No other museum possesses the breadth, depth, and historical value of stamps as does the Smithsonian National Postal Museum. In the past century, the national collection in the Smithsonian’s care has grown from a handful of rare stamps to over six million valuable objects. The National Postal Museum’s collection contains prestigious U.S. and international postal issues and specialized collections, archival postal documents, and three dimensional objects that trace the evolution of the postal services.

The National Postal Museum is building on the Smithsonian’s 120-year history of national

stewardship of stamps and the National Postal Museum’s 16-year tradition of exhibition excellence and public engagement with bold plans for the future to build a new Stamp Gallery, which will add 9,000 square feet of exhibit space to the existing museum and give visitors direct access to the museum from Massachusetts Avenue. It will feature a welcome center for the National Postal Museum, an education center, and philatelic galleries.

The William H. Gross Stamp Gallery will educate and inspire people of all ages through exhibits that feature stamps as a window to the American experience, emphasizing the ways stamps and mail have had an impact on every American’s life.