Celebrating America’s 250th anniversary, this special episode of Mailin’ It! explores America’s miniature scrapbook, revealing how postage stamps have chronicled key moments in U.S. history. Smithsonian Postal Museum Curator of Philately Daniel Piazza joins hosts Karla and Jeff to reveal how stamps evolved from simple delivery receipts into powerful reflections of our nation’s triumphs, struggles, and evolving cultural identity. Discover the stories behind how these tiny works of art have captured the American spirit over time.
As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, this special episode of Mailin’ It! explores how the country’s history has been documented for over a century in the corner of envelopes. Hosts Karla Kirby and Jeff Marino are joined by Smithsonian National Postal Museum Curator of Philately Daniel Piazza to examine how U.S. postage has evolved from simple delivery receipts into a "miniature scrapbook" that reflects American culture. Listeners will uncover the stories behind the stamps that have chronicled the American experience, from the 1865 Abraham Lincoln mourning stamp to an Apollo 11 master die that traveled to the moon in 1969, revealing how these miniature works of art have preserved the people, events, and achievements that shaped our country. Taken together, they map the story of a nation and reveal how its identity has evolved over time.
Karla Kirby:
Hello and welcome to Mailin’ It, the official podcast of the United States Postal Service. I'm Karla Kirby.
Jeff Marino:
And I'm Jeff Marino. Last year marked a major milestone for the postal service. It was our 250th anniversary in 2025.
Karla Kirby:
And now in 2026, the country itself is celebrating its 250th anniversary. So it's a unique moment to reflect not just on the history of the postal service, but on the history of the United States alongside it.
Jeff Marino:
And this year, the Postal Service is very much involved in that celebration. Regular listeners may remember in our 2026 stamps episode earlier this year, how we discussed the stamp lineup, including several releases honoring the Nation's 250th anniversary. In fact, those stamps were a major highlight of the recent World stamp show in Boston.
Karla Kirby:
You're right, Jeff. One of the standout releases was the Treasures of the Revolutionary Era Prestige booklet, a beautiful 20 stamp collection that tells the story of the country's founding
Jeff Marino:
And seeing those stamps and the reaction to them really got us thinking along the history of this country. The postal service has been issuing stamps that commemorate innovation, our culture, and the people who help shape the United States. If you put that all together, it's basically a miniature scrapbook of the American story. But what's really interesting isn't what's on those stamps. It's when those stamps get told, and even what gets left out along the way.
Karla Kirby:
So, Jeff, instead of just talking about the history of the postal service as an institution today, we wanna open that scrapbook for you all. You can learn a lot about this country and how it's evolved, not only by what we commemorate on our stamps, but by looking closely at how stamps themselves have changed over time to guide us on this journey through American history. We are happy to welcome Smithsonian National Postal Museum, curator of philately, Daniel Piazza. Daniel, welcome to Mailin' It.
Daniel Piazza:
Thank you for having me. I was, you know, I was at that first day ceremony for the Treasures of the American Revolution stamp in Boston. It was a fantastic event.
Jeff Marino:
It was a week full of fantastic events up there in stamp reveals, wasn't it?
Daniel Piazza:
It was.
Jeff Marino:
Daniel, let's start at the very beginning, not necessarily the beginning of the United States, but in 1847 when the first US postage stamps were issued, who was featured on them, and what does that tell us about what the country was trying to say with those very first stamps? Well,
Daniel Piazza:
Postage stamps were invented first in Great Britain in 1840, and it took about seven years for the idea of the prepayment of postage on a letter, via a stamp to make its way to the United States Federal Government. But a couple of years earlier, in 1845, some local postmasters around the country were experimenting with the idea, issuing their own postage stamps for their office and sometimes even with the postmaster's name on it. And Washington was watching these experiments very closely to see whether the public would accept the idea of prepaying postage on their letters. And when the experiment went well in 1847, they decided to issue the first federal postage stamps. So that stamp, those stamps were a 5 cent Benjamin Franklin and a 10 cent George Washington. And those denominations were chosen because those were the, the two main postage rates at the time, and postage rates were still based on distance.
Karla Kirby:
So was there any idea around emphasizing any authority by using Benjamin Franklin and George Washington on those first stamps?
Daniel Piazza:
I think so. The the first stamps in Great Britain, of course, had featured the Queen. So the, immediately the question arises in the us who is appropriate to picture on a postage stamp in a republic, right? There's no monarch. So who do you feature? And I think it's no accident that probably the two most well-known and revered figures from the colonial era, Benjamin Franklin, who also happened to be the first US Postmaster General, and George Washington, the first US President, were chosen to appear on those first stamps. So picking these historical figures statesmen and a statesman and a military leader, really emphasized the authority and the continuity of the federal government because the US didn't have a, a monarch, a king or queen to feature on their stamps.
Karla Kirby:
So Daniel, I understand the first pictorial stamps in 1869 weren't exactly a hit with the public, but by the 1890s, that had completely changed. So how did that change come about?
Daniel Piazza:
Well, when the first pictorial stamps were issued in 1869, the public was very accustomed at that point to over 20 years of stamps that featured busts of dead presidents and political leaders and statesmen and diplomats. And so the idea of pictorial stamps that showed scenes of American life struck many postal patrons at the time as frivolous. Even though they were scenes like a horse and rider and a male steamer, and the Transcontinental Railroad and some paintings of the American revolution they, they were, these were extremely unpopular and they were replaced in less than a year with a new series of stamps. So they were a bit ahead of their time. In 1869, by the end of the 19th century, the postal service was using postage stamps to celebrate and commemorate the great world's fairs that were emblematic of the era. So the first commemorative series in 1893 was issued for the Columbian exposition in Chicago, which was meant to Mark 400 years since Columbus's discovery of the New World. And we get a number of commemorative issues celebrating world's fairs in the decades after that.
Karla Kirby:
So, Daniel, that is a huge shift from stamps being used as a practical tool to starting to shape and reflect who we are as a country.
Jeff Marino:
Indeed, the timing of the 1893 Chicago World's fair stamp, and specifically the Transcontinental Railroad stamp was also interesting because it was only a few years after the US Census had said publicly that the US was officially settled from coast to coast, and it was a way of celebrating that. So as the US grew and changed over time, Daniel, how did stamps commemorate or reflect the struggles we sometimes faced, for example, like the Civil War?
Daniel Piazza:
Well, the Civil War was a topic that was largely avoided on stamps until the 1960s with a few notable exceptions. So right in 1865 shortly after Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in Washington DC a mourning stamp of him printed all in black was, was very quickly issued after that. And then there's a army Navy series in the Roosevelt administration, the Franklin Roosevelt administration in the 1930s, which in its portraits of famous army generals includes includes some Confederate generals as well. But in general, the Civil War is is a topic that's avoided well until the centennial, until the 1960s when everyone involved in, in the war itself is is long gone.
Jeff Marino:
Tell me more about the stamp for Abraham Lincoln. The, it was called the Mourning Stamp and it was printed in black. Tell me about the thinking behind that.
Daniel Piazza:
That was the first time the US had issued a stamp in, in mourning or in grief for an assassinated US president. And it started a precedent that continues actually, right to this day. We have a tradition in the United States of someone having to be, having to be deceased to be pictured on a US postage stamp. And the amount of time that one is, is supposed to be deceased has changed over the years. But one of the traditions that that started, which continues to the present day, is that of honoring deceased presidents. Shortly after their death, now it's it's usually on their first birthday following their death a commemorative stamp is released and the usual waiting time, if you will, to be pictured on a postage stamp is waived for former presidents.
Jeff Marino:
Interesting.
Karla Kirby:
Definitely. Well, what you outlined is definitely a powerful example of what we were talking about earlier. It's not just about what shows up on the stamps. It's when the country feels ready to tell these stories and sometimes when it chooses not to show at all.
Jeff Marino:
And that's what makes this so interesting, because there are moments when the country is eager to tell a story quickly, especially when it comes to innovation and progress, and we've celebrated incredible leaps in technology via our stamps. Daniel, can you share some of your favorite stories about stamps that highlighted American innovation?
Daniel Piazza:
Sure. I think one of the one of the ones that stands out for me is the fact that the US in 1912 issued the first postage stamp anywhere in the world that depicted an airplane. And that was part of a a parcel post series issued issued in 1912. Airplanes were a brand new technology at that time breakthrough in transportation, and they were seen as the future of mail transportation. So also in that series is a mail ship and a mail train. So they were really highlighting different modes of transportation of the mail. And even though planes were not regularly being used to carry mail officially yet in 1912, the post office department is, is situating planes in that in that environment and recognizing that this is going to be the future of mail carriage and mail delivery. One of the things that strikes me as so remarkable about that, so we have the first postage stamp picturing in airplane in 1912, and we get the stamp commemorating Project Mercury in 1962, exactly 50 years later.
Daniel Piazza:
So from the very first aircraft to to space exploration and travel in the space of just 50 years is an incredible story that's visible on, on US postage. The story of the 1962 project Mercury Stamps is, is also especially interesting because those stamps were designed and engraved and printed in complete secrecy between the post office department and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and even shipped to postmasters in secret. So postmasters around the country received these sealed packets of postage stamps, and they had no idea what was inside. And they were told not to open them until they received instructions from Washington DC because it was not clear at that time whether John Glenn's mission was going to be successful in 1962. And so, and so the last thing the post office wanted to do was issue a postage stamp in advance commemorating something that ended in disaster. And so that secrecy is all tied up, not just in the space race, but the Cold War and racing against the Soviets for primacy and space exploration and space travel. And so it's just, it's an incredible story of the 1960s and the Cold War and the beginning of the Space Age. And it's and it's, it's all there in the 1962 project Mercury stamp.
Jeff Marino:
Yeah. That's crazy. I know we tend to keep our stamp releases under wraps until we announced them officially, but this project, mercury stamp secrecy was a whole 'nother level. You know, it sounds like these stamps weren't just documenting history, but were truly part of the moment itself. Were stamps ever used to shape national pride in real time?
Daniel Piazza:
Absolutely. I mean, by this point, by the 1960s, stamps were becoming a way to reflect not just what was happening. So it's in a sense advertising or reporting on new progress in space, travel, science, medicine, all of these all of these fields, but to actually promote it and, and, and to promote American leadership in these fields. So so that's, you know, that that's a major purpose of postage stamps in, in this era.
Jeff Marino:
I understand there's an interesting story about the Moon Landing stamp that really exemplifies that.
Daniel Piazza:
Yes, the 1969 first Man on the Moon air mail stamp, this was not secret, like the project Mercury stamp, the post office department announced ahead of time that they would be sending the engraved die for the stamp to the moon. And so that all of the stamps that were created from that master die, which is every single copy of the stamp printed and sold over the counter of a post office, was printed from a die that was that had actually been to the moon. There were a number of challenges around this because then, and now, you know, the issue of space and weight on these space flights is very important. And a, a hardened steel die is fairly heavy. So the dye had to be shaved down to make it thinner and lighter than a normal stamped die so that it would fit within the payload requirements of the Apollo 11 spacecraft.
Karla Kirby:
It really goes to show how stamps weren't just looking back, but were helping define how people experience these monumental moments in American history and in real time, in more recent history, we've seen a shift towards the People's Postal Service. When we look at who started appearing on stamps in the mid 20th century, it's clear the story is broadening, but often decades after the fact. Why does recognition on something like a stamp tend to lag behind reality?
Daniel Piazza:
That's a great question. And and, and I think the, the point you raise is, is correct. I think there's a delay because postage stamps are issued for the entire country, and the intent is for them to reflect a broad national consensus about our identity and our history. And that takes time to form. There are a couple of instances I think I can, I can point to with regard to this. There are two errors in which the representation of individuals broadens out significantly in US stamps, and one of those is in the 1930s and the 1940s for the first time. And in a sustained way, we get stamps commemorating people other than presidents and statesmen and generals. So for example, there's the famous American series of 1940, which as its purpose to include representations of educators and musicians and scientists, categories of people who were making broad contributions to American life, but were traditionally not represented on postage stamps.
Daniel Piazza:
And as part of that series we get the Booker t Washington stamp in 1940, a ten-cent stamp in the educators series of the Famous Americans issue. And this is the first time an African American is pictured on US postage stamps. And this, I, again, I think reflects that the national attitudes are, are changing in a broad way. This is due in some sense to the first civil rights movement of the early 20th century, but especially in 1940 as the second World War is already being fought in Europe, and American involvement in the war is approaching, it'll begin the next year. And many African Americans are serving in the military and training for the military, and there's a sense growing sense that they should be commemorated on postage stamps as well.
Jeff Marino:
Well, that leads me nicely to my next question that I wanted to ask, and that was about the Black Heritage Stamp Series, which was launched in 1978. Can you talk about the origin of that series and what its legacy is today?
Daniel Piazza:
Sure. The the Black Heritage Stamp Series really begins almost 50 years ago as an outgrowth of the bicentennial. So we're here talking about the 250th anniversary, but in the 1970s, of course, everything was around 1976 and the bicentennial, and there were a lot of national conversations at that time, just as we're having now about how history is commemorated and represented, and more specifically, who's commemorated and represented. And there was a sense in the 1970s that that the commemorations of the bicentennial, in a sense, left out the African American history and experience. And so the Black Heritage Series was, was in part a response to that and a, a conscious attempt on the part of the postal service to center the stories in the history of black Americans within the stamp program. So the first stamp commemorates Harriet Tubman, who was famous for her work with the Underground Railroad which helped enslaved people escape slave states in the south through the north, and in many cases into Canada. And those early issues in the Black Heritage Series really featured the greats of of African American history. So Martin Luther King is commemorated in that series for the first time, as soon as he's eligible to be pictured on a stamp. Jackie Robinson are all commemorated in the early years of the Black Heritage Series.
Karla Kirby:
So it's my understanding that the Black Heritage Series remains the longest running continuous US stamp series that the postal service has. Is that correct?
Daniel Piazza:
That's it. Is that is correct. And in 2028 it will be 50 years old.
Karla Kirby:
So in a way, the series wasn't just about a celebration, it was about correcting an omission.
Jeff Marino:
Sounds like it. And at some point, Dan stamps just stop being about history and start reflecting culture in the moment is that when the definition of the American story really opens up, so for example, how do we go from fine arts and presidents and and statesmen to musicians like Elvis Presley and TV stars like Betty White?
Daniel Piazza:
Well, there are a number of changes in the 1960s and seventies in how the first, the post office department and then its successor, the United States Postal Service viewed postage stamps. And part of that comes out of the creation of the Citizen Stamp Advisory Committee in 1957. And as the membership of that committee is, is broadened to include artists and historians and other people who are not exclusively in interested or involved in stamp production and design, but come from other walks of life and give their perspective on what's important in American culture and what should be commemorated as a result of that, we see a general broadening of the topics. You know, there are a few early examples like 1968 Walt Disney stamp, which pictures Walt Disney and a and a number of the Disney characters around him. But these are, these are sort of outliers. I think the real shift happens in the early nineties with what is still the bestselling commemorative postage stamp of all time. And that's the Elvis Presley stamp.
Jeff Marino:
And in some ways, that shift also shows how the definition of what's worth remembering from a stamp perspective keeps evolving.
Karla Kirby:
So Dan, we've covered so much ground today from Washington and Lincoln Pop culture icons like Elvis and Walt Disney stamps really are kind of like a national scrapbook and are a reflection of how the country sees itself.
Jeff Marino:
And on that note, Daniel, if you had to pick just one stamp from America's national album over the past 170 years that really encapsulates the American story and says something deeper about who we are as a country, what would it be and why?
Daniel Piazza:
That's an interesting question. I think I would point at the stamp we just mentioned, which is the Elvis commemorative of 1993 for a variety of reasons, not just because, you know, it commemorates one of the greatest American musical artists of all time, but also the manner in which the stamp was designed and chosen. So 60 different designs were, were were solicited from artists all over the country. And that was narrowed down to two finalists, colloquially known as the old Elvis and the young Elvis. And then that was, that was put to a public vote. And in 1992 and 93, when the stamp was being designed and chosen, that meant advertisements in magazines and in newspapers and mail in postcards that you could pick up at the post office and vote for your, for your favorite design.
Daniel Piazza:
You know, today, if we were to do that, it would all be kind of a social media campaign and online, but in 1992, it all had to be done through magazines and and, and postcards. So in a way that stamp not just what it commemorates, but the fact that it was voted on by the public and that the selection process in a prefigured kind of social media type engagements that are so important now and involving the public in the process is there's so much about it that's really still feels very contemporary today.
Jeff Marino:
Well, Dan, thanks so much for spending time with us and talking about the history of the stamps and the history of the United States as it relates to, and I also wanna say thank you for keeping the history alive over there at the Smithsonian Postal Museum and keeping those stamps relevant and available to all the public to learn about this.
Karla Kirby:
Yeah, definitely great information. Always good to get more history about the postal service and the United States. And Dan, for those of those of you who don't know where the museum is located, can you share that information?
Daniel Piazza:
Sure. We're in Washington DC right next door to Union Station, so we're easily accessible from anywhere in, in the northeast, especially via the Amtrak. You don't even have to, when you get to Washington DC you don't even have to get a cab, you just walk right across the street and visit us, and we're open every day except December 25th.
Jeff Marino:
Well, Dan, again, thanks for joining us. Very informative.
Daniel Piazza:
Thanks again for having me. This was great fun.
Jeff Marino:
All right, Karla, it's time for another edition of Did You Know. What Interesting fact do you have for us today?
Karla Kirby:
Well, Jeff, in the spirit of America's 250th anniversary, I thought it would be fun to highlight a very patriotic American who once worked for the postal service. And this one is actually one of the biggest names in global entertainment history,
Jeff Marino:
But it's not Elvis. Right. He did have that song Return to Sender.
Karla Kirby:
No, not Elvis, although he did have a very popular stamp in a lot of ways. The person we're talking about had an even bigger impact on entertainment. His name has been on theme parks, movies, and TV for over a century.
Jeff Marino:
That has to be Walt Disney. Right? I didn't know he worked for the postal service.
Karla Kirby:
He did indeed. And Fittingly to his legacy, he, it's a pretty great story too.
Jeff Marino:
All right, let's hear it. Okay,
Karla Kirby:
So it's 1918. The Disney family had just moved back to Chicago after six years in Kansas City, where young Walt had worked delivering newspapers before and after school.
Jeff Marino:
Alright. Newspaper delivery is a good starter job for a mail carrier,
Karla Kirby:
And he must have thought so also, because he decided to go to the post office looking for work, but there was just one little problem.
Jeff Marino:
You said 1918. So he was a pretty young man at that point, wasn't he?
Karla Kirby:
Exactly. He was only 16, but he was determined according to several stories. After being turned away, he went home and threw together a disguise to make himself look older. And he was clever enough that it worked. He came back and got the job. He started making rounds as a substitute letter carrier by day, and then working a second shift as a route collector by night.
Jeff Marino:
And you're telling me nobody ever caught on?
Karla Kirby:
Well, apparently not, 'cause young Walt seemed to have thought age requirements were more like suggestions as opposed to the rules. Later that year, he changed his birthdate on official paperwork to get a job as a Red Cross ambulance driver in France just after World War I.
Jeff Marino:
Well, I guess I'm just not that surprised. Walt was an ambitious guy,
Karla Kirby:
Right? <Laugh>. So interesting. Walt Disney eventually made his way into animation work and headed to Hollywood in the early 1920s. There he co-founded what would become Walt Disney Studios with his brother Roy Disney. From those early beginnings as a letter carrier, he went on to build one of the most influential entertainment companies in the world. The rest, of course is history. Disney's hometown, Marline, Missouri, remained proud of its connection to him. In 1968, watt was honored on a postage stamp with Marceline selected as the first day issue location. The town's post office was later renamed the Walt Disney Post Office in his honor, many of his beloved characters have since appeared on several US Postage stamps.
Jeff Marino:
And that wraps up this edition of Did You Know, well, Karla, that was a interesting discussion with, with Daniel there. I mean, the history of the US is reflected in tiny pieces of art on stamps that people send all over the country.
Karla Kirby:
Absolutely. And it was very interesting just to understand the timeline of how things have happened in America's history and the corresponding stamps. You know, you, I hadn't put the two and two together, you know, they come out, but I hadn't looked at the timeline in which they came out and how they were in succession. So, very cool.
Jeff Marino:
Yeah, a lot has changed in 170 years and there's been a lot of stamps that have been out there that reflect those changes.
Karla Kirby:
Absolutely. And that's all for this episode of Mailing It. Don't forget to subscribe to mailing it wherever you get your podcast. To make sure you don't miss the next episode and follow along on Instagram at US Postal Service X at usps, Facebook and on youtube.com/at usps.