philatelist

This 75-page tabletop book is also a stamp album, with spaces to mount commemorative Olympic stamps inside the book. Each page contains a vivid color portrait of an Olympic superstar. With a dedication by the Postmaster General of the United States, the book explains the enduring stamp design process in detail. The United States Olympic commemorative postage stamp issue of 1984 was truly one of a kind.

This gold-covered book is especially appropriate for the Smithsonian Library's golden anniversary celebration. In the early days of the U.S. postal system, mail traveled to California overland, or by steamship, pony, jackass (pack mule), and railroad. The goal was to connect isolated California with the rest of the United States. At almost four hundred pages in length, this book contains hundreds of black-and-white photos (and a few color plates) of canceled covers—envelopes stamped by the post office so they cannot be reused as fresh postage.