The Postal Service Guide to Us Stamps

by Unknown

• ISBN13: 9780060528256
• ISBN10: 0060528257
• Edition: 30th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-09-18
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publications

Summary

The only fully illustrated, four-color guide to U.S. stamps, this official publication provides the most comprehensive information available about the U.S. stamp program and its vivid history. Beginning with the first stamps released in 1847, "The Postal Service Guide to U.S. Stamps covers nearly 4,000 stamps issued up to the present, as well as: Every category of U.S. stamp -- definitive, commemorative, airmail, duck stamps, stamped envelopes, and more -- all organized into easy-to-use, color-coded sections for quick access
Detailed listings for each stamp, with color illustrations, Scott catalog numbers, dates of issue, used and unused prices, quantities issued (when known), and separate listings for design variations
A complete guide to the new 2003 commemorative stamp program
Advice on how to start yourown stamp collection
A resource section, a glossary of important terms, and much more!

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Arts in Stamps	p. 4
New 2004 Issues	p. 8
Explanation of Catalog Prices	p. 16
19th Century Stamps	p. 18
Turn of the Century through World War II Stamps	p. 42
Post World War II through Bicentennial Stamps	p. 96
Bicentennial through Recent Stamps	p. 182
Airmail Stamps	p. 464
Official and Penalty Mail Stamps	p. 478
Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamps	p. 482
Stamped Envelopes	p. 486
Airmail Envelopes and Aerogrammes	p. 498
Postal Cards and Stamped Cards	p. 504
American Commemorative Cancellations (Souvenir Pages)	p. 514
American Commemorative Panels	p. 525
Glossary	p. 530
Organizations, Publications and Resources	p. 532
Philatelic Centers	p. 537
Index	p. 538
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

The Postal Service Guide to US Stamps 30th ed

A Nation of Firsts

The United States has long been a nation of firsts. Philosophers, scientists, educators, activists, musicians, writers, jurists, and hosts of others have contributed to the ever-growing list of American breakthroughs. Political barriers have fallen as greater opportunities have become available to all Americans; doctors and scientists have dealt with terrible diseases through careful research and consummate skill; and new technologies have transformed the country and the world in ways that our predecessors never could have forseen.

Many of these firsts are chronicled on U.S. postage stamps, from the earliest American issuances to today's colorful commemoratives and definitives. In 2003, the U.S. Postal Service continued this tradition with a stamp program honoring a wide variety of firsts in American life, including the first African-American justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, the first National Wildlife Refuge, and the Wright brothers' amazing first flight near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Philatelists know that key events in our nations' history are destined to be memorialized on stamps, and that older issuances can serve as important reminders of our common heritage as Americans. Decades from now, these stamps will endure not only as a record of the subjects that interested us at the dawn of the 21st century, but also as a fascinating tribute to the people and events that have made the United States a true nation of firsts.

The Postal Service Guide to US Stamps 30th ed. Copyright © by Gary Tigerman. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

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Excerpted from The Postal Service Guide to U. S. Stamps by United States Postal Service Staff
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.