William H. Gross Stamp Gallery

World of Stamps

As visitors step into this introductory gallery, a display of oversized stamps and video monitors grabs their attention. Video images bring stamps to life and pique curiosity through questions that are answered as visitors explore the surrounding displays.

Visitors encounter the world’s first postage stamp—the 1840 Penny Black, with its profile of young Queen Victoria—and learn how it revolutionized communication. Stamp images—including the Nicaraguan volcano that influenced the location of the Panama Canal, Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, the top–selling 1993 Elvis! stamp, and the stamp that helped raise almost $72 million dollars for breast cancer research—illustrate how stamps have shaped history and honored people and places worldwide.

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Above: World of Stamps area design concept

A New Home for a National Treasure

National Postal Museum

Gallery Opening September 22, 2013