Today’s #stampoftheday, which is a 1938 2-cent stamp picturing John Adams, the second president of the United States, offers yet another opportunity to use the past to better understand our present predicament. The stamp was one of series of 29 stamps issued in 1938 honoring all the presidents from George Washington to Calvin Coolidge, a […]

For the past several days, my #stampoftheday discussion has used the day’s stamp to delve into deeper issues including what’s not shown on the stamp in question, often by exploring the backstory (and the untold backstory) behind whatever was being honored in the day’s stamp. Doing this has made me think a lot about the

Kentucky and Alaska are the subjects for today’s #stampoftheday. The first is a 3-cent stamp issued on June 1, 1942 to mark the 150th anniversary of Kentucky, which had been part of Virginia, becoming America’s 15th state on June 1, 1792. Kentucky joined the nation as a slave state but because its land didn’t lend

Today brings yet another stamp marking an historic milestone that relates (in less-than-visible -ways) to this week’s horrific events. In this case it’s a 3-cent stamp issued on May 31, 1954 to mark the 100-year anniversary of the creation of the Kansas Territory. Acquired by the US in 1903 as part of the Louisiana Purchase,

A bizarre and troubling stamp honoring the group behind many controversial monuments honoring the leaders of the Confederacy is today’s #stampoftheday. Issued in 1951, the 3-cent stamp commemorates the final reunion of last gathering of the United Confederate Veterans – that is the last surviving soldiers who fought to preserve slavery in the United States.

Today’s first-day cover is especially timely. It’s the April 24, 1953 first-day cover issued by the UN, honoring the UN’s work for the protection of refugees. In the UN’s first two decades, many people, including my father, collecting their stamps, reflecting the high hopes and high opinion many people had for the UN. And this