Smithsonian National Postal Museum

09/02/2026

This rectangular, aluminum container was used to ship laundry by Parcel Post circa 1940s-1950s. From the 1910s into the 1960s, mailing laundry was an attractive option for anyone without the time, means, or resources to do the chore themselves. It suited undergraduates, summer campers, military personnel, and others. Students at Yale University were early adopters, according to a June 1914 New York Times article that recounted, “In the Spring increasing business was done in the parcel post section when students found they could send home their laundry and get it returned at less than they would have to pay for their laundry here.”

The sender secured the lid to the box with the cotton belt. To facilitate regular shipping between the clothes’ wearer (often a son or daughter at college) and the launderer (usually the mother), their names and addresses appeared on reverse sides of a mailing label. The sender simply flipped the label over to the recipient’s address and attached it to the container’s lid.

08/28/2026

“If someone had told me fifty years ago that we would someday issue a stamp honoring the March, I would not have believed them. This stamp will remind us of the distance we’ve come, the distance we’ve traveled, and the distance we must still go before we lay down the burden of race, class and color and create one America, where no one is left out, or left behind.” -John Robert Lewis

USPS issued this commemorative stamp in 2013 for the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. Congressman and Civil Rights Leader John Lewis, who was the last living speaker from the original march, delivered passionate remarks at the stamp’s First Day of Issue Ceremony in Washington, DC.

On August 28, 1963, more than 250,000 people gathered in the nation’s capital for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. By highlighting racialized economic inequalities and disenfranchisement, the march called for action in the form of the passage of the Civil Rights Act and subsequent Voting Rights Act; legal measures to increase the minimum wage and institute a new federal jobs program, as well as ban job discrimination; and integration of public schools.

Under the art direction of Antonio Alcala, stamp artist Gregory Manches depicts marchers against the background of the Washington Monument. Placards calling for equal rights and jobs for all are prominently displayed. Using broad strokes and painting with oils on gessoed illustration board, Manches conveys an impressionistic interpretation of the historic occasion.

Lewis, along with U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams, autographed this commemorative cover at the ceremony. Along with the March on Washington stamp, the cover includes a postmarked stamp commemorating A. Phillip Randolph, a longtime Civil Rights activist and labor leader, who originated the idea to hold the march.

©United States Postal Service. All rights reserved.

08/26/2026

Happy National Dog Day! During the late 1800s, this scruffy stray terrier named Owney was the nation’s most famous canine. He even had fans all the way across the world! After wandering into an Albany, New York post office during a rainstorm, Owney curled up among the sacks of mail where he was eventually discovered by the mail clerks, one of whom (allegedly named Owen) promptly adopted him.

A loyal and energetic companion, Owney – who developed a lifelong affection for mail bags – took to accompanying carriers on their routes; at first, riding along in mail wagons. As mail delivery methods progressed, Owney began to travel with the bags on Railway Post Office (RPO) train cars across the state . . . and then the country! At a time when train wrecks and robberies were all too common, railway mail clerks considered the dog a good luck charm as no train Owney rode was ever in a wreck or robbery. In 1895, Owney even made an around-the-world trip, accompanying mailbags on trains and steamships to Asia and across Europe, before returning to Albany.

This photograph was taken in the mid-1890s. Owney was commemorated with a U.S. postage stamp in 2011 and has made his forever home here with us at the National Postal Museum. Yes, that’s correct – you can see Owney at the museum thanks to a handful of mail clerks who collected money to pay for the taxidermy procedure after his death in 1897.

08/21/2026

The U.S. Postal Service's 2015 “Summer Harvest” issue features some of America’s favorite summer staples such as sweet corn, watermelon, tomatoes, and cantaloupe. The stamps were inspired by vintage produce advertising including 19th and early 20th century crate labels, seed packets, and catalogues. Working with an early concept developed by former art director Richard Sheaff, art director Antonio Alcalá designed these stamps. Michael Doret was the artist and typographer.

© United States Postal Service. All rights reserved.

08/20/2026

Virtual Story Time | Monday, August 24 | 11 am ET | 🎟️ https://www.eventbrite.com/e/story-time-with-the-national-postal-museum-registration-141338917507

This week, we will be joined by guest author Sandra Nickel to share her book Making Light Bloom. Participants will learn about the Clara Driscoll and her work with Tiffany lamps, look at related Smithsonian objects (including a special postage stamp), and create their own paper cut out stories. Participants are invited to bring paper and colorful mark making materials (crayons, markers, etc.) for a pattern drawing activity.

Select Mondays at 11:00 (ET) National Postal Museum educators will read stories aloud and lead related activities in a Zoom meeting for children and their caregivers. Explore a range of postal-related topics and more! Sessions will be interactive and last approximately 45 minutes. Caregivers are expected to be present with children for the duration of the program. Designed for children ages 4-7, but all are welcome!

08/17/2026

Speed counts in communication. One way to speed the mail was to simply not stop a moving train. In the late 1800s, the post office department developed special equipment to expedite railway mail transport and delivery. Learn more and witness the process in action in this quick video from our One Minute Wonders series!

08/14/2026

Check out a blog from our friends at the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS)! The Postal Museum worked with Inspection Service historian Melissa McQueen on a series of blogs exploring USPIS's rich, 250-year history. This edition covers the perils of stagecoach travel and mail transportation in the 19th century.

This post is about the notorious stagecoach robberies of the late 1800s.

08/12/2026

A total or partial solar eclipse passes over numerous countries today. In June of 2017, the United States Postal Service issued this postage stamp to commemorate the impending solar eclipse on August 21, 2017. This total solar eclipse appeared across the U.S. mainland, from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, making it a rare and exciting event for millions of viewers. This stamp was the first—and only, to date—thermochromic stamp. In other words, the ink on the stamps is temperature activated. The heat from your fingers or thumb transforms the image from a total solar eclipse into a full moon. The eclipse reappears as the stamp cools.

Fred Espenak, a NASA astrophysicist, took both photographs used for the stamp. The eclipse photo was captured in Libya on March 29, 2006. The full moon was photographed in Arizona in 2010. Antonio Alcalá was the art director.

Can you see the eclipse today from where you are?

© United States Postal Service. All rights reserved.

08/11/2026

Happy 180th birthday, Smithsonian! The Smithsonian Institution—which is composed of 21 museums, 14 education and research centers, and the National Zoo—was established in its present form on August 10, 1846, by an Act of Congress signed by President James K. Polk. Designed by artist Oren Sherman, USPS issued their first "Happy birthday" postage stamps in 1987 in response to public demand.

© United States Postal Service. All rights reserved.

08/04/2026

"If you have to ask what jazz is, you'll never know."
—Louis Armstrong

Born August 4, 1901, Louis Armstrong’s profound influence as a jazz trumpeter, composer and singer carries on. This dynamic postage stamp depicting Armstrong delighted millions of stamp buyers in 1995. One year earlier, the Postal Service found that Armstrong was the most requested male subject, prompting the release of this stamp not only on a pane with nine other musicians in the “Jazz Musicians” issue, but also by itself.

© United States Postal Service. All rights reserved.