12/18/04: Snowy Stories of Stamps and Mail

NPM Volunteer A. Theresa Bragg makes her own snowy storybook about Marvin the Mail Truck at Snowy Stories of Stamps and Mail.

Image: NPM Volunteer A. Theresa Bragg

12/04/04: Holiday Card Workshop

Returning by popular demand, Mary Arcuri, local art teacher, guided museum visitors of all ages through creating hand-crafted cards to celebrate winter holidays. Beautiful materials, cancelled stamps, and holiday sentiments were provided for assembling unique cards for families and friends.

Image: Visitor displaying his holiday card

11/18/04: Native Americans: Pots on Stamps and in Stories

Preschool-age visitors made clay pots, listen to stories and learned about Native American pottery. The art of Native American pottery was displayed as seen in a series of American folk art stamps.

Image: Visitors making Native American pottery

11/6/04: Author Christopher Corbett Lecture and Book Signing

Christopher Corbett, author of "Orphans Preferred: The Twisted Truth and Lasting Legend of the Pony Express," discussed the facts and fiction behind the legend of the Pony Express in a lecture at the Postal Museum on Saturday, Nov. 6.

Image: Author Christopher Corbett

10/16/04: The Royal Philatelic Collection: An Inside View
The Third Annual Maynard Sundman Lecture

Michael Sefi, Keeper of the Royal Philatelic Collection, discussed his experiences working with one of the greatest stamp collections in the world. He commented on King George V's collecting objectives and described current issues facing the Collection.

Image: Michael Sefi, Keeper of the Royal Philatelic Collection

9/1/2004: National Postal Museum launches new online exhibit, "Fad to Fundamental: Airmail in America"

The new exhibit, "Fad to Fundamental: Airmail in America," offers background information on the development of United States Airmail Service, tracing its roots to a time when aviation in America was little more than a fad to its fundamental place in contemporary mail service.

Image: Screenshot of the online exhibit

8/7/2004: Tom Alexander speaks on "Postal Revolutions in Great Britain and America"

Renowned philatelic research scholar Tom Alexander delivered a lecture on "Postal Revolutions in Britain and America" at the National Postal Museum on Saturday, August 7. Alexander discussed the global effects of British postal reform.

Image: Tom Alexander, seated, with a museum visitor

7/28/2004: United States Postal Service Iraq Team visits National Postal Museum

A team of United States Postal Services employees recently returned to the United States from Iraq, where they spent months working to rebuild the country's postal network. On Wednesday, July 28 they visited the National Postal Museum to present the museum with artifacts and discuss their experiences and accomplishments in Iraq. The artifacts include a sheet of Iraqi stamps and a first day of issue cover signed by Ibraheem Hussien Ali, the first Postmaster General of the new Iraq, with the message "Thank You America."

Image: (left to right) Raymond Murphy and Lou DeMeo

7/22/2004: Pageantry of the Post: The Queen's Own Family Festival

Visitors of all ages came to the Museum for "Pageantry of the Post: The Queen's Own Family Festival," an afternoon of history and philatelic fun with a British twist!

• View pictures from the program and watch the festival in action

Image: Participants at "Pageantry of the Post"

7/19/2004: Kristen Ollies Visits National Postal Museum

Kristen Ollies, whose philatelic collection featuring Queen Elizabeth II is currently on view at the museum, toured her exhibit and the museum on July 19. Ollies began her award winning collection in 1999 as a fifth grader.

Image: Kristen Ollies in front of her stamp collection

7/14/2004: US Postal Service Employees Tour the National Postal Museum

A group of US Postal Service employees visited the museum on July 14. They are pictured in the exhibition, "In the Line of Duty: Dangers, Disasters and Good Deeds," which tells the story of America's Postal workers, who have met every danger and disaster with intellegence, grace and good deeds.

Image: USPS employees visit In the Line of Duty

7/2/2004: Chief Justice William Rehnquist Visits Museum

United States Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist visited the National Postal Museum on July 2, 2004. He was given a tour of the exhibit "The Queen's Own: Stamps That Changed the World," led by Curator of Philately Wilson Hulme. Afterward, the Chief Justice visited the NPM collections vault to view a variety of philatelic rarities including U.S. inverts and errors, U.S. 1847-issue covers and early U.S. proofs. The Chief Justice is pictured outside the "Queen's Own" exhibit with Director Allen Kane, Wilson Hulme and Registrar Ted Wilson.

Image: (left to right) Wilson Hulme, Chief Justice Rehnquist, Allen Kane, Ted Wilson

7/1/2004: The Federal Duck Stamp Program Holds its First Day of Sale Ceremony for 2004 Issue

Hundreds of people joined Federal Duck Stamp artist Scot Storm, Junior Duck Stamp artist Adam Nisbett and the Department of Interior's Assistant Secretary for Fish, Parks, and Wildlife Craig Manson speak at the First Day of Sale ceremony for the 2004 Federal Duck Stamp. After the ceremony, Steve Williams, Storm and other honored guests autographed stamps, programs and covers. Ceremony guests visited the Museum's exhibition, "Artistic License – The Duck Stamp Story."

Image: Artist Scot Storm in the Artistic License gallery

6/16/2004: "The Queen's Stamps–The Book" Lecture and Book Signing by Nicholas Courtney

Nicholas Courtney, author of The Queen's Stamps, the Authorized History of the Royal Philatelic Collection, lectured at the National Postal Museum on his fascinating research and writing his book, with special reference to King George V (the founder of the Collection) as a philatelist and the stories behind the acquisition of some of the many rarities of the Royal Philatelic Collection.

Image: Author Nicholas Courtney

6/15/2004: His Royal Highness The Duke of York visits Smithsonian's National Postal Museum

His Royal Highness The Duke of York visited the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum to view "The Queen's Own: Stamps That Changed the World," an exhibition of materials from his mother Queen Elizabeth II's own Royal Philatelic Collection. The collection is considered the finest and most comprehensive holding of British and Commonwealth stamps in the world. Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence M. Small presented His Royal Highness The Duke of York with a piece of smithsonite. Smithsonite is a mineral named for British scientist James Smithson, founder of the Smithsonian Institution.

Image: (left to right) His Royal Highness The Duke of York and Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence M. Small

5/22/2004: The 2004 Smithsonian Philatelic Achievement Award Gala Dinner

Smithsonian Philatelic Achievement Award winners were honored at a Gala Dinner hosted by the National Postal Museum on Saturday, May 22. The award recipients were selected by the Museum's Council of Philatelists, a 25-member body of US and International dealers and collectors.

Image: (left to right) Postmaster General John Potter, National Postal Museum Curator Wilson Hulme, Jean Fissore, Director of the Monaco Post Office, John Boker's daughter, Pam Boker, Charles Wyndham Goodwyn, and Allen Kane, Director of the National Postal Museum