I can’t tell you why there are Interstate Highways in Hawaii but I can tell you that, as today #stampoftheday shows, Hawaii became the nation’s 50th state on August 21, 1959. I can also tell you that the path Hawaii took to statehood was both tortured and, in many respects, embodies some of the worst […]

Today’s #stampoftheday hints at the wonderful backstory behind the construction of LaGuardia Airport, which opened in 1939. The stamp itself is a 15-cent airmail stamp, issued on August 20, 1947 that pictures an airplane flying over the Statue of Liberty with the Manhattan skyline in the background. It shows this vignette because the stamp’s value

I am sitting watching the third night of the virtual Democratic National Convention thinking that today’s #stampoftheday, which marks a critical early 19th century naval battle fought by the USS Constitution, is a reminder that today we have to fight for the U.S. Constitution. A 3-cent stamp issued in 1947, the stamp pictures an architect’s

I’m not sure what to make of the fact that today – when the virtual Democratic National Convention begins – the #stampoftheday features a hot-air balloon that failed to deliver the mail in a timely fashion. A 7-cent airmail stamp issued on August 17, 1959, the stamp marked the 100th anniversary of the country’s first

The power and importance of timely communications – itself a timely reminder at a time when the Post Office is under siege – is the focus of the 121st #stampoftheday, a 4-cent stamp marking the 100th anniversary of the first telegraph message sent via a transatlantic cable. The telegraph, which was the first device to

Two timely clarion calls – one for robust federal action, the other (from a notably conservative Supreme Court) on the limits of executive power – are messages conveyed by today’s #stampoftheday, a 3-cent stamp issued on August 15, 1933 to spread the word about the newly created National Recovery Administration (NRA). A centerpiece of recently

An odd couple are pictured on today’s #stampoftheday, a 3-cent stamp issued on August 14, 1948 to mark the 100th anniversary of the formation of the Oregon territory. One was a British fur trader who in the 1840s advocated creating an independent country in the Pacific Northwest. The other was a Methodist minister who made

It seems appropriate that today’s #stampoftheday comes the day after Kamala Harris made her first remarks as the Democratic nominee for vice president. Issued in 1952, it’s a 3-cent stamp that honors the role of women in the armed forces. It’s today’s stamp because today is the 102nd anniversary of the day that Opha May

“And now for something completely different” – a postage stamp encased in metal, complete with advertising on one side. This is not a commercial oddity. Rather, during the Civil War, it was a replacement for coins that became scarce during the civil war. And, with apologies to Monty Python, it’s today’s #stampoftheday because on August