Happy National Postage Stamp Day!!! I've mentioned it before, but I'll say it again, I love stamps!! I really enjoy making cards and sending snail mail. There's something heartwarming about seeing a colorful envelope or handwritten note in your mailbox. It makes all the spam and junk mail fade away and reminds you why you check your mail. Though I wouldn't say I'm huge into Philately (the study of stamps and postal history) I do enjoy the stamp collection I've added to my nana's collection!
Sir Rowland Hill invented the postage stamp which came out in England in 1840. His post office reform was an instant hit and other countries soon followed suit. The first U.S. stamp was issued on July 1, 1847. Up until then, people would mail a letter or item and the receiver would be forced to pay when it arrived... even if they didn't know what it was, and would be required to pay whatever the carrier was asking if they wanted to know what had been sent.
Once the first stamp was issued, it was so effective that by 1855 the postage stamp became required. National U.S. Postage Stamp Day celebrates this unique postage and it's ability and the ease it creates to send a letter or a package.
Stamps often have a fascinating history. Everything from the inspiration and the artist, to the postal rate in a given year effects the value of a stamp. Collectors look at quality and rarity as well. Former president, Franklin Roosevelt, is known as “America’s number one stamp collector.” He acquired the stamp collecting hobby from his mother when he was a child. By the time of his death, Roosevelt had over 1,200,000 stamps which filled 150 albums! This hobby gave Roosevelt an acute appreciation of various cultures and geographies. To this day, the stamps he received from Heads-of-State and foreign administrations are kept in the Roosevelt Library museum.
You can use this pdf to print out your own stamp outline and create your own design. Celebrating national US postage stamp day doesn’t come much finer than crafting your own stamp! You can also do as I did and paint (or draw) a historical stamp in honor of someone you know, or even just a stamp you like!
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