Postmaster General’s Collection Being Transfered to the Smithsonian

The Press Room of the Smithsonian Institution has announced that the Postmaster General’s Collection is coming to the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum on a long-term loan from the U.S. Postal Service.

According to a Smithsonian press release, "The Postmaster General’s Collection began in the 1860s as a modest set of Post Office Department files filled with records and a small sampling of stamps. Now, thousands of stamps later, the same archive has become a one-of-a-kind philatelic resource with unusual, rare and unique holdings."

It goes on to say, "The collection, located at Postal Service headquarters in Washington, D.C., will be fully documented, sealed and transferred across town to the National Postal Museum beginning later this year."

The collection may best be known for its extensive holding of U.S. die proofs — proofs made from the dies on which stamp designs are engraved. The collection also contains rejected and approved stamp designs, color proofs, uncut press sheets, full panes of stamps and historic artifacts.

Elements of the collection will be displayed in the William H. Gross Stamp Gallery when it opens in 2012.

Shown above, 1946 stamp featuring the original Smithsonian Institution building on the Mall in Washington, D.C.

To learn more about the Postmaster's Collection, click here.