SIPM_Mail_Call DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (MIA Galleries 7): Mail Call (27 photos from 2021)
  3 people permitted at a time OR Limit to one household or group at a time
3. SIPMMC_210828_12.JPG: Over There: America Goes to War On July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary invaded Serbia in retaliation for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The attack triggered diplomatic alliances, which led countries to go to war. The Central Powers coalition of Austria-Hungary, Germany, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria fought against more than 20 allied countries, including Russia, France, and Great Britain. The United States remained neutral until Germany announced a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare in early 1917. After the destruction of American ships and other provocations, President Woodrow Wilson told Congress, "The world must be made safe for democracy," as he successfully requested a declaration of war. By June, the American Expeditionary Forces stared deploying to Europe. The AEF trained with the Allies and then engaged in its first battle in autumn 1917. Brutal combat continued through early November 1918 when the two sides negotiated ceasefire agreements. The Great War, later known as World War I, claimed an estimated 17 million lives of military personnel and civilians. The war profoundly changed society and global politics.
4. SIPMMC_210828_14.JPG: Holiday Delivery The US military reported that over 15 million parcels, issues of print matter, and packages with the special Christmas "coupons" arrived in Europe during December 1918. Additionally, 46 million letters came from the US while AEF service personnel sent home over 40 million letters. Delays and misdirection often hampered delivery of wartime mail, but military officials found their transportation convoys kept the mail running relatively smoothly during the busy holiday season. "After writing this letter I received the Christmas Pkg, on Christmas eve. It just reached here at the right time. I guess there will be no use hanging up our stockings tonight! Well I thank you all for the package, and it helps make a Merry Christmas for me. This coupon has crossed the ocean 3 times and covered over 15,000 miles." -- Sergeant Clyde Eoff to his sister Josephine, December 24, 1918
5. SIPMMC_210828_17.JPG: "After writing this letter I received the Christmas Pkg, on Christmas eve. It just reached here at the right time. I guess there will be no use hanging up our stockings tonight! Well I thank you all for the package, and it helps make a Merry Christmas for me. This coupon has crossed the ocean 3 times and covered over 15,000 miles." -- Sergeant Clyde Eoff to his sister Josephine, December 24, 1918
6. SIPMMC_210828_26.JPG: Moving the Mail Across the United States, the Red Cross assisted postal customers to assemble the Christmas parcels. Once a parcel passed the Red Cross inspection, the package was sealed, and the "coupon" was attached to serve as the address label. All parcels and letters addressed to AEF members traveled to New York City for processing and dispatching to the port of embarkation at Hoboken, New Jersey, for shipping to US military stations overseas.
7. SIPMMC_210828_34.JPG: Community Support In addition to distributing the "coupons" for the Christmas parcels, the Red Cross also took on some of the responsibilities of working directly with postal customers. Volunteers passed out the standardized packaging (limited to just 9 by 4 by 3 inches) and performed inspections to check for prohibited goods and ensure the parcel did not exceed the 3-pound weight limit.
8. SIPMMC_210828_41.JPG: Care Packages What did deployed service members hope to receive? Overwhelmingly they wanted the comforts of home. Newspapers and merchants promoted goods that could be practical and useful, but also personal. When US Army pharmacist David Friedman wrote from France on November 2, 1917, he told his "folks" to send gifts that, unsurprisingly, would be popular again during the the 1918 holiday season: "If it is possible I should very much like a box of good things to eat. Let Molly bake a few of her good cookies with nuts in them and have mother send a bottle of pickles or preserves. . . . Then a little candy and a couple more tubes of . . . Tooth Paste. Three or four pairs of sox, heavy woolen ones and a few handkerchiefs. That's all. It may sound like a great deal but really it doesn't amount to much. And it sure will help to cheer me up." -- Courtesy Center for American War Letters, Leatherby Libraries, Chapman University, CA The contents of the parcels were important to postal workers as well as to the recipients. The contents and containers had to withstand the challenges of the long voyage, which could take from two to six weeks. Perishable items were not allowed, and busted packages and ripped or lost labels caused delays. Postal and military officials intended that the standard packages for the AEF would protect the contents while helping to speed the processing of mail and loading it on trucks, trains, and ships.
9. SIPMMC_210828_45.JPG: Care Packages What did deployed service members hope to receive? Overwhelmingly they wanted the comforts of home. Newspapers and merchants promoted goods that could be practical and useful, but also personal. When US Army pharmacist David Friedman wrote from France on November 2, 1917, he told his "folks" to send gifts that, unsurprisingly, would be popular again during the the 1918 holiday season:
10. SIPMMC_210828_48.JPG: "If it is possible I should very much like a box of good things to eat. Let Molly bake a few of her good cookies with nuts in them and have mother send a bottle of pickles or preserves. . . . Then a little candy and a couple more tubes of . . . Tooth Paste. Three or four pairs of sox, heavy woolen ones and a few handkerchiefs. That's all. It may sound like a great deal but really it doesn't amount to much. And it sure will help to cheer me up." -- Courtesy Center for American War Letters, Leatherby Libraries, Chapman University, CA
11. SIPMMC_210828_49.JPG: The contents of the parcels were important to postal workers as well as to the recipients. The contents and containers had to withstand the challenges of the long voyage, which could take from two to six weeks. Perishable items were not allowed, and busted packages and ripped or lost labels caused delays. Postal and military officials intended that the standard packages for the AEF would protect the contents while helping to speed the processing of mail and loading it on trucks, trains, and ships.
12. SIPMMC_210828_50.JPG: Maintaining Morale [Shaping Expectations] To control the growing amount of mail without negatively affecting morale, officials put limitations on parcel mail for the AEF. Starting in April 1918, deployed military personnel had to submit requests for parcels and to have the items approved by commanding officers. By the fall of 1918, an additional measure was introduced with assistance from the Red Cross helping with the Christmas mail rush. An AEF service member could request a form, commonly referred to as a "coupon," to send home to ask for a three-pound box of gifts. Later, friends or family members were allowed to apply to get the form to authorize mailing a holiday parcel to their loved ones overseas. Sergeant Clyde Eoff posing for a photo "I am informed that there is to be a certain type of Christmas box to be sent to us this year. You don't need to bother about sending anything as we have all we need at present." -- Sergeant Clyde Eoff to his sister Josephine, September 28, 1918 Special Mailing Day Mail went both directions during World War I. Starting November 1918 the Post Office, military, and charities collaborated to organize a letter writing campaign for a specially designated mailing deadline, referred to as "fathers' day." They prompted AEF personnel to send messages to their fathers and the postal officials pledged to deliver the letters by Christmas.
13. SIPMMC_210828_54.JPG: Christmas 1918 Longing For Home Over two million American military service men and women were stationed in Europe when the declaration of Armistice on November 11, 1918 effectively ended World War I. The deployed service personnel of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) transitioned from combat readiness, advanced to occupy Germany and began preparations to demobilize. Many, who had hoped to return home to the United States by Christmas 1918 could not, but with the help of the Red Cross, military and postal officials already had plans to deliver Christmas by mail.
14. SIPMMC_210828_56.JPG: Christmas 1918 Longing For Home Over two million American military service men and women were stationed in Europe when the declaration of Armistice on November 11, 1918 effectively ended World War I. The deployed service personnel of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) transitioned from combat readiness, advanced to occupy Germany and began preparations to demobilize. Many, who had hoped to return home to the United States by Christmas 1918 could not, but with the help of the Red Cross, military and postal officials already had plans to deliver Christmas by mail.
15. SIPMMC_210828_62.JPG: Maintaining Morale [Shaping Expectations] To control the growing amount of mail without negatively affecting morale, officials put limitations on parcel mail for the AEF. Starting in April 1918, deployed military personnel had to submit requests for parcels and to have the items approved by commanding officers. By the fall of 1918, an additional measure was introduced with assistance from the Red Cross helping with the Christmas mail rush. An AEF service member could request a form, commonly referred to as a "coupon," to send home to ask for a three-pound box of gifts. Later, friends or family members were allowed to apply to get the form to authorize mailing a holiday parcel to their loved ones overseas. Sergeant Clyde Eoff posing for a photo "I am informed that there is to be a certain type of Christmas box to be sent to us this year. You don't need to bother about sending anything as we have all we need at present." -- Sergeant Clyde Eoff to his sister Josephine, September 28, 1918 Special Mailing Day Mail went both directions during World War I. Starting November 1918 the Post Office, military, and charities collaborated to organize a letter writing campaign for a specially designated mailing deadline, referred to as "fathers' day." They prompted AEF personnel to send messages to their fathers and the postal officials pledged to deliver the letters by Christmas.
16. SIPMMC_210828_65.JPG: Special Mailing Day Mail went both directions during World War I. Starting November 1918 the Post Office, military, and charities collaborated to organize a letter writing campaign for a specially designated mailing deadline, referred to as "fathers' day." They prompted AEF personnel to send messages to their fathers and the postal officials pledged to deliver the letters by Christmas.
17. SIPMMC_210828_72.JPG: "I am informed that there is to be a certain type of Christmas box to be sent to us this year. You don't need to bother about sending anything as we have all we need at present." -- Sergeant Clyde Eoff to his sister Josephine, September 28, 1918
18. SIPMMC_210828_76.JPG: My Fellow Soldiers Letters from World War I At the end of the war, General John J. Pershing -- commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) -- wrote a letter that begins "My Fellow Soldiers." Pershing expressed his profound respect and appreciation for the sacrifice, endurance, and will of those who served under him. Each member of the AEF received a copy of the message. Letters were the primary form of communication between the home and military fronts and allowed both writers and recipients to preserve connections and share experiences. The selection of correspondence presented in this exhibition illuminates the relationships, thoughts, and emotions of the authors as they grappled with the effects of World War I. My Fellow Soldiers: Letters from World War I was created by the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum in collaboration with the Center for American War Letters at Chapman University. This exhibition is made possible, in part, through the generous support of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
19. STAMPC_210828_08.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2021_DC_SIPM_Stamps_Connect DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (Gross Gallery 4): Connect with U.S. Stamps (1 photo from 2021)
20. SIPMBI_191002_001.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2019_DC_SIPM_Binding DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (MIA Galleries 2): Binding the Nation (incl Pony Express) (109 photos from 2019)
21. SIPMBI_191002_016.JPG: The Pony Express: The legendary name of the Pony Express calls up thrilling images of horse and rider racing across treacherous terrain. Yet the actual Pony Express lasted for less than two years (April 1860 to October 1861) and was only one of a number of private express services that used riders to carry the mail. It owes it fame to the romanticizing of the Pony Express and the American West that began late in the 19th century, in Wild West shows and dime novels, and continues to the present. Pony Express riders live on today, still dodging varmints and villains in books and movies, evoking speed and the thrills on countless commercial products.
22. SIPMBI_191002_019.JPG: The Central Route: In 1860, a relay system of horses began to carry mail across the 1,966-mile-long "central route" between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California. This privately owned service would become known as the Pony Express. The Pony Express solved an urgent problem for the US government. In the late 1850s political tensions had increased between North and South over slavery and other issues. The government feared losing control over mail along the Southern Route and contact with gold-rich California. To ensure Union control over cargo and mail carried between East and West, a route outside the Southern states was needed.
23. SIPMBI_191002_036.JPG: Length of entire route: 1,966 miles Stations along route: about 165 Distance between stations: approximately 10 miles Each rider rode one segment of the route, 75-100 miles long
24. SIPMBI_191002_038.JPG: At each station, a rider changed horses Every 75-100 miles, a new rider took over A rider changed horses 8-10 times per ride (every 10 miles or so) Average speed: 10 miles per hour
25. SIPMBI_191002_041.JPG: How long did it take to get from Missouri to California? 10 days in summer, 12-16 days in winter (mountain snows can slow you down). In 1860, that was speedy! A stagecoach took 24 days
26. SIPMBI_191002_043.JPG: Whose idea was it? Three business partners -- William Russell, Alexander Majors, and William Waddell -- founded the Pony Express as a private company
27. SIPMBI_191002_054.JPG: Men Wanted!! THE UNDERSIGNED WISHES TO hire ten or a dozen men, familiar with the management of horses, as hostlers or riders on the Overland Express Route via Salt Lake City. Wages $50 per month and found. I may be found at the St. George Hotel during Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. -- William W. Finney
28. SIPMBI_191002_057.JPG: Announcement of the arrival of the first Pony Express delivery, from San Francisco's Daily Alta California newspaper, 1860.
29. SIPMBI_191002_060.JPG: What have you learned RIDING the Pony Express trail?
30. SIPMBI_191002_062.JPG: Q. How many Pony Express riders died in the line of duty?
31. SIPMBI_191002_064.JPG: A. One -- as far as is known for sure. However, a number of Pony Express station workers died during robberies or Indian attacks.
32. SIPMBI_191002_067.JPG: Q. How long did it take to get from Missouri to California?
33. SIPMBI_191002_070.JPG: A. 10 days in summer. 12-16 days in winter. A stagecoach took 24 days.
34. SIPMBI_191002_073.JPG: Q. What was the official name of the Pony Express?
35. SIPMBI_191002_076.JPG: A. Central Overland California & Pike's Peak Express Company (COCPP). When the company ran into money troubles, employees started calling it "Clean Out of Cash and Poor Pay."
36. SIPMBI_191002_079.JPG: At the Movies with the Pony Express "This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." -- "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," 1962 film
37. SIPMBI_191002_081.JPG: At the Movies with the Pony Express "This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." -- "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance", 1962 film From The Great Train Robbery (1903) to the present, America's western frontier has been a constant theme for movies. Film and television have given the world its most vivid images of the "Wild West," although those images are often more about legend than fact.
38. SIPMBI_191002_085.JPG: El triunfo de Buffalo Bill, 1953 A Spanish-language version of the 1953 film Pony Express, with Charlton Heston as Buffalo Bill Cody. In his Wild West shows, the real Buffalo Bill Cody promoted the legend of the Pony Express around the world. Hollywood westerns did the same thing. In his memoirs, published in 1909, Buffalo Bill claims to have been a Pony Express rider at age 14. In that job, he says, he ran off armed bandits, saved a woman and her baby from a charging buffalo, killed two Sioux Indians trying to attack him, escaped several attacks with bullets passing only through his clothing, and made the longest ride in Pony Express history. How much of Cody's story do you think he made up?
39. SIPMBI_191002_090.JPG: Pony Express, 1953 In a colorful -- and highly inaccurate -- telling of the first days of the Pony Express, two icons of the Wild West, Buffalo Bill Cody and Wild Bill Hickok, face hostile Native Americans, horrible weather, and mail thieves to get the service up and running. Movies often show Pony Express riders being attacked by Native Americans. But this was not an everyday occurrence in reality. Storms, floods, desert heat, and rough terrain were bigger problems for the riders. Why do movies prefer to show made-up stories rather than real facts?
40. SIPMBI_191002_095.JPG: Pony Express Rider, 1976 Plot: When delivering the mail, a rider searches for his father's killers. By the 1970s, few westerns were made in America. Only one film was produced in the 1970s with a Pony Express theme, this 1976 made-for-television movie.
41. SIPMBI_191002_102.JPG: Via Pony Express, 1933 Actor Jack Hoxie started out as a real-life cowboy, competed in rodeos, performed in Wild West shows, and eventually became a cowboy star in the movies. Like the Pony Express, his life story combines both the reality and the romance of the West.
42. SIPMBI_191002_105.JPG: Pony Express Rider, 1976 Plot: The villain shoots Pony Express rider "Buck Carson" and leaves him to die in the desert, in order to steal the deed of the heroine's ranch. Luckily, the heroine's horse finds him -- still handing on to his mochila -- and saves his life. Buck vows to hunt down the bad guys and get that letter back!
43. SIPMBI_191002_108.JPG: How much are you learning on your journey?
44. SIPMBI_191002_110.JPG: Q. How many ponies did the Pony Express own?
45. SIPMBI_191002_112.JPG: A. The Pony Express NEVER used ponies! They used full-size horses, which were faster and stronger.
46. SIPMBI_191002_116.JPG: Q. How much did it cost to send a letter by Pony Express?
47. SIPMBI_191002_119.JPG: A. Five dollars for a half-ounce of mail. (In today's money, that's equal to $75!)
48. SIPMBI_191002_122.JPG: Q. Did the mail ALWAYS go through?
49. SIPMBI_191002_124.JPG: A. The Pony Express was disrupted only once -- when war broke out between Paiute Indians and white settlers in Utah in May 1860. Service resumed a month later.
50. SIPMBI_191002_128.JPG: Q. How much money did a rider earn?
51. SIPMBI_191002_131.JPG: A. $100-$125 per month, plus room and board. (Pretty good for 1860.) Riders on dangerous parts of the route got $150 per month.
52. SIPMBI_191002_134.JPG: The Founders: The Pony Express was founded by William Russell, Alexander Majors, and William Waddell, partners in freight-shipping business. To start the Pony Express, Majors had to buy more than 400 ponies, build or purchase more than 150 stations, and hire stationmasters and riders -- all in less than three months. It was a bold business venture, but one that rapidly ate up the partners' investment. William Russell: Idea man and chief promoter. Alexander Majors: Oversaw day-to-day operations. William Waddell: Ran the home office and managed the money.
53. SIPMBI_191002_135.JPG: The Station House: Pony Express stations were placed approximately ten miles apart. Riders were assigned 75-mile-long portions of the trail and kept a speedy pace by switching horses at each station. New riders took over every 75-100 miles. While some of the station houses were sturdy structures, most offered only slight protection against the elements. According to the explorer and author Sir Richard Burton, the station house at Sand Springs, Utah, was "roofless and chairless, filthy and squalid, with a smoky fire in one corner, and a table in the center of an impure floor, the walls open to every wind, and the interior full of dust."
54. SIPMBI_191002_138.JPG: Pony Express Station Houses
55. SIPMBI_191002_140.JPG: The Station House More than 150 station houses were used by the Pony Express. Only a handful survive (and even fewer survive intact). The stations were built for use, not longevity. In the years following the service's demise in 1861, buildings that were not being used for other purposes fell into disrepair or disappeared. Not until the operation regained its fame at the turn of the 20th century was much interest shown in locating or preserving them.
56. SIPMBI_191002_144.JPG: Fort Churchill, Nevada The US Army began building Fort Churchill on Nevada's Carson River in the summer of 1860. The army's presence was in response to skirmishes between local settlers and Native Americans. Those hostilities had interrupted Pony Express service for several weeks. The army abandoned Fort Churchill, named for army inspector general Sylvester Churchill, a decade later.
57. SIPMBI_191002_149.JPG: Bucklands Station, Nevada The first station house on this site was originally a saloon built by Samuel Buckland. That building has long since disappeared. This structure was built years after the demise of the Pony Express. The site is operated y the Nevada State Parks Service.
58. SIPMBI_191002_154.JPG: Simpson Springs Station, Utah No rider could risk running out of water while crossing Utah's desert. Because Simpson Springs was a reliable watering spot, Pony Express officials arranged to use an already standing building as a station house. (The building in the photo sites near the location of the original station house.) It was named for Capt. James H. Simpson, who surveyed routes from the Great Sale Lake Desert to western Nevada in 1859.
59. SIPMBI_191002_157.JPG: Gothenburg Station, Nebraska This station house, situated near the Platte River, is one of two locations probably used by the Pony Express in that area. The Gothenburg stations were both created before 1860 to serve travelers headed west. This structure is a re-creation; it was donated to the public and moved to a park in Gothenburg, Nebraska, in 1931.
60. SIPMBI_191002_162.JPG: Hollenberg Station, Kansas Hollenberg Station, along Kansas' northern border, was constructed by Gerat Hollenberg in 1857 for pioneers traveling the western trails. To save money and time, Pony Express officials contracted with owners of existing building whenever possible to house horses and riders. This building also housed the stationmaster's family, a neighborhood store, and a tavern. Riders slept in the loft upstairs. The station was designated a Kansas State Historical site and now includes an active visitors interpretation site and center.
61. SIPMBI_191002_165.JPG: The Mochila: Pony Express riders carried the mail in four pockets of a saddlebag called a mochila, which fit snugly over the saddle. When a rider switched horses, he grabbed the mochila and swung it onto the saddle of the new horse. The letters were wrapped in oiled silk to protect them from moisture. One of the pockets could be unlocked only by stationmasters. This pocket also held a time card on which the station master recorded the time the rider arrived.
62. SIPMBI_191002_167.JPG: Which of these 3 vintage images shows an actual mochila?
63. SIPMBI_191002_170.JPG: The Riders: The name of the first rider galloping out of St. Joseph, Missouri, on April 3, 1860, has been lost to history. Fewer than 100 men rode for the Pony Express in its 18 months of existence. Later, many men claimed to have been Pony Express riders, with tall tales of reckless adventure growing taller with each telling. Among those mentioned as famous riders was Buffalo Bill (William Cody), whose Wild West shows toured the US and Europe for 30 years. Cody was such an accomplished showman and genius at self-promotion that even today it is difficult to separate the reality of his life from the romance he created in his shows. His claims of a life as a Pony Express rider made for great theater, but little accuracy.
64. SIPMBI_191002_173.JPG: Wells Fargo and the Pony Express: The Pony Express was a rousing success in speeding mail across the country, cutting delivery time in half, but it was unbearably expensive to operate. Unable to win a government mail contract, Russell, Majors, and Waddell lost $30 on every letter carried and were forced to sell the Pony Express. In 1861, the Wells Fargo freighting company took over the route through its Overland Mail Company and, in what must have seemed a final blow to Russell and his partners, won a government mail contract on the condition they continue the operation of a semi-weekly pony express service.
65. SIPMBI_191002_175.JPG: Fastest with the News: William Russell used the 1860 presidential election as a showcase for what the Pony Express could do. Before the election, he hired extra men and ensured that fresh relay horses were available along the entire route. On November 7, 1860, a rider dashed out of Fort Kearny, Nebraska Territory (the eastern end of the telegraph line) with the election results. Riders sped along the route, over snow-covered trails and into Fort Churchill, Nevada Territory (the western end of the telegraph line). California's newspapers received word of Lincoln's election only seven days and 17 hours after the East Coast papers, an unrivaled feat at the time.
66. SIPMBI_191002_177.JPG: News of what special event traveled via Pony Express?
67. SIPMBI_191002_180.JPG: News of what special event traveled via Pony Express? The election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 1860.
68. SIPMBI_191002_183.JPG: The End of the Pony Express: The Pony Express was created to bridge the gap between the eastern and western ends of the transcontinental telegraph lines. While the line between Missouri and California was under construction, riders carried letters across the entire route. They also carried telegraphed messages across the gap between telegraph lines. When the telegraph line was completed, there was no further need for the Pony Express. The first telegraph message from San Francisco to Washington DC was transmitted October 24, 1861. Two days later, the Pony Express came to an end.
69. SIPMBI_191002_185.JPG: Pony Express Riders
70. SIPMBI_191002_187.JPG: "We had had a consuming desire... to see a pony-rider, but somehow or other all that passed us and all that met us managed to streak by in the night, and so we only heard a whiz and a hail, and the swift phantom of the desert was gone before we could get our heads out of the windows." -- Mark Twain, Roughing It, 1872
71. SIPMBI_191002_189.JPG: Riding the Trail Fewer than 100 men rode for the Pony Express in its 18 months of existence. But by the end of the 1800s, hundreds claimed that they had been riders, and their tall tales of reckless adventure grew taller with each telling. Exaggerated stories make it hard for historians to locate and celebrate the real riders. The photos in this book show real Pony Express riders.
72. SIPMBI_191002_193.JPG: Johnny Fry (1840-1863) In all the excitement of the first Pony Express rider out of St. Joseph, Missouri, on April 3, 1860, the identity of the first rider is uncertain. The train bringing the mail to St. Joe was late, so the ride began after nightfall, with few people watching. Some accounts name Fry as the first carrier, but others disagree. When the Civil War broke out, Fry joined the Union army. He was killed in Missouri by Confederate guerrillas at the age of 23.
73. SIPMBI_191002_198.JPG: Jack Keetley (1841-1912)
74. SIPMBI_191002_203.JPG: Johnson William Richardson (1834-1862)
75. SIPMBI_191002_208.JPG: Harry Roff (dates unknown)
76. SIPMBI_191002_213.JPG: Richard Cleve (1841-1916)
77. SIPMBI_191002_218.JPG: John Fisher (1842-1905) and William Fisher (1839-1919)
78. SIPMBI_191002_221.JPG: Romance Versus Reality: Romance: From the dime novels of the late 19th century to movies and television today, the Pony Express has supplied drama, excitement, and a good deal of make-believe. Reality: The riders' constant struggles along the route did not need to be exaggerated. They rode through ghastly weather and over rough territory in a constant race against time.
79. SIPMBI_191002_257.JPG: "A black speck appears against the sky, and it is plain that it moves... Another instant... and man and horse burst past our excited faces and go winging away like the belated fragment of a storm." -- Mark Twain, Roughing It, 1872
80. MMARKS_180526_001.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2018_DC_SIPM_Mail_Marks DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (Gross Gallery 3): Mail Marks History (30 photos from 2018)
  Mail Marks History In Times of Trouble
81. MMARKS_180526_006.JPG: Undeliverable 9/11 cover, September 11, 2001
82. MMARKS_180526_010.JPG: Undeliverable 9/11 cover, September 11, 2001
83. MMARKS_180526_013.JPG: In Times of Trouble Cholera Epidemics
84. MMARKS_180526_019.JPG: Cholera fumigated mail, December 1, 1774
85. MMARKS_180526_023.JPG: Cholera fumigated mail, 1831
86. MMARKS_180526_025.JPG: Cholera fumigated mail, November 19, 1848
87. MMARKS_180526_029.JPG: In Times of Trouble Anthrax
88. MMARKS_180526_035.JPG: Cover inspected for anthrax addressed to Vice President Richard B. Cheney, July 18, 2002
89. MMARKS_180526_038.JPG: Cover inspected for anthrax addressed to the Office of the Vice President, October 18, 2001
90. MMARKS_180526_041.JPG: Cover inspected for anthrax addressed to Vice President Richard B. Cheney, October 22, 2001
91. MMARKS_180526_049.JPG: In Times of Trouble Siberian Expeditionary Force
92. MMARKS_180526_052.JPG: Siberia postal agency, October 18, 1918
93. MMARKS_180526_055.JPG: Siberia postal agency, November 1, 1918
94. MMARKS_180526_060.JPG: North Russia Siberia Expedition, June 17, 1919
95. MMARKS_180526_064.JPG: Members of the American Expeditionary Force Siberia arrive in 1918. Providing mail service to U.S. forces in such distant places posed a difficult challenge.
96. MMARKS_180526_068.JPG: In Times of Trouble Civilian Internment
97. MMARKS_180526_071.JPG: Inmates at Auschwitz, the largest and most notorious of six concentration camps set up by Nazi Germany, passed through this gate. Arbeit Macht Frei means "Work Makes One Free."
98. MMARKS_180526_074.JPG: Auschwitz concentration camp, May 13, 1942
99. MMARKS_180526_077.JPG: Japanese-American internment mail, April 12, 1943
100. MMARKS_180526_079.JPG: American WWII internee, August 23, 1943
101. MMARKS_180526_082.JPG: In Times of Trouble Civilian Mail Censorship
102. MMARKS_180526_084.JPG: WWII suspension of service, February 10, 1942
103. MMARKS_180526_087.JPG: United States Army censors perform their duties during World War II
104. MMARKS_180526_089.JPG: WWII civil mail censorship, August 17, 1943
105. MMARKS_180526_091.JPG: WWII censor check for secret ink, July 25, 1944
106. MMARKS_180526_096.JPG: In Times of Trouble Earthquake
107. MMARKS_180526_100.JPG: San Francisco earthquake, April 24, 1906
108. MMARKS_180526_102.JPG: Postal employees saved the main post office building and its contents. With fires under control, business resumed with general delivery service at 9 a.m. on April 20, two days after the earthquake. Stamp sales resumed first days later.
109. MMARKS_180526_104.JPG: One of the greatest natural disasters in U.S. history, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake toppled buildings and opened gaping cracks in the street.
110. STAMPW_180526_001.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2018_DC_SIPM_Stamps_World DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (Gross Gallery 1): World of Stamps (33 photos from 2018)
111. STAMPW_180526_005.JPG: The Stamp Makes Its Debut
112. STAMPW_180526_007.JPG: See the World's First Postage Stamp!
113. STAMPW_180526_008.JPG: Penny Black, 1840
114. STAMPW_180526_018.JPG: Who invented the stamp?
115. STAMPW_180526_026.JPG: The Idea Catches On
116. STAMPW_180526_029.JPG: United States The United States released its first two postage stamps on July 1 [1847]. The 5-cent stamp featured a portrait of Benjamin Franklin, the nation's first Postmaster General. The 10-cent stamp honored George Washington, first President of the United States.
117. STAMPW_180526_031.JPG: First U.S. Stamps, 1847
118. STAMPW_180526_034.JPG: Canton of Zurich
119. STAMPW_180526_037.JPG: Canton of Geneva
120. STAMPW_180526_040.JPG: Canton of Basel
121. STAMPW_180526_042.JPG: What Stories Do Stamps Tell?
122. STAMPW_180526_046.JPG: Struggle for Social Justice, 1999
123. STAMPW_180526_052.JPG: Breast Cancer Research, 1998 This is the first U.S. stamp ever designed and used to raise money for a health issue.
124. STAMPW_180526_059.JPG: Elvis! 1993
125. STAMPW_180526_065.JPG: Olympic Boycott, 1979
126. STAMPW_180526_076.JPG: Military Achievement, 1945
127. STAMPW_180526_083.JPG: Birth of the USPS, 1971
128. STAMPW_180526_090.JPG: Panama Canal, 1900
129. STAMPW_180526_100.JPG: Westward Expansion, 1898
130. BADGE_180203_001.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2018_DC_SIPM_Badge DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (MIA Galleries 5): Behind the Badge (108 photos from 2018)
131. BADGE_180203_005.JPG: Fallen Heroes
132. BADGE_180203_025.JPG: Tools of the Trade
133. BADGE_180203_027.JPG: The Elwood P. Zap puppet had a brief career, appearing at a 1979 workshop to teach employees and business mail representatives about postal crimes. Though never widely used, Mr. Zap represents one of the inspection service's many educational initiatives.
134. BADGE_180203_042.JPG: Such a Deal Some mail order swindles involve the sale of rare or valuable items. What is the catch? The goods are not real, but your payment is.
135. BADGE_180203_043.JPG: The handwritten poem by Robert Frost is a forgery. Postal inspectors used handwriting, ink and paper analysis as evidence in a 1978 mail fraud trial, resulting in the conviction and imprisonment of the counterfeiter.
136. BADGE_180203_047.JPG: Self Improvement There is always a market for products that promise to make us look or feel better. Criminals prey on our vanity and fears.
137. BADGE_180203_051.JPG: Get Rich Quick? In cases like these, only the criminals get rich by tricking hopeful people who think they are getting something for little or nothing.
138. BADGE_180203_055.JPG: The scammers have your name, address and credit card information. All you have is a very small sewing machine. TIP: Never pay a fee or disclose credit card information to receive a sweepstakes prize. Legitimate sweepstakes must be free.
139. BADGE_180203_061.JPG: It has two speakers, but not much else. This tiny radio is probably not what you expected to receive for a prize advertised as a stereo. TIP: Read prize descriptions very carefully because mail-in contests and sweepstakes often use vague language.
140. BADGE_180203_064.JPG: Congratulations. You have won a five-piece luggage set made out of nylon and now strangers have your home address and phone number and can sell that information to other scammers. TIP: Always read the fine print. This one says "parachute" luggage.
141. BADGE_180203_070.JPG: Buyer Beware If an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Scammers prey on our good nature and greed. Beware of any sale that is a "one time special offer" or a sweepstakes that requires an entry fee. Research the offer, and do not be fooled into becoming a victim.
142. BADGE_180203_072.JPG: The Silver Screen Postal inspectors typically work in the shadows, without the fanfare of other agencies. Nicknamed "The Silent Service," the drama and intrigue of the Postal Inspection Service caught the eye of Hollywood. Since the 1930s, the service has been a subject of films, radio and television.
143. BADGE_180203_075.JPG: They are back in The Inspectors 2, this time investigating identity theft. Michael Madsen stars as a con man on a spending spree with fraudulent credit cards that he applies for through the mail. The movie props feature Madsen's character on counterfeit cards.
144. BADGE_180203_085.JPG: Analyzing Evidence Inspectors search for fingerprints, markings, fibers and traces of other materials that can help to determine what happened, how it happened and who is responsible.
145. BADGE_180203_086.JPG: Mail is Where the Money Is Mail often contains valuables, so postal carriers and vehicles have long been targets for criminals. Today, many transactions take place online, but we still rely on the mail to ship real goods. The Postal Inspection Service has protected the delivery of gold, cash, money orders, checks, gems and other treasures.
146. BADGE_180203_094.JPG: Fakes and Forgeries Stamps have value, and counterfeit postage costs the US Postal Service millions of dollars each year. Three groups fall victim to stamp fraud: the Postal Service when fraudulent postage is used on mailings, people who use counterfeit stamps as postage and philatelists who spend thousands of dollars to acquire rare stamps.
147. BADGE_180203_096.JPG: Real or Not? One of these money orders is a counterfeit. Can you tell which? Security features make counterfeits easier to spot and harder to create. The legitimate money order has a woven security thread printed with the letters "USPS". Use the light to see another feature of the real money order -- the light will help you see the watermark of Benjamin Franklin on the left side. Fakes do not have a watermark; instead, Franklin's image is visibly printed.
148. BADGE_180203_125.JPG: Faking the Money The Post Office Department began issuing money orders in 1863, as a secure alternative to mailing cash. Criminals see checks and money orders as tempting targets. They have tried stealing blank money orders from post offices, altering information and creating counterfeits. At the recommendation of the inspection service, postal officials continue to add security features that make these documents harder for criminals to exploit.
149. BADGE_180203_127.JPG: Handled with Care Unusual deliveries that have special considerations may require the skills of the Postal Inspection Service. In such circumstances, inspectors are in charge of planning and overseeing security. From originally moving the nation's gold into Fort Knox to transporting the world's larger diamonds, postal inspectors use any means -- including armored vehicles, armed guards and secure containers -- to safely deliver precious cargo.
150. BADGE_180203_129.JPG: Concentration and Convoy Containers, nicknamed Con-Cons, are used by the post office to protect valuables and registered mail during transport. These containers are sorted, tracked, and securely separated from regular mail. Only authorized postal employees can cut the seal and use a special key to open the container.
151. BADGE_180203_132.JPG: An elaborate system of decoy trains, steel doors, machine guns, and armed inspectors protected the 1936 transportation of gold to the nation's new depository at Fort Knox.
152. BADGE_180203_136.JPG: Because US currency was backed by old, moving it safely was a matter of national security. Postal inspectors helped coordinate the bullion shipments to Fort Knox using crates like this.
153. BADGE_180203_138.JPG: Postal inspectors are trained and prepared for anything. In the 1920s, the inspection service became the first law enforcement agency to use the Thompson submachine gun, or Tommy Gun.
154. BADGE_180203_145.JPG: From the moment it arrived in the US, postal inspectors protected one of the world's largest diamonds. In this 1967 photo, inspectors Ralph Espina and Leroy Kingsland prepare to escort the Lesotho diamond from JFK Airport to Harry Winston Jewelers. Espina is handcuffed to a satchel containing the 601-carat uncut diamond and Kingsland carried a Tommy gun for the mission.
155. BADGE_180203_148.JPG: Trouble on Train 13 On October 11, 1923, three bandits botched a train robbery. The DeAutremont brothers attempted to steal gold they believed to be on a railway mail car traveling through Oregon. They overestimated the amount of dynamite needed to blow open the door and the blast destroyed the car. The brothers killed four men during the robbery, recovering nothing. There was no gold on board. Postal inspectors launched a worldwide manhunt.
156. BADGE_180203_156.JPG: Postal inspectors recovered mail from the charred train car, and delivered the legible pieces to their final destinations.
157. BADGE_180203_159.JPG: This photo shows the aftermath of the explosion that destroyed train #13, killing mail clerk Elvyn Dougherty.
158. BADGE_180203_161.JPG: Highway Robbery On August 14, 1962, a police officer directed a mail truck on a Massachusetts highway to make a detour. The mail truck was carrying $1.5 million in cash and silver certificates from banks on Cape Cod to the Federal Reserve Bank in Boston. The officer was a thief in disguise who led the truck to his armed accomplices. They made off with the money, leaving the postal driver and his guard tied in their truck. Three of the gunmen were indicated but not convicted because a key witness disappeared. The money has never been recovered.
159. BADGE_180203_165.JPG: This handgun belonged to Thomas Richards, one of the suspected criminals. Inspectors had strong evidence against him and he agreed to testify against his crew.
160. BADGE_180203_169.JPG: Dressed as a police officer, the perpetrator asked the driver to detour -- right into a trap. This hat and badge were part of his disguise.
161. BADGE_180203_172.JPG: In 1962, banks shipped money for deposit in bags like this. Empty sacks were all that remained after the mail truck heist.
162. BADGE_180203_174.JPG: This license plate, retained as evidence, is from a car used by the criminals in the robbery.
163. BADGE_180203_176.JPG: Many believe the three indicted gunmen were never convicted because of the sudden disappearance of the fourth. Thomas Richards (bottom right photo). Anticipated to become the prosecutor's witness, Richards mysteriously disappeared before testifying against the other suspects.
164. BADGE_180203_179.JPG: Jack-in-the-Box In 1980, postal inspectors investigated the mysterious disappearances of registered mail from commercial aircraft. The case was cracked on May 14 when a huge trunk accidentally opened as it was unloaded, revealing stowaway William DeLucia. The "jack-in-the-box thief" would emerge from his trunk mid-flight to steal mail. On this trip, he had loaded over $350,000 worth of items into empty luggage checked in by accomplices. Authorities arrested DeLucia and the two men who claimed the luggage and truck.
165. BADGE_180203_184.JPG: When the trunk popped open, DeLucia was discovered with his oxygen tank, food and a flashlight. Law enforcement officers, including postal inspectors, were called in to investigate.
166. BADGE_180203_185.JPG: At high altitudes, the cargo hold got chilly. These lined boots and several blankets kept the stowaway warm.
167. BADGE_180203_189.JPG: The mail seemingly vanished. After stealing valuables, the stowaway stashed the emptied mailbags in luggage checked in by his partners.
168. BADGE_180203_192.JPG: This airplane's cargo hold was pressurized, but the cautious jack-in-the-box thief carried this oxygen tank with him just in case.
169. BADGE_180203_198.JPG: Inspectors in the News Much of the Postal Inspection Service's work takes place outside of the spotlight, but it has its share of high profile investigations. These sensational cases bring the inspection service to the forefront. While some crimes are preventable, disasters can strike without warning, disrupting mail and lives alike. Here, too, postal inspectors are first responders, working to ensure the safety of postal employees, safeguard the mail and return service to normal as quickly as possible.
170. BADGE_180203_204.JPG: The case was closed in 2010 with the conclusion that the culprit had committed suicide in 2008. Since 2001, biohazard detection equipment monitors the air in large mail sorting facilities.
171. BADGE_180203_210.JPG: The U.S. flag was in the Brentwood postal facility in Washington, DC where four employees became ill and two died from anthrax inhalation. The chlorine dioxide used to decontaminate the building left the flag discolored.
172. BADGE_180203_216.JPG: Since the anthrax attacks of 2001, mail to federal offices in the Washington, DC area, including the National Postal Museum, is decontaminated at an irradiation facility before delivery. This process eliminates biological threats but it is expensive, slows delivery and can damage some mailed items.
173. BADGE_180203_217.JPG: Inspector Richard Domros gathered these items while part of the team responsible for the massive cleanup and decontamination effort at the Brentwood postal facility. Despite the danger, inspectors wearing HAZMAT suits regularly entered the "hot zone" to recover mail, evidence and other items.
174. BADGE_180203_220.JPG: The markings on this envelope indicate that it was screened for biohazards.
175. BADGE_180203_223.JPG: The Brentwood Postal Facility in Washington DC, shown here, and the Trenton Processing and Distribution Center at Hamilton, New Jersey, were closed for years for decontamination. Upon reopening, Brentwood was renamed the Curseen-Morris Mail Processing and Distribution Center in honor of Joseph Curseen Jr. and Thomas Morris Jr., the postal workers who died of anthrax inhalation.
176. BADGE_180203_232.JPG: Dangerous Mail
177. BADGE_180203_234.JPG: The images above show the anthrax-laced envelope and letter addressed to Senator Patrick Leahy before the paper was discovered and darkened during the decontamination process.
178. BADGE_180203_245.JPG: Explosive Delivery
179. BADGE_180203_247.JPG: A mailed cigar-box bomb like this mock-up killed a Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania man and his son in 1936. It was traced to a local man with a grudge over a labor dispute. this was used during the trial to help jurors understand how the device functioned.
180. BADGE_180203_250.JPG: These handcuffs were used by Unabom Task Force members when they arrested Kaczynski in his Montana hideout on April 3, 1996. They were later presented to Postal Inspector Anthony Muljat in recognition of his work on the case. Mock-ups of the Unabomber's packaging were shared with postmasters and postal employees in the hope that they could recognize and stop a similar, deadly shipment.
181. BADGE_180203_259.JPG: Suspicious Packages
182. BADGE_180203_260.JPG: These handcuffs were used by Unabom Task Force members when they arrested Kaczynski in his Montana hideout on April 3, 1996. They were later presented to Postal Inspector Anthony Muljat in recognition of his work on the case.
183. BADGE_180203_264.JPG: A number of the postal inspectors who worked the case were at the scene of Kaczynski's arrest in April 1996. From left to right: Robin Shipman, John Burkhardt, Tom Berthiume, Brad Reeves, Gary Bridgewater and Paul Wilhelmus.
184. BADGE_180203_275.JPG: Brand new equipment like this vacuum and amplifier, still with its tag, were gutted to conceal drugs before being shipped.
185. BADGE_180203_276.JPG: Criminals lined this speaker with insulation in an attempt to mask the scent of their illegal shipment.
186. BADGE_180203_280.JPG: The artwork is just dressing on this shallow wooden box designated to hide illegal substances.
187. BADGE_180203_284.JPG: This aerosol can, from the 1990s, looks innocent enough, but drug traffickers emptied it and created a false bottom to conceal vials of cocaine.
188. BADGE_180203_287.JPG: Operation Bogart
189. BADGE_180203_288.JPG: New printing technologies have made high quality art reproductions possible. Inspectors seized reproductions of work by Marc Chagall, Salvador Dali, Joan Miro and Pablo Picasso. The criminals forged print numbers and signatures and sold them as limited-edition works for thousands of dollars.
190. BADGE_180203_293.JPG: Homework Helps
191. BADGE_180203_294.JPG: Paying it Upwards
192. BADGE_180203_301.JPG: Invest with Care
193. BADGE_180203_302.JPG: Faith and Fraud
194. BADGE_180203_306.JPG: Check It Out
195. BADGE_180203_308.JPG: Clues and Ashes
196. BADGE_180203_318.JPG: The charred door from the safe barely survived the blaze. Upon close examination, postal inspectors noticed scratches left by the tools used to force it open.
197. BADGE_180203_324.JPG: The stolen equipment marked this money order with the date (June 18, 1997) and ZIP code (22509 -- Loretto, Virginia) that linked it to the crime.
198. BADGE_180203_325.JPG: First Priority
199. BADGE_180203_329.JPG: The 2007 tornado that hit Greensburg, Kansas, left this fragment of a collection box, with a shard of wood driven through the metal.
200. BADGE_180203_334.JPG: Mail is Where the Money Is
201. SIPMMC_180203_001.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2018_DC_SIPM_Mail_Call_WWI DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (MIA Galleries 7): Mail Call: My Fellow Soldiers: Letters from World War I (32 photos from 2018)
202. SIPMMC_180203_016.JPG: Mail Call To many, letter writing may seem a quaint and charming pastime. But for military personnel and their families, mail is essential. Providing prompt, reliable mail service for Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen stationed anywhere in the world is a top priority for both the armed forces and the postal system. The ways and means of mail delivery have changed over time, but the essential messages are the same. Our heartfelt letters, official news, and packages from home bind families, resonate with sincerity, and in times of crisis can elevate the ordinary to the extraordinary.
203. SIPMMC_180203_019.JPG: My Fellow Soldiers Letters from World War I
204. SIPMMC_180203_021.JPG: My Fellow Soldiers Letters from World War I At the end of the war, General John J. Pershing -- commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) -- wrote a letter that begins "My Fellow Soldiers." Pershing expressed his profound respect and appreciation for the sacrifice, endurance, and will of those who served under him. Each member of the AEF received a copy of the message. Letters were the primary form of communication between the home and military fronts and allowed both writers and recipients to preserve connections and share experiences. The selection of correspondence presented in this exhibition illuminates the relationships, thoughts, and emotions of the authors as they grappled with the effects of World War I.
205. SIPMMC_180203_029.JPG: Staying neutral became increasingly difficult for the United States as the war progressed. Between 1914 and early 1917, Americans sent humanitarian aid and volunteered medical services in war-torn countries. The relief work and America's continued commercial trade with combatants raised questions about the nation's neutrality.
206. SIPMMC_180203_035.JPG: "I shall be tied down with this border patrol indefinitely... and am really fortunate to have something to do." -- Brigadier General John J. Pershing to family friend Anne Boswell, November 3, 1915 (on loan from Andrew Carroll) John Pershing expressed his grief with this black-edged mourning stationery. In late 1915, while Pershing was stationed away from his family, a house fire claimed he lives of his wife Frances and their three daughters. His young son Warren survived, but Pershing's loss was profound. He stayed busy at Fort Bliss, Texas, contending with instability along the border caused by the ongoing revolution in Mexico.
207. SIPMMC_180203_041.JPG: "You have saved us, great American Nation." -- Belgian student Paul Mage to President Woodrow Wilson, February 27, 1915 In the earliest days of the war, Germany invaded Belgium after the government refused to allow German troops passage. The violation of Belgium's neutrality provoked Britain to declare war against Germany on August 4, 1914. The conflict caused severe food shortages in Belgium. Though the United States remained neutral, citizens provided humanitarian aid and sent food supplies to the occupied country of seven million people. Belgian schools organized letter writing campaigns to express the population's gratitude to the United States.
208. SIPMMC_180203_051.JPG: "Never have I had such a heart ache as I had after listening to this man's tale." -- Nurse Marion Doane to her mother and sister, March 5, 1917 Marion Doane was working as an operating room supervisor outside Paris, France, when the war began. The staff of her American-run hospital treated wounded troops and created an ambulance service. She had been treating soldiers for over two years when she head a Frenchman give an account of being a prisoner of war and of the abuse Germans inflicted upon French, English, and Russian prisoners. Stories like this helped cast Germany as an enemy in the eyes of the Americans.
209. SIPMMC_180203_054.JPG: Over There: America Goes to War On July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary invaded Serbia in retaliation for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The attack triggered diplomatic alliances, which led countries to go to war. The Central Powers coalition of Austria-Hungary, Germany, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria fought against more than 20 allied countries, including Russia, France, and Great Britain. The United States remained neutral until Germany announced a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare in early 1917. After the destruction of American ships and other provocations, President Woodrow Wilson told Congress, "The world must be made safe for democracy," as he successfully requested a declaration of war. By June, the American Expeditionary Forces stared deploying to Europe. The AEF trained with the Allies and then engaged in its first battle in autumn 1917. Brutal combat continued through early November 1918 when the two sides negotiated ceasefire agreements. The Great War, later known as World War I, claimed an estimated 17 million lives of military personnel and civilians. The war profoundly changed society and global politics.
210. SIPMMC_180203_061.JPG: Mobilizing equipping, recruiting, and training the military stretched over the nineteen months of America's engagement in the war. Congress declared war on April 6, 1917, and enacted the draft for men one month later. Eventually over four million men and women served in the military. Social welfare organizations also expanded to provide essential services.
211. SIPMMC_180203_066.JPG: Writing letters was seen as a patriotic duty for sustaining morale. Americans sent 35 million letters from home to deployed service members in the firs year after entering the war. The home front showed support by rationing food and purchasing government-issued Liberty Bonds; women also took on new jobs in the work force.
212. SIPMMC_180203_071.JPG: Postcards were on inexpensive and easy way for busy service members to communicate with friends and loved ones. Charitable organizations distributed postcards for free to encourage military personnel to write. Some postcards even came with pre-printed messages, which helped regulate the content and tone of information sent home. Picture postcards offered glimpses into life at training camps, scenes of the war's destruction, and sentimental or patriotic messages.
213. SIPMMC_180203_074.JPG: Writing kit of Corporal Robert L. Wade, Company I, 130th Infantry, 33rd Division.
214. SIPMMC_180203_080.JPG: "Somewhere in France" was how most service members on the front lines referred to their locations. The military censored outgoing mail to ensure sensitive information like troop movements and numbers did not reach the enemy. These constraints affected how people wrote. Many on the home front hid their worries and sent only words of encouragement and love.
215. SIPMMC_180203_083.JPG: Writing kit of Colonel B. Taylor, Headquarters, Motor Transport Corps, Advance Section
216. SIPMMC_180203_088.JPG: Modern technologies changed warfare and challenged the strategies and fortitude at both sides. The American Expeditionary Forces took lessons from the Allies on the use of airplanes, tanks, and poisonous gas. By the summer of 1918, the AEF embarked on major battle campaigns. In late September, the AEF and the Allies launched their final offensive.
217. SIPMMC_180203_090.JPG: Bicks pen with container of ink disks The Bicks Ink Company of Chicago produced this pen. Bicks held the earliest identified US patent for the so-called "trench" pen, dated September 1, 1914. Even humble pens underwent technological advancements during the war. Carrying glass bottles of ink was inconvenient and potentially dangerous for troops. Companies developed and marketed "trench" pens for easy use in the field. A soldier simply mixed the dried ink pellets and a little water directly in the pen's barrel.
218. SIPMMC_180203_099.JPG: Establishing peace began with a ceasefire on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. The resulting celebrations gave way to the long process of recovery. Service members looked forward to returning home and planning for the future, while diplomats began to negotiate treaties that redefined European borders.
219. SIPMMC_180203_102.JPG: Repurposed shell casings sold as souvenirs by French artisans
220. SIPMMC_180203_106.JPG: My Fellow Soldiers Letters from World War I America's role in the war can be examined through the unique lens of personal correspondence written by soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen, aid workers, and their loved ones on the home front. Letters contain the stories of these men and women in their own words. What and how people wrote was influenced by censorship rules and social expectations. With few other forms of communication readily available at the time, letters were a lifeline for maintaining relationships and hope. The centennial of World War I encourages reflection on the war's importance in shaping of the United States and the globe. A reconsideration of the war provides perspective today on similar issues ranging from patriotism to censorship.
221. SIPMMC_170405_02.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2017_DC_SIPM_Mail_Call_WWI DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (MIA Galleries 7): Mail Call: My Fellow Soldiers: Letters from World War I (21 photos from 2017)
222. SIPMMC_170405_03.JPG: My Fellow Soldiers Letters from World War I
223. SIPMMC_170405_07.JPG: Mail Call To many, letter writing may seem a quaint and charming pastime. But for military personnel and their families, mail is essential. Providing prompt, reliable mail service for Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen stationed anywhere in the world is a top priority for both the armed forces and the postal system. The ways and means of mail delivery have changed over time, but the essential messages are the same. Our heartfelt letters, official news, and packages from home bind families, resonate with sincerity, and in times of crisis can elevate the ordinary to the extraordinary.
224. SIPMMC_170405_17.JPG: To many, letter writing may seem a quaint and charming pastime. But for military personnel and their families, mail is essential. Providing prompt, reliable mail service for Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen stationed anywhere in the world is a top priority for both the armed forces and the postal system. The ways and means of mail delivery have changed over time, but the essential messages are the same. Our heartfelt letters, official news, and packages from home bind families, resonate with sincerity, and in times of crisis can elevate the ordinary to the extraordinary.
225. SIPMMC_170405_20.JPG: My Fellow Soldiers Letters from World War I
226. SIPMMC_170405_23.JPG: My Fellow Soldiers Letters from World War I At the end of the war, General John J. Pershing -- commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) -- wrote a letter that begins "My Fellow Soldiers." Pershing expressed his profound respect and appreciation for the sacrifice, endurance, and will of those who served under him. Each member of the AEF received a copy of the message. Letters were the primary form of communication between the home and military fronts and allowed both writers and recipients to preserve connections and share experiences. The selection of correspondence presented in this exhibition illuminates the relationships, thoughts, and emotions of the authors as they grappled with the effects of World War I.
227. SIPMMC_170405_25.JPG: Over There: America Goes to War On July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary invaded Serbia in retaliation for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The attack triggered diplomatic alliances, which led countries to go to war. The Central Powers coalition of Austria-Hungary, Germany, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria fought against more than 20 allied countries, including Russia, France, and Great Britain. The United States remained neutral until Germany announced a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare in early 1917. After the destruction of American ships and other provocations, President Woodrow Wilson told Congress, "The world must be made safe for democracy," as he successfully requested a declaration of war. By June, the American Expeditionary Forces stared deploying to Europe. The AEF trained with the Allies and then engaged in its first battle in autumn 1917. Brutal combat continued through early November 1918 when the two sides negotiated ceasefire agreements. The Great War, later known as World War I, claimed an estimated 17 million lives of military personnel and civilians. The war profoundly changed society and global politics.
228. SIPMMC_170405_37.JPG: "I shall be tied down with this border patrol indefinitely... and am really fortunate to have something to do." -- Brigadier General John J. Pershing to family friend Anne Boswell, November 3, 1915 (on loan from Andrew Carroll) John Pershing expressed his grief with this black-edged mourning stationery. In late 1915, while Pershing was stationed away from his family, a house fire claimed he lives of his wife Frances and their three daughters. His young son Warren survived, but Pershing's loss was profound. He stayed busy at Fort Bliss, Texas, contending with instability along the border caused by the ongoing revolution in Mexico.
229. SIPMMC_170405_41.JPG: Staying neutral became increasingly difficult for the United States as the war progressed. Between 1914 and early 1917, Americans sent humanitarian aid and volunteered medical services in war-torn countries. The relief work and America's continued commercial trade with combatants raised questions about the nation's neutrality.
230. SIPMMC_170405_43.JPG: Popular culture reflected common behaviors and expectations about letters, postcards, and parcels. The importance of wartime mail and its influence on people's emotions inspired music, art, and literature.
231. SIPMMC_170405_47.JPG: Mobilizing equipping, recruiting, and training the military stretched over the nineteen months of America's engagement in the war. Congress declared war on April 6, 1917, and enacted the draft for men one month later. Eventually over four million men and women served in the military. Social welfare organizations also expanded to provide essential services.
232. SIPMMC_170405_50.JPG: Writing letters was seen as a patriotic duty for sustaining morale. Americans sent 35 million letters from home to deployed service members in the firs year after entering the war. The home front showed support by rationing food and purchasing government-issued Liberty Bonds; women also took on new jobs in the work force.
233. SIPMMC_170405_53.JPG: Postcards were on inexpensive and easy way for busy service members to communicate with friends and loved ones. Charitable organizations distributed postcards for free to encourage military personnel to write. Some postcards even came with pre-printed messages, which helped regulate the content and tone of information sent home. Picture postcards offered glimpses into life at training camps, scenes of the war's destruction, and sentimental or patriotic messages.
234. SIPMMC_170405_57.JPG: "Somewhere in France" was how most service members on the front lines referred to their locations. The military censored outgoing mail to ensure sensitive information like troop movements and numbers did not reach the enemy. These constraints affected how people wrote. Many on the home front hid their worries and sent only words of encouragement and love.
235. SIPMMC_170405_58.JPG: Modern technologies changed warfare and challenged the strategies and fortitude at both sides. The American Expeditionary Forces took lessons from the Allies on the use of airplanes, tanks, and poisonous gas. By the summer of 1918, the AEF embarked on major battle campaigns. In late September, the AEF and the Allies launched their final offensive.
236. SIPMMC_170405_68.JPG: Establishing peace began with a ceasefire on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. The resulting celebrations gave way to the long process of recovery. Service members looked forward to returning home and planning for the future, while diplomats began to negotiate treaties that redefined European borders.
237. SIPMMC_170405_69.JPG: My Fellow Soldiers Letters from World War I America's role in the war can be examined through the unique lens of personal correspondence written by soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen, aid workers, and their loved ones on the home front. Letters contain the stories of these men and women in their own words. What and how people wrote was influenced by censorship rules and social expectations. With few other forms of communication readily available at the time, letters were a lifeline for maintaining relationships and hope. The centennial of World War I encourages reflection on the war's importance in shaping of the United States and the globe. A reconsideration of the war provides perspective today on similar issues ranging from patriotism to censorship.
238. MOVING_150525_01.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2015_DC_SIPM_Moving DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (MIA Galleries 1): Moving the Mail (21 photos from 2015)
  Mail By Rail: Sorting mail on moving trains was one of the postal service's greatest innovations. After the Civil War, officials sought faster and more efficient ways to handle the increasing postal volumes. Clerks were placed on board railcars to sort and process mail while trains raced toward their destinations. This method for processing railway mail grew to be a mainstay of postal operations, but it came to and end in 1977 and three decades of declining railroad traffic.
239. MOVING_150525_08.JPG: "Few... are so widely traveled as Owney, the pet and mascot of the railway mail service." -- Los Angeles Times, March 15, 1896 Owney: Mascot of the Railway Mail Service: In his day, Owney (about 1888-1897) was the most famous dog in America, celebrated for traveling the length and breadth of the country on mail trains. His career began when he followed some mailbags onto a train in Albany, New York, and after that, he never stopped moving. Clerks working on Railway Mail Service cars loved having Owney on board and adopted him as their mascot. Reporters began to write about Owney, and by the early 1890s he appeared in headlines from the San Francisco Call to the New York Times. At that time, most of the nation's mail was sorted and moved on trains. Railway accidents were common and the clerks' jobs dangerous. Clerks considered Owney a good luck charm because they believed that he had never been in a train wreck. To mark Owney's trips on their trains, the clerks began adding medals and tags to his collar.
240. MOVING_150525_13.JPG: Owney's Tags: "Owney... now wears a big bunch [of tags]. When he jogs along, they jingle like the bells on a junk wagon." -- Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 4, 1894 As Owney traveled the country, mail clerks and others added medals and tags to his collar. These trinkets showed the many different places and people Owney visited. Some tags were made just for him. Over the years, Owney received hundreds of tags. From time to time, postal employees would remove his new tags and set them aside to make room for more. After Owney's death, many of the tags were sent to the Post Office Department in Washington, DC. They are now kept in the National Postal Museum.
241. MOVING_150525_19.JPG: From top left, clockwise: Postal Clerks' Convention, 1892 -- Baltimore Maryland Badge-style, 1893 -- Detroit, Michigan Alamo Commemorative coin -- San Antonio, Texas "Presented to His Dogship," 1892 -- Baltimore, Maryland Railway baggage tag -- Naugatuck, Connecticut
242. MOVING_150525_22.JPG: Owney's Travels Lines = Railway Lines Empty circles = Places that Owney visited Circles with "A" through "E" -- Tags on display here
243. MOVING_150525_26.JPG: Owney's Travels: From the late 1800s through the mid-1900s, trains carrying people, cargo, and mail covered most of the United States. Railway mail clerks worked long, hard hours in train cars, sorting and processing the bulk of the nation's mail. Owney traveled with his clerk friends on many of the trains, receiving tags form [sic] clerks, businesses, and individuals along the way.
244. MOVING_150525_28.JPG: (A) Hotel Chilburg -- Tacoma, Washington (B) Railway Post Office -- Albuquerque, New Mexico (C) Railway Mail Office, 1892 -- Boston, Massachusetts (D) Compliments of Wilson Parker -- Jackson, Mississippi (E) Dog License, 1894 -- Davenport, Iowa
245. MOVING_150525_32.JPG: First in Everything Office Supt. Railway Mail Service Boston, Mass. April 27th 1892
246. MOVING_150525_35.JPG: Owney Detroit, Mich. Beautiful city of the straits. Nov. 11, 1893
247. MOVING_150525_43.JPG: "Owney acknowledges no master save about 100,000 United States postal clerks throughout the length and breadth of this land." -- Washington Post, December 27, 1895 Owney: As a pup, Owney followed his owner to work at the post office in Albany, New York. When his master left that job, Owney stayed behind, following mailbags onto train cars. Soon he had thousands of friends among America's Railway Mail Service clerks. So many people added tags to Owney's collar that Postmaster General John Wanamaker had a harness made to help him carry the weight. After Owney died in 1897, his mail clerk friends raised money to preserve their mascot.
248. MOVING_150525_56.JPG: By the early 1900s, railroads were critical to postal operations. The Post Office Department ordered that new post offices in large cities be built as near as possible to the principal railroad station. This building opened in 1914 as the Washington DC city post office. It was connected to Union Station by a bridge used for moving the mail.
249. SIPMBI_150525_001.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2015_DC_SIPM_Binding DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (MIA Galleries 2): Binding the Nation (incl Pony Express) (45 photos from 2015)
  Starting the System: "I dispatched my first post rider in January, now three months past. He has not yet returned. Look sharp for his trail as you travel this lonely route." On a wintry January morning, Francis Lovelace dispatched the first post rider along this trail. Watch for the axe marks the rider made on trees to mark his path to Boston and guide him home to New York.
250. SIPMBI_150525_004.JPG: "A post shall go monthly between New York and Boston." -- Francis Lovelace (1618-1678), colonial governor of New York and New Jersey, 1673
251. SIPMBI_150525_010.JPG: It's 1673 and you need to send a letter. But wait -- paper is still imported and very expensive. And postage stamps and envelopes will not appear for about 170 more years. There's no mailbox, and there's not even a road connecting New York and Boston. Early in 1673, Francis Lovelace, the British governor of New York and New Jersey, attempted to set up regular postal service between New York and Boston. Following Indian trails, his postal riders notched trees along the 268-mile journey. Their path, known first as the "King's Best Highway," became the Boston Post Road and is now US Route 1.
252. SIPMBI_150525_019.JPG: In January, 1673, the first post rider used Native American trails between New York and Boston. Follow his path.
253. SIPMBI_150525_026.JPG: One of the rider's tasks was to notch trees along the way with a hand axe so others could follow his trail. Can you find those marks?
254. SIPMBI_150525_028.JPG: The rider's 268-mile journey between Boston and New York became known as "the King's Best Highway." We know it today as US 1.
255. SIPMBI_150525_041.JPG: In Colonial America, mail was often brought to local taverns and inns which doubled as post offices. Local residents would gather to socialize and collect their mail -- if there was any!
256. SIPMBI_150525_050.JPG: From Crown to Revolution: Benjamin Franklin was named postmaster of Philadelphia by the British Crown in 1737. The colonial post still carried mostly official and commercial correspondence, and most communications were transatlantic. Few residents of one colony needed to contact residents of another. But over the next three decades, a sense of common destiny began to unite the colonies in opposition to British rule. In 1753, Franklin was the Crown's joint postmaster general for the colonies. After a 1,600-mile inspection of post offices, he organized a weekly mail wagon between Philadelphia and Boston. Using lanterns to light their way, post riders traveled day and night in relays. This cut mail delivery time between the cities in half and made the colonial post efficient for colonists and profitable for the Crown.
257. SIPMBI_150525_062.JPG: Revolution by Mail: Following the British victory in the French and Indian War in America (1757-1763), relations between the American colonists and their mother country rapidly deteriorated. The war depleted the British treasury, forcing Parliament to pass a series of Acts designed to increase revenues from the colonies. America's colonial leaders viewed these new taxes on tea, molasses, stamps, and other commodities as a concerted effort to strip away their civil rights and liberties. The individual colonies regarded their resistance to England's tyranny as a common cause and developed new strategies and institutions in opposition to the English threat. Secure communications between the patriot leaders was critical to the success of the revolution and control of the colonial mail was fiercely contested. British authorities employed only loyal postmasters who opened and read the mail forcing colonial leaders to boycott the post. Many advocated creating an independent American postal system to protect the American cause and to decrease their dependence upon the Crown's post.
258. SIPMBI_150525_074.JPG: "The mail and the press... are the nerves of the body politic. By them the slightest impression made on the most remote parts is communicated to the whole system." -- John C. Calhoun, 1817 Printers vied for the postmaster's job, knowing they would get news first and could mail their newspapers for free and refuse competing papers. As deputy postmaster general, Benjamin Franklin insisted on cheap, impartial delivery of all newspapers. The 1792 Post Office Act let newspaper editors exchange their papers by mail without charge so that each could print the other's news. By 1825, newspaper circulated in-state or within 100 miles of publication for 1 cent, and for 1-1/2 cents beyond that range. Newspapers and magazines still enjoy special rates, based on the revolutionary conviction that knowledge is power, not to be taxed.
259. SIPMBI_150525_080.JPG: The Post and the Press; The first colonial newspapers -- single sheets of paper printed on only one side -- were nailed up, or posted, in public places. They carried official decrees, court decisions, ship arrivals, a few advertisements, reprints of sermons, letters from travelers, and news of floods, storms, or piracy. Called broadsides, these papers were often printed and sold by postmasters, who usually were the first to get the news. As the colonies grew, broadsides appeared more often, first as weekly, then daily, newspapers. Printers often titled their papers The Post, the Packet, or The Courier, according to their means of delivery.
260. SIPMBI_150525_087.JPG: Case In Point: Freedom of Speech in the Mail: At the beginning of the new America, nearly all the news came by mail. When the Constitution was signed, it was rushed by post riders to every town that had a printing press. And that's how the newspapers were able to bring the resounding news of how we were to govern ourselves. The newspapers knew of it first by mail. In England, for centuries, the mail was frequently scrutinized by agents of the Crown or of the Parliament. It could be worth your life to write a letter that might be seen as having the seeds of treason. This did not happen here. From the beginning, by and large, the US mails have been free of eyes other than our own and those of the sender. To the framers of the Constitution, the mail made the engine of democracy run -- along with the newspapers. And newspapers then printed a good deal of correspondence. Rufus Putnam, a key military figure in the Revolutionary War, said, "The knowledge diffused among the people by newspapers, by correspondence between friends" was crucial to the future of the nation. "Nothing can be more fatal to a republican government than ignorance among its citizens." As a journalist, I have sometimes been asked where my leads for stories come from. Much of the time, they come from opening the mail. Readers from all over the country send personal stories, newspaper clippings, local court decisions, and student newspaper editorials arguing for the First Amendment rights of students. There is no other way I would have known about these stories except through the mail. It is through letters than I often receive highly confidential stories about unfairness in the justice system from people who would not trust any other form of communication. The framers of the Constitution knew how vital the mail would be when Article I was written to protect the privacy of communication through the mail. Nat Hentoff is a columnist for the Washington Post and the Village Voice, and the author of "Free Speech for Me, But Not for Thee: How the Left and Right Continually Censor Each Other."
261. SIPMBI_150525_095.JPG: The Expanding Nation: In the early 1800s, the United States seemed a land of boundless promise and possibility. Between 1803 and 1853, it more than doubled in area, and many Americans believed that the nation had a "manifest destiny" to rule from sea to sea. Settlers poured into these new territories from the states and from Europe and Asia, driving American Indians from ancestral homes in the land rush. But territory alone was of little value unless the lands could be developed, especially the vast region from the Mississippi to the West Coast. Stagecoach companies holding mail contracts helped to secure those areas, turning rough trails into well-traveled roads. And the somewhat regular arrival of the mail coach connected settlers to faraway families, friends, and businesses back home.
262. SIPMBI_150525_101.JPG: The Homestead Act of 1862, passed during the Civil War, guaranteed 160 acres of land to anyone who agreed to improve the land and live on it for five years. As Congress anticipated, thousands headed west along the overland trails after the war to claim land. Railroad companies pushed into the frontier after the Civil War, bringing more settlers. The railroads also dispatched land agents to Europe. Immigrants could purchase both their transportation and land from the railroad companies, land that often had been given by federal and state governments to the railroads to encourage growth.
263. SIPMBI_150525_126.JPG: The Pony Express: The legendary name of the Pony Express calls up thrilling images of horse and rider racing across treacherous terrain. Yet the actual Pony Express lasted for less than two years (April 1860 to October 1861) and was only one of a number of private express services that used riders to carry the mail. It owes it fame to the romanticizing of the Pony Express and the American West that began late in the 19th century, in Wild West shows and dime novels, and continues to the present. Pony Express riders live on today, still dodging varmints and villains in books and movies, evoking speed and the thrills on countless commercial products.
264. SIPMBI_150525_131.JPG: Pony Express route
265. SIPMBI_150525_142.JPG: Length of entire route: 1,966 miles Stations along route: about 165
266. SIPMBI_150525_145.JPG: Distance between stations: approximately 10 miles Each rider rode one segment of the route, 75-100 miles long
267. SIPMBI_150525_146.JPG: At each station, a rider changed horses Every 75-100 miles, a new rider took over
268. SIPMBI_150525_149.JPG: A rider changed horses 8-10 times per ride (every 10 miles or so) Average speed: 10 miles per hour
269. SIPMBI_150525_152.JPG: How long did it take to get from Missouri to California? 10 days in summer, 12-16 days in winter (mountain snows can slow you down). In 1860, that was speedy! A stagecoach took 24 days
270. SIPMBI_150525_156.JPG: Whose idea was it? Three business partners -- William Russell, Alexander Majors, and William Waddell -- founded the Pony Express as a private company
271. SIPMBI_150525_160.JPG: The Founders: The Pony Express was founded by William Russell, Alexander Majors, and William Waddell, partners in freight-shipping business. To start the Pony Express, Majors had to buy more than 400 ponies, build or purchase more than 150 stations, and hire stationmasters and riders -- all in less than three months. It was a bold business venture, but one that rapidly ate up the partners' investment. William Russell: Idea man and chief promoter. Alexander Majors: Oversaw day-to-day operations. William Waddell: Ran the home office and managed the money.
272. SIPMBI_150525_163.JPG: The Station House: Pony Express stations were placed approximately ten miles apart. Riders were assigned 75-mile-long portions of the trail and kept a speedy pace by switching horses at each station. New riders took over every 75-100 miles. While some of the station houses were sturdy structures, most offered only slight protection against the elements. According to the explorer and author Sir Richard Burton, the station house at Sand Springs, Utah, was "roofless and chairless, filthy and squalid, with a smoky fire in one corner, and a table in the center of an impure floor, the walls open to every wind, and the interior full of dust."
273. SIPMBI_150525_165.JPG: The Mochila: Pony Express riders carried the mail in four pockets of a saddlebag called a mochila, which fit snugly over the saddle. When a rider switched horses, he grabbed the mochila and swung it onto the saddle of the new horse. The letters were wrapped in oiled silk to protect them from moisture. One of the pockets could be unlocked only by stationmasters. This pocket also held a time card on which the station master recorded the time the rider arrived.
274. SIPMBI_150525_170.JPG: Romance Versus Reality: Romance: From the dime novels of the late 19th century to movies and television today, the Pony Express has supplied drama, excitement, and a good deal of make-believe. Reality: The riders' constant struggles along the route did not need to be exaggerated. They rode through ghastly weather and over rough territory in a constant race against time.
275. SIPMBI_150525_173.JPG: The Riders: The name of the first rider galloping out of St. Joseph, Missouri, on April 3, 1860, has been lost to history. Fewer than 100 men rode for the Pony Express in its 18 months of existence. Later, many men claimed to have been Pony Express riders, with tall tales of reckless adventure growing taller with each telling. Among those mentioned as famous riders was Buffalo Bill (William Cody), whose Wild West shows toured the US and Europe for 30 years. Cody was such an accomplished showman and genius at self-promotion that even today it is difficult to separate the reality of his life from the romance he created in his shows. His claims of a life as a Pony Express rider made for great theater, but little accuracy.
276. SIPMBI_150525_178.JPG: Wells Fargo and the Pony Express: The Pony Express was a rousing success in speeding mail across the country, cutting delivery time in half, but it was unbearably expensive to operate. Unable to win a government mail contract, Russell, Majors, and Waddell lost $30 on every letter carried and were forced to sell the Pony Express. In 1861, the Wells Fargo freighting company took over the route through its Overland Mail Company and, in what must have seemed a final blow to Russell and his partners, won a government mail contract on the condition they continue the operation of a semi-weekly pony express service.
277. SIPMBI_150525_180.JPG: Fastest with the News: William Russell used the 1860 presidential election as a showcase for what the Pony Express could do. Before the election, he hired extra men and ensured that fresh relay horses were available along the entire route. On November 7, 1860, a rider dashed out of Fort Kearny, Nebraska Territory (the eastern end of the telegraph line) with the election results. Riders sped along the route, over snow-covered trails and into Fort Churchill, Nevada Territory (the western end of the telegraph line). California's newspapers received word of Lincoln's election only seven days and 17 hours after the East Coast papers, an unrivaled feat at the time.
278. SIPMBI_150525_183.JPG: The End of the Pony Express: The Pony Express was created to bridge the gap between the eastern and western ends of the transcontinental telegraph lines. While the line between Missouri and California was under construction, riders carried letters across the entire route. They also carried telegraphed messages across the gap between telegraph lines. When the telegraph line was completed, there was no further need for the Pony Express. The first telegraph message from San Francisco to Washington DC was transmitted October 24, 1861. Two days later, the Pony Express came to an end.
279. SIPMBI_150525_188.JPG: "A black speck appears against the sky, and it is plain that it moves... Another instant... and man and horse burst past our excited faces and go winging away like the belated fragment of a storm." -- Mark Twain, Roughing It, 1872
280. STAMPG_150525_06.JPG: Gallery Updates This gallery is currently undergoing renovations. We apologize for any inconvenience. Come back soon to see our new exhibit. A week later, this is where "the world's most famous and valuable stamp," the British Guiana One-Cent Magenta" went on display. On display until November 2017, you weren't allowed to photograph the gallery at all once it came in.
281. STAMPG_150419_001.JPG: Jesse Owens (Dominican Republic)
282. STAMPG_150419_016.JPG: Alan Shepard
283. STAMPG_150419_024.JPG: Wally Shirra
284. STAMPG_150419_028.JPG: Gus Grissom
285. STAMPG_150419_032.JPG: Scott Carpenter
286. STAMPG_150419_035.JPG: Gordon Cooper
287. STAMPG_150419_039.JPG: Best regards, J.A. Glenn, Jr.
288. STAMPG_150419_043.JPG: Dwight Eisenhower
289. STAMPG_150419_046.JPG: Cordell Hull
290. STAMPG_150419_050.JPG: Henry A. Wallace
291. STAMPG_150419_051.JPG: Harry Truman
292. STAMPG_150419_058.JPG: China Jenny Over the Great Wall Issued in 1921, this was China's first airmail stamp, for service from Peking to Shanghai. It shows a Curtiss Jenny airplane flying over the Great Wall of China. On the tail is the symbol of Sun Yat-Sen's republican China. In 1929 the stamp was reissued with the nationalist sun emblem.
293. STAMPG_150419_069.JPG: Germany Kaiser Wilhelm II Invert This 1905 stamp shows Kaiser Wilhelm II giving a speech in 1896 from the German Empire's 25th anniversary. Because of their high face value, the stamps were printed only in sheets of 20. The scarcity of inverted images like this one suggests the error occurred in only one sheet.
294. STAMPG_150419_116.JPG: Mauritius Impressions of Queen Victoria In 1848 Mauritius, then a British colony, issued stamps showing Queen Victoria at age 18. The soft copper plates wore down quickly, resulting in the changes visible in this group of early to late impressions. Some stamps contain an engraver's error: "PENOE" instead of "PENCE."
295. STAMPG_150419_142.JPG: Panama Independent Panama Waves It Flag This original artwork for Panama's 1906 1/2-centesimo stamp came from the archives of the printer -- Hamilton Bank Note Company in New York. Panama adopted the flag shown here after the nation gained independence from Colombia in 1903.
296. STAMPG_150419_158.JPG: Liberia Direct Airmail Connection In 1941 Pan American Airways announced the first direct airmail service between Liberia (which was founded by freed American slaves) and the United States. To celebrate the inaugural flight, the Liberian Post Office overprinted existing stamps. Then, at the last minute, Pan Am postponed the flight until 1942.
297. STAMPG_150419_188.JPG: St. Lawrence Seaway Invert Canada Canada and the United States jointly issued a stamp to honor the 1959 opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway. During the printing of the Canadian stamp, a few sheets were fed into the press upside down -- inverting the image. The inverted stamp here is one of only 24 that were actually used.
298. STAMPG_150419_220.JPG: Inverted Waterfall Congo Free State This 1895 stamp features Stanley Falls (now Boyoma Falls), a famous natural wonder. A single sheet of 100 stamps was printed with the waterfall inverted. Of those 100 stamps, only about 40 survive today.
299. STAMPG_150419_234.JPG: Hebrew Post Israel When Israel issues its first stamps in 1948, the new nation had not yet decided on a name. The inscription at top reads Doar Ivri, meaning Hebrew Post. These high value stamps have their tabs (printed pieces of sheet margin), which many collectors removed to fit the stamps in albums.
300. STAMPG_150419_246.JPG: Sutherland Local Boos Japan Issued by an English-owned stagecoach line that carried mail from Tokyo (Yedo) to Yokohama, these 1870 stamps are among the world's rarest. Collectors call them boos -- a shortening of ichibuban, an old Japanese currency. This pink 1/4 boo is one of six known copies; the yellow 1/4 boo is one of eight.
301. STAMPG_150419_268.JPG: Mexico: One of Mexico's Rarest Stamps: Victoriano Huerta seized Mexico's presidency in 1913, and the state of Sonora became a stronghold of northern opposition forces led by Alvaro Obregon. Revolutionary postage embossed with the word Constitucional demonstrated Senora's anti-Huerta sentiments. This example, one of two known unused copies of this variety, is among Mexico's rarest stamps.
302. STAMPG_150419_281.JPG: Pacific Steam Navigation Company essays, 1847
303. STAMPG_150419_309.JPG: South Africa Cape Triangles When stamps from Great Britain ran out in 1861, the Cape of Good Hope colony issued these provisional stamps. Within a few years, they were scarce. In 1863 E. Stanley Gibbons of England acquired a quantity of the stamps and used them to build one of the world's largest stamp dealerships.
304. STAMPG_150419_348.JPG: Switzerland: Swiss Cantonals: Before Switzerland established a uniform postal system in 1849, its 26 cantons were allowed to issue their own stamps for local use. Three did so. The stamps of Zurich were the first in continental Europe. Basel produced the world's first multicolored, embossed stamp, often considered one of the world's most beautiful.
305. STAMPG_150419_363.JPG: Egypt Mosque Millennium These are essays (trial designs) for stamps that were never issued. The stamps were intended to honor the millennium of Cairo's first mosque, Al-Azhar Moque. Formerly in the collection of Egypt's King Farouk, the essays were seized and sold during the 1952 revolution that deposed them.
306. STAMPG_150419_382.JPG: Greece: World's First Stamp? Some experts believe this stamp was issued in 1831, making it [not Great Britain's Penny Black] the first stamp. But all four known covers date from after 1840, and the stamps did not seem to have been used for postage. One theory is that the proceeds went to a charity or public project.
307. STAMPG_150419_399.JPG: Italy: Cito Cito Cito Addressed to medieval Venice's powerful Council of Ten, this letter is marked with two gallows, five stirrups, and the word "cito" repeated five times. The gallows threaten death by hanging to anyone interfering with the mail, while the stirrups indicate that the letter should travel on horseback. "Cito" means "haste."
308. STAMPG_150419_414.JPG: Sweden Feather Letter "Feather letters" like this one appeared in Sweden from the mid-1700s to mid-1800s. The feather indicated that the letter needed to be delivered quickly, and the squiggly line is a kind of shorthand for Sweden's national symbol: three crowns. It directed that the letter be sent through the royal mail.
309. STAMPG_150419_420.JPG: French First Empire: Napoleon's Retreat from Russia: In 1812 an Italian soldier in Napoleon's multinational Grand Armee -- the largest fighting force Europe had ever seen -- wrote this letter home from Prussia during the army's retreat from Russia. Only a third of the men survived. The brown military postal marking, used during the retreat, is rare.
310. STAMPG_150419_427.JPG: Australia Ink Recipes to Color a Queen These color proofs come with handwritten ink recipes explaining the pigments needed to obtain the desired colors for the 1854-55 Diadem Issue of New South Wales. The stamp, which shows Queen Victoria wearing a diadem, was printed in the colony using plates and pigments sent from England.
311. STAMPG_150419_434.JPG: Trinidad Lady McLeod The captain of Lady McLeod, a paddle steamer that carried mail around Trinidad, issued this stamp privately. A later collector painted in details where the corner of the stamp was torn off to cancel it. Only about 40 of these stamps are known to exist on their original covers.
312. STAMPG_150419_441.JPG: Napoleonic Italy: These frames tell the story of Napoleon's exploits in Italy between 1796 and 1814, as reflected in mail from the period. Napoleon achieved military fame at age 27 for conquering most of northern Italy from Austria. At first, some Italians regarded him as a liberator. Soon, however, Italians found themselves taxed to pay for an enormous French army and bureaucracy and their sons conscripted to fight wars in far-away lands. Eventually Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of France and King of Italy.
313. STAMPG_150419_449.JPG: Savoy Joins the Republic
314. STAMPG_150419_456.JPG: The Wars of First Consolidation
315. STAMPG_150419_460.JPG: The Littoral Becomes the Ligurian Republic
316. STAMPG_150419_463.JPG: Napoleon Gives His Sister a Present
317. STAMPG_150419_467.JPG: Napoleon Takes Over Tuscany
318. STAMPG_150419_475.JPG: The Island of Elba
319. STAMPG_150419_480.JPG: The Republic of Italy Becomes the Kingdom of Italy
320. STAMPG_150419_483.JPG: The Postmarks Reflect the Change of Government
321. STAMPG_150419_486.JPG: The French Occupation of Rome
322. STAMPG_150419_493.JPG: Napoleon Finishes the Job in Italy
323. STAMPG_150419_494.JPG: Napoleon's Downfall Was a Real Loss to Italy
324. STAMPS_150419_007.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2015_DC_SIPM_Stamp_Salon DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (Gross Gallery 5): National Stamp Salon (72 photos from 2015)
  1861-1866 Civil War Era: Abraham Lincoln's election to the presidency in 1860 with exclusively northern and western support incited the Civil War. The Confederate States of America formed in February 1861, weeks before his inauguration. The split followed sectional feuds over states' rights and slavery. The bloodiest conflict ever fought on American soil erupted on April 12, 1861. On May 31, 1861, the Union suspended postal service to the Confederacy and soon issued new stamps, not valid in the Confederacy. The Confederacy responded with a stamp of its own, issued on October 17. Whether North or South, mail provided the lifeline between home and battlefront.
325. STAMPS_150419_011.JPG: Abraham Lincoln campaign cover, 1860
326. STAMPS_150419_012.JPG: 1861-1866 Civil War Era New Issues of the Union Fears that the Confederacy would sell US stamps for cash to purchase weapons induced the Union to demonetize its 1851 issue and print a new series. CSA Postmaster General John H. Reagan directed postmasters in seceded states to return their stores of stamps to the Union, which some did. The National Bank Note Company printed the Union's new issue.
327. STAMPS_150419_019.JPG: Stockton, CA to Canada via Chicago patriotic cover November 19, 1861
328. STAMPS_150419_020.JPG: 1861-1866 Civil War Era Stamps as Currency Distrusted paper currency, people hoarded coins for precious metals they contained. Some Northerners informally substituted stamps for coins, but stamps damaged easily. Encasing stamps provided short-term relief. The Postage Currency Act of 1862 formalized postage stamps as currency, leading to the issuance of low denomination postage currency.
329. STAMPS_150419_023.JPG: 1861-1866 Civil War Era The Confederate States of America Seven southern states established the Confederate States of America in February 1861. Four more states joins after the attack on Ft. Sumter on April 12-13. Mail flowed freely between North and South until May 31, 1861, when Union service ended. Confederate postal operations began on June 1. During its brief existence, the Confederacy issued thirteen stamps, all honoring southern heroes. Images of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy, dominated the issues, but those of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Andrew Jackson also appeared, tying southern presidents' legacy to the Confederate cause.
330. STAMPS_150419_027.JPG: First day postmark of the CSA Post Office Department on cover June 1, 1861
331. STAMPS_150419_035.JPG: 5c Jefferson Davis on cover January 28, 1862
332. STAMPS_150419_039.JPG: This is an impression from the remaining trial plate of Confederate stamps, engraved by Archer & Daly in Richmond, Virginia, in 1863 In 1932, August Dietz made prints from the only remaining Archer & Daly trial plate of the 1863 20c Washington stamps.
333. STAMPS_150419_046.JPG: Stamp Printers War, new battle lines, and procurement burdens forced the Confederate Post Office to change printers frequently. During its four-year existence, it contracted with five different printing firms, including one in London. The firms variously used lithography, typography, and engraving to produce the postage stamps.
334. STAMPS_150419_050.JPG: 5c Jefferson Davis vertical pair on Confederate semi-official cover January 10, 1863 Although many Northern government officials enjoyed free franking privileges, Confederate officials had to pay postage.
335. STAMPS_150419_055.JPG: 2c Andrew Jackson block of twelve on wrapper 1863
336. STAMPS_150419_059.JPG: 1861-1866 Civil War Era Mail through the Lines: During the war, Union and Confederate post offices did not exchange mail, and the Union Navy blockaded Southern ports. Private companies transferred mail across sectional lines at established exchange points. Confederate blockade runners carried mail among the Confederate port cities and Europe via Havana, Cuba, and Nassau in the Bahamas.
337. STAMPS_150419_063.JPG: Confederate through the lines cover June 29, 1861
338. STAMPS_150419_065.JPG: Confederate through the lines cover 1861
339. STAMPS_150419_069.JPG: Confederate flag of truce cover November 24, 1864
340. STAMPS_150419_072.JPG: Confederate through the lines cover 1861
341. STAMPS_150419_073.JPG: Union prisoner of war cover May 22, 1865 This prisoner of war mail was postmarked in Washington, DC on May 22, 1865, after Lee's surrender. Federal censors examined the contents on May 19, 1865.
342. STAMPS_150419_076.JPG: Confederate blockade-run cover c. 1861-1865
343. STAMPS_150419_079.JPG: Confederate through the lines cover June 21, 1861
344. STAMPS_150419_085.JPG: Southern Letter Unpaid handstamp on cover 1861
345. STAMPS_150419_089.JPG: Express from Richmond to Louisville posted to Boston cover August 17, 1861
346. STAMPS_150419_091.JPG: Union through the lines cover c. 1863
347. STAMPS_150419_095.JPG: 1861-1866 Civil War Era Life on the Home Front Written correspondence evokes the experiences of families on both sides of the conflict. The Sanitary Commission, a Union volunteer organization administered largely by women, monitored medical care in the camps and staged Sanitary Fairs to raise money. Southerners suffered from a shortage of paper and stamps. Any usable scrap became writing material, including spare rolls of wallpaper. Mourning covers chronicle sorrows known to all, regardless of allegiance.
348. STAMPS_150419_099.JPG: Philadelphia Great Central Fair cover May 30, 1864
349. STAMPS_150419_103.JPG: Georgia and Florida turned cover 1861, 1863 Used envelopes were carefully turned inside out and used again. This envelope, originally posted with a US stamp before the war, was folded during the war and remailed with a Confederate stamp.
350. STAMPS_150419_106.JPG: Union prisoner of war cover May 12, 1865
351. STAMPS_150419_110.JPG: New York Metropolitan Fair cover March 1864
352. STAMPS_150419_114.JPG: Tax Assessment Form turned cover c. 1862
353. STAMPS_150419_121.JPG: 10c Jefferson Davis Confederate wallpaper cover c. 1863
354. STAMPS_150419_126.JPG: Confederate official stationery cover 1861-1865
355. STAMPS_150419_129.JPG: 3c Washington on Confederate cover May 15, 1861
356. STAMPS_150419_131.JPG: Confederate mourning cover May 14, 1861
357. STAMPS_150419_135.JPG: 10c Jefferson Davis type I on Confederate mourning cover c. 1863
358. STAMPS_150419_139.JPG: 5c Jefferson Davis "London print" on advertising cover 1862
359. STAMPS_150419_143.JPG: 1861-1866 Civil War Era Patriotism through the Mail Strong emotions stimulated by the issues and current events of the Civil War found expression in the form of illustrated stationery. Both Union and Confederate supporters quickly adopted a variety of covers and letter sheets picturing flags, cannons, leaders, soldiers, and other wartime themes.
360. STAMPS_150419_145.JPG: 3c Washington Union patriotic cover May 18, 1861
361. STAMPS_150419_149.JPG: "Map of Washington" Union patriotic cover 1861
362. STAMPS_150419_151.JPG: 3c Washington Union patriotic cover c. 1863
363. STAMPS_150419_155.JPG: 3c Washington single on prisoner of war cover Oct. 26, 1864
364. STAMPS_150419_160.JPG: Confederate patriotic cover November 22, 1861
365. STAMPS_150419_161.JPG: Confederate patriotic Valentine cover February 14, 1863 Due to a scarcity of paper, few Southerners sent valentines during the Civil War, and most cards were handmade. This envelope, addressed by Confederate soldier Frank M. Pope to his sweetheart, Mary Bouknight, on February 14, 1863, bears a vertical pair of the 5c blue Jefferson Davis and a flag with eleven stars.
366. STAMPS_150419_166.JPG: Confederate patriotic Valentine cover reverse Pope, an enlistee in the 15th South Carolina Infantry Regiment, wrote is message in code. Mary Bouknight's markings on the cover's reverse reveal her successful attempt to decipher his message, which expresses his love for her.
367. STAMPS_150419_172.JPG: Confederate patriotic Valentine enclosure February 14, 1863 The valentine enclosure continues in code. A seven-star flag patriotic letterhead appears on the stationery.
368. STAMPS_150419_177.JPG: U.S. Revenues Documentary
369. STAMPS_150419_179.JPG: Defeating Tax Cheaters
370. STAMPS_150419_180.JPG: $200 Washington Persian Rug die proof 1871 Among collectors, this stamp is known as the Small Rug.
371. STAMPS_150419_186.JPG: $500 Washington Persian Rug die proof 1871
372. STAMPS_150419_191.JPG: $5,000 Washington Persian Rug proof 1872 Twenty-six trial color proofs of this never-issued denomination are known to exist. Each differs in color shades, combinations, size, and marginal inscription. Eleven are part of this museum's collection.
373. STAMPS_150419_198.JPG: Defeating Tax Cheaters: To prevent counterfeiting and reuse of revenue stamps, security printers used fugitive black ink and papers that changed color when washed, added linen threads to papers, and engraved intricate designs.
374. STAMPS_150419_202.JPG: 50c Washington Documentary invert strip of five 1871 Inverted vignettes of Washington have been recorded on ten of the twenty-nine denominations of this issue.
375. STAMPS_150419_207.JPG: Canal Zone's Thatcher Ferry Bridge Issue: On October 12, 1962, the Thatcher Ferry Bridge opened across the Panama Canal, and the Canal Zone Postal Service issued a commemorative postage stamp in celebration. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing used the Giori press for two passes, the second superimposing a silver bridge over the Western Hemisphere. In a printing error, one sheet lacked the silver bridge. One pane from this "missing bridge" sheet escaped detection and was sold. The Panama Canal Treaty was signed in 1977. Six years later, the Canal Zone collection of over 100,000 philatelic items and postal archives was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution, enabling the Thatcher Ferry Bridge issue to be studied from design through production.
376. STAMPS_150419_219.JPG: Thatcher Ferry Bridge aerial pair of photographs 1962 Photographs and artwork for the proposed Thatcher Ferry Bridge stamp record various views of the bridge. Located at Balboa, it replaced a ferry and linked the Pan American Highway.
377. STAMPS_150419_236.JPG: 4c Thatcher Ferry Bridge first day cover 1962
378. STAMPS_150419_239.JPG: Missing Bridge Error: Shortly after the Canal Zone philatelic agency realized that some stamps had no silver bridge, Boston stamp dealer H.E. Harris inquired about a pane he had bought. H.E. Harris filed a preliminary injunction to prevent the announced deliberate reprinting of the missing bridge stamps, similar to the reprinting of the Dag Hammarskjold inverted color error ordered by the U.S. Post Office Department earlier that year. Following lengthy litigation, the agreement not to reproduce intentionally the error forever changed the landscape of philately and ensured that the upper right sheet retained value as a great philatelic rarity.
379. STAMPS_150419_244.JPG: 4c Thatcher Ferry Bridge experimental encased single 1962 This single stamp was a chemical experiment by postal and Smithsonian Institution officials to remove the bridge and test lamination for two unsold panes.
380. STAMPS_150419_260.JPG: 4c Thatcher Ferry Bridge (bridge omitted) pane of fifty 1962 The lower right pane was placed in the Canal Zone Museum. In 1983, the Canal Zone pane transferred to the Smithsonian with the Canal Zone postal collection and archives.
381. STAMPS_150419_267.JPG: With bridge
382. STAMPS_150419_271.JPG: Without bridge
383. STAMPS_150419_285.JPG: Bought from a man who obtained it for 4c at Branford, Conn PO.
384. STAMPS_150419_318.JPG: Part of the only sheet found imperforated vertically. It was discovered in the Newark, New Jersey Post Office.
385. STAMPS_150419_323.JPG: First printing Second printing with "TOP" added in red to prevent recurrence of error
386. STAMPG_150213_001.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2015_DC_SIPM_Stamps_Globe DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (Gross Gallery 6): Stamps Around the Globe (135 photos from 2015)
  The Malcolm MacGregor Collection of Autographed Stamps: In the summer of 1948, stamp collector Malcolm MacGregor began sending stamps of the world to the individuals pictured on them, with a request for their autograph. MacGregor's quest for personally signed stamps became a lifelong passion. he eventually obtained more than a thousand of them, and bequeathed his collection to the Smithsonian. Some of the autographed stamps are mounted with the envelopes in which they were returned, revealing the numerous ways MacGregor reached his subjects: through friends, consulates and embassies, private secretaries, and other intermediaries. In the post-World War II era, he captured the autographs of former royalty living in exile and leaders of emerging nations, such as Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana and Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India.
387. STAMPG_150213_010.JPG: Grace Princess of Monaco
388. STAMPG_150213_019.JPG: Elisabeth Queen of Belgium
389. STAMPG_150213_022.JPG: Prince Albert de Ligne of Belgium Bailli Grand Cross of the Order of Malta
390. STAMPG_150213_026.JPG: President Julio Acosta of Costa Rica
391. STAMPG_150213_030.JPG: Sir Anthony Eden Prime Minister of Great Britain 1955-1957
392. STAMPG_150213_035.JPG: Queen Frederika of Greece
393. STAMPG_150213_038.JPG: Paul 2nd King of Greece
394. STAMPG_150213_043.JPG: President Stenio Vincent of Haiti
395. STAMPG_150213_046.JPG: General Paul Eugene Magloire President of Haiti 1950-
396. STAMPG_150213_051.JPG: Matyas Rakosi Prime Minister of Hungary 1952-1953
397. STAMPG_150213_058.JPG: General Mohammed Naguib President of Egypt 1952-
398. STAMPG_150213_060.JPG: General Hector B. Trujillo President of Dominican Republic 1952-
399. STAMPG_150213_066.JPG: General Fulgencio Batista y Zaldivar President of Cuba 1940-1944 1952-1959
400. STAMPG_150213_073.JPG: Marshal Mannerheim President of Finland 1944-1946
401. STAMPG_150213_075.JPG: J.K. Passikivi President of Finland 1946-
402. STAMPG_150213_080.JPG: Sir Winston Churchill Prime Minister of Great Britain 1940-1945 1951-1955
403. STAMPG_150213_083.JPG: Dr. Theodor Heuss President of West Germany 1949-
404. STAMPG_150213_092.JPG: India and the Princely States: During British rule, a number of Indian states issued their own stamps. MacGregor sought the autographs of these states' native princes, often called maharajahs, as well as that of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of independent India.
405. STAMPG_150213_095.JPG: Mir Osman Ali Khan Nizam VII of Hyderabad
406. STAMPG_150213_105.JPG: Israel's First Provisional Government: MacGregor obtained autographs from the first provisional government of the new state of Israel. Led by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, this government took office on May 14, 1948. Minister of Foreign Affairs Moshe Sharett, whose autograph is below, succeeded Ben-Gurion as Prime Minister in 1954.
407. STAMPG_150213_108.JPG: Itzhak Ben-Zvi President of Israel 1952-
408. STAMPG_150213_114.JPG: M. Bentov Minister of Public Works -- 1948 Provisional Government of Israel
409. STAMPG_150213_118.JPG: King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia
410. STAMPG_150213_121.JPG: Dr. Ahmed Sukarno President of Indonesia 1945-
411. STAMPG_150213_126.JPG: Mohammed Riza Pahlavi Shah of Iran
412. STAMPG_150213_132.JPG: Faisal II King of Iraq 1939-1958
413. STAMPG_150213_136.JPG: Akihito Crown Prince of Japan
414. STAMPG_150213_145.JPG: Marshal Tito of Yugoslavia
415. STAMPG_150213_148.JPG: Dr. Syngman Rhee President of South Korea 1948-
416. STAMPG_150213_154.JPG: Rainier III Prince of Monaco
417. STAMPG_150213_164.JPG: Beatrix Princess of the Netherlands
418. STAMPG_150213_168.JPG: Ramon Magsaysay President of the Philippines 1953-
419. STAMPG_150213_173.JPG: Carol II King of Rumania
420. STAMPG_150213_177.JPG: King Carol II of Romania
421. STAMPG_150213_185.JPG: General Franco Prime Minister of Spain 1938-
422. STAMPG_150213_192.JPG: Prince Juan Carlos of Spain
423. STAMPG_150213_198.JPG: The above stamp was issued in connection with the North Atlantic Cruise from Rome to Chicago made by General Balbo in July 1933. General Biani was one of the squadron pilots who made the flight and the four letters BIAN from his name is overprinted on the first panel of the stamp.
424. STAMPG_150213_201.JPG: Balbo's Chicago Cruise: Italo Balbo, a general in the Italian Royal Air Force, led a mass formation, round-trip flight of two dozen Savoia-Marchetti S.55 flying boats from Roma to the 1933 Chicago World's Fair. Special stamps were printed for the flight, and MacGregor used them to get the pilots' autographs. See a cover carried on this flight in the Treasures of the World exhibit.
425. STAMPG_150213_203.JPG: "One Pound Jimmy": Gwoya Jungarai, a central Australian Aborigine, was also known as "One Pound Jimmy." A famous photo of him, taken in 1935 by a photographer for Walkabout, an Australia travel magazine, was used on a 1950 stamp. This frame chronicles MacGregor's successful attempt to secure Jimmy's "autograph."
426. STAMPG_150213_224.JPG: Americans on Foreign Stamps: Until 2011, the United States had a policy against depicting living people on postage stamps. Most foreign countries, however, had no such rule -- enabling MacGregor to collect the autographs of living Americans on foreign stamps.
427. STAMPG_150213_226.JPG: Dwight Eisenhower (on Monaco)
428. STAMPG_150213_230.JPG: Harry Truman (on Brazil)
429. STAMPG_150213_234.JPG: Lyndon Johnson (on Jordan)
430. STAMPG_150213_238.JPG: Franklin Roosevelt (on El Salvador)
431. STAMPG_150213_241.JPG: Cordell Hull, Secretary of State 1933-1944 (on El Salvador)
432. STAMPG_150213_245.JPG: Henry A. Wallace, Vice President 1941-1945 (on Ecuador)
433. STAMPG_150213_251.JPG: Douglas MacArthur (on South Maluku)
434. STAMPG_150213_257.JPG: Igor Sikorsky (on Monaco)
435. STAMPG_150213_265.JPG: Scott Carpenter (on Paraguay)
436. STAMPG_150213_268.JPG: Gordon Cooper (on Paraguay)
437. STAMPG_150213_272.JPG: John Glenn (on Paraguay)
438. STAMPG_150213_277.JPG: Gus Grissom (on Togo)
439. STAMPG_150213_281.JPG: Wally Schirra (on Paraguay)
440. STAMPG_150213_282.JPG: Alan Shepard (on Suriname)
441. STAMPG_150213_284.JPG: Milt Campbell (on Dominican Republic)
442. STAMPG_150213_289.JPG: Bobby Morrow (on Dominican Republic)
443. STAMPG_150213_296.JPG: Jesse Owens (on Dominican Republic)
444. STAMPG_150213_299.JPG: Americans on Foreign Stamps: On June 21, 1951, President Gala Plazo of Ecuador addressed a joint session of the US Congress. The following year, Ecuador issued a stamp engraved from a photograph of the event, in which many US congressmen and congressional staff were visible. MacGregor identified all of them and obtained their autographs!
445. STAMPG_150213_303.JPG: Joseph F. Metzger Messenger (Office of the Parliamentarian) -- House of Representatives (on Ecuador)
446. STAMPG_150213_311.JPG: Alben W. Barkley Vice President of the United States (on Ecuador)
447. STAMPG_150213_314.JPG: Sam Rayburn Speaker -- House of Representatives (on Ecuador)
448. STAMPG_150213_318.JPG: Fred K. Easter, Jr. Page -- House of Representatives (on Ecuador)
449. STAMPG_150213_326.JPG: Louis J. Sanchez Page -- House of Representatives (on Ecuador)
450. STAMPG_150213_329.JPG: Curtis A. Christianson Assistant Tally Clerk -- House of Representatives (on Ecuador)
451. STAMPG_150213_333.JPG: Lucian O. Hunter, Jr. Messenger (Office of the Doorkeeper) -- House of Representatives (on Ecuador)
452. MMARKS_140706_001.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2014_DC_SIPM_Mail_Marks DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (Gross Gallery 3): Mail Marks History (89 photos from 2014)
  Oregon train robbery cover, 1923 The charred cover was among the remains of a fire that broke out when the D'Autremont brothers used dynamite to hod up the Southern Pacific Railroad's "Gold Special" on October 11, 1923.
453. MMARKS_140706_005.JPG: Chicago Fire Salvaged block of burnt 2c stamps, Chicago Post Office fire, 1871 Salvaged block of burnt stamps, Chicago Post Office fire, 1871 Officials salvaged this partial block of 2-cent Jackson stamps (Scott number 146) from the United States Post Office in downtown Chicago after the Great Chicago fire of October 1871. The fire and water damage testifies to the horrific conflagration that consumed the city. The fire broke out southwest of downtown in the barn behind the home of Patrick and Catherine O'Leary at 137 DeKoven Street on Sunday evening, October 8, 1871, just after nine o'clock. Gale-like winds drove flames northeast, and the fire raged for two days. Rainfall finally accomplished what citizens could not. The blaze finally died, but not before destroying the United States Post Office along with the rest of the central business district. Constructed of stone and with iron shutters and doors, the United States Post Office was believed to be fireproof, but as winds whipped flames toward the post office, postal employees closed the interior iron doors to protect the building. They had already closed outside shutters, as was the practice after office hours. However, a neighboring building fell, damaging the shutters on the north windows and allowing the fire to breach the building's defenses. In less than five minutes, the entire first floor was in flames. Postal employees rushed into the neighboring Customs House, which they believed to be still safe. But, alas, the fire broke through an old staircase and totally destroying the building. How this fire started is still debated, although many still blame Mrs. O'Leary's unlucky cow. Written by Marv Murray April 2013
454. MMARKS_140706_013.JPG: India first official airmail by airplane, February 18, 1911: French pilot Henri Pequet flew five miles with a sack of about 6,000 cards and letters, all with a special cancel: "First Aerial Post, 1911, U.P. Exhibition Allahabad." The delivery represented the world's first official airplane mail.
455. MMARKS_140706_017.JPG: United Kingdom first aerial post, September 9, 1911: Flown on the first day of the United Kingdom's airmail service between Hendon Aerodrome and Windsor Great Park, this postcard carried additional postage for its Swiss destination. The message on the reverse reads: "I am so excited to think of sending you a flying machine full of love."
456. MMARKS_140706_023.JPG: France aviation meet, October 21, 1909: Pilots worldwide barnstormed the countryside in the early 1900s. This postcard from an air racing event in Port Aviation, south of Paris, features pilot Jean Gobron with his biplane and the event label.
457. MMARKS_140706_030.JPG: Sachsen Liegnitz-Dresden flight, November 9, 1913: Flown by the German zeppelin Sachsen from Liegnitz to Dresden, this postcard bears a specially prepared air label of the zeppelin over Liegnitz. The Sachsen rubber stamp marking is inverted.
458. MMARKS_140706_037.JPG: ZR3 (later Los Angeles) transatlantic reparations delivery flight, October 15, 1924: Delivered to the U.S. Navy following World War I, the German airship ZR3 carried this postcard from Friedrichshafen to Lakehurst, New Jersey. The oval cachet translate: "Carried on airship ZR3."
459. MMARKS_140706_049.JPG: Graf Zeppelin and catapult combination flights, September 19, 1934: This is the only known example of a zeppelin cover franked by a revenue duck stamp, which was not valid for postage. Markings show that it traveled over 10,000 miles, from New York through England and Germany to Rio de Janeiro, via at least six modes of transportation -- without detection.
460. MMARKS_140706_054.JPG: San Francisco earthquake, April 24, 1906: Postmarked six days after the devastating 1906 earthquake, this cover arrived in Washington, DC, on April 30 with 4 cents postage due. Makeshift post offices in San Francisco accepted mail without postage and sent it to the receiving post office, where postage due was assessed and collected from the recipient.
461. MMARKS_140706_062.JPG: Postal employees saved the main post office building and its contents. With fires around control, business resumed with general delivery service at 9am on April 20, two days after the earthquake. Stamp sales resumed five days later.
462. MMARKS_140706_065.JPG: A view from the post office building shows the damage wrought by the 1906 earthquake.
463. MMARKS_140706_069.JPG: This cachet shows a zinc ball used during the Siege of Paris. The French set up nets to trap the balls, but none were recovered during the period of the siege.
464. MMARKS_140706_074.JPG: Zinc ball mail, January 1, 1871: During Germany's 1870-1871 Siege of Paris, the French tried to deliver mail to Paris by placing letters inside zinc balls and floating them down the Seine River. The experiment was not successful, but some balls -- and the letters inside -- were retrieved after the siege.
465. MMARKS_140706_083.JPG: Pigeon mail, November, 1870: During the Siege of Paris, balloons moved mail and carrier pigeons out of the city. The pigeons carried an early form of microphotography that enabled 16 pages of text to be placed on a 1-1/4" by 2" piece of film. Of about 400 pigeons released, only one in eight returned.
466. MMARKS_140706_103.JPG: Mail robbery, c. 1852: A conductor aboard the Baltimore Railroad's mail train confessed to stealing checks and cash from numerous mail pieces, including this cover, 1852. Sentenced to five years in prison, he was later pardoned by President Millard Fillmore.
467. MMARKS_140706_110.JPG: Salt Lake City air crash, December 15, 1936: En route to Salt Lake City, Utah, Western Air Express Flight 6 crashed. Winter conditions delayed discovered of the wreck and delivery of mail until spring. An auxiliary mark explains "Delay Due to Air Mail Interruption Near Salt Lake City." Moisture separated the stamp from the cover.
468. MMARKS_140706_122.JPG: The pilot of Western Air Express Flight 6 flew a Boeing 247D aircraft, like this one. Amelia Earhart helped search for the downed plane. All seven people aboard died.
469. MMARKS_140706_125.JPG: First transatlantic solo flight piloted by a woman, 1932
470. MMARKS_140706_132.JPG: First solo flight from Honolulu to Oakland, 1935
471. MMARKS_140706_135.JPG: First first solo nonstop flight from Mexico City to Newark (destination New York City), 1935.
472. MMARKS_140706_139.JPG: Autographed envelope prepared for Earhart's ill-fated world flight, 1937
473. MMARKS_140706_144.JPG: 20c "Muestra" Specimen overprint, Mexico, 1935 20c Earhart overprint, Mexico, 1935
474. MMARKS_140706_149.JPG: Amelia Earhart's flight suit, 1920s: Amelia Earhart wore this brown leather flight suit designed for female pilots. Fully lined with orange, red, and brown plaid flannel, it provided insulation from the elements while flying in an open cockpit or at high, chilly altitudes. The snap collar protected against drafts.
475. MMARKS_140706_158.JPG: U.S. first official airmail by airplane, September 23, 1911: Postmaster General Frank H. Hitchcock authorized mail to be flown at the International Aviation Tournament in Garden City, New York. Pilot Earle L. Ovington flew the first official U.S. airmail on September 23, first day of the meet.
476. MMARKS_140706_164.JPG: U.S. first official airmail service by airplane, May 15, 1918: President Woodrow Wilson signed this envelope, which was carried on one of three flights inaugurating the first regularly scheduled U.S. airmail service -- between Washington, D.C., and New York City via Philadelphia. The envelope was specially created for the flight, and six post office officials initialed the margin of the stamp.
477. MMARKS_140706_171.JPG: Amelia Earhart solo transatlantic flight, May 20, 1932: On her historic solo slight across the Atlantic, Earhart carried 50 pieces of unofficial mail -- each postmarked before and after landing, cacheted, numbered, and autographed to document the record-setting event.
478. MMARKS_140706_177.JPG: China Clipper Hawaii transpacific flight, December 5, 1935: This cover flew from Honolulu to San Francisco on the final return leg of the world's first scheduled transpacific flight. A 25-cent airmail stamp with a head-on view of the Pan American Airways seaplane China Clipper was issued for mail carried on the new San Francisco-Manila route.
479. MMARKS_140706_183.JPG: Hong Kong Clipper transpacific flight, April 29, 1937: On April 21, 1937, transpacific service was extended to Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Clipper flew this dispatch to Manila. The China Clipper carried it from there to San Francisco.
480. MMARKS_140706_186.JPG: Tuskegee air crew in WWII, December 15, 1943: African-Americans who participated in air crew, ground crew, and operations support training in the Army Air Corps during World War II became known as the Tuskegee Airmen. Their unmatched success led President Truman to desegregate the US military. Sgt. Alexton Squire Boone Jr., of the 99th Fighter Squadron, sent this letter.
481. MMARKS_140706_193.JPG: Johnstown, PA, flood mailbox remnant, 1889: On May 31, 1889, a dam ruptured in Pennsylvania's Conemaugh Valley. The ensuing flood destroyed the town of Johnstown. The front of this iron mail collection box survived.
482. MMARKS_140706_197.JPG: Lever pouch padlock, 1862: Used mainly to secure mail bags, this lock was damaged during a robbery.
483. MMARKS_140706_203.JPG: San Francisco earthquake mailbox remnant, 1906: When the 1906 earthquake struck, it shook this mailbox front installed in San Francisco's main post office. The mailbox survived and remained in use until 1972.
484. MMARKS_140706_209.JPG: Sent to quarantined ship, September 18, 1926: Before ships arriving in New York could dock and unload passengers and cargo, they had to undergo a health clearance. The addressee of this cover was awaiting clearances about RMS Franconia, which had sailed from Liverpool. A mail boat carried the piece to the ocean liner.
485. MMARKS_140706_214.JPG: Cover inspected for anthrax addressed to Vice President Richard B. Cheney, July 18, 2002: This registered cover from Nigeria passed White House Security clearance, as indicated by the hand-stamped check mark and number 120. The number identifies the examiner who processed the piece.
486. MMARKS_140706_222.JPG: Siberia postal agency, October 18, 1918: In 1918, during Russian's civil war, President Wilson sent troops to join an allied force in Northern Russia and Siberia. An officer, was allowed to self-censor this piece of mail, postmarked by the U.S. Postal Agency/Siberia on the first day of use for this cancel.
487. MMARKS_140706_230.JPG: Siberia postal agency, November 1, 1918: This piece of self-censored officer's mail features the handmade cachet of the U.S. Army Expeditionary Forces Siberia shoulder patch.
488. MMARKS_140706_233.JPG: North Russia Siberia Expedition, June 17, 1919: A U.S. sailor sent this piece of uncensored mail, which bears the postmark of Navy flagship USS Des Moines at Archangel, Russia.
489. MMARKS_140706_236.JPG: Members of the American Expeditionary Force Siberia arrive in 1918. Providing mail service to U.S. forces in such distant places posed a difficult challenge.
490. MMARKS_140706_239.JPG: Auschwitz concentration camp, May 13, 1942: An inmate at Auschwitz posted this card, which includes the rules governing inmate mail. The front includes the inmate's identification, a Hitler stamp, and the censor's mark -- a red rubber stamp. The reverse features the inmate's message.
491. MMARKS_140706_248.JPG: Japanese-American internment mail, April 12, 1943: Following Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. military relocated thousands of citizens who had emigrated from countries with which the U.S. was now at war. An internee in the Rohwer War Relocation Center, one of the smallest, posted this cover.
492. MMARKS_140706_252.JPG: American WWII internee, August 23, 1943: Markings show this cover was delivered to an American civilian woman interned by the Japanese after they conquered the Philippines. It traveled to Manila via New York and Tokyo.
493. MMARKS_140706_259.JPG: Inmates at Auschwitz, the largest and most notorious of six concentration camps set up by Nazi Germany, passed through this gate. Albeit Macht Frei means "Work Makes One Free."
494. MMARKS_140706_263.JPG: WWII suspension of service, February 10, 1942: Mailed from California to the Netherlands, this letter was marked "Returned to Sender Service Suspended" because Germany occupied the Netherlands. An affixed sticker says "Returned to Sender by Censor."
495. MMARKS_140706_270.JPG: WWII civil mail censorship, August 17, 1943: British censors opened and resealed this letter for Margaret Woodrow Wilson, who was living in India at the time, and stamped it "passed." The daughter of President Woodrow Wilson, Ms. Wilson served as White House hostess from 1914-1915.
496. MMARKS_140706_275.JPG: WWII censor check for secret ink, July 25, 1944: German censors opened and resealed this French Red Cross cover with a Tunisian 90-cent stamp. It shows evidence of a chemical wipe to detect secret ink.
497. MMARKS_140706_293.JPG: One of the greatest natural disasters in U.S. history, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake toppled buildings and opened gaping cracks in the street.
498. MMARKS_140706_308.JPG: Pilot Henri Pequet sits in the biplane on which he completed the world's first official airmail flight by airplane in India in 1911.
499. MMARKS_140706_311.JPG: NIXIE mail, September 5, 1926: NIXIE refers to mail that cannot be delivered because it is misaddressed or unreadable. This example of NIXIE mail was returned because it was mailed to a nonexistent post office.
500. MMARKS_140706_315.JPG: Advertised dead letter mail, April 2, 1866: In 1825, the Post Office Department opened a dead letter office in Washington, D.C. Periodically, in an attempt to locate senders or intended recipients, the office placed an advertisement listing names found on mail. One advertisement included the names on this cover.
501. MMARKS_140706_320.JPG: Post office employees attempt to decipher addresses and locate senders or recipients in the Washington, D.C. dead letter office in 1916.
502. MMARKS_140706_342.JPG: Vin Fiz Flyer transcontinental flight, November 1, 1911: Pilot Calbraith Rodgers became the first aviator to cross North America by air. During his adventurous 49-day tour, his wife issued the Vin Fiz stamp. Only seven are known on flown mail. This one represents the only known example that reached California on a postal card addressed to a foreign destination.
503. MMARKS_140706_349.JPG: Vin Fiz Flyer "Greetings from the Sky," 1911: The Vin Fiz Flyer flew coast to coast with many stops, dropping leaflets to promote its sponsor -- the maker of Vin Fiz soda.
504. MMARKS_140706_361.JPG: Several officials watched the takeoff of the first regularly scheduled airmail service, including (from left to right) Washington D.C.'s Postmaster Merritt O. Chance, Postmaster General Albert Burleson, and President and Mrs. Woodrow Wilson.
505. MMARKS_140706_364.JPG: Lt. George Boyle prepared to take off from Washington, D.C. on May 15, 1918, with an envelope displayed here on board. Following the wrong railroad tracks in the wrong direction, he crash landed in a field near Waldorf, Maryland, breaking the plane's propeller.
506. MMARKS_140706_385.JPG: Charles Lindbergh poses with the Spirit of St. Louis on May 31, 1927, after his historic flight. Earlier in his career, Lindbergh had flown as an airmail pilot on the Chicago-St. Louis route.
507. MMARKS_140706_388.JPG: Army Air Corps stratosphere balloon, July 27, 1934: On its first high-altitude flight, Explorer I climbed to 60,613 feet. Then its balloon ripped. The crew parachuted to safety, and the mail was postmarked in Omaha after recovery.
508. MMARKS_140706_399.JPG: Adams pick-up system, October 31, 1934: Inventor Lytle S. Adams developed a nonstop, airmail delivery and pick-up system to serve isolated communities. At the 1933-34 Chicago World's Fair, he demonstrated how he dropped and hooked mailbags from the air.
509. MMARKS_140706_406.JPG: Graf Zeppelin world flight, August 7, 1929: The first passenger-carrying flight around the world covered 21,250 miles in five legs from Lakehurst, New Jersey, back to Lakehurst, and returning to Friedrichshafen, Germany. Posted from Montreal, this cover was put on board Graf Zeppelin in Lakehurst and flown to Germany. U.S. postage of $1.05 for this first leg appears on the reverse.
510. MMARKS_140706_418.JPG: Voyager world flight, December 14, 1986: Built by its two pilots and crew chief in just 18 months, this unique aircraft made the first nonstop, non-refueled flight around the world. The record-breaking flight took nine days.
511. MMARKS_140706_432.JPG: Bell X-1 supersonic flight commemoration, October 14, 1972: In 1947, Capt. Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager became the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound. His Bell X-1 reached 700 miles per hour at 43,000 feet. The reverse of this cover commemorating the anniversary notes that the plane flew this mail "at supersonic speed at Edwards Air Force Base."
512. MMARKS_140706_440.JPG: Endeavor Space Shuttle, September 30, 1994: The Endeavor's cargo bay held 500,000 postage stamps honoring the 25th anniversary of Apollo 11. The stamps traveled 4.7 million miles during the 11-day mission and were later enclosed in commemorative covers.
513. MMARKS_140706_451.JPG: Apollo 11 moon mail cancelled die proof, July 22, 1969: Neil Armstrong and the Eagle crew made the first manned lunar landing on July 20, 1969. They carried this one example of official mail for the USPS, franked with this die proof of the First Man on the Moon stamp. Probably struck on July 22, the postmark is backdated to the 20th.
514. MMARKS_140706_461.JPG: Thurn und Taxis mail schedule for Cheb, Bohemia, c. 1750: Calculated to the hour, this broadside mail schedule illustrates the sophistication of Europe's postal system under the princely hour of Thurn and Taxis. The moderately sized city of Cheb (referred to here by its German name, Eger) had daily direct mail connections to all of Europe and even Beirut.
515. MMARKS_140706_466.JPG: London Penny Post, c. 1706: In 1682, London's General Post Office took over merchant William Dockwra's "penny post," which delivered mail to homes and businesses in London and Westminster for a penny. Philatelists consider the triangle-shaped marking a forerunner of the adhesive postage stamp. The "B" indicates the letter was mailed from Bishopsgate post office.
516. MMARKS_140706_469.JPG: "Cito Cito Cito" letter, 1516: Cito means "quickly" in Latin, and subito is the Italian word for "immediately." The senders of these two letters repeated the words to stress the need for speed. On some old letters the words appear five times or more -- emphatically reminding couriers not to dawdle. On other letters images of stirrups or gallows make the point.
517. MMARKS_140706_479.JPG: Mail Marks History: On Land and Sea: Modern postal systems originated in the 13th century with private couriers hired to carry dispatches for governments, churches, universities, and other institutions. Since then, postal systems have used a variety of transportation technologies -- including horses, railroads, streetcars, bicycles, trucks, and ships -- to move mail over land and sea.
518. MMARKS_140706_484.JPG: Waghorn's Overland Mail, January 11, 1838: Thomas Waghorn's overland mail route in Egypt dramatically shortened delivery times between Great Britain and India. The octagonal marking shows postage from Calcutta to Suez. The oval marking records Waghorn's fee from Suez to Alexandria. The handwritten "49" indicates the fee collected upon delivery in France -- 70 days later.
519. MMARKS_140706_487.JPG: Vanderbilt's Accessory Transit via Nicaragua, c. 1852: During the California Gold Rush, Cornelius Vanderbilt pioneered a fast, cheap route form New York to California across Nicaragua. The marking "Via Nicaragua/Ahead of the Mails" paid the company's fee and boasted of its speed. The 12-cent George Washington stamp was bisected to pay the 6-cent government postage rate for over 3,000 miles.
520. MMARKS_140706_493.JPG: Pony Express, June 12, 1861: Dispatched from San Francisco when Wells, Fargo managed the Pony Express, this envelope bears the $2 red stamp used on eastbound mail. It reached St. Joseph, Missouri, on June 24. The 10-cent green indicium shows U.S. postage was paid. The patriotic cachet reminds us that the Civil War had begun.
521. MMARKS_140706_497.JPG: Hope Diamond wrapper, November 8, 1958: Jewelry Harry Winston mailed the world-famous Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian Institution in this wrapper, registered first class mail. It traveled by Railway May Service from New York to Union Station. The total cost was $145.29, of which $2.44 was postage. The rest paid for postal insurance of $1 million.
522. MMARKS_140706_503.JPG: On April 10, 1886, a diver prepared to recover mail and valuables from the wreck of SS Oregon, whose forward mast still protrudes above the water.
523. MMARKS_140706_507.JPG: Recovered from wreck of SS Oregon, July 6, 1886: A label applied by New York postal workers reveals that this letter was recovered four months after the Cunard liner Oregon collided with Charles H. Morse on March 14, 1886.
524. MMARKS_140706_511.JPG: World War I wreck mail, February 26, 1917: The manuscript marking "accident en mer" likely refers to the sinking of a vessel by a German submarine, or U-boat. February and March marked some of the worst months of the war in terms of ships and lives lost to Germany's U-boat campaign.
525. MMARKS_140706_518.JPG: RMS Titanic postal clerk's sailor orders, April 1, 1912: These orders directed American sea post clerk Oscar Scott Woody to travel to Europe and return "in the sea post office on the SS Titanic, sailing from Southampton, on April 10th." Clerks like Woody earned about $1,000 a year, considered a small fortune by the standards of the time.
526. MMARKS_140706_524.JPG: Captain and crew pose with the recovery ship Mackay-Bennett, charted by the White Star Line to recover bodies of Titanic's victims floating in the water.
527. MMARKS_140706_526.JPG: RMS Titanic facing slip, April 10, 1912: Woody perished along with more than 1,500 passengers and crew when Titanic sank on April 15, 1912. This facing slip was found in his pocket when a morgue ship recovered his body nine days later. Clerks placed facing slips on bundles of mail to indicate their destination.
528. MMARKS_140706_535.JPG: U.S. Sea Post Clerk Oscar Scott Woody (April 15, 1868 - April 15, 1912)
529. MMARKS_140706_538.JPG: First German catapult flight, SS Bremen to New York, July 22, 1929: In 1929, Lufthansa began catapulting mail from ocean liners. When ships were about a day from port, seaplanes loaded with mail were catapulted off the deck -- enabling some mail to arrive before the ships Catapulted mail was franked at the airmail rate. By the end of the 20th century, airmail replaced seamail.
530. MMARKS_140706_544.JPG: German catapult flight, SS Europa to Southampton
531. MMARKS_140706_548.JPG: A crane lifts a Heinkel seaplane on the catapult of SS Europa in August 1930.
532. MMARKS_140706_551.JPG: Passengers gather on the deck of the SS Bremen to watch a seaplane mail launch, October, 1931.
533. MMARKS_140706_555.JPG: The U.S. government spent four million dollars looking for Earhart and her plane.
534. MOVING_140706_02.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2014_DC_SIPM_Moving DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (MIA Galleries 1): Moving the Mail (2 photos from 2014)
535. SIPMCC_140706_001.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2014_DC_SIPM_Communities DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (MIA Galleries 3): Customers and Communities (44 photos from 2014)
  Customers & Communities
536. SIPMCC_140706_004.JPG: Serving the Cities: In 1860, fewer than 13 percent of Americans lived in urban areas and only nine cities could claim 50,000 or more residents. Thirty years later, however, the urban population was soaring. By 1898, 30 percent of Americans were city dwellers, and Kansas City, Minneapolis, and other midwestern cities grew by more than 1,000 percent. Rising population and the growth of businesses sent mail volume to new heights. The cities thrived on commerce, and the lifeblood of commerce was the U.S. mail. By 1900, the Post Office Department was serving citizens scattered sparsely over vast territories and millions crowded together within a few square miles.
537. SIPMCC_140706_011.JPG: The Bond of the Scattered Family: In the 1880s and 1890s, immigrants poured into U.S. cities, thousands of miles from families and friends. Letters became their only link with their past lives. In 1889 alone, over 87 million letters and cards were exchanged between Europe and America, 22 times the correspondence that flowed annually between the two continents before the Civil War. Letters connected these immigrants first to their homelands and later to children and grandchildren as these new American generations moved on to other parts of this nation. What did recent immigrants and the families back home think of life in the new country? Their letters back and forth were read eagerly and shared with other relatives and friends, sustaining family ties across continents and oceans.
538. SIPMCC_140706_020.JPG: Serving the Cities
539. SIPMCC_140706_025.JPG: Free Home Delivery: Free mail delivery was not available before 1863. Many large post offices had letter carriers, but they weren't paid by the government. The carriers earned their wages by charging recipients one or two cents for each delivered letter. Most people saved their pennies and picked up their own mail. City Free Delivery Service began during the Civil War in Cleveland, Ohio, when postal employee Joseph Briggs saw women and children waiting in long lines for letters from their loved ones at war. He persuaded postal officials to deliver letters to the city's citizens for free. The service was an instant success.
540. SIPMCC_140706_027.JPG: Postmaster General Montgomery Blair was so impressed with Briggs' idea that he asked him to establish City Free Delivery Service throughout the United States.
541. SIPMCC_140706_032.JPG: In 1863, Joseph Briggs organized City Free Delivery Service in 49 Northern cities, using 449 letter carriers. The service was very popular. By 1869 City Free Delivery produced ten times its cost in new revenues as more and more people began to send letters. The service also provided employment for Civil War veterans as letter carriers. By the end of the 19th century, nearly 10,000 letter carriers were employed in over 400 cities.
542. SIPMCC_140706_036.JPG: Joseph Briggs and the first City Free Delivery Service carriers wore what they pleased on the job. But by 1868, uniforms were required, and carried had to buy their own. The neatly dressed carriers were easy to identify in matching blue-gray coats and pants.
543. SIPMCC_140706_049.JPG: By 1916, even with door knockers and whistles, letter carriers were still losing almost two hours daily waiting for patrons to come to the door. The Post Office Department decided that every household must have a mailbox or letter slot in order to receive mail.
544. SIPMCC_140706_055.JPG: Earning A Living Wage: With Free Home Delivery Service, letter carriers soon were working seven days a week with low pay and no vacations. Many were Civil War veterans, and in 1889 they gathered in Milwaukee to form a union, the National Association of Letter Carriers. In 1917 the union joined the American Federation of Labor. Many women and African Americans held their first federal jobs as Post Office employees. But women who were hired as carriers in wartime were laid off when the men returned. And for many years black and white postal workers were prohibited from working in the same offices.
545. SIPMCC_140706_066.JPG: Pneumatic Tube Service: Networks of pneumatic tubes speeded mail beneath city streets beginning in the 1890s. Pneumatic carriers holding 600 letters traveled at about 35 miles per hour. The tubes were introduced in 1893 in Philadelphia. Boston, Brooklyn, New York City, Chicago, and St. Louis also adopted the system. Soon these cities had over 56 miles of tubes. Suspended in World War I as an economy measure, the service was restored in New York and Boston after the war. By the 1950s, increasing mail volume and changing urban landscapes made pneumatic tubes impractical. Post offices and businesses could move easily, but the underground pneumatic system could not.
546. SIPMCC_140706_073.JPG: "[It is] a jam; stages, carriages, cartmen, expressmen, pedestrians, all melted together in one agglomerate mess." -- Description of Broadway, New York City, 1870 Traffic Jams and Mountains of Mail: Urban intersections were free-for-alls at the end of the 1800s. Traffic signals had not been invented, and reckless drivers fought for the right-of-way. By 1900, 3 million horses and an assortment of wagons and trolleys clogged U.S. city streets. The postal service had to find ways to transport a growing volume of mail through cities and deliver the mail to its destinations.
547. SIPMCC_140706_100.JPG: City Post Office: Wagons carried mailbags between railway stations and city post offices, which often were miles apart. Screen wagons, introduced in 1886 at Sherman, Texas, increased security as the mail moved between post offices, railroad stations, and steamboat landings. By 1915, post offices were being built as near as possible to railroad stations. This screen wagon, built about 1904, carried mail in Maryland until the 1920s, when motor vehicles came into greater use.
548. SIPMCC_140706_104.JPG: Designing the Perfect Mailbox
549. SIPMCC_140706_109.JPG: By the 1850s, adhesive postage stamps were available, and people no longer needed to go to the post office to mail letters. They could keep stamps at home and mail letters at their leisure. So the Post Office Department began to build and install mailboxes throughout U.S. cities. The first mailbox approved by the Post Office Department was fastened to curbside lampposts. Produced at a Philadelphia foundry run by Albert Potts, the box was supposed to protect the mail from theft and bad weather. But the design was not perfect. Can you see why? The box was too small, and carriers had to empty it many times during the day.
550. SIPMCC_140706_112.JPG: This mailbox, manufactured by the Reading, Pennsylvania, firm of Orr and Painter, could be hung anywhere. It was strong and held a large quantity of mail. But the design was not perfect. Can you guess why? In the ornate Victorian era of the 1880s, many Americans felt that these boxes ruined the elegant lampposts and buildings on which they hung.
551. SIPMCC_140706_116.JPG: In 1889, the Post Office Department ordered a new mailbox designed by Willard D. Doremus. All three sides held more than the Potts mailbox, but this style was not perfect. Can you see why? The mailboxes were shattered easily by thieves who made off with the mail. The lip above the slot often broke, letting it rain or snow. And it was very difficult to remove mail from the side of the box.
552. SIPMCC_140706_121.JPG: This sheet-metal mailbox was stronger than earlier models made of iron. It was designed in 1901 by Eugene D. Schleble, a Toledo, Ohio, dentist. The mailbox was not perfect, but for a special reason. The contract to make 49,000 of Schleble's mailboxes was obtained illegally. Several postal employees and contractors were charged with conspiracy and fraud as a result.
553. SIPMCC_140706_125.JPG: These sheet-metal mailboxes, produced by the Van Dorn Iron Works in Cleveland in 1905, protected mail against theft and weather and were convenient to use. But the design was still not perfect. Can you see why? These mailboxes were painted red, and people confused them with fire alarms. When they were repainted green, many found them ugly.
554. SIPMCC_140706_129.JPG: Roy J. Joroleman, an engineer assigned to the Post Office Department's mail equipment shop in Washington, D.C., designed the last type lamppost letter box used in this country. The last of the Joroleman type boxes were purchased on August 10, 1955. But the mailbox was not perfect. Thick mail did not always fit into this box.
555. SIPMCC_140706_132.JPG: Mailboxes that could accommodate packages were introduced in the late 1890s. The first package box was developed by the postmaster of Baltimore in 1897.
556. SIPMCC_140706_155.JPG: Dead Letters: Since colonial times, undeliverable letters have been forwarded to the Dead Letter Office. Clerks in the Dead Letter Office may open undelivered letters, but the contents are considered private. They are permitted to read only enough of the communication to determine where the letter should go. Between 1871 and 1900, over 11.7 million immigrants arrived in America. They settled in the cities of the Northeast and the farmlands of the Midwest and the Great Plains. These immigrants and their families often had limited knowledge of English and U.S. geography, and postal employees sometimes could not decipher the addresses on letters they wrote back and forth. These letters wound up in the Dead Letter Office.
557. SIPMCC_140706_159.JPG: "When we can all have the conveniences of city life in our country homes (and the free postal delivery is one of them) there will be less desire for city life." -- E.A. Wheeler, Westside, California, 1850s
558. SIPMCC_140706_163.JPG: Postmaster General John Wanamaker
559. SIPMCC_140706_169.JPG: American farmers were not the only advocates for free rural mail service. Newspaper publishers envisioned a newspaper a day in every farm mailbox. Another supporter or rural delivery was John Wanamaker, postmaster general from 1889 to 1893 and founder of one of the nation's first department stores. Wanamaker ordered the department to test the service in 1891. Some members of Congress thought Wanamaker might be trying to use the Post Office Department to build a vast customer base for a mail-order service in his department store. Others feared that Rural Free Delivery would be so popular that it would be hard to discontinue if it proved unprofitable.
560. SIPMCC_140706_172.JPG: After five years and two postmasters general< Congress allocated funds for a trial free rural delivery service. The new postmaster general, William L. Wilson, agreed to test the service if Congress agreed to a $40,000 appropriation. Congress was asked to designate 44 routes in 29 states. The first routes were located in Wilson's home state of West Virginia. On October 1, 1896, Rural Free Delivery was inaugurated in Alltown, Charles Town, and Uvilla. By April 1, 1897, service was also established in Hope, Indiana; Clarkesville, Arkansas; China Grove, North Carolina; Temple, Arizona; Brunswick, Maine; and North Yakima, Washington.
561. SIPMCC_140706_177.JPG: RFD Monument, Climax, Michigan: Residents of Climax, Michigan, saw the first Rural Free Delivery wagons stop at their homes on December 3, 1896. They were so grateful that they erected the nation's first monument to RFD. The memorial, which still stands, is made of small stones collected from each of the 230 farms along that first RFD route.
562. SIPMCC_140706_181.JPG: Reaching Rural America: City dwellers in the United States enjoyed free home mail delivery long before rural Americans. If you lived in the country, you had to go to the post office -- often in a country store -- to pick up mail. This often meant traveling over dirt roads that were full of potholes in dry weather and muddy swamps after rain, with no guarantee that mail had arrived. But postage rates were the same for city and rural mail. Farm families called the system unfair, and postal officials agreed. In 1896 they convinced Congress to support a trial delivery service to some rural areas. Sen. Eugene Hale of Maine and others in Congress feared the new service would be too expensive, and tried to cut its funding in 1899. But its popular support was overwhelming, and in 1902 Rural Free Delivery was officially established.
563. SIPMCC_140706_189.JPG: The Heart of the Community: For Americans in small towns and rural areas, the local post office is the central institution of the community. Even in cities, the branch and main post offices are places where nearly everyone goes at one time or another to buy stamps or mail a package. Because of the universal role of the post office in people's lives, the federal government has long used post offices to reach citizens and communicate with them on a variety of subjects.
564. STAMPG_140706_001.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2014_DC_SIPM_Stamps_Globe DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (Gross Gallery 6): Stamps Around the Globe (34 photos from 2014)
  Brazil: Bull's-Eyes: These 1843 Brazilian "Bull's-eyes" were the first national postage stamps issued in the Western hemisphere. They were engraved and printed on a press that was confiscated by Brazilian customs officials and given to the nation's mint. The elaborate engraving behind the numerals made forgery difficult.
565. STAMPG_140706_006.JPG: 30r Bull's-eye single, 1843 60r Bull's-eye single, 1843 90r Bull's-eye single, 1843
566. STAMPG_140706_008.JPG: Canada St. Lawrence Seaway Invert: Canada and the United States jointly issued a stamp to honor the 1959 opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway. During the printing of the Canadian stamp, a few sheets were fed into the press upside down -- inverting the image. The inverted stamp here is one of only 24 that were actually used.
567. STAMPG_140706_020.JPG: 5c St. Lawrence Seaway invert error single, 1959 5c St. Lawrence Seaway single, 1959
568. STAMPG_140706_023.JPG: Egypt: Mosque Millennium: These are essays (trial designs) for stamps that were never issued. The stamps were intended to honor the millennium of Cairo's first mosque, Al-Azhar Mosque. Formerly in the collection of Egypt's King Farouk, the essays were seized and sold during the 1952 revolution that deposed him.
569. STAMPG_140706_027.JPG: 6m Millennium of Al-Azhar Mosque essay, 1942 10m Millennium of Al-Azhar Mosque essay, 1942 15m Millennium of Al-Azhar Mosque essay, 1942 20m Millennium of Al-Azhar Mosque essay, 1942
570. STAMPG_140706_032.JPG: Congo Free State: Inverted Waterfall: This 1895 stamp features Stanley Falls (now Boyoma Falls), a famous natural wonder. A single sheet of 100 stamps was printed with the waterfall inverted. Of those 100 stamps, only about 40 survive today.
571. STAMPG_140706_053.JPG: 10c River Scene on the Congo invert error single, 1895 10c River Scene on the Congo single, 1895
572. STAMPG_140706_059.JPG: China: Jenny Over the Great Wall: Issued in 1921, this was China's first airmail stamp, for service from Peking to Shanghai. It shows a Curtiss Jenny airplane flying over the Great Wall of China. On the tail is the symbol of Sun Yat-Sen's republican China. In 1929 the stamp was reissued with the nationalist sun emblem.
573. STAMPG_140706_063.JPG: 90c Curtiss Jenny over Great Wall airmail die proof, 1921
574. STAMPG_140706_069.JPG: Germany: Kaiser Wilhelm II Invert: This 1905 stamp shows Kaiser Wilhelm II giving a speech in 1896 for the German Empire's 25th anniversary. Because of their high face value, the stamps were printed only in sheets of 20. The scarcity of inverted images like this one suggests the error occurred in only one sheet.
575. STAMPG_140706_079.JPG: 5m Kaiser Wilhelm II invert
576. STAMPG_140706_092.JPG: Great Britain: Victoria Regina: The letters "VR" in the upper corners distinguish this stamp from an ordinary Penny Black. The stamps were intended for government mail, but the government never issued them. Officials destroyed 94 percent of the copies printed. Most of the surviving unused copied had been distributed earlier.
577. STAMPG_140706_102.JPG: Greece: World's First Stamp? Some experts believe this stamp was issued in 1841, making it (not Great Britain's Penny Black) the first stamp. But all four known covers date from after 1840, and the stamps do not seem to have been used for postage. One theory is that the proceeds went to a charity or public project.
578. STAMPG_140706_115.JPG: Italy: Cito Cito Cito Addressed to medieval Venice's powerful Council of Ten, this letter is marked with two gallows, five stirrups, and the word "cito" repeated five times. The gallows threaten death by hanging to anyone interfering with the mail, while the stirrups indicate that the letter should travel on horseback. "Cito" means "haste."
579. STAMPG_140706_121.JPG: Letter from Brescia to Venice, 1502
580. STAMPG_140706_122.JPG: India: SIndh Dak Post: These stamps from the Sindh district were the first issued in India -- and in Asia. In 1854 the Indian government recalled all unused stamps from Sindh, making them scarce today. The red stamp is also rare because the fragile wax caused many to fall apart. Sindh is now in Pakistan.
581. STAMPG_140706_125.JPG: 1/2a Sindh Dak District Post single, 1852 1/2a Sindh Dak District Post single, 1852
582. STAMPG_140706_127.JPG: Israel: Hebrew Post: When Israel issued its first stamps in 1948, the new nation had not yet decided on a name. The inscription at top read Doar Ivri, meaning Hebrew Post. These high value stamps have their tabs (printed pieces of sheet margin), which may collectors removed to fit the stamps in albums.
583. STAMPG_140706_137.JPG: Jamaica: Unissued Abolition Stamp: In 1921 Jamaica planned to release this stamp marking the abolition of slavery. It was cancelled at the last moment when falling sugar prices led to unrest among sugar and dock laborers, who were mostly black. The following year a stamp showing Port Royal in 1853 replaced the original stamp.
584. STAMPG_140706_140.JPG: 6p Abolition of Slavery unissued vertical pair, 1921 6p Port Royal in 1853 single, 1922
585. STAMPG_140706_145.JPG: Mauritius: Impressions of Queen Victoria: In 1848 Mauritius, then a British colony, issued stamps showing Queen Victoria at age 18. The soft copper plates wore down quickly, resulting in the changes visible in this group of early to late impressions. Some stamps contain an engraver's error: "PENOE" instead of "PENCE."
586. STAMPG_140706_158.JPG: Mexico: One of Mexico's Rarest Stamps: Victoriano Huerta seized Mexico's presidency in 1913, and the state of Sonora became a stronghold of northern opposition forces led by Alvaro Obregon. Revolutionary postage embossed with the word Constitucional demonstrated Sonora's anti-Huerta sentiments. This example, one of two known unused copies of this variety, is among Mexico's rarest stamps.
587. STAMPG_140706_172.JPG: French First Empire: Napoleon's Retreat from Russia: In 1812 an Italian soldier in Napoleon's multinational Grand Armee -- the largest fighting force Europe had ever seen -- wrote this letter home from Prussia during the army's retreat from Russia. Only a third of the men survived. The brown military postal marking, used during the retreat, is rare.
588. STAMPG_140706_184.JPG: Panama: Independent Panama Waves Its Flag: This original artwork for Panama's 1906 1/2-centesimo stamp came from the archives of the printer -- Hamilton Bank Note Company in New York. Panama adopted the flag shown here after the nation gained independence from Colombia in 1903.
589. STAMPS_140406_08.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2014_DC_SIPM_Stamp_Salon DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (Gross Gallery 5): National Stamp Salon (1 photo from 2014)
590. GEMS_131026_001.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2013_DC_SIPM_Gems DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (Gross Gallery 2): Gems of American Philately (24 photos from 2013)
  GEMS of American Philately Like gems of the mineral world, these stamps and pieces of mail are rare and highly valued. They tell stories about important moments in US history, from the Stamp Act and the American Revolution to the Apollo 15 Moon landing. Each one conveys significant information about stamp design and production, including one fo the most famous stamp printing errors ever made.
591. GEMS_131026_006.JPG: This stamp is one of 32 surviving red proofs of the 1765 Stamp Act. The letter to John Hancock was handstamped in New York on July 4, 1776 -- the birthday of the United States of America. American Colonists Revolt: In 1765 the British Parliament passed an act commonly called the Stamp Act that infuriated American colonists. Resisting the Act was the first incremental step on the road to the American Revolution. Cries of "taxation without representation" and attacks on stamp agents led to the repeat of the Act on March 18, 1766. In 1775 the Revolutionary War began. On July 4, 1886, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. On that same day, lawyer William Bant sent this letter to the first signer -- John Hancock.
592. GEMS_131026_014.JPG: These are the essays for America's first two postage stamps. The cover is the earliest known use of a US postage stamp. Franklin and Washington: These two United States postage stamps became valid for use on July 1, 1847. The cover was postmarked the next day. The essay vignettes of Franklin and Washington were printed from existing engravings by Asher B. Durand. The frames were drawn in pencil and ink on cardboard, then a light wash of India ink was brushed on to give tone. The Franklin stamp paid the rate for one half-ounce sent up to 300 miles. The George Washington stamp paid the rate for longer distances of heavier mail.
593. GEMS_131026_018.JPG: 10c Washington pair on second-day-of-use, cover, 1847
594. GEMS_131026_029.JPG: 5c Franklin original model, 1847 10c Washington original model, 1847
595. GEMS_131026_033.JPG: 1847 America's First Stamps
596. GEMS_131026_034.JPG: The Inverted Jenny
597. GEMS_131026_039.JPG: 1918: This upside-down blue plane within a red frame is the most famous US stamp and one of the world's most famous printing errors. Only one misprinted sheet of 100 stamps was sold.
598. GEMS_131026_049.JPG: "... my heart stood still. It was the sheet of inverts. It was what you might call 'a thrill that comes once in a lifetime.' " -- William T. Robey Where Was the Error Discovered? On May 15, 1918, stamp collector William T. Robey went to a Washington DC post office to buy the new airmail stamps. He knew that on the first sale day of a bicolored stamp, chances of an error were good. After spotting inverted images on a sheet of 100 stamps, he immediately bought it. Robey sold the sheet to stamp dealer Eugene Klein for $15,000. Today a single inverted Jenny sells for many times that amount. Klein sold the sheet to collector Colonel EHR Green, who had it broken into blocks and singles. There were 100 Inverted Jenny stamps on the sheet that Willaim T Robey brought. Here's what happened to some of them: * In the 1980s a maid accidentally swept up one Inverted Jenny in a vacuum cleaner. Although damaged, the stamp survived. * In 1955 and 1977 thieves tried to disguise a block of four Inverted Jennys and a single. As a result, the block of stamps was separated. * In 2005 stamp collector William H. Gross traded the Inverted Jenny plate block with Mystic Stamp Company in exchange for the rare US 1-cent Z grill stamp.
599. GEMS_131026_055.JPG: 1851 Hawaiian Missionary Stamps
600. GEMS_131026_059.JPG: 13c Hawaiian Missionary strip of three on cover, 1851
601. GEMS_131026_064.JPG: Collectors have always sought these fragile stamps, the first issued by the Kingdom of Hawaii. Their charming design and fancy numerals along with Hawaii's exotic location, also make them highly desirable. Postage from Paradise: These stamps became known as Hawaiian Missionaries because most were used on correspondence mailed by Christian missionaries in Hawaii. The stamps are unusual because they paid various rates, including postage for a letter from Hawaii to the US East Coast via San Francisco. The 13-cent stamp prepaid rates in two countries: the Kingdom of Hawaii and the United States. The first 13-cent stamp, issued in 1851, read "Hawaiian Postage" -- which sometimes confused US postmasters. The fourth stamp, issued in 1852, was redesigned to read "H.I. & U.S. Postage."
602. GEMS_131026_070.JPG: 1860 Pony Express Mail
603. GEMS_131026_071.JPG: 10c Washington on Pony Express cover, 1860
604. GEMS_131026_076.JPG: A Pony Express rider carried this cover, considered one of the most historically significant in US postal history. Notice the notation on the front: "recovered from a mail stolen by the Indians in 1860." Transcontinental Delivery: This cover bears an oval marking that reads "The Central Overland California & Pikes Peak Express Company." That enterprise administered the Pony Express. American Indians overtook the Pony Express rider, interrupting delivery. The pony escaped with the letter pouch, which was later recovered on the plains. The letters were forwarded to their destination. This cover is one of only two known examples. It reached New York in 1862. By then, the Pony Express no longer existed.
605. GEMS_131026_079.JPG: 1971 Moon Mail
606. GEMS_131026_082.JPG: Apollo 15 Lunar Mail cover, 1971
607. GEMS_131026_091.JPG: On August 2, 1971, US astronaut Dave Scott postmarked this first day cover on the Moon -- an act as nationally symbolic as planting a flag. Postmarks in Space: During the 1971 Apollo 15 mission, astronauts Dave Scott and Jim Irwin spent three days exploring the Moon from the Lunar Rover. On the last day, Scott reached under the Rover's seat for a pouch. It held an envelope bearing die proofs of two space stamps. Scott postmarked this cover while, 238,000 miles away, the USPS issued the stamps on Earth. The first postmark Scott made was faint, so he made another below it. The smudges on the left side are thumbprints made by his space suit glove.
608. GEMS_131026_100.JPG: 10c Washington on Pony Express cover, 1860
609. GEMS_131026_103.JPG: What is the Jenny? The Curtiss JN-4-H "Jenny" was a World War I airplane later reconfigured to carry mail. The issue of the Jenny stamp marked a milestone in postal history: the first regular airplane mail service between Washington DC; Philadelphia; and New York. On May 15, 1918, one Jenny left Washington for Philadelphia. It flew in the wrong direction. The pilot crash-landed in Waldorf, Maryland, 20 miles south of the takeoff point. Notice that the number on the side of the airplane in the photo matches the number depicted on the stamp.
610. GEMS_131026_123.JPG: 24c Curtiss Jenny inverted block of four, 1918
611. MMARKS_131026_004.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2013_DC_SIPM_Mail_Marks DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (Gross Gallery 3): Mail Marks History (84 photos from 2013)
612. MMARKS_131026_010.JPG: Mail Marks History: Stamps and markings on mail reveal transportation and challenges encountered. The effort to move mail ever farther and faster contributed to major advances in transportation technology -- from bicycles to trains, canoes to submarines, balloons to spacecraft. Times of difficulty sparked other innovations in mail delivery. The clues are on the mail.
613. MMARKS_131026_017.JPG: America's Most Famous Stamp Error: In 1918, an error made on a spider press similar to this one produced the inverted Jenny -- the most famous US stamp. No one today knows for sure how the inverted Jenny error occurred. During the second pass, an employee either reversed the plate with the central design -- or reversed the sheet of stamps. The result was an upside-down airplane. To avoid future errors, "TOP" was added to the appropriate side of each plate.
614. MMARKS_131026_031.JPG: Touch an Engraved Image: Feel the design carved into the metal of this die plate. A printer inked the plate, placed a sheet of paper on top, and fed the plate into a spider press. This printing method, called intaglio, is used to print some stamps. Find out how most stamps are printed today in the Connect with US Stamps section of this gallery. After printing on a spider press, the engraved image on the die plate looks like this.
615. MMARKS_131026_054.JPG: History Revealed: Waghorn Cover: British naval lieutenant and entrepreneur Thomas Fletcher Waghorn pioneered an overland mail route between the Egyptian cities of Alexandria and Suez in order to speed up mail delivery between Great Britain and its empire in India. About 200 covers are known to survive with the endorsement "Care of Mr. Waghorn."
616. MMARKS_131026_057.JPG: Clues to a Letter's Journey: How did this mail travel? What route did it take to reach its final destination? How long did it take? What obstacles did the mail encounter along the way? Find answers to these and other questions -- and uncover some fascinating pieces of postal history -- by exploring different kinds of markings on mail. The Clues: * Postage Rates show what services were requested. * Postmarks record where and when mail entered and traveled through the system. * Auxiliary markings give routing directions or indicate special service. * Addresses and handwriting provide information about both sender and recipient. * The envelope's condition delivers clues to handling
617. MMARKS_131026_059.JPG: On Land & Sea: Mail has been delivered in a surprising variety of ways on both land and sea. The origins of modern postal systems date to the 13th century, when printed couriers carried dispatches for governments, churches, universities, and other institutions. Over time, these private systems opened to the public. As populations grew, people tried moving the mail through a range of transportation technologies. Sail and Steam Conquer the Atlantic: Ocean-going ships have transported mail from one continent to another since at least the 1300s. Steamships, introduced in the 1830s, shortened Atlantic Ocean crossings to a little more than two weeks. Over time, more and more steamship companies secured contracts to carry government mail. By the mid-1860s, government mail contracts heavily subsidized the construction and operation of transatlantic passenger liners.
618. MMARKS_131026_067.JPG: April 10, 1912 Letter mailed aboard RMS Titanic: First-class Titanic passenger George E. Graham, a Canadian returning from a European buying trip for Eaton's department store, addressed this folded letter on ship's stationery. Destined for Berlin, it received Titanic's onboard postmark ("Transatlantic Post Office 7") and was sent ashore with the mail, probably at Cherbourg, France. Mail is one of the rarest artifacts from Titanic.
619. MMARKS_131026_071.JPG: Silk Road Letter, 1390: The oldest paper letter in the National Philatelic Collection lies under this panel. It discusses prices of luxury fabrics and spices such as cinnamon and pepper. Mailed by a Venetian merchant in Damascus on November 24, 1390, it was carried by courier to Beirut, where it boarded a Venetian galley. It arrived in Venice on December 26, having traveled 1,650 miles in one month.
620. MMARKS_131026_080.JPG: Britannia Icebound in Boston, 1844: When the Cunard liner Britannia became trapped by ice in Boston harbor, the city's merchants paid for a channel to be cut so their mail would not be further delayed.
621. MMARKS_131026_090.JPG: Spider Press Up until the early 1900s, many stamps were printed on small hand presses like this one. The length and shape of the spindly arms led to the name spider press. Making a multicolored stamp on this press required several impressions. After the printer made one impression, he removed the plates, re-inked them, returned them to the press for the next impression, and re-inserted paper. This process resulted in considerable variations among stamps as well as some major -- even historic -- errors.
622. MMARKS_131026_096.JPG: Delivering Mail in Cities: As cities expanded in size, so did new methods of mail transport. Trains and buses carried mail over long distances. At the turn of the 20th century, horse-drawn wagons and electric streetcars transported mail within most cities. By the 1920s, motorized postal trucks became the dominant form of urban mail transportation. In the United States, as railroads declined, the post office used buses and the new Interstate Highway System to move mail between cities and serve communities in-between. Bridging Distances Over Land: By the 16th century, the princely family of Thurn and Taxis had united most of continental Europe through a private postal system. In colonial America, similar attempts were made to build post roads along the eastern seaboard. None were successful until the 1750s. Water routes remained dominant until the 19th century, when stagecoaches and then railroads enabled large-scale delivery of mail on land.
623. MMARKS_131026_101.JPG: Sea Post Clerk's chest badge, 1891-1940: The badge worn by railway mail clerks served as the model for this badge belonging to a US Post Office Department Sea Post Office clerk. Railway Mail Service clerk's chest badge, 1899
624. MMARKS_131026_109.JPG: Royal Train RPO cancellation die hub, 1939: In 1939, with World War II looming, Great Britain's King George VI and Queen Elizabeth made a goodwill tour of Canada and the United States. This die hub cancelled souvenir mail on board their train.
625. MMARKS_131026_113.JPG: Sea Post Clerk John Starr March's pocket watch, 1912: This watch probably stopped when RMS Titanic sank in the Atlantic. Recovery ship crew members found it on the body of John Starr March, an American sea post clerk.
626. MMARKS_131026_120.JPG: Sea Post Clerk Oscar S. Woody's set of keys, 1912: American Sea Post Clerk Oscar S. Woody perished when RMS Titanic sank on April 15, 1912. Recovery ship crew members found this chain of postal keys on his body.
627. MMARKS_131026_133.JPG: 9/11 New York, NY, postmark handstamp, September 11, 2001: This handstamp was recovered from New York's Church Street Station Post Office, which served the World Trade Center. Clerks used it to mark receipts, parcels, and letters.
628. MMARKS_131026_136.JPG: Fire hose nozzle, September 11, 2001: New York City firefighters used this nozzle to battle the fire at the World Trade Center from the windows of the Church Street Station Post Office.
629. MMARKS_131026_145.JPG: 9/11 Return to Sender UNKNOWN handstamp, September 11, 2001: The Church Street Station postal employee used this 'Pointing Hand' stamp to return a mail piece to its sender, when the addressee was not at the address indicated.
630. MMARKS_131026_148.JPG: Mail Marks History In Times of Trouble: Disaster covers provide physical evidence of mail service that was disrupted by natural or human-caused events -- including earthquakes, fires, floods, tornadoes, tsunamis, epidemics, bombings, wars, and robberies. Although the postal service makes great efforts to continue delivery, such disasters interfere with part or all of postal operations. Surviving mail is often rare.
631. MMARKS_131026_153.JPG: Undelivered 9/11 cover, September 11, 2001: On September 11, US Postal Inspectors, aided by the National Guard and local police, retrieved mail at Church Street Station, which served the World Trade Center, and took it to the main post office for processing.
632. MMARKS_131026_155.JPG: Undeliverable 9/11 cover, September 11, 2001: The postal service held World Trade Center mail for three months before returning unclaimed mail -- the first time in the service's history that mail was allowed to remain unclaimed for so long.
633. MMARKS_131026_159.JPG: Cholera fumigated mail, 1831: During the war for Greek independence, when this cover was mailed, cholera moved from Asia to Europe. The hand-stamped cachet refers to the French General Headquarters Army of Morea, the name of Greece's Peloponnese Peninsula at that time.
634. MMARKS_131026_164.JPG: Cholera fumigated mail, December 1, 1774: Inspectors cut slits so sulphur fumes could penetrate inside when they disinfected this cover at a quarantine and fumigation facility in Malta before sending it on to Marseille, France. The treatment caused discoloration.
635. MMARKS_131026_166.JPG: Cholera fumigated mail, November 19, 1848: Venice and Bologna were located in separate countries when this letter was sent. Postmarked in Venice, it was disinfected at the border and marked "disinfettata" in Bologna.
636. MMARKS_131026_170.JPG: Cover inspected for anthrax addressed to Vice President Richard B. Cheney, July 18, 2002: This registered cover from Nigeria passed White House Security clearance, as indicated by the hand-stamped check mark and number 120. The number identifies the examiner who processed the piece.
637. MMARKS_131026_173.JPG: Cover inspected for anthrax addressed to the Office of the Vice President, October 18, 2001: Even mail between government agencies was subjected to inspection. The Federal Aviation Administration sent this letter to one of Vice President Richard B. Cheney's special assistants.
638. MMARKS_131026_179.JPG: Cover inspected for anthrax addressed to Vice President Richard B. Cheney, October 22, 2001: The red check mark and "Cleared" security marking show that the Secret Service approved this cover postmarked Charlotte, North Carolina, for delivery to the Office of the Vice President. In September 2001, letters faced with anthrax began appearing in the mail.
639. MMARKS_131026_185.JPG: Sent to quarantined ship, September 18, 1926: Before ships arriving in New York could dock and unload passengers and cargo, they had to undergo a health clearance. The addressee of this cover was awaiting clearances about RMS Franconia, which had sailed from Liverpool. A mail boat carried the piece to the ocean liner.
640. MMARKS_131026_188.JPG: Zinc ball mail, January 1, 1871: During Germany's 1870-1871 Siege of Paris, the French tried to deliver mail to Paris by placing letters inside zinc balls and floating them down the Seine River. The experiment was not successful, but some balls -- and the letters inside -- were retrieved after the siege.
641. MMARKS_131026_191.JPG: Pigeon mail, November, 1870: During the Siege of Paris, balloons moved mail and carrier pigeons out of the city. The pigeons carried an early form of microphotography that enabled 16 pages of text to be placed on a 1-1/4" by 2" piece of film. Of about 400 pigeons released, only one in eight returned.
642. MMARKS_131026_194.JPG: San Francisco earthquake, April 24, 1906: Postmarked six days after the devastating 1906 earthquake, this cover arrived in Washington, DC on April 30 with 4 cents postage due. Makeshift post offices in San Francisco accepted mail without postage and sent it to the receiving post office, where postage due was assessed and collected from the request.
643. MMARKS_131026_198.JPG: Hurricane Katrina resumption of mail service, April 3, 2006: Katrina struck New Orleans on August 29, 2005. This letter was postmarked on the first day normal first class mail service resulted. For seven months, New Orleans mail was processed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, causing delays of up to a week for mail addressed just across town.
644. MMARKS_131026_211.JPG: Ministry of War, Japan, to Wright Cycle Company, July 18, 1906: In an effort to sell their airplane and patent rights, the Wright brothers negotiated with the war officers of several countries. This envelope may have contained correspondence related to patent rights.
645. MMARKS_131026_217.JPG: T.C. Lowe, Chief of Aeronauts in Union Army of the Potomac, February 16, 1862: During the Civil War, balloonists performed reconnaissance observations to count troops and locate positions. This envelope from Union Gen. Daniel Butterfield contained orders to send up signal balloons.
646. MMARKS_131026_221.JPG: Balloon Jupiter first officer airmail, August 17, 1859: On August 17, 1859, John Wise carried 123 letters and 23 circulars from Lafayette to Crawfordsville, Indiana, in his balloon Jupiter -- the first official flown mail in the United States.
647. MMARKS_131026_228.JPG: Siege of Paris balloon Ville de Paris, December 15, 1870: During Germany's Siege of Paris in the Franco-Prussian War, balloons carried people and mail out of the city and over enemy lines. The aeronauts on this flight were arrested after landing and held as prisoners of war.
648. MMARKS_131026_232.JPG: Graf Zeppelin and catapult combination flights, September 19, 1934: This is the only known example of zeppelin cover franked by a revenue duck stamp, which was not valid for postage. Markings show that it traveled over 10,000 miles, from New York through England and Germany to Rio de Janeiro, via at least six modes of transportation -- without detection.
649. MMARKS_131026_237.JPG: Charles Lindbergh solo transatlantic flight cover, May 20, 1927: Lingbergh autographed this piece of unstamped, unofficial mail -- one of only four known pieces carried on his first solo transatlantic flight from New York to Paris, along with six letters of introduction. Due to concerns about the aircraft's weight, carrying additional mail was out of the question on the risky flight.
650. MMARKS_131026_243.JPG: Charles Lindbergh solo transatlantic flight letter, May 16, 1927: Lindbergh signed this enclosed letter to document that he carried the envelope across the Atlantic Ocean.
651. MMARKS_131026_246.JPG: Amelia Earhart solo transatlantic flight, May 20, 1932: On her historic solo slight across the Atlantic, Earhart carried 50 pieces of unofficial mail -- each postmarked before and after landing, cacheted, numbered, and autographed to document the record-setting event.
652. MMARKS_131026_249.JPG: China Clipper Hawaii transpacific flight, December 5, 1935: This cover flew from Honolulu to San Francisco one the final return leg of the world's first scheduled transpacific flight. A 25-cent airmail stamp with a head-on view of the Pan American Airways seaplane China Clipper was issued for mail carried on the new San Francisco-Manila route.
653. MMARKS_131026_253.JPG: Tuskegee air crew in WWII, December 15, 1943: African-Americans who participated in air crew, ground crew, and operations support training in the Army Air Corps during World War II became known as the Tuskegee Airmen. Their unmatched success led President Truman to desegregate the US military. Sgt. Alexton Squire Boone Jr., of the 99th Fighter Squadron, sent this letter.
654. MMARKS_131026_258.JPG: Howard Hughes world flight, July 10, 1938: Aviator Howard Hughes's world flight began and ended in Brooklyn, New York, in a Lockheed 14 twin-engine passenger plane. The flight took 3 days, 9 hours, and 17 minutes -- shaving more than four days off the previous record. An Aviation Manufacturing Corporation vice-president sent this envelope to Postmaster General James A. Farley.
655. MMARKS_131026_261.JPG: Transpolar world-flight, December 1, 1968: Passengers paid $10,000 for a seat on the first commercial flight to cross both poles and touch down on all continents. The reverse features additional rubber-stamped cachets from various stops.
656. MMARKS_131026_265.JPG: Graf Zeppelin world flight, August 7, 1929: The first passenger-carrying flight around the world covered 21,250 miles in five legs from Lakehurst, New Jersey, back to Lakehurst, and returning to Friedirhcshafen, Germany. Posted from Montreal, this cover was put on board Graf Zeppelin in Lakehurst and flown to Germany. US postage of $1.05 for the first leg appears on the reverse.
657. MMARKS_131026_268.JPG: Challenger Space Shuttle, August 30, 1983: Dated August 14, when the launch was originally scheduled, this cover's cancellation includes NASA's 25th anniversary slogan. The cachet reproduces the patch design for the eighth Space Shuttle. The astronaut crew autographed the envelope for USPS, which had sent a payload of mail.
658. MMARKS_131026_271.JPG: Regulus first official missile mail, June 8, 1959: Postmaster General Arthur Summerfield sent 3,000 letters to President Dwight Eisehower, government officials, postmaster generals worldwide, and former Smithsonian philatelic curator Franklin Bruns, Jr. The letters traveled via a US Navy Regulus I missile fired from the USS Barbero submarine to a naval air station in Florida.
659. MMARKS_131026_277.JPG: Concorde (UK) maiden flight, April 9, 1969: THe world's first supersonic airliner cruised at 1,450 miles per hour. The flight from London to New York on the British-made Concorde 002 took 3 hours and 22 minutes.
660. MMARKS_131026_282.JPG: In Times of Trouble: Wars, natural disasters, epidemics, and other types of adversity have an impact on mail, leaving behind objects that bear testament to history. Pieces of mail that survive challenging circumstances such as these provide evidence of how normal communications were disrupted and how postal authorities coped with formidable obstacles. With the help of innovation ideas, clever inventions, and persistence on the part of postal employees, the mail usually managed to get through -- even during the most difficult times.
661. MMARKS_131026_283.JPG: Epidemics: Authorities have treated the mail in different ways to halt the spread of dreaded diseased they feared would travel with the correspondence. We now know diseases such as yellow fever, plague, cholera, and influenza cannot be transmitted by handling objects such as mail. However, in 2001 the deliberate introduction of anthrax virus to mail killed people, including postal employees.
662. MMARKS_131026_286.JPG: War: Wartime censors have inspected mail to and from military personnel, as well as international civilian mail, to ensure it contained no sensitive information that could fall into enemy hands. Censors also look for evidence of codes and secret inks. Prisoners-of-war mail has been tightly censored -- as has the mail of military staff and civilians during World War II.
663. MMARKS_131026_290.JPG: Disaster and Crime: Natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and tornadoes can disrupt the mail -- as can crimes like train robberies. In the aftermath of such challenges, the postal service makes great efforts to deliver the mail, including repairing mail and waiving fees. As inscribed on the General Post Office building in New York City: "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."
664. MMARKS_131026_297.JPG: Perforating paddle, 1899: The Montgomery, Alabama, Board of Health used this nail-studded paddle to perforate mail before fumigating it with surfur fumes -- a precaution against yellow fever.
665. MMARKS_131026_302.JPG: San Francisco earthquake mailbox remnant, 1906: When the 1906 earthquake struck, it shook this mailbox front installed in San Francisco's main post office. The mailbox survived and remained in use until 1972.
666. MMARKS_131026_311.JPG: Survivors: The postal objects in this case have endured a war, epidemic, fire, flood, earthquake, and armed robbery. The mailbox remnants weathered two of the worst disasters in the history of the United States -- the 1906 San Francisco earthquake that destroyed much of the city and killed more than 3,000 people; and the 1889 flood that wiped out the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, killing more than 2,000 people.
667. MMARKS_131026_316.JPG: Johnstown, PA, flood mailbox remnant, 1889: On May 31, 1889, a dam ruptured in Pennsylvania's Conemaugh Valley. The ensuing flood destroyed the town of Johnstown. The front of this iron mail collection box survived.
668. MMARKS_131026_322.JPG: By Air & Space: Aviation technology forever changed mail delivery in the United States as well as around the world. From the 1800s on, a wide variety of air and space craft were used to move the mail. Over the years, these craft have increased greatly in speed, size, sophistication, and endurance -- revolutionizing global mail delivery. Markings on mail record the major transitions and milestones that have occurred in airmail service worldwide over the last two centuries.
669. MMARKS_131026_325.JPG: Balloons to Zeppelins: Balloons and gliders carried the first airmail. By the 1920s, zeppelins had established postal routes over long distances. The May 6, 1937, Hindenburg disaster ended this golden era of airships. While attempting to land at Lakehurst, New Jersey, the airship burst into flames. Within 30 seconds, it was destroyed. Two-thirds of the passengers and crew survived -- but most mail burned.
670. MMARKS_131026_329.JPG: Biplanes to Jets: On December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the Wright Flyer became the first powered, heavier-than-air machine to achieve controlled, sustained flight with a pilot aboard. As the 20th century progressed, the speed and reliability of airplanes improved considerably and transformed communication, moving the mail further and faster than ever.
671. MMARKS_131026_331.JPG: May 6, 1937: Hindenburg disaster card: Under this panel is a piece of mail salvaged from the wreckage of the airship Hindenburg. The burnt card reached its address in a glassine with an official seal. At least 360 letters and cards of the more than 17,000 pieces of mail on board the airship survived the disastrous fire.
672. MMARKS_131026_344.JPG: May 8-27, 1919: NC-4 Transcontinental Flight cover: The envelope under this panel is the only piece of mail carried by the NC-4, the first airplane to fly across the Atlantic Ocean from the United States to Portugal. An aviation machinist wrote the letter to his brother in the American Expeditionary Forces in France.
673. MMARKS_131026_347.JPG: Pilot Eddie Gardner's aviation goggles, 1921: One of the first pilots hired by the Post Office Department, Eddie Gardner set a record by flying from Chicago to New York in a single day (September 10, 1918). He was wearing these borrowed goggled when his airplane crashed during an aviation tournament in 1921. He died from injuries.
674. MMARKS_131026_353.JPG: Regulus missile mail container, June 8, 1959: In 1959 the US Navy fired a Regulus 1 missile from a submarine, directing it to land 100 miles away in Florida. Inside were this and another container holding 3,000 letters -- the first and only time a US missile carried mail.
675. MMARKS_131026_360.JPG: Regulus 1 missile fired from USS Barbero
676. MMARKS_131026_363.JPG: Rockets to Spacecraft: In the 1900s, scientists used balloons and rockets to explore the stratosphere and space for the first time. Only a few of these space missions carried mail, either privately by astronauts or as payload. Markings on this mail document these early space explorations as well as later space flights and missions.
677. STAMPC_131026_002.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2013_DC_SIPM_Stamps_Connect DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (Gross Gallery 4): Connect with U.S. Stamps (30 photos from 2013)
  What's In Your Attic? Save your family history by preserving letters, envelopes, and other documents that provide a window into the past. These personal documents are resources for future generations. They tell your family's unique story and reflect the time and place in which you live. Preserving treasured letters and mail is not difficult, and you do not have to be a professional conservator to do it.
678. STAMPC_131026_004.JPG: Storing Documents: Documents generally do well in places where people feel physically comfortable. * Remove them from hot attics, damp basements, and other areas with extreme temperature or humidity changes. * Store them in a closet or under a bed, away from exterior walls, lights, and vents. * Cover the stored documents to keep off dust.
679. STAMPC_131026_008.JPG: Organizing Documents: Organize the documents in a useful order in acid-free containers, and make sure newspapers and photos do not touch each other. * Remove rubber bands, paper clips, and plastic enclosures. * Take letters out of envelopes, but store them together. * Never pull off old tape, make repairs with tape, or try to unfold documents if they resist. Leave those jobs for professional conservators.
680. STAMPC_131026_010.JPG: Displaying Documents: Buy albums from companies that provide complete details on the materials used in their products. * Use corner mounts or clear enclosures made of polypropylene, polyethylene, or polyester. * When displaying documents on walls, use archival framing materials with protective glazing. * Hang away from exterior walls and with minimal exposure to light.
681. STAMPC_131026_018.JPG: Connect with U.S. Stamps: Since a profile of Queen Victoria appeared on the Penny Black in 1840, the look of stamps has changed in a number of ways. In the United States, modern stamps reflect the nation's cultural diversity, varied interests, and changing styles. Discover how modern stamps are designed and produced, meet famous stamp designers and collectors, and design a stamp of your own.
682. STAMPC_131026_022.JPG: (1847) Content: Early stamps usually depicted famous historical figures including: * Founding fathers * Presidents * Statesmen * Military officers
683. STAMPC_131026_024.JPG: (1847) Design: The design of early stamps was typically very ornate with: * one or two colors in rich hues * serif fonts * fancy frames
684. STAMPC_131026_027.JPG: (1847) Production: Early stamps were produced on flat plate presses: * a recessed engraving produced a sharp image * the later addition of perforations enabled easy separation
685. STAMPC_131026_031.JPG: How Have US Stamps Changed? Stamp topics, designs, and production have changed dramatically over the years. As American identity has changed over time, so have the images depicted on stamps. Modern stamps still include the country and value. But the topics on stamps are now nearly unlimited, and their artwork reflects changes in graphic art styles, fonts, media, and printing technologies.
686. STAMPC_131026_044.JPG: Stamp Design: The composition of a stamp must be strong and original, and the design has other special requirements. A stamp image should be simple but eye-catching and stand out from the background. The design must reduce well, leave space for letters and numbers, and be difficult to counterfeit. Some stamps show works of art, but the designer does not merely copy the artwork. Rather, the designer uses graphic elements from the art to create a new design that works as a stamp.
687. STAMPC_131026_047.JPG: Where do stamp ideas come from? Every year the US Postal Service (USPS) assembled a list of stamp subjects that portray a range of American experiences, reflect the nation's cultural diversity, and have broad national appeal. Suggested must be submitted at least three years before the appropriate time for the stamp to be issued. The Citizen's Stamp Advisory Committee reviews the ideas and makes recommendations to the Postmaster General.
688. STAMPC_131026_050.JPG: (1893) Content: During the late 1800s and early 1900s, stamps focused on historical topics such as: * Migration and territorial expansion. * Anniversaries of historical events * War and propaganda * Famous Americans (1933) Design: Stamp design became more streamlined through the use of: * lighter colors * san serif fonts * optional frames
689. STAMPC_131026_053.JPG: (1933) Design: Stamp design became more streamlined through the use of: * lighter colors * san serif fonts * optional frames
690. STAMPC_131026_056.JPG: (1914) Production: The use of rotary presses led to the introduction of: * Photo engraving, which produced grainier images * Expanded formats such as coil stamps
691. STAMPC_131026_070.JPG: Stamp Production: Changes in technologies and available materials have affected the look of stamps -- and will continue to do so. Today engraving is still used to produce some stamps, but sparingly because of its high cost. Other methods include photogravure, which "engraves" the metal plate using chemicals and light rather than tools. Offset lithography uses flexible rubber or aluminum plates, which are not engraved at all. These processes are easier and less expensive than engraving, and they produce more colorful images. The look of stamps will continue to evolve with technology.
692. STAMPC_131026_073.JPG: 37c Lewis & Clark Expedition frame intaglio printing plate, 2004: Touch this intaglio printing plate for the Lewis & Clark Expedition stamp. The frame of the stamp design was engraved for intaglio printing. The vignette, however, was printed by offset.
693. STAMPC_131026_079.JPG: 32c Alfred Hitchcock perforation plate, 1998: Touch this perforation plate for the Alfred Hitchcock stamp. Look carefully for the star-shaped perforations and the laser-cut profile of Hitchcock.
694. STAMPC_131026_092.JPG: (1968) Content: In recent decades stamp content has focused on common national interests such as: * popular culture * American diversity * holidays * great achievements
695. STAMPC_131026_095.JPG: (1967) Design: Modern stamp design is more freeform and tends to use: * a full palette of colors * custom typography * the full canvas for the image
696. STAMPC_131026_096.JPG: (1967) Production: The introduction of offset presses and computer technology has enabled: * a wider range of ink color * innovations such as holograms and die cuts * chemical technology has enabled self-adhesive stamps
697. STAMPC_131026_100.JPG: Stamp Collecting: Stamp collecting ranks among the world's most popular hobbies. As many as 22 million people collect stamps in the United States alone. Stamp collectors represent all ages and walks of life. Some have very general collections; other focus on special topics. Most are intrigued by the diversity of people, places, and objects illustrated on stamps. They want to learn where and when stamps were issued, who designed them, how they were printed and used. To these collectors, stamps bring history to life. Most of all, people collect stamps because it is fun.
698. STAMPG_131026_001.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2013_DC_SIPM_Stamps_Globe DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (Gross Gallery 6): Stamps Around the Globe (23 photos from 2013)
699. STAMPG_131026_005.JPG: Stamps Around the Globe: Stamps record the histories and cultures of all nations, connecting people and places worldwide. They show how people from different cultures have depicted themselves and others over time. Stamps also reveal how different countries have represented universal themes, such as the wonders of the natural world, in both unique and surprisingly similar ways.
700. STAMPG_131026_014.JPG: A Stamp for Every Country: These frames contain almost 800 stamps -- one from every country in the world that has produced stamps, including many countries that no longer exist. Find the continents that interest you, and go to the appropriate frames to locate specific countries and other stamp issuing entities. Look for stamps from your ancestral homelands, countries you have visited, or countries you want to visit. Trace the history of a country or region. Consult frames 1 and 2 for an alphabetical index of countries and other stamp-issuing entities. These panels are also available online to help you begin your own worldwide collection.
701. STAMPG_131026_025.JPG: Congo Free State: Inverted Waterfall: This 1895 stamp features Stanley Falls [now Boyoma Falls], a famous natural wonder. A single sheet of 100 stamps was printed with the waterfall inverted. Of those 100 stamps, only about 40 survive today.
702. STAMPG_131026_033.JPG: Brazil: Bull's-Eyes: These 1843 Brazilian "Bull's-eyes" were the first national postage stamps issued in the Western hemisphere. They were engraved and printed on a press that was confiscated by Brazilian customs officials and given to the nation's mint. The elaborate engraving behind the numerals made forgery difficult.
703. STAMPG_131026_041.JPG: Canada: St. Lawrence Seaway Invert: Canada and the United States jointly issued a stamp to honor the 1959 opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway. During the printing of the Canadian stamp, a few sheets were fed into the press upside down -- inverting the image. The inverted stamp here is one of only 24 that were actually used.
704. STAMPG_131026_051.JPG: Switzerland: Swiss Cantonals: Before Switzerland established a uniform postal system in 1849, its 26 cantons were allowed to issue their own stamps for local use. Three did so. The stamps of Zurich were the first in continental Europe. Basel produced the world's first multicolored, embossed stamp, often considered one of the world's most beautiful.
705. STAMPG_131026_075.JPG: Greece: World's First Stamp? Some experts believe this stamp was issued in 1831, making it [not Great Britain's Penny Black] the first stamp. But all four known covers date from after 1840, and the stamps did not seem to have been used for postage. One theory is that the proceeds went to a charity or public project.
706. STAMPG_131026_084.JPG: Jamaica: Unissued Abolition Stamp: In 1921 Jamaica planned to release this stamp marking the abolition of slavery. It was cancelled at the last moment when falling sugar prices led to unrest among sugar and dock laborers, who were mostly black. The following year a stamp showing Port Royal in 1853 replaced the original stamp.
707. STAMPG_131026_090.JPG: Mauritius: Impressions of Queen Victoria: In 1848 Mauritius, then a British colony, issued stamps showing Queen Victoria at age 18. The soft copper plates wore down quickly, resulting in changes visible in this group of early to late impressions. Some stamps contained an engraver's error, "PENDE" instead of "PENCE".
708. STAMPG_131026_098.JPG: Mexico: One of Mexico's Rarest Stamps: Victoriano Huerta seized Mexico's presidency in 1913, and the state of Sonora became a stronghold of northern opposition forces led by Alvaro Obregon. Revolutionary postage embossed with the word Constitucional demonstrated Senora's anti-Huerta sentiments. This example, one of two known unused copies of this variety, is among Mexico's rarest stamps.
709. STAMPG_131026_103.JPG: French First Empire: Napoleon's Retreat from Russia: In 1812, an Italian soldier in Napoleon's multinational Grand Armee -- the largest fighting force Europe had ever seen -- wrote this letter home from Prussia during the army's retreat from Russia. Only a third of the men survived. The brown military postal marking, used during the retreat, is rare.
710. STAMPS_131026_03.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2013_DC_SIPM_Stamp_Salon DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (Gross Gallery 5): National Stamp Salon (18 photos from 2013)
  National Stamp Collection: Held in trust by the Postal Museum for every US citizen, this national treasure illustrates America's history through stamps. Postal Museum curators and philatelic experts selected these 4,000 stamps and mail pieces from the National Philatelic Collection and arranged them chronologically in ten chapters. They tell a unique story of the United States from the time before it became a nation to the present -- from a postal perspective. Use the guide to find time periods that interest you.
711. STAMPS_131026_07.JPG: National Stamp Salon: This room houses the National Stamp Collection and other specialized collections. The National Postal Museum holds more than six million stamps, pieces of mail, and related materials from all over the world. As the world's oldest intact national stamp collection and the Smithsonian's second largest holding, the National Philatelic Collection has been housed at this museum since 1993.
712. STAMPS_131026_31.JPG: These stamps were issued in appreciation of the friendly nations participating in the Korean War.
713. STAMPS_131026_34.JPG: Cancellation Devices: Some postal cancellation devices, like the three 19th-century fancy cancels displayed here, are testaments to American creativity. Others bear witness to momentous historical events. The handstamp is dated December 4, 1941. It was salvaged from USS Oklahoma after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
714. STAMPS_131026_38.JPG: Skull and crossbones handstamp, 19th century
715. STAMPS_131026_41.JPG: Devil's head handstamp, 19th century
716. STAMPS_131026_58.JPG: Canal Zone Precancel Rolling Pin: In 1939, when the postmaster at Cristobal in the Panama Canal Zone needed to cancel a large number of stamps, he attached a rubber printing mat to a kitchen rolling pin. In 1979 the Canal Zone Postal Administration transferred its collection and archives to the Smithsonian Institution -- including this rolling pin. Precanceler: This wood and rubber handstamp was used at a Cincinnati, Ohio, post office in the 1930s. One impression precanceled an entire pane of 100 definitive stamps.
717. STAMPW_131026_001.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2013_DC_SIPM_Stamps_World DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (Gross Gallery 1): World of Stamps (27 photos from 2013)
718. STAMPW_131026_005.JPG: William H. Gross Stamp Gallery Every stamp tells a story. Come discover the amazing stories that unfold from world-renowned collections here at the National Postal Museum. Admire the beauty of stamps, and see how they change over time. Learn about the many ways stamps have touched people's lives, and explore your own connections with them.
719. STAMPW_131026_016.JPG: World of Stamps: What you find may surprise you. Since the first stamps appeared in 1840, these illustrated pieces of gummed paper have provided gateways to history, geography, biography, science, music, art, and more. Stamps represent every nation on Earth and reflect innovations in design, printing, and transportation. These are stories for everyone in the world of stamps. Who Invented the Stamp? The idea came from a former schoolteacher named Rowland Hill. In 1837 Hill published a pamphlet entitled Post Office Reform: Its Importance and Practicality. In this document, Hill recommended that postal fees be prepaid with "a bit of paper... covered at the back with a glutinous wash." The British government incorporated Hill's idea in the British postal reforms of 1839. What is a Stamp? A postage stamp provides official evidence that the sender has paid for postal services. Historically made of paper, ink, and gum, stamps are designed to be fixed to a piece of mail. Perforations or die cuts allow stamps to be separated easily from each other. Stamps usually include the country's name, postage value, and an image. The beauty and historical significance of these images inspire many people to collect stamps.
720. STAMPW_131026_022.JPG: The Stamp Makes Its Debut: On May 1, 1840, Great Britain issued the world's first postage stamp: the Penny Black. it revolutionized postal services worldwide. Before postage stamps, mail recipients usually paid the postal fees. Sometimes they refused to pay. Fees often varied according to distance within a single country. With the Penny Black, mail could be sent anywhere in the United Kingdom for a standard fee. Senders prepaid the fee; the stamp provided proof of payment. The postage stamp was very popular with the British people. Use of the mails soared.
721. STAMPW_131026_032.JPG: See the World's First Postage Stamp!
722. STAMPW_131026_034.JPG: First US Stamps, 1847
723. STAMPW_131026_040.JPG: The Idea Catches On: Other nations soon began issuing their own stamps. Rowland Hill's adhesive stamps saved money and were easy to use. By 1850 seven countries other than Great Britain were using stamps to signify prepayment of postage. The stamps reproduced here can be viewed in the "Stamps Around the Globe" exhibit. Most early stamps featured images of famous leaders or numbers representing fees paid. Within the next century, the diversity of topics expanded rapidly.
724. STAMPW_131026_051.JPG: What Stories Do Stamps Tell? Stamps illustrate almost every subject imaginable -- from history to science to popular culture. Images of stamps have influenced the course of history and honored people and places around the world. They have drawn attention to social issues and raised money for important causes. Stamps also contain clues to their production and use -- recording important changes in design, technology, and communications. Every stamp tells multiple stories.
725. STAMPW_131026_053.JPG: Struggle for Social Justice 1999: The "I Have a Dream" speech commemorated on this stamp was a defining moment of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. Issued on September 17, 1999, the stamp shows Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at the August 28, 1963, "March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom." Hundreds of thousands of people surrounded the Reflecting Pool. Dr. King's speech calling for racial equality and an end to discrimination is regarded by many as one of the greatest speeches in human history. 1998: Breast Cancer Research. This is the first US stamp ever designed and used to raise money for a health issue. The semi-postal stamp, which its bold call to action, was issued at a White House ceremony on July 29, 1998. Its purchase price includes a surcharge to support breast cancer research. The stamp's designer, Ethel Kessler, was a breast cancer survivor. Illustrator Whitney Sherman created the dramatic image of a mythical goddess of the hunt. As of 2013, the stamp had raised over $76 million for breast cancer research.
726. STAMPW_131026_063.JPG: 1993 Elvis The King of Rock & Roll adorns the top-selling postage stamp in US history. Issued on Elvis Presley's 58th birthday (January 8, 1993) at his Graceland mansion, this stamp was part of the Legends in American Music Series. The US Postal Service invited the public to vote on two proposed designs by artist Mark Stutzman. More than 75 percent of voters selected this design, which shows Elvis preforming early in his career. The Postal Service sold more than 517 million Elvis Presley stamps. 1979: Olympic Boycott: Six stamps became embroiled in a political boycott of the 1980 Olympics. In 1979 the US Postal Service announced six new stamps to honor the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics. Then the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. President Carter decided that the United States would boycott the Moscow games in protest. In March 1980, the Postmaster General announced that the USPS would withdraw the Olympic stamps from sale. The announcement set off a buying frenzy. Financial speculation ended when the stamps were re-released on August 6.
727. STAMPW_131026_071.JPG: 1945: Military Achievement: Hundreds of US soldiers march through the Arc de Triumphe in Paris following the liberation of France during World War II. Issued on September 28, 1945, shortly after the war's end, this stamp honors US Army achievements during World War II. It is based on an actual photograph. The designer made several changes to the original image, including the addition of airplanes flying overhead to pay tribute to the Army Air Corps. In keeping with accepted standards, he also took care not to portray any recognizable features of living individuals. 1971: Birth of the USPS: This dramatic profile of an eagle about to take flight became the seat of the US Postal Service (USPS) in 1971. The USPS came into being that same year, replacing the US Post Office Department. The USPS hired a famous industrial designer, Raymond Loewy, to design a deal that would replace the one featuring a horse and rider. To celebrate the reform and inaugurate the USPS, President Nixon proclaimed July 1 National Postal Service Day. On that day this stamp was released across the country.
728. SIPMBI_120106_009.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2012_DC_SIPM_Binding DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (MIA Galleries 2): Binding the Nation (incl Pony Express) (43 photos from 2012)
729. SIPMBI_120106_012.JPG: The Colonial Posts: The American colonies began as lonely coastal settlements, separated by dense forests. Settlers were more eager for news of their families and homelands overseas than the news from other colonies. The British government, however, needed reliable mail service throughout the American colonies for official communications with colonial governors.
730. SIPMBI_120106_020.JPG: From Crown to Revolution: Benjamin Franklin was named postmaster of Philadelphia by the British Crown in 1737. The colonial post still carried mostly official and commercial correspondence, and most communications were transatlantic. Few residents of one colony needed to contact residents of another. But over the next three decades, a sense of common destiny began to unit the colonies in opposition to British rule. By 1753, Franklin was the Crown's joint postmaster general for the colonies. After a 1,600-mile inspection of post offices, he organized a weekly mail wagon between Philadelphia and Boston. Using lanterns to light their way, post riders traveled day and night in relays. This cut mail delivery time between the cities in half and made the colonial post efficient for colonies and profitable for the Crown.
731. SIPMBI_120106_024.JPG: Revolution by Mail: Following the British victory in the French and Indian War in America (1757-1763), relations between the American colonies and their mother country rapidly deteriorated. The war depleted the British treasury, forcing Parliament to pass a series of Acts designed to increase revenues from the colonies. America's colonial leaders viewed these new taxes on tea, molasses, stamps, and other commodities as a concerted effort to strip away their civil rights and liberties. The individual colonies regarded their resistance to England's tyranny as a common cause and developed new strategies and institutions in opposition to the English threat. Secure communication between patriot leaders was critical to the success of the revolution and control of the colonial mail was fiercely contested. British authorities employed only loyal postmasters who opened and read the mail forcing colonial leaders to boycott the post. Many advocated creating an independent American postal system to protect the American cause and to decrease their dependence upon the Crown's post.
732. SIPMBI_120106_028.JPG: Creating an Independent Post: William Giles Goddard, a printer and newspaper publisher, experienced the abuses of British authority firsthand. Goddard moved to Philadelphia in 1765 and formed a partnership with Benjamin Franklin to publish the Pennsylvania Chronicle, a paper sympathetic to the revolutionary cause. The local Crown postmaster failed to deliver out-of-town newspapers to Goddard depriving him of important information for his own newspaper. The Chronicle was forced out of business when the Crown post refused to deliver it through the mail. Goddard retaliated by designing a distinctly American postal system in opposition to the Crown's post. Goddard's plan stressed the constitutional principles of open communication, freedom from government interference, and the free exchange of ideas. An elected committee would select the Postmaster General for this "Constitutional Post" and have the authority to fix rates and establish post routes. Goddard's vision of a free post provided the foundation for the future United States postal system.
733. SIPMBI_120106_034.JPG: Stage Coach Horn: Stagecoach drivers blew a blast or two from horns like this as they charged into a town alerting townsfolk of the mail's arrival. This horn was used on stagecoaches in the early 19th century.
734. SIPMBI_120106_038.JPG: Binding the New Nation: Following the war, the leaders of the newly formed United States struggled to incorporate the principles and ideals of the revolution into their political institutions. When the framers of the Constitution met in Philadelphia in 1787, they sought to protest the free flow of ideas and information essential to self-government. The Constitution granted Congress the exclusive power to create a central postal system -- an institution devoted to the open exchange of ideas and information. The First Amendment in the Bill of Rights, adopted in 1791, reconfirmed the sanctity of open communication and free ideas. The amendment restricted Congress from making any law "... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press."
735. SIPMBI_120106_050.JPG: The mail and the press... are the nerves of the body politic. By them the slightest impression made on the most remote parts is communicated to the whole system. -- John C. Calhoun, 1817 Printers vied for the postmaster's job, knowing they would get news first and could mail their newspapers for free and refuse competing papers. As deputy postmaster general, Benjamin Franklin insisted on cheap, impartial delivery of all newspapers. The 1792 Post Office Act let newspaper editors exchange their papers by mail without charge so that each could print the other's news. By 1825, newspapers circulated in-state or within 100 miles of publication for 1 cent, and for 1-1/2 cents beyond that range. Newspapers and magazines still enjoy special rates, based on the revolutionary conviction that knowledge is power, not to be taxed.
736. SIPMBI_120106_052.JPG: The Post and the Press: The first colonial newspapers -- single sheets of paper printed on only one side -- were nailed up, or posted, in public places. They carried official decrees, court decisions, ship arrivals, a few advertisements, reprints of sermons, letters from travelers, and news of floods, storms, or piracy. Called broadsides, these papers were often printed and sold by postmasters, who usually were the first to get the news. As the colonies grew, broadsides appeared more often, first as weekly, then daily, newspapers. Printers often titled their papers The Post, The Packet, or The Courier, according to their means of delivery.
737. SIPMBI_120106_056.JPG: The Post and the Press: The first colonial newspapers -- single sheets of paper printed on only one side -- were nailed up, or posted, in public places. They carried official decrees, court decisions, ship arrivals, a few advertisements, reprints of sermons, letters from travelers, and news of floods, storms, or piracy. Called broadsides, these papers were often printed and sold by postmasters, who usually were the first to get the news. As the colonies grew, broadsides appeared more often, first as weekly, then daily, newspapers. Printers often titled their papers The Post, The Packet, or The Courier, according to their means of delivery. Case In Point: Freedom of Speech in the Mail: At the beginning of the new America, nearly all the news came by mail. When the Constitution was signed, it was rushed by post riders to every town that had a printing press. And that's how the newspapers were able to bring the resounding news of how we were to govern ourselves. The newspapers knew of it first by mail. In England, for centuries, the mail was frequently scrutinized by agents of the Crown or of the Parliament. It could be worth your life to write a letter than might be seen as having the seeds of treason. This did not happen here. From the beginning, by and large, the US mails have been free of eyes other than our own and those of the sender. To the framers of the Constitution, the mail made the engine of democracy run -- along with the newspapers. And newspapers then printed a good deal of correspondence. Rufus Putnam, a key military figure in the Revolutionary War, said, "The knowledge diffused among the people by newspapers, by correspondence between friends" was crucial to the future of the nation. "Nothing can be more fatal to a republican government than ignorance among its citizens." As a journalist, I have sometimes been asked where my leads for stories come from. Much of the time, they come from opening the mail. Readers from all over the country send personal stories, newspaper clippings, local court decisions, and student newspaper editorials arguing for the First Amendment rights of students. There is no other way I would have known about these stories except through the mail. It is through letters that I often receive highly confidential stories about unfairness in the justice system from people who would not trust any other form of communication. The framers of the Constitution knew how vital the mail would be when Article I was written to protect the privacy of communications through the mail. -- Nat Nentoff Nat Nentoff is a columnist for the Washington Post and the Village Voice, and the author of Free Speech for Me, But not for Thee: How the Left and Right Continually Censor Each Other.
738. SIPMBI_120106_059.JPG: The Expanding Nation: In the early 1800s, the United States seemed a land of boundless promise and possibility. Between 1803 and 1853, it more than doubled in area, and many Americans believed that the nation had a "manifest destiny" to rule from sea to sea. Settlers poured into these new territories from the states and from Europe and Asia, driving American Indians from ancestral homes in the land rush. But territory alone was of little value unless the lands could be developed, especially the vast region from the Mississippi to the West Coast. Stagecoach companies holding mail contracts helped to secure those areas, turning rough trails into well-traveled roads. And the somewhat regular arrival of the mail coach connected settlers to faraway families, friends, and businesses back home.
739. SIPMBI_120106_062.JPG: Inland Waterways: In the early 1800s, the postal service relied on riverboats to move the mail south and west. Overland routes were poor in the new territories, and far less extensive before 1850 than the water and rail routes shown on the map. In 1823, Congress declared all steamboat routes to be post roads, subject to federal regulation. Even with faster and more reliable transport of the mails, steamboat service was unpredictable. Weather and accidents delayed service, and steamboat captains found it hard to maintain regular schedules demanded in postal contracts. The money they made from mail contracts often was not worth the trouble.
740. SIPMBI_120106_082.JPG: Early Rail Routes: Congress designated the nation's 1,913 miles of railroad tracks as post roads in 1838. By then, mail was already being carried on most tracks. The Post Office Department recognized early that the expanding rail system would be useful in carrying mail. After the Civil War, clerks began sorting mail aboard trains. As the miles of track grew, railway mail became the backbone of the postal service. By the 1870s, more mail moved by rail than by stagecoaches and steamboats combined.
741. SIPMBI_120106_085.JPG: Around Cape Horn: In the years before steamships, clipper ships provided passage from the East Coast to the West Coast by way of Cape Horn. But the three-month journey to the gold fields,. unpleasant as it was for many passengers, was not fast enough for most eager fortune-seekers, nor for those in California anxious for news from home.
742. SIPMBI_120106_090.JPG: Across Central America: The discovery of gold in 1848 made postal service to California an urgent priority. The Pacific Mail Steamship Company contracted with the US government to carry the mail from Panama north to San Francisco by ship. By mid-century, two companies monopolized the Panamanian Isthmus route, linking East and West Coast communications. George Law's US Mail Steamship Company operated on the Atlantic Coast, and William H. Aspinwall's Pacific Mail Steamship Company, on the Pacific. Tickets from New York to California ranged from $400 in first class to $125 in steerage, and passengers paid their own way across the Panamanian Isthmus. The 50-mile journey by mule, wagon, or on foot along jungle trails was difficult, and many fell ill. In 1851, the Vanderbilt Line opened a route through Nicaragua, all but 12 miles of it by water, giving California-bound travelers a more comfortable alternative to Panama. The exhausting overland trip across Panama became faster and easier in 1855 when the Panamanian Railroad began operation.
743. SIPMBI_120106_096.JPG: Moving West: The ocean routes of the 1840s and 1850s opened up the West Coast, but did nothing to encouragement settlement in the vast territories between the Mississippi River and California. To help open up the interior, Congress provided money for mail contracts with stagecoach lines. By 1851, mail moved on three routes -- between Independence, Missouri, and Salt Lake City, Utah; Independence and Sante Fe, New Mexico; and Sacramento, California and Salt Lake City -- often on a monthly basis. These overland mail routes helped attracts settlers and commerce to the new region.
744. SIPMBI_120106_099.JPG: The Homestead Act of 1862, passed during the Civil War, guaranteed 160 acres of land to anyone who agreed to improve the land and live on it for five years. As Congress anticipated, thousands headed west along the overland trails after the war to claim land. Railroad companies pushed into the frontier after the Civil War, bringing more settlers. The railroads also dispatched land agents to Europe. Immigrants could purchase both their transportation and land from the railroad companies, land that often had been given by federal and state governments to the railroads to encourage growth.
745. SIPMBI_120106_112.JPG: When Congress agreed to finance overland mail in 1857, Southern and Northern factions fought to gain the route through their states. The decision landed on the desk of the Postmaster General Aaron V. Brown. Brown, a Tennessean, chose a Southern route for the overland mail. Starting in St. Louis, Missouri, and Memphis, Tennessee, the routes converged at Fort Smith, Arkansas, and continued across the Rio Grande, through Fort Yuma, Arizona, and up to San Francisco. Among Brown's many critics, The Chicago Tribune called his decision "one of the greatest swindles ever perpetrated upon the country by the slave-holders." But the postmaster general insisted that weather alone dictated his choice, for deep and unpassable snows would make northern routes unusable in winter.
746. SIPMBI_120106_120.JPG: Traveling with the Mail: Mud wagons and more elegant, decorated Concord coaches carried passengers and mail throughout the country. The ride in these hard wagons over rough roads and dusty deserts or in frigid, snowy weather tested the endurance of even the most seasoned traveler. We three were the only passengers.... About the rest of the coach was full of mail bags -- for we had three days' delayed mail with us. Almost touching our knees, a perpendicular wall of mail matter rose up to the roof. -- Mark Twain, Roughing It, 1872
747. SIPMBI_120106_122.JPG: Securing the Frontier: The federal government's annual payment to overland mail contractors before the Civil War was $1.5 million. The most important of these was the Butterfield Overland Mail line, established in 1858. Sen. Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri recognized the importance of the overland mail. He referred to the new cross-country service as the "skeleton of the future railroad." I regard the inland postal system as a great instrumentality for maintaining, preserving, and extending this Union. -- Senator William Seward, 1857
748. SIPMBI_120106_135.JPG: Hardships: New immigrants were not only separated from their families and friends in their new homes, but neighbors as well, for houses were often built miles apart. Letters and social events helped relieve the sense of isolation, but other hardships of homesteading were not so easily overcome.
749. SIPMBI_120106_150.JPG: The Pony Express: The legendary name of the Pony Express calls up thrilling images of horse and rider racing across treacherous terrain. Yet the actual Pony Express lasted for less than two years (April 1860 to October 1861) and was only one of a number of private express services that used riders to carry the mail. It owes it fame to the romanticizing of the Pony Express and the American West that began late in the 19th century, in Wild West shows and dime novels, and continues to the present. Pony Express riders live on today, still dodging varmints and villains in books and movies, evoking speed and the thrills on countless commercial products.
750. SIPMBI_120106_153.JPG: The Central Route: In 1860, a relay system of horses began to carry mail across the 1,966-mile-long "central route" between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California. This privately owned service would become known as the Pony Express. The Pony Express solved an urgent problem for the US government. In the late 1850s political tensions had increased between North and South over slavery and other issues. The government feared losing control over mail along the Southern Route and contact with gold-rich California. To ensure Union control over cargo and mail carried between East and West, a route outside the Southern states was needed.
751. SIPMBI_120106_160.JPG: Length of entire route: 1,966 miles Stations along route: about 165 Distance between stations: approximately 10 miles Each rider rode one segment of the route, 75-100 miles long At each station, a rider changed horses Every 75-100 miles, a new rider took over A rider changed horses 8-10 times per ride (every 10 miles or so) Average speed: 10 miles per hour How long did it take to get from Missouri to California? 10 days in summer, 12-16 days in winter (mountain snows can slow you down). In 1860, that was speedy! A stagecoach took 24 days Whose idea was it? Three business partners -- William Russell, Alexander Majors, and William Waddell -- founded the Pony Express as a private company
752. SIPMMC_120106_03.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2012_DC_SIPM_Mail_Call DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (MIA Galleries 7): Mail Call (4 photos from 2012)
  Mail Call To many, letter writing may seem a quaint and charming pastime. But for military personnel and their families, mail is essential. Providing prompt, reliable mail service for Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen stationed anywhere in the world is a top priority for both the armed forces and the postal system. The ways and means of mail delivery have changed over time, but the essential messages are the same. Our heartfelt letters, official news, and packages from home bind families, resonate with sincerity, and in times of crisis can elevate the ordinary to the extraordinary.
753. SIPMMC_120106_12.JPG: A Date Remembered: This handstamp was used last on December 6, 1941, aboard the USS Oklahoma, one of eight battleships at Pearl Harbor the day before the Japanese bombed the harbor. It was recovered from the sunken ship.
754. SIPMSY_120106_001.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2012_DC_SIPM_Systems DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (MIA Galleries 4): Systems at Work (48 photos from 2012)
755. SIPMSY_120106_002.JPG: Systems at Work: The United States Postal Service is a vast, intricate network more than 200 years old and it connects us all. Its mission is to provide service to a growing population with hundreds of millions of delivery locations. Achieving this mission is an ever-evolving challenge of engineering and imagination. For more than two centuries, the postal system has adopted and invented a remarkable array of new systems and technologies to get the mail into your hands.
756. SIPMSY_120106_005.JPG: Spreading the News: 1808: The official postal system of the new United States began in 1792. Over the next decade and a half, it grew faster than it has ever since. Mailing letters was expensive at first, to help subsidize the cost of mailing newspapers -- the crucial long-distance information system of the times. In 1800, postal officials began using selected postal offices as distribution centers, where mail for large areas was processed and sent on. This "hub-and-spoke" system is in use again today.
757. SIPMSY_120106_009.JPG: Frontier Mail: 1859: The postal system helped the nation grow. Newspapers and letters linked settlers moving west and the families and communities they left behind. Mail eased the isolation of the frontier. Immigration and westward expansion pushed the postal service to grow and experiment. More Americans meant more mail, and the mission of the Post Office Department was to reach as many as possible -- by horse, wagon, stagecoach, ship, and train.
758. SIPMSY_120106_013.JPG: Postage Stamps: Until 1847, local postmasters calculated the cost of postage, which varied depending on the number of sheets in the letter and its destination. The sender could pay all, part, of none of the postage. The addressee had to make up the difference. In 1845, Congress lowered postal rates and made them more uniform. Two years later, Congress authorized the first postage stamp. Rates dropped again in 1851 -- down to 3 cents -- where they remained for more than 30 years.
759. SIPMSY_120106_020.JPG: Who was on the first postage stamps? The first two U.S. postage stamps were a 5-cent stamp showing Benjamin Franklin and a 10-cent stamp with the image of George Washington. In 1855, Post Office made the use of prepaid postage stamps mandatory for mailing letters. How did lower postage rates affect ordinary citizens? Lower rates and prepaid postage stamps brought the cost of send first-class mail within reach of many more Americans. This encouraged more reading and writing, letters to distant friends and relatives, business transactions, and communication of many kinds across the growing United States.
760. SIPMSY_120106_036.JPG: A Tiny Revolution: In the 1840s and 1850s, lower postage rates and the advent of prepaid postage stamps transformed the mail system in the United States. A 3-cent stamp like this could take a letter from coast to coast.
761. SIPMSY_120106_050.JPG: Growing a Business by Mail: 1885: The mail-order business blossomed in the late 1800s. With the postal service as a distributor, companies began to serve more and more customers across the country. The seed business thrived on mail orders. Seeds were crucial to the economy, and they were given a special, lower postage rate. Seed catalogs and mail-order shipments enabled farmers to try new varieties of plants and follow the latest scientific advice.
762. SIPMSY_120106_054.JPG: Machines Move the Mail: 1917: In some big cities, city post offices were designed as factories behind an elegant facade. Inside, buckets and conveyor belts moved the mail through the system. Canceling machines marked the postage stamps. Automobiles joined ships, trains, streetcars, and pneumatic tubes as machines that moved the mail. As the machinery of the postal system changed, it still connected families and businesses around the world.
763. SIPMSY_120106_057.JPG: From the battlefield in France to Linwood, Maryland. And American soldier writes a postcard home, reassuring his family that he's surviving in France, and takes it to the American Expeditionary Force post office. A U.S. Post Office worker drives the military mail to the port in France before being placed on board a ship bound for New York City where it arrives a week later. At the New York City post office, the postcard is dropped into a pouch for Maryland. A wagon carries the pouch to Pennsylvania Station and it's placed on the Railway Post Office car in the southbound New York and Washington train. The postcard is sorted en route into a pouch for the Baltimore and Cumberland RPO car, and transferred in Baltimore. In the Baltimore and Cumberland RPO, the postcard is sorted again into a pouch for Linwood. As the train passes Linwood, the pouch is thrown from the car, and a mail messenger picks it up and carries it to the Linwood post office. Sorted by hand in the post office, the soldier's postcard is taken on a Rural Free Delivery route and dropped in an RFD box where his family picks it up.
764. SIPMSY_120106_062.JPG: American Postal Canceling Machine: American Postal Machines Company stamp canceling machine. The company operated from the early 1890s to 1940s, producing canceling machines for the Post Office Department. This machine, designed by engineer Thomas Stoddard of Boston, was in use in several post offices in the first two decades of the 20th century.
765. SIPMSY_120106_070.JPG: Pitney Bowes Mailing Machine: This Model A mailing machine, built by the Pitney Bowes Company, was first put into commercial use in late 1920. The machine was built to house the company's Model M postage meter. This electrically-operated machine helped revolutionize letter mail processing.
766. SIPMSY_120106_080.JPG: Helping Unclog the Mail: After World War II, mail volume grew every year -- doubling between 1946 and 1966. Dependent on federal subsidies, the Post Office couldn't buy enough machines and hire enough employees to keep up. In October 1966, a flood of holiday advertisements and election mailings choked the system. The Chicago Post Office, the world's largest postal facility at the time, was overwhelmed by mail. It stopped delivering mail for three weeks. Mail overflowed surrounding post offices. Soon, the mail back up was felt across the country. Change was essential.
767. SIPMSY_120106_085.JPG: ZIP Codes: By the early 1960s, the swelling volume of mail was taxing the Post Office Department to its limits. Zoning Improvement Plan -- ZIP -- Codes were one response to this growing mountain of mail. Using numbers to stand for regions, cities, post offices, or even city neighborhoods made its easier [to] sort the mail -- by machine or by hand. Today ZIP Codes are used to help shape everything from voting districts to marketing campaigns. What Do the Codes Represent? Think of each 5-digit ZIP Code as a group of addresses. They might be homes or businesses, schools or apartment houses. One 5-digit number might represent 10,000 delivery points -- spread out over many miles in a rural area of concentrated in a few city blocks. What Does Each Number Mean? The first digit represents a region of the country. The next two digits stand for a central post office facility in the region. The last two digits represent a post office or a postal zone. So, the ZIP Code 97403 means the west coast & Pacific, Eugene mail center, and the University of Oregon.
768. SIPMSY_120106_094.JPG: Behind the Scenes: 1968: Codes and machines revolutionized the Postal Office in the 1960s. The ever-growing volume of mail drove the Post Office to introduce ZIP Codes. Machines began taking on more and more of the work of moving the mail. Postal workers using these machines could sort 30,000 letters an hour. Since then, the pace and scale of automation in the postal system has exploded.
769. SIPMSY_120106_143.JPG: Handle with Care: 1936: By the mid-1930s, the US parcel post system was more than 20 years old. It had opened a new world to rural Americans. Products that rarely left cities only a few years earlier now appeared at their doorsteps. And farm produce traveled to urban markets by mail. Businesses depended on the efficiency, reliability, and security of the parcel post. A parcel that arrived late was sometimes no better than one damaged or lost.
770. SIPMSY_120106_146.JPG: The Chicken or the Egg? From Washington State to Alaska Territory Chickens can have a hard time wintering in Alaska. So, in the spring, an Alaskan farmer ordered eggs from Seattle in time for them to hatch into chicks after they reach Alaska. Packages travel at different rates based not only on size and weight, but on distance. In 1913, with the introduction of Parcel Post, the Post Office Department began dividing the nation into zones to help determine reasonable postage for parcels. When a post office clerk weighted the egg crate with a scale like this, he or she learned that it weight between one and two pounds. Parcel post to Alaska was 15 cents for the first pound and 11 cents for each additional pound. The crate's postage was 26 cents. The eggs travel from an eastern Washington farm to Seattle by rail, and on the way they are sorted into a sack for the Seattle and Seward boat route. At the Seattle post office, the pouches await the next ship headed north and are carried aboard on the day the ship sails. Four days later, the ship docks in Seward, Alaska. The pouch holding the eggs is taken to the post office, and its contents are sorted for an Alaska Star Route that might carry them across the territory on a variety of vehicles -- another ship, a small plane, or dogsled. Learn more about routes like this in the museum's atrium exhibit.
771. SIPMSY_120106_152.JPG: Barcodes: Once numbers -- ZIP Codes -- began to represent addresses, barcodes representing numbers was the next step. Barcodes are easily read by machines all along the route of a letter or parcel. From the start, they helped mail reach its destination faster and more accurately. Today, they help generate information for senders and recipients as mail moves across the country. How do bars represent ZIP Codes? The USPS began using barcodes in 1982. The bars represented the 5 digits of the ZIP Code and helped automate mail sorting -- the machines read the stripes instead of the numbers. What's in a barcode besides the ZIP Code? Over the years, the USPS has used 5, 6, 9 and now 31-digit barcodes to steadily increase the speed and accuracy of mail delivery. The extra bars include "carrier sort" field coding that sorts the mail to the order it's delivered in.
772. SIPMSY_120106_190.JPG: Bulk Mail Centers -- Streamlining the mail flow: Lots of businesses send out millions of pieces of mail -- from magazines to sweepstakes entries -- sometimes in a single day. The USPS has worked out a system with businesses like this so they take on some of the work of preparing and sorting the mail, and the USPS gives them a discount on the postage. Take a magazine, for example. Judy Franklin's aunt and uncle buy her a subscription to the new Nintendo Power Magazine for her 11th birthday. They mail in the subscription request, and the magazine's distributor is notified to add the Franklin residence in Norman, OK, to the list of recipients. The company that mails Nintendo Power prints postage and an address label [on] each copy, and sorts the magazines to the first three digits of their ZIP Codes before stacking them on a pallet. These pallets are then shipped to the nearest Bulk Mail Center. At the Bulk Mail Center, the pallet is spot-checked to make sure that the mailer has been accurate about the number of magazines shipped, weight, etc. The magazines are then sorted there, and shipped out to different postal facilities across the country. Judy's magazine goes to the Norman, OK Processing and Distribution Center, where the magazine is sorted into the rest of the mail stream and sorted down to the appropriate local post office. Twenty-one of the new Bulk Mail Centers were built in the 1980s. The Postal Service hoped to keep up with the rising ride of commercial mass mailings by crisscrossing the nation with a network of specialized centers, and by implementing pricing policies that encouraged mailers to carry some of the burden of sorting and transporting the mail.
773. SIPMSY_120106_193.JPG: Recognizing and Reorganizing the Mail: 1988: As the sheer volume of mail continued to grow, it began to overwhelm the mechanical innovations of the previous 60 years. In the 1980s, the USPS made strides to keep up with this river of mail in two main ways; by using automated machines that took on more of the work of sorting the mail and by reorganizing the channels through which some mail flowed with new Bulk Mail Centers.
774. SIPMSY_120106_198.JPG: Camera Mechanism, Lockheed-Martin Wide Field of View [WFOV] Camera: Developed by Lockheed Martin and the USPS and deployed in 2002, the WFOV camera can read many forms of barcodes, machine-printed writing, and even handwriting. By taking four simultaneous images of each mail piece, the WFOV camera achieved remarkable levels of accuracy. OCR: The Unblinking Mechanical Eye: Since research began in the 1960s, Optical Character Recognition -- the ability of machines to read printed words -- was seen as an essential first step in truly automating mail processing. With such technology, a significant percentage of the US mail could be sorted and processed without a single human eye reading the address until it was ready for delivery. The unblinking mechanical eye of the Optical Character Reader (OCR) camera oversaw huge swaths of mail processing.
775. SIPMSY_120106_211.JPG: Reading Handwriting: By 1997, Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software could recognize handwritten block letters and translate them into code, then double-check the address against a database of known addresses and names. Of course, some handwriting is so bad that it challenges even the best machines. When this happens, an image of the letter is sent to a Remote Encoding Center located hundreds or even thousands of miles away, where workers read and decipher the scanned images. Then they return that information to automated machinery that applies the appropriate routing barcode and moves the mail piece back into the mail stream.
776. SIPMSY_120106_220.JPG: Automation Increases: 1997: The Postal System continued to increase automation -- more and ore mail passed through fewer and fewer hands along the path from the post office to people's home. But no matter how much automation occurs, people remain part of the process. As machines do more, people still must operate, supervise, maintain, and design the machines. And as the machines become more complex, they present ever more difficult problems for engineers to try to overcome.
777. SIPMSY_120106_224.JPG: For decades, mail carriers had to sort their mail into its delivery sequence before they went out on their routes. This process often took several hours. The Carrier Sequence Bar Code Sorter (CSBCS) was one of the first widely implemented machines that automated the sorting of mail down to the delivery sequence. Mail could go directly from the CSBCS to the carrier -- in order and ready to be delivered.
778. SIPMSY_120106_237.JPG: (1) Feeder Mechanism: Mail is first loaded into the feeder mechanism. This piece of the machine takes the mail and feeds it, one piece at a time, into the CSBCS. The black paddle pushes mail forward while a series of belts pull one piece of mail at a time into the machine.
779. SIPMSY_120106_241.JPG: (2) CSBCS "Head": The CSBCS "head" is actually the main control interface for the device. Operators use the buttons and switches on this unit to turn the machines on and off and control certain basic settings. In addition, a series of lights notifies operators of the machine's status and errors in processing.
780. SIPMSY_120106_244.JPG: (3) WABCR Camera: The Wide-Angle Bar Code Reader (WABCR) camera takes a piece of each piece of mail. The image is sent to a computer where the letter's destination is determined using the PostNet barcode printed on the front of the envelope. This data is then sent back to the CSBCS for sortation.
781. SIPMSY_120106_252.JPG: (5) Trays: Finally, the letters are sorted into various trays at the end of the machine, and the letters from each tray are re-loaded into the feeder for a second pass. After two passes, the letters are in delivery sequence and ready to be distributed to carriers.
782. SIPMSY_120106_257.JPG: (4) Delay Line: The delay line is a relatively simple series of belts that serves a very important function. Mail goes through the CSBCS at a shockingly high speed -- about 19,000 letters per hour. The mail is literally moving so fast that there is not enough time between the WABCR camera and the sortation process for the computer to figure out where the letter is going. The delay line is an extra stretch of line that delays the letters long enough so the machine can figure out how to sort them.
783. SIPMSY_120106_263.JPG: The Mail Gets Smarter: 2005: As automation advanced, more and more mail was handled primarily by machines rather than humans. But these machines were not, at first, particularly clever. They could do only one, rather simple, repetitive task. As USPS software grew more sophisticated, however, machines began to multitask -- they were able to deal with different types of mail pieces and various contingencies. This introduced new levels of efficiency and nimbleness to a Postal Service that was larger than ever.
784. SIPMSY_120106_266.JPG: System Mail: Today: Today, the postal system is a vast intricate, automated system -- even faster and more efficient -- and a partner with other systems in American life. It still relies on a combination of people and machines -- including technological systems like the Internet. And it offers services now -- like letter tracking -- that were unimaginable a few decades ago.
785. SIPMSY_120106_275.JPG: Intelligent Mail: Once ZIP Codes were translated into automation-readable barcodes, the USPS and mailing companies began working to pack more and more information into those codes. The codes evolved into the USPS's Intelligent Mail Barcode system. The original 7-digit ZIP code is now 31-digits of information tucked into 65 bars in each code. The 31 digits include ZIP Code information [and] other data that can reveal how the mail was presorted, whether it was first-class mail or a periodical, the business sending each piece, and automatic address forwarding information. The barcode also permits tracking of individual pieces of mail. When you return a pre-addressed business reply by mail, businesses can forecast when it will arrive. All this saves companies money, makes their business more predictable, speeds mail delivery time, and makes the postal system even more efficient -- and efficiency is important, considering that half a billion pieces of mail flow through the system each day.
786. SIPMSY_120106_279.JPG: Top 10 Things This Barcode Knows: Each piece of mail has a unique intelligent barcode that can be read by automated machinery and workers using Intelligent Mail Devices (IMDs). (1) Shows the point of origin. (2) Shows the destination. (3) Shows the mailer's organization or business. (4) Matches the item's address to a confirmed address database. (5) Automatically forwards the mail to a new address if the receiver has moved. (6) Alerts the receiver that the item is in the mail. (7) Alerts the sender that the item has been delivered. (8) Alerts the receiver or sender when the item will be delivered. (9) Finds the piece of mail while it is still in the system. (10) Identifies the machines that process that piece of mail.
787. MOVING_111119_04.JPG: "Owney acknowledges no master save about 100,000 United States postal clerks throughout the length and breadth of this land." -- Washington Post, December 27, 1895 As a pup, Owney followed his owner to work at the post office in Albany, New York. When his master left that job, Owney stayed behind, following mailbags onto train cars. Soon he had thousands of friends among America's Railway Mail Service clerks. So many people added tags to Owney's collar that Postmaster General John Wanamaker had a harness made to help him carry the weight. After Owney died in 1897, his mail clerk friends raised money to preserve their mascot. From http://arago.si.edu/flash/?s1=2|mode=1|tid=2051961 Mail clerks raised money for preserving their mascot and he was taken to the Post Office Department's headquarters in Washington, DC, where he was on placed on display for the public. In 1904 the Department added Owney to their display at the St. Louis, Missouri, World's Fair. In 1911, the department transferred Owney to the Smithsonian Institution. In 1926, the Institution allowed Owney to travel to the Post Office Department's exhibit at the Sesquicentennial exhibit in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. From 1964-1992, he was displayed at the Smithsonian museum now known as the National Museum of American History and in 1993 he moved to the new National Postal Museum, where he remains on display next to a fabricated Railway Post Office train car.
788. MOVING_110618_07.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2011_DC_SIPM_Moving DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (MIA Galleries 1): Moving the Mail (12 photos from 2011)
  Owney the dog, mascot of the Railway Mail Service, is temporarily off display. He is getting a make-over and will return on July 27, 2011, just in time for the release of a stamp celebrating the world-traveling mutt. Until then, this life-size model is happy to pose for photos, but please don't touch.
789. MOVING_071211_02.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2007_DC_SIPM_Moving DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (MIA Galleries 1): Moving the Mail (7 photos from 2007)
790. MOVING_071211_05.JPG: Grumman Corporation's Long Life Vehicle, or LLV Long Life Vehicle: After the 1950s tests, the next revolution in postal vehicle service came in the 1980s. By then, even the sturdiest jeeps were showing their age. This time, officials decided to have their vehicles made to order. They provided potential contractors with a list of requirements, and challenged each to build the best carrier vehicle from scratch. Vehicles were tested in Laredo, Texas in what one postal official called "the most grueling test of a government vehicle this side of the M-1 tank." Grumman Corporation's Long Life Vehicle, or LLV, emerged victorious. Now a staple of American neighborhoods, the boxy LLVs began service in 1986. This LLV was the first such vehicle produced for the Postal Service. These right-hand drive vehicles continue to make up the bulk of the postal fleet, as 142,236 LLVs help deliver the mail every day.
791. MOVING_071211_07.JPG: Collection Box: In addition to delivering the mail, carriers collect mail from collection boxes along their routes at pre-determined times. This mail is carried by vehicle back to the post office and placed into the mail stream. Collection boxes first appeared in the early 20th century as package boxes that were placed alongside post-mounted letter boxes. In 1931, package boxes were renamed large collection boxes and began to appear on sidewalks without a separate letter box. They slowly replaced post-mounted boxes. By the 1960s, this now-familiar shape could be spotted on street corners across the U.S. A New Design on Mail Volume: After the end of the Second World War in 1945, the Post Office Department was finally able to purchase 3,247 new trucks. Post-war booms in business and employment fueled an increase in mail volume. More mail flowing into individual mailboxes meant more mail toted by the carriers. Growing suburban sprawl added to the complexity of the challenge facing the Department after the war. City mail delivery systems were strained to the point of breaking and letter carriers to the point of exhaustion. A new approach was needed to keep mail moving quickly and efficiently.
792. MOVING_071211_17.JPG: 1931 Ford Model A Parcel Post Mail Truck: In 1931, the Post Office Department acquired 1,000 Ford Model A mail trucks. The Metropolitan Body Corporation produced the body, constructed principally of oak. Ford Motor Company built the chassis. These trucks were used mostly for Parcel Post Service. Their cargo was packages too bulky or heavy for letter carriers' pouches. These packages were delivered separately from the rest of the mail, an extra expense of time and effort. "The credit for the longevity of this vehicle goes to the drivers, and the US Post Office mechanics and maintenance garagemen of those times." -- Walter Kalavesky, Post Office Department mechanic.
793. MOVING_071211_23.JPG: Owens Box: This mailbox style was the last one used by the Post Office Department that was designed to attach to a pole or a lamppost. The original mailbox design of this style was created by David Owens, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin postmaster. Mail from these boxes was collected by opening the drop bottom section. Although the Post Office Department last purchased this style of mailbox in 1955, some can still be spotted today in areas around the country.
794. MOVING_051221_07.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2005_DC_SIPM_Moving DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (MIA Galleries 1): Moving the Mail (3 photos from 2005)
795. SIPMCC_051221_06.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2005_DC_SIPM_Communities DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (MIA Galleries 3): Customers and Communities (5 photos from 2005)
796. MOVING_021119_08.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2002_DC_SIPM_Moving DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (MIA Galleries 1): Moving the Mail (1 photo from 2002)
797. SIPMCC_021119_03.JPG: The following pictures are from the page 2002_DC_SIPM_Communities DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (MIA Galleries 3): Customers and Communities (8 photos from 2002)
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Description of Subject Matter: Customers and Communities
July 30, 1993 – Permanent
Level 1: Mail in America Galleries
By the turn of the 20th century, nearly 10,000 letter carriers worked in over 400 cities. The nation's population was expanding at top speed, and with it, the nation's mail volume and the need for personal mail delivery. This gallery focuses on the modern changes in mail service introduced at the beginning of the 20th century in the following sections:
* Serving the Cities: Crowded cities inspired postal officials to experiment with a variety of mail delivery systems, such as the impressive but ultimately impractical underground pneumatic tubes. Home delivery of mail began in the cities during the Civil War, when postal officials decided it was inhumane to require soldier's families to receive death notices at post office windows.
* Reaching Rural America: As rural Americans watched city residents receive free home delivery, they began to demand equal treatment. This was the start of Rural Free Delivery. Facets of Rural Free Delivery and its important and often heart warming role in the fabric of the nation is explored with photographs, mail vehicles, and a variety of rural mailboxes. A more contentious argument at the turn of the century centered around Parcel Post Service. Because Parcel Post would allow goods to be sent through the mail, individuals would have access to more merchandise, and no longer would rely on local shopkeepers. Parcel Post helped to usher in an era of consumerism by the early 20th century that foreshadowed the massive mechanization and automation of mail and the mail-order industry. Today, mail service is a vital conduit for big business.
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