The National Postal Museum does not currently maintain photographic material as a collection and does not directly supply image files for non-accessioned objects.
For images of objects accessioned in the museum’s permanent collection, researchers may consult Digital Asset Collections for further information.
Images of Historic Photographs
Historic photographs on the museum’s website and social media accounts are published at the only available resolution and size. Images that do not have a credit line on the museum’s online platforms should be credited: National Postal Museum, Smithsonian Institution. All images with credit lines to individuals and organizations should be credited as such and permission from the copyright owner may be required for use. Researchers may download images, however, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine rights and use permissions that might pertain to images on the museum’s online platforms and objects in the collection. Other sources for historical images of the U.S. postal system include: Library of Congress, National Archives, as well as other libraries, museums, archives, news organizations and commercial outlets.
U.S. Stamp Images
The U.S. Postal Service holds the copyright of all U.S. stamps issued after December 31, 1978. As such, the museum cannot give permission to use images of post-December 31, 1978 issued U.S. stamps. Permission should be obtained from the U.S. Postal Service Licensing Department. Also, the USPS has high-resolution scans available of most U.S. stamps.
For USPS contact information and other questions, please visit the USPS website at: U.S. Postal Service Licensing Department
The United States Postal Service’s policy is that formal, written permission is not required to use images of stamps that were issued prior to January 1, 1979.
When using pre-1979 stamp images you must still follow the reproduction guidelines which are as follows:
Illustrations may be in color or in black and white, and may depict philatelic items as uncanceled or canceled. When depicting uncanceled items in color, illustrations must be less than 75% or more than 150% in linear dimension of the size of the design of the philatelic items as issued. Color illustrations of canceled philatelic items and black and white illustrations of uncanceled or canceled philatelic items may be in any size.
In many cases, particularly with older stamps including those released before 1979, the U.S. Postal Service does not have information about other potential third-party ownership interests. In these cases, you would be solely responsible for identifying and obtaining permission from any other third parties that may have an ownership interest in the image.
For additional information and to obtain image files please contact the U.S. Postal Service Licensing Department.
International Stamp Images
Permission for use of international stamp images (non-USA) should be obtained directly, before use, from the entity, or entities, to whom stamp copyright belongs.
Related Content
Open Access is a unique opportunity to bring Smithsonian collections to people in new ways, to engage with the public, and provide important context for challenging 21st-century issues. With Smithsonian Open Access, we’re increasing the public’s ability to use millions of digital assets—2D and 3D images and data. Open Access items carry what’s called a CC0 designation. This means the Smithsonian dedicates the digital asset into the public domain, meaning it is free of copyright restrictions and you can use it for any purpose, free of charge, without further permission from the Smithsonian. As new images are digitized, if they are determined to be copyright-free, the Smithsonian will dedicate them as CC0 ongoing.
Museum website text may be used without cost. Permission from the museum is not required to use the text. The museum, however, does request that the text be used with full attribution given to the National Postal Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Learn more: Terms of Use
Yes. Free Wi-Fi access is available in most areas of the museum. Connecting to our Wi–Fi is easy. Just choose si-visitor, open a web browser, and accept the terms of service.
Please tell us about the object you wish to donate by completing the form on our Donations page. Accompanying photographs of your object should be emailed to NPM-Objectdonation@si.edu in .jpg format.
Please do not mail or deliver objects, including objects from United States Postal Service property to the museum. The National Postal Museum does not accept unsolicited donations either by mail or delivered in person. Unsolicited donations may be disposed of at the sole discretion of the National Postal Museum.
The National Postal Museum has a very small acquisition fund and it is used mainly to purchase the relatively few items that are not found in the national philatelic collection. The Museum does not purchase general U.S. or worldwide stamp collections, since they largely duplicate the national collection. More than 99% of the national philatelic collection consists of transfers from government agencies and donations from collectors, dealers and people like you.
Learn more: National Postal Museum Library
No, admission is free.
Yes, in the Historic Lobby, an Information Desk orients visitors and prepares them to get the most out of their visit.
Storage lockers are available free to museum visitors. They are located in the Franklin foyer on the lower level. Lockers measure approximately 10 inches wide x 16 inches deep x 24 inches high (25 cm wide x 40 cm deep x 60 cm high).
Temporary luggage storage may be available across the street at Union Station.
Yes.
Learn more: Accessibility
Yes.
Learn more: Museum Tours and Itineraries
Learn more: Volunteering
Learn more: Internships
Learn more: Appointments to Research Objects
Learn more: National Postal Museum Library
The poem was written by Dr. Charles W. Eliot (1834-1926).
Eliot was born in Boston and graduated from Harvard in 1853. The following year he began teaching math at his alma mater and by 1858 was an assistant professor there. In 1869 Eliot became president of Harvard and remained at that post for 40 years. He assisted Elizabeth Cary Agassiz' efforts to establish an affiliated women's college - Radcliffe. He resigned from office in 1909 and continued to serve the cause of education as a board member (General Education Board) and trustee (Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching). He published works on religion, ethics and democracy. In 1901 he wrote his son's biography. Charles Eliot (1859-1897) was a landscape architect in Boston.
A verse written by Eliot called “The Letter” appears on the outside of the Old City Post Office in Washington, D.C., home to the National Postal Museum. The text was altered slightly by then U.S. President Woodrow Wilson before it was added to the building.
This is the text as it appears on our building:
Messenger of Sympathy and Love
Servant of Parted Friends
Consoler of the Lonely
Bond of the Scattered Family
Enlarger of the Common Life
Carrier of News and Knowledge
Instrument of Trade and Industry
Promoter of Mutual Acquaintance
Of Peace and of Goodwill Among Men and Nations
The Museum features exhibitions of stamps and philatelic items, vehicles that have carried the mail and a wide array of items from the history of America's postal system.
Learn more: Exhibitions
What is the Graceful Envelope Contest and why doesn't the Museum sponsor it anymore?
The Graceful Envelope Contest solicits hand-lettered and uniquely illustrated envelopes in an international outreach program that celebrates the role of letter-writing in binding people together, acknowledges the postal employees who deliver mail with skill and care, and promotes the art of calligraphy. Created in 1995 by the Smithsonian Institution's National Postal Museum, the contest is now sponsored by the Washington Calligraphers Guild.
Beginning in 2001, the Smithsonian Institution's National Postal Museum ceased to conduct the contest. Although the contest was extremely popular with calligraphers everywhere, it did not comply with the Museum's mission and the Museum decided to re-focus its limited resources. Because we did not want to disappoint the Contest's large and cherished artist following, the Museum asked the local calligraphy guild to manage the contest and they have done so successfully.
You may learn more about the Contest from the Washington Calligraphers Guild by calling (301) 897-8637 or visiting the Washington Calligraphers Guild's website at http://www.calligraphersguild.org or write to the:
Washington Calligraphers Guild
Box 3688
Merrifield, VA 22116-3688
Postal Employee records may be accessed through the National Archives and Records Administration.
National Personnel Records Center
1 Archives Drive
St. Louis, MO 63138
Telephone: 314-801-0800
Fax: 314-801-9195
More information can be found at the postal service/genealogy page of the National Archives & Records Administration's web site.
Postal Service records that can be found at the National Archives & Records Administration include:
Records of Postmasters
Records of Post Office Locations
Post Office Names
For more information on files that may be useful in locating ancestors and post offices, check out the U.S. Postal Service's “Postmaster Finder” page.
More information can be found at the postal service/genealogy page of the National Archives & Records Administration's web site.
Postal Service records that can be found at the National Archives & Records Administration include:
Records of Postmasters
Records of Post Office Locations
Post Office Names
For more information on files that may be useful in locating ancestors and post offices, check out the U.S. Postal Service's “Postmaster Finder” page.
V-Mail (1942-1945) was intended for personal correspondence, therefore, the V-Mail letters that are preserved in archives and museums usually came to those collections by donations from individuals and family members. This includes the V-Mails held by the National Postal Museum. V-Mail microfilm itself is rare because the official regulations specified that both the originals that were filmed and the film reels were to be destroyed once the photo-printed messages were successfully produced and delivered. Such measures were important because the Post Office Department and the US military made great efforts to promote V-Mail use and allay the public’s fears about privacy, including concerns about opening civilians’ letters to film them. These regulations were followed rigorously. Neither the military nor the post office kept record of who sent and received V-Mail.
The National Postal Museum does not have mail route information. Postal Records are kept at the National Archives and Records Administration.
Postal Service records that can be found at the National Archives & Records Administration include:
Records of Postmasters
Records of Post Office Locations
Post Office Names
The first symbol of America's postal service was Mercury, the Roman god of commerce and travel. This symbol was first used by Postmaster General Hazard in 1782.
From 1837 to 1970, the postal service was represented by a running pony symbol. The symbol did not, as some believed, represent the Pony Express service, which did not begin until April 1860 and which was not part of the U.S. Postal Service, but a privately-run organization.
On August 12, 1970, the Post Office Department was reorganized under President Nixon's tenure to the Postal Service. The running pony was replaced by the bald eagle, which, though re-designed in the 1990s, remains the postal service's symbol.
Learn more: U.S. Domestic Letter Rates
Learn more: U.S. Domestic Postcard Rates
The Defense Postal Savings Stamp Albums were distributed by the U.S. Treasury, mostly through the Post Office Department. It was a way for the government to have the public help finance the war effort. War savings stamps were first issued in 1917, during World War I. In May, 1941, the America on Guard series appeared, consisting of 10, 25, 50 cents, $1 and $5 denominations. Use was encouraged as a way for the public to save money and at the same time contribute to the war effort.
School children would fill an "album" with $18.75 of low denomination stamps, 10-cents or 25-cents, and hand it in to the post office in exchange for a War Savings Bond, which would mature in 10 years to $25.00. Adults could buy larger denomination stamps, place them in correspondingly higher value "albums" and trade them in upon completion for $50.00, $100.00 or higher denomination War Savings Bonds. The program continued after the Second World War, ending in June 1970.
The Post Office Department offered government-backed savings services to American residents from 1911 to 1966. Postal Savings Certificates of Deposit are no longer valid to be cashed in: as of 1966 Congress abolished the postal savings system and the statute of limitations for claims ran out on July 13, 1985. If you have Postal Savings Stamps and Savings Bonds, contact the Bureau of the Public Debt, Post Office Box 426, Parkersburg, WV 26106-0426 to inquire about redeeming these items.
Actually, the U.S. Postal Service does not have an official motto. The phrase which most people associate with the postal office is that which is engraved on the outside of the James A. Farley Post Office building at 8th Avenue & 33rd Street in New York, New York:
Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.
This phrase was a translation by Prof. George H. Palmer, Harvard University, from an ancient Greek work of Herodotus describing the Persian system of mounted postal carriers c. 500 B.C. The inscription was added to the building by William Mitchell Kendall of the architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White, the building's architects.
ZIP Codes, or Zoning Improvement Plan codes began on July 1, 1963.
Owney was a scruffy mutt who was adopted by postal workers in the Albany, New York, post office in the late 1880s. The clerks let him stay, and he fell asleep on some mailbags. Owney was attracted to the texture or scent of the mailbags and followed them when they were placed on a Railway Mail Service train. Owney began to ride with the bags on trains across the state--and then the country.
In 1895 Owney traveled with mailbags on steamships to Asia and across Europe before returning to Albany. He was beloved by Railway Mail Service clerks, who adopted him as their unofficial mascot.
Learn more: Stamp Collecting
Smithsonian policy prohibits employees from appraising or placing a value upon any objects. Many local and university libraries have copies of a stamp catalog that provides retail prices for most stamps. The “Scott” Catalogs, as they are called, provide current estimated retail values of stamps from the U.S. and around the world. The “Scott values” represent the price you could expect to pay if you were to buy stamps in similar condition from a stamp dealer. They do not represent the price you would receive if you were to sell the collection to a dealer.
Most rare and valuable stamps are distinguishable by only slight differences in perforation, paper, or color. Comparing your stamp to a picture in a catalogue, book or website is not a reliable identification.
If you believe that you have a rare stamp, then you should get it certified by a professional stamp expertizer. Expertizers charge a fee (normally $25-$50) and you will need to send your stamp to them for examination, but rare and valuable stamps accompanied by a reputable certificate will be easier to sell or donate. Some expertizers also offer a stamp identification service based on a scan. This is usually cheaper and quicker, but does not include a certificate.
A commemorative stamp commemorates a particular person, place or event, and is issued in limited quantities for a relatively short period of time. A definitive stamp is issued as a regular stamp for the country or territory in which it is to be used.
The National Postal Museum has a very small acquisition fund and it is used mainly to purchase the relatively few items that are not found in the national philatelic collection. The Museum does not purchase general U.S. or worldwide stamp collections, since they largely duplicate the national collection. More than 99% of the national philatelic collection consists of transfers from government agencies and donations from collectors, dealers and people like you.
U.S. Stamp Images
The U.S. Postal Service holds the copyright of all U.S. stamps issued after December 31, 1978. As such, the museum cannot give permission to use images of post-December 31, 1978 issued U.S. stamps. Permission should be obtained from the U.S. Postal Service Licensing Department. Also, the USPS has high-resolution scans available of most U.S. stamps.
For USPS contact information and other questions, please visit the USPS website at: U.S. Postal Service Licensing Department
The United States Postal Service’s policy is that formal, written permission is not required to use images of stamps that were issued prior to January 1, 1979.
When using pre-1979 stamp images you must still follow the reproduction guidelines which are as follows:
Illustrations may be in color or in black and white, and may depict philatelic items as uncanceled or canceled. When depicting uncanceled items in color, illustrations must be less than 75% or more than 150% in linear dimension of the size of the design of the philatelic items as issued. Color illustrations of canceled philatelic items and black and white illustrations of uncanceled or canceled philatelic items may be in any size.
In many cases, particularly with older stamps including those released before 1979, the U.S. Postal Service does not have information about other potential third-party ownership interests. In these cases, you would be solely responsible for identifying and obtaining permission from any other third parties that may have an ownership interest in the image.
For additional information and to obtain image files please contact the U.S. Postal Service Licensing Department.
International Stamp Images
Permission for use of international stamp images (non-USA) should be obtained directly, before use, from the entity, or entities, to whom stamp copyright belongs.
