Stamp of the Day

All Essays

The #stampoftheday for April 27, is the 1949 3-cent stamp issued to commemorate the 1948 election of Luis Muñoz Marin as the first elected governor of Puerto Rico. Previously, either the King of Spain or the President of the United States appointed the island's governor. (And it wasn't until 1946 that the first Puerto Rican became …

The #stampoftheday for April 28 is 1958's 3-cent stamp marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of James Monroe, fifth President of the United States, who served from 1817-1825. (Happy birthday Jimmy!). Fun fact: when he ran for reelection in 1820, Monroe was unopposed. He received every electoral vote except one, which was cast for …

And now for something completely different! The #stampoftheday for April 29 is 1950's 3-cent stamp commemorating the role of railroad engineers in building America. The stamp pictures folk hero John Luther "Casey" Jones, who was killed in a train wreck near Vaughn, Mississippi. The stamp was issued in Jackson, Mississippi, on the 50th anniversary of …

Several possible options today for #stampoftheday but I'm going to go with two related to the 1939 New York World's Fair, which opened on April 30, 1939 on over 1,200 acres of land at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. (Apologies for such a long post but I'm having fun here...) Over 200,000 people attended the fair's opening day, …

Today's #stampoftheday offering highlights two different items that both mark seemingly obscure events that turn out to have resonance for two critical contemporary issues: refugees and climate change. The first is a series of three "Huguenot Walloon Tercentenary" stamps issued on May 1, 1924. The Huguenots were French Protestants, who in the 16th century lost their …

The thankfully short #stampoftheday for today is the 6-cent airmail envelope issued as part of the 1956 FIPEX, the giant stamp expo held in the then-new NYC Coliseum from April 28 to May 6. For a nice account of that event see http://www.ny2016.org/images/history/05_1956fipex.pdf.

Several #stampoftheday offerings for the May 3, most notably a series of 3 stamps marking the 300th anniversary of the Jamestown colony, the first permanent English settlement in America, which was founded on May 13, 1607. The 2-cent stamp is an image of the group coming ashore. The 1-cent stamp honors John Smith who led the …

The #stampoftheday for is a "souvenir sheet" consisting of four 3-cent stamps issued (actually re-issued) in conjunction with the Third International Philatelic Exhibition, held in New York City in May 1936. The stamps commemorate the Connecticut Tercentenary, the California Pacific Exposition, the Michigan Centennial, and the Texas Centennial. The first celebrated the 300th anniversary of the …

The main #stampoftheday for May 5 is the 3-cent 1956 stamp issued to emphasize the importance of wildlife conservation in America. The first of three stamps with a similar theme, it showcases wild turkeys and was issued at the convention of the Wisconsin Federation of Stamp Clubs, in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. As many people know, …