National Postal Museum

Fantasy Philately: Collecting Stamps from Tatooine and Alderaan?

A stamp marked “Magyar Posta” is from Hungary. “Deutsche Post” is from Germany. But stamps purporting to be from Tatooine or Alderaan, fictional planets from the Star Wars saga, are pure fantasy. That didn’t stop London-based graphic artist Stefan van Zoggel from creating postage stamps from the high tech world of droids and the Millennium Falcon. He even designed a fictional postmark featuring R2-D2 as postmaster general.

Stamp images © Stefan van Zoggel, from website of Stefan van Zoggel. 

The US Postal Service has issues its own Star Wars stamps, though they probably don’t pay for enough postage to be used on interplanetary mail. 

 

The 30th Anniversary of the Premiere of "Star Wars" stamps © US Postal Service

The recent Star Wars stamps aren’t the first to indulge in fantasy philately. Bogus stamps may bear names of imaginary postal authorities or services and these have been used to trick collectors for a long time. There are some bogus versions of Confederate postage stamps, especially postmaster provisionals. It took the Confederate States of America five months to issue official postage and, in the meantime, southern postmasters printed provisional stamps to act as temporary substitutes. Perhaps the stamps’ homemade look makes them popular to fake.

 

Two New Orleans stamps created by the postmaster for temporary use until the Confederate States of America issued official postage.

“Cinderella” stamps are so called because, just like the fairy-tale character who was not invited to the ball, Cinderella stamps are normally left out of the stamp catalog. What they lack in postal validity they make up in the fun of fantasy. There has been a Cinderella Stamp Club in London, England, for over 40 years. Collectors have amassed a large gallery of Cinderella stamp images on Flickr with the tagline “it looks like postage, but it’s not.” 

 

On this envelope, a Cinderella stamp honors humanitarian relief efforts for Bataan War Prisoners.

Philatelist Allan Lee was passionate about collecting maps on postage stamps. He traveled to 110 countries and compiled a collection of 26 volumes. He owned every map stamp he knew of, except for three very obscure ones. Not limiting himself to only regular, federally issued stamps, he included some fantasy stamps in his collection. Of the fantasy Star Wars stamps, the Mon Calamari issue represents a map-like view of the planet, which was attacked twice by the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars, and may have tempted a “maps on stamps” collector like Lee.  

 

Two examples of Allan’s Lee’s “maps on stamps” collection. See more here.

What fictional world do you think should get its own postage stamps next? Stamps inspired by "Lord of the Rings" for the sending of postcards between Minas Tirith and Pelennor Fields? Narnia? And how about postal service between the Twelve Colonies of "Battlestar Galactica?" And who would you appoint postmaster general? Let us know in the comments! 

The National Postal Museum at “The Big Draw”

By Debbie Bartels
Museum Educator, National Postal Museum

“We love to draw!” was the cry that rang out at North Chevy Chase Elementary School (NCCES) earlier this month.  It came from the more than 300 students at the Chevy Chase, Maryland school that got to participate in the 5th annual “Big Draw” program.

The Big Draw is a wonderful program where, for a day, the school transforms the 3rd to 6th grade classes to be arts based.  Armed with their sketch pads and colored pencils the kids get to draw about every subject they learn that day and they love it!

Usually I work onsite at the museum giving tours to students, but for this event I got to visit some students at their place of work!  I was a first timer at this Big Draw but the National Postal Museum has been part of the event since the beginning.

This year, Allison Wickens, Lynn Gayno, JR Osborn and I spent the morning with the third graders at NCCES focused on supporting their social studies curriculum by looking at cool stamps.  Allison talked about the parts of a stamp and then I introduced the rules for choosing stamp subjects.  For the “art” part of the lesson, Lynn talked to the kids about the elements of design that are used when artists create a new stamp.

Allison and JR work some magic to let the kids add and delete the different parts of a stamp.

I talk to the kids about what makes a good subject for a stamp.

Lynn leads the kids in a discussion about how stamps can be loud or quiet.

And then, the best part of the day--the kids got to design their own stamps!  We saw them design stamps about everything from the Olympics to the Grand Canyon.  Sports were a popular subject as were dogs, characters from popular movies and places the kids had visited with their families.

A student perfects his stamp about America’s favorite pastime-baseball!

The kids were all smiles as they packed up their supplies and headed off to lunch.  The volunteers were all smiles too as we headed off to the Media Center to partake in a fabulous chili and cornbread feast provided by the kind and supportive parents and staff at the school.  The parent volunteers I talked to all agreed that the “Big Draw” is a highlight of the school year and that the little kids can’t wait until they get to 3rd grade so they can participate.

Where did George Washington go?

An NCCES third grader proudly displays his cool stamp design.

And, being a newcomer, I chatted with the other professionals that came to NCCES that day to find out what keeps them coming back each year.  Almost everyone I spoke with had been coming to the event for years and considered it to be an extremely rewarding experience-they loved seeing the kids realize they really are all artists and can be as creative as they want to be.  The team from the Postal Museum agrees and can’t wait for next year!

For a more in depth look at what our team shared with the kids during the Big Draw, you can visit this link to see the entire hands on curriculum: http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/educators/4b_DesignIt.html.

Other curricula available from the National Postal Museum: click here!

Other educator resources available: click here!

 

New Curriculum Resource

By K. Allison Wickens
Director of Education, National Postal Museum

I am always looking for great curriculum to share with the Postal Museum’s education communities.  If you are ever looking for material to support teaching about the impact of African Americans in history, you should always stop by USPS.  Every year since 1978, it has issued a stamp honoring the contributions of African Americans with its Black Heritage series.  This year, the stamp honors John Johnson, trailblazing publisher and founder of Ebony and Jet magazines. 

I was thrilled to get a preview of the new education curriculum kit created by USPS’s Community Connection program http://uspsconnection.com/educator-kits/.  Like with many Black Heritage stamps before, the USPS created an adjacent curriculum guide to inspire teachers and provide resources for their classrooms.  Johnson’s life serves as a window to so many 20th century historic milestones like the Great Migration and Great Depression.  His work illustrates topics from Civil Rights to civil discourse.  His publications are remembered for the information and visual representation of the lives of black Americans included in the national and international media dialogue. 

His life as a publisher and journalist is also a wonderful platform to investigate key language arts standards.  The signature piece of the free downloadable kit is a beautiful and stunning “editor’s board” with photos, news clips, memos and quotes tacked onto it (http://uspsconnection.com/files/JohnsonBulletinBoard.pdf).  It’s a great access point to the life of a 20th century publisher for both the details it puts forth and the big picture when you step back and see it all at once. 

Looking and learning about his publications provides lessons in photojournalism, public speaking, reading comprehension, interviewing, and writing.  These skill-based lessons are intertwined with concept themes like community, culture, media, individual dignity, fairness, and meaningful civic action, among others. 

To learn about this and other USPS Community Connection programs go to: http://uspsconnection.com/.

To see all the African Americans featured on US stamps, take a look at the National Postal Museum’s Online exhibit: http://postalmuseum.si.edu/ARAGOBlackExperience.

For more about the newest Smithsonian museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture: http://nmaahc.si.edu/.

Owney e-Book Now Available on the Web and iPad

By Allison Wickens, Director of Education at the Postal Museum and Owney fan

“When you go traveling with Owney, you’re never in a lonely world.”

Just like these song lyrics promise, with the new Owney: Tales from the Rails e-book available today, you’ll never be far from Owney and his jingling tags. Owney’s story is now available online and in a free iPad app with narration and a soundtrack featuring country singer Trace Adkins. And once you hear this gem of a song, you’ll be humming along too!

Owney is joining the ranks of the beloved characters now telling their story via e-book. The adorable portrayal and animated illustrations invite readers to discover more about this globe-trotting dog. He crisscrossed the country in the 1890s riding on mail train cars and collecting tokens for his harness along the way.  His story inspired the release of an Owney postage stamp last summer. The e-book continues the great series of materials featuring Owney made available in 2011, including an exhibit, curriculum guide, and an augmented reality app. 

Never before has Owney’s story come to life in such a way—combining world-class animated illustration with standout narration and a soundtrack. The moving images and musical elements enrich the narration in ways a print book cannot. In playful color on over 60 pages, children read and hear the adventures of Owney. Narrated through contemporary eyes, the story is based on primary sources with a dash of imagination. I’m so proud that this book combines such heart and artistry with historical accuracy. Listen to the Owney song here, sung by Trace Adkins and written by Stephen Michael Schwartz.

I have always enjoyed introducing visitors to Owney when I give tours of the museum. Young and old; from near and far—they always look at me a little stunned to learn that this dog led such an adventurous life so many years ago. Now with the Tales from the Rails e-book, I can share Owney’s rich story with his friends and fans around the world. I read it with my friend five-year-old friend Ella this weekend to much enjoyment. I also gave her dog, Mr. Darcy, a chance to browse the story, but he seemed more interested in dreaming of his own adventures than reading about Owney’s. Perhaps it is a story better explored with the people in my life, rather than the dogs. 

Share Owney's e-book with a kid (or dog) in your life. Follow Owney's ongoing adventures by "liking"  him on Facebook or following him on Twitter.

Living People on Stamps & Portraits: Two Museums & the “Dead Enough” Rule

US stamp images © US Postal Service. All rights reserved

Part 1
Erin Marie Blasco, Public Programs Coordinator, Smithsonian National Postal Museum

This month, the U.S. Postal Service announced that living figures would be considered for commemoration on postage stamps. Its invitation to suggest names of living individuals in sports, entertainment, and other professions to the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee elicited all-caps cries for a stamp portraying Lady Gaga, or perhaps Bruce Springsteen.

As an educator at the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum, it’s exciting to see people energized about postage stamps. People online and in the museum debate the merit of honoring one American figure over another and discuss what it actually means to have one’s face on a stamp. I’ll have to un-memorize my answer to frequently asked questions such as, “Why isn’t President Obama on a stamp yet?” and “When will there be a George Lucas stamp?”

In the past, I’d answer these questions by explaining that figures on U.S. stamps have to be deceased for at least five years. U.S. presidents are the only exception; they only need to be dead for a year before appearing on a stamp. Fictional figures like Mickey Mouse, Bart Simpson, and Miss Piggy stand outside the rule, of course. Now that the policy has changed, we have the opportunity to reflect on what it means to be on a stamp and which names are coming up most frequently for consideration.

This isn’t the first time the living/dead discussion has occurred. In 1945, for example a stamp (above) was issued honoring American achievements during World War II. A large group of soldiers is depicted with the Arc de Triomphe in the background. In the stamp, which is drawn from a black-and-white photograph, some of the soldiers in the front row are recognizable as individuals. But the stamp doesn’t break the “dead for five years” rule because it commemorates an event using a group, not individuals.

A number of countries don’t hesitate to issue stamps featuring living figures. Some do this to turn a profit from collectors, while others routinely put their living leaders on postage. Interested in who has already been commemorated on U.S. postage? Browse the Postal Museum’s virtual vault to see high-resolution images of stamps celebrating figures from George Washington (the first face on a U.S. postage stamp) to Zasu Pitts.

US stamp images © US Postal Service. All rights reserved

Part 2
Geri Provost Lyons, Youth & Family Program Coordinator, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

The conversation about living figures on stamps is somewhat familiar for the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, which for many years collected only portraits of Americans who had been dead at least ten years, with the exception of U.S. presidents.

In 2001, the museum’s board of Commissioners agreed to change the bylaws to eliminate the “ten-year” rule. Since that time, the Portrait Gallery has actively collected portraits of living sitters in all mediums—photographs, time-based media, drawings, prints, paintings, sculpture, and mixed media.

The rule change also allowed for the commissioning and acquisition of contemporary portraits of living sitters, from many backgrounds and disciplines. For example, the first commission of a living sitter was of Eunice Kennedy Shriver by artist David Lenz; the second was of Bill and Melinda Gates by Jon Friedman. NPG has also collected portraits of such well-known Americans such as Martha Stewart, Yo Yo Ma, Norman Mineta, and Michelle Obama, to just name a few.

As an educator for the Portrait Gallery, I am thrilled when visitors can make a connection with a portrait of a living sitter. As of October 2011, 361 living Americans are represented in the National Portrait Gallery’s permanent collection, according to a recent database search. Use our online database to view portraits of living Americans in our permanent collection. Some of the living sitters may have more than one portrait in our collection, but only one has been selected. We hope you enjoy looking at these images!

US stamp images © US Postal Service. All rights reserved

In the stamp commemorating the Cosby Show, none of the characters appeared. Instead, the family's living room was pictured. 

Fourth Graders at Partnership Elementary School Love the National Postal Museum's Curriculum

By: Guest Blogger Lauren Van Hemert, Parent Volunteer Teaching Art

I am a parent volunteer teaching art to 57 fourth graders at Partnership Elementary in Raleigh, NC. Like many schools, we don’t have a large art budget or even an art teacher, just a team of enthusiastic parent volunteers who coordinate art projects on a bi-monthly basis.

I am always on the lookout for free resources I can bring into the classroom. Since the fourth graders love using technology, online games, activities and slide shows are a big hit.

So, I was thrilled to find The National Postal Museum’s Design It! Giving Voice to America curriculum for upper elementary school students. Since we only have art twice a month, I was not able to divide the curriculum into four lessons, but used the online resources to create a 60 minute lesson plan, at the end of which the students designed their own North Carolina state commemorative stamps.

All 50 states designed by the students.

The Postal Museum’s curriculum and online resources not only reinforced the elements of art the students have been learning since the beginning of the year, but also tied into the Wake County’s Fourth Grade Social Studies curriculum, a bonus not only for teachers, but also for home school parents as well.

           
Postage stamp by Christiana (left); stamp design featuring the State Bird of N.C. (center);
N.C. Museum of Art Commemorative Stamp design (right).

At the end of the lesson, one student suggested I call The National Postal Museum to say that this was a 'fun and great' class. The students were so enthusiastic about the lesson that one of the fourth grade teachers even asked me to provide her with a link to The National Postal Museum’s Activity Zone so that the kids could complete some of the online activities during their free time.

Many of our students may not ever have the opportunity to visit a Smithsonian Museum. My goal this year is to bring our nation’s great museums, like The Smithsonian, to them, a kind of virtual field trip made possible through the use of free, educational lessons, materials, and resources like that of The National Postal Museum.

As for me, a mother of two, I can't wait to visit the museum the next time I am in Washington, D.C.

Postal Museum to Offer Stamp Collecting Merit Badge Programming for Boy Scouts

by Erin Blasco, public programs coordinator

When you think of Boy Scout merit badges, Camping, Emergency Preparedness, and Swimming badges may be the first to come to mind. While we don't plan to build a pool or allow campfires in our galleries, the Postal Museum Education Department will offer Boy Scouts the opportunity to work toward the Stamp Collecting Merit Badge in 2012. 

Boy Scouts completing the merit badge will be real philatelic experts. According to the requirements, Boy Scouts must define topical stamp collecting and show examples of everything from overprinted stamps to first day covers. The final project can include showing a collection of over 200 stamps from around the world or a map-based display of international stamps.What better place to work on this project but the Postal Museum? And this opportunity won't just be open to scouts; contact us for information on how to participate.

Interested in this opportunity? Contact Erin at NPMprograms@si.edu for registration information.

Postal Museum Launches Owney the Dog Curriculum

The Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum has announced the development and release of new curriculum and supporting materials based on the museum’s beloved “Owney the Dog.” The announcement took place at the recent Smithsonian Institution’s annual Teacher Night held this year at the National Museum of the American Indian with more than 4,000 teachers in attendance. The 60-page full-color curriculum guide features four different units that use the story of Owney the Dog to meet reading, writing, math, social studies, science and art standards. The lessons are designed to provide inspiring and meaningful interdisciplinary experiences in classrooms from kindergarten through third grade.

Owney was a scruffy mutt who became a regular fixture at the Albany, N.Y., post office in 1888. He loved the mail and began to ride with the mailbags on Railway Post Office train cars across the state and then the country. In 1895, Owney even made an around-the-world trip, traveling with mailbags on trains and steamships to Asia and across Europe. The RPO clerks adopted Owney as their unofficial mascot, marking his travels by placing medals and tags from his stops on his collar. He has been preserved and is on display at the National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C.

The curriculum guide features four themed interdisciplinary units on mapping, autobiography, jobs and primary sources. Targeted towards second grade learning standards, these lessons combine to illustrate the life and legacy of Owney the Postal Dog. The curriculum is developed in tandem with Owney-themed technology tools, including an e-book and an augmented reality postage stamp. Also accompanying the curriculum are worksheets, rubrics and companion lessons for students with special education needs.

“Owney stands iconic at the Postal Museum because he is such an engaging entry point to U.S. history” said K. Allison Wickens, director of education at the museum. “In this curriculum, we linked his adventurous story to a myriad of elementary school topics to better serve teachers in the areas of social studies, reading, math, writing, science and the arts. Many teachers have already discovered his powerful presence in their classrooms and with their guidance, we are confident these new lessons will find a place in many more.”

“Kids connect with Owney because dogs are still around nowadays, whereas other aspects of history have changed and advanced over the years—they ‘get’ him,” said Alexandra Roosenburg, learning and technology coordinator for the Primary Campus/Washington International School. “Having a mascot like Owney for the students to interact and identify with when learning about U.S. history and geography makes learning more fun, and thereby worth their while!”

A special online microsite has been created for the Owney curriculum (www.npm.si.edu/owneycurriculum) and resides on the museum’s main website. The site features a downloadable curriculum guide for teachers, which includes units on maps, jobs, tags and stories. Worksheets, rubrics and other resources are also available on the site.

The museum makes other teacher resources available on the museum’s recently redesigned website for educators at www.npm.si.edu/educators.

“Teaching” in the 21st Century

By Jeff Meade, Mobile Learning Program Lead

Let’s put some quotes around the word “teaching” and really start thinking about education in the 21st century. We’ve just launched the fall program series for educators to investigate what being a teacher means in this busy and complex world of digital media and rapidly changing technology. We’re also changing the dynamic of learning in museums, prompting educators to create the connections between museums and their classrooms.

Local pre-k teacher, Cassidy Martinez, gathers digital resources in the museum for a creative story using Glogster.

Workshop 2.0 sessions challenge educators to become students, challenging them to use the Postal Museum’s collection to make sense of the world we live in. Each of the planned workshops focuses on a specific topic, but all promote active, inquiry-based learning. We won’t tell you what objects mean- that’s up to you to decide! The first of these fall workshops took place on Saturday, October 1st, and the participants made some amazing connections. Participants were tasked with exploring 21st century literacy, and ended up writing digital comic books and interviewing museum visitors for a creative writing assignment.  You can see these examples and workshop photos on the EdLab twitter feed: @SIEdLab. Over half of Saturday’s participants attended one of our summer Mission Possible workshops, and one of these educators, Emily Donahue, even came down from Boston just to attend the first fall workshop!

Page three of a digital comic book that began with early airmail pilot Eddie Gardner’s flight mask, currently on display in the museum.

We’re also taking where learning happens into consideration. Workshop 2.0 sessions start in the Postal Museum, thinking about real objects and interacting with historical stuff. But, history and science take place all around us, so why stop learning in a classroom or museum? Why not use classrooms or museums as the starting point for learning, then challenge our students to make connections between the content and the world around them? If you want to explore “teaching” in the real world, then you need to come for a workshop this fall. We have two more Saturday workshops coming up, and we hope to see you there. Come in and be part of the story! Register for workshops here, and be sure to check us out on Flickr and Twitter!

Earle Ovington: Pilot of the First Official Airmail Flight in the United States

By Christopher Knudsen, Education Aide

Earle Ovington receives a bag of mail at the International Aviation Tournament in Garden City, New York, where he took off for the first official airmail flight in the United States.

Earle Ovington was the Post Office Department’s “First Aeroplane Mail Carrier,” but he wasn’t the first person to get airborne with the mail. John Wise flew mail by balloon in 1859. Fred Wiseman “unofficially” carried mail in February 1911, coincidentally the same day as an airmail flight in India. In September 1911, Ovington was officially sworn in as an airmail carrier before climbing into his fixed-wing plane and flying from Garden City, New York to the nearby town of Mineola with a heavy sack of mail. As a person and a pilot, Ovington was a unique character and his September 23, 1911 flight has an interesting story.

Born in 1879, Ovington was an innovative and passionate figure of aviation that gave birth to the experimentation of mail delivery by air. Around age nine, he was given a $1 electric motor and a book titled Experimental Science. He loved the idea of innovation and how he can create new ideas and technologies just by using trial and error. His aunt said her electric door bells never worked when her nephew was around because he always stole the batteries for his experiments in the attic. At 16, Ovington left school and went to work as a messenger boy for Edison Electric Illuminating Company making three dollars a week. Here, he saw the “electrical revolution” firsthand. In 1900, Ovington attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to further his electrical knowledge.

After becoming interested in motorcycles and other vehicles, Ovington befriended Glenn H. Curtiss who introduced him to the young world of aviation. Ovington then attended Louis Bleriot’s Aviation School in France, sponsored by his successful MIT friends. While earning his wings, the aviator adopted a mascot described as a French gendarme by the name of “Treize” (the number thirteen in French). He deemed his lucky number to be 13 and flew with it painted on his wing. Apparently not superstitious, Ovington knew that taking this “unlucky number” as his own would make him unique in the aviation world.

The Dragonfly's mono-wing design was a new and revolutionary way of building aircraft.

Although the idea of transporting the mail through the air had been thought of before, the Post Office Department made it an official form of mail delivery with Earle Ovington, although his flight was experimental. He flew his plane which he named Dragonfly and airmail was officially born in the United States on September 23, 1911 at Nassau Aerodome, Long Island. The Dragonfly was a mono-wing plane (Fred Wiseman’s was a bi-plane) built from the Bleriot IX model that was fitted with an inverse curve on the wing. Knowing that aviation was still a dangerous business, Ovington provided stability by affixing six steel straps beneath the wing (most had only four). This revolutionary design required more maintenance; but it would be able to fly higher. During the flight, Ovington travelled at an altitude of approximately 500 feet.

Postmaster General Frank H. Hitchcock spent his career trying to adopt airmail into the delivery system. In an effort to do so, Hitchcock wrote a letter to Lieutenant Governor Timothy L. Woodruff of New York. When Ovington heard about the flight and that the Lt. Gov. had not chosen a pilot he offered his experience and passion for no cost. In turn, Woodruff chose Ovington to fly the first U.S. Airmail flight. As an avid philatelist, Ovington knew that this flight was going to be important for the delivery of mail and the U.S. Post Office Department as a whole. Without Hitchcock’s vision for the promise of aeroplanes, the air mail service and the career of Earle Ovington would have been suspended.

Above: a portion of the oath Ovington swore. See the full document here. Courtesy National Air and Space Museum Archives.

The flight took place at the International Aviation Tournament in Garden City, New York. The stage was set, Hitchcock swore in the newest member of the Post Office Department, as the “First Aeroplane Mail Carrier.” The spectators at the air meet did not know that they were about to witness history. Hitchcock set up a tent on the grounds to allow the spectators to become a part of history. They were able to write a post card to anywhere in the country and send it off on the first official airmail flight. The first and most important flight showcased the rest of the event as numerous mail trips were taken over seven days as the total number of letters totaled 43,247.

Attendees could write postcards and be a part of the historical flight at this tent set up by Postmaster General Frank H. Hitchcock.

One hundred years later, the Postal Museum is sharing the story of Ovington’s flight with a family day on Saturday, September 24, 2011 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The first official airmail flight showed people that the Post Office Department was committed to speed and innovation in transportation. The aviator dedicated his life to the birth and life of airmail in the Post Office Department. Earle Lewis Ovington passed away in 1936 at the age of 56 from cancer; the first airmail flight on September 23, 2011 still goes down in history as one of the most important days in United States postal history.

A mail piece related to Ovington's flight. Credit: San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive, Charles Babb Special Collection

References:
Robert D. Campbell , Reminisces of a Birdman, (Uxbridge, Massachusetts), 2009.