DC -- Natl Postal Museum -- Exhibit (Gross Gallery 5): National Stamp Salon:
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STAMPS_131026_03.JPG: 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.
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.
STAMPS_131026_31.JPG: These stamps were issued in appreciation of the friendly nations participating in the Korean War.
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.
STAMPS_131026_38.JPG: Skull and crossbones handstamp, 19th century
STAMPS_131026_41.JPG: Devil's head handstamp, 19th century
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.
AAA "Gem": AAA considers this location to be a "must see" point of interest. To see pictures of other areas that AAA considers to be Gems, click here.
Description of Subject Matter: National Stamp Salon
September 22, 2013 – Permanent
Pullout frames display tens of thousands of stamps and pieces of mail from the National Philatelic Collection, along with the Postmaster General’s Collection and the Benjamin K. Miller Collection. A large case displays medals, including the Medal of Honor awarded to stamp collector First Sgt. David McNerney in 1968; handstamps; dies; and other historic artifacts. A touchscreen interactive links to the museum’s online research database, Arago, which provides information about the stamps and mail.
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