From Postmaster To President:
Celebrating Lincoln’s 200th Birthday
Through Stamps & Postal History

Online Featured Collection on Arago
Launched February 1, 2009

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Before Abraham Lincoln guided the United States through the Civil War, signed the Emancipation Proclamation or spoke his famous 271 word Gettysburg Address, he was a town postmaster in New Salem, Illinois. To celebrate Abraham Lincoln's 200th Birthday, the National Postal Museum highlights his life in an Arago (Online) Featured Collection. Utilizing postage stamps and other postal history related objects, this Featured Collection not only celebrates Lincoln's humble roots, but also the events from his first civil servant position as a town postmaster to his tenure as President of the United States.

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Smithsonian Education Online Conference Series:
Abraham Lincoln
Wednesday and Thursday, February 4–5, 2009

Free Online Conference. Interact with curators and educators from across the Smithsonian as they reveal little-known aspects of Lincoln’s life and death. You can join one or all of the live sessions or come back any time to view a replay.
Program and Registration: www.SmithsonianEducation.org/Lincoln

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Mr. Lincoln’s T-Mails and Tales Author Talk
and Children’s Workshop
Saturday, February 7, 2009
1:00-2:30 p.m.

Author Tom Wheeler discusses his book Mr. Lincoln’s T-Mails, which explains how Lincoln taught himself to use the telegraph in addition to traditional correspondence to win the first modern war. While adults attend the author talk, kids ages 7-13 enjoy a workshop featuring Mr. Lincoln’s Whiskers, the story of how eleven-year-old Grace Bedell influenced Lincoln’s presidential campaign through the power of correspondence. Write your own letter to the president, design a presidential stamp, and enjoy other fun Abe activities. ASL interpretation will be provided for the author talk. Registration required for children’s workshop. Call 202-633-5533 or e-mail NPMprograms@si.edu.

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Art of the Stamp: Lincoln’s Bicentennial Exhibit
Thursday, February 12, 2009 to Monday, September 13, 2009

With the issuance of four stamps in 2009 the U.S. Postal Service recognizes the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), who rose from humble, frontier origins to become a prominent lawyer and politician and ultimately President of the United States. The original stamp art, created by Mark Summers, will be on exhibit at the National Postal Museum. Each stamp features a different aspect of Lincoln’s life including Lincoln the “rail-splitter,” Lincoln the lawyer, Lincoln the politician and Lincoln the President.

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The Seventh Annual Maynard Sundman Lecture Lincoln, Slavery, and the Civil War

presented by Eliot Landau
Saturday, March 7, 2009 at 1:00 p.m.

Eliot Landau’s award-winning philatelic exhibition Lincoln, Slavery, and the Civil War will be on display at the Postal Museum. Landau’s exhibition combines philately, ephemera, and artifacts in an engaging exploration of Lincoln’s presidency, the Civil War, and Black History. Mr. Landau will speak about the exhibit. A reception will follow.

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