Museum Shop
Between Home and the Front: Civil War Letters of the Walters Family
Between Home and the Front: Civil War Letters of the Walters Family (Indiana University Press, 2022), edited by Smithsonian curatorial staff Lynn Heidelbaugh and Thomas Paone, presents previously unpublished letters from the Walters family's collection held by the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum. This collection includes writings from both a woman on the Indiana home front and soldiers on the Union frontlines with conversational exchange of perspectives not often seen in historical records. The letters transcribed in Between Home and the Front provide a glimpse into the emotions and news that Private David Walters of the 5th Indiana Cavalry and his wife Rachel shared through the mail. Rachel became the hub of communication for the family, often receiving missives from David's brothers, Isaac of the 20th Indiana Infantry and John Wesley of the 46th Indiana Infantry, and relaying the information to friends and family.
The paperback book (9 in. h x 6 in. w x 0.5 in. d.) has 230 pages, 27 black and white illustrations, 3 maps, 2 family tree charts.
$20.00 plus shipping & handling
To order, please contact the Museum Shop at the below telephone number.
Who's Got Mail?: The History of Mail in America
Who’s Got Mail? is an intriguing and fact-filled look at how the mail has been delivered in the United States since before the Constitution was even signed. In the United States, the spread of the postal service went hand in hand with the spread of democracy and transportation. As settlement spread west, communication became even more important to let distant residents feel that they were American; no part of the country was too far away, no village or farm too small to have access to the post.
Moreover, the Post Office has always been a public service—it was not originally designed to make a profit or act like a business, but to deliver letters, medical supplies, packages ordered through catalogs, and all the things that Americans need at a reasonable cost. Over the centuries, it has also been one of the largest employers in the United States, particularly as a means for African Americans and women to secure stable, middle-class jobs.
Full of eccentric characters, great stories, and technological achievements, this fun middle-grade narrative nonfiction celebrates one of our oldest and strongest institutions and is a true testament to the spirit of American democracy.
Hardcover book (8.5 in. h x 6 in. w x 1 in. d.) with 240 pages.
$22.99 plus shipping & handling
To order, please contact the Museum Shop at the below telephone number.
Toy Owney the Dog
Size: approximately 12 x 6 x 6 inches
$25.00 plus shipping & handling
To order, please contact the Museum Shop at the below telephone number.
Known at first as the mascot of the Albany post office, Owney the dog soon became the faithful companion of the nation’s railway mail clerks. Knowing that his trips were taking him across the country, Albany mail clerks fastened a note to Owney's collar asking others to record Owney's journey by attaching leather and metal baggage tags to this collar. He soon collected so many tags that Postmaster General John Wanamaker gave Owney a special harness to lighten his load. Owney collected 1,017 tags, tokens, trinkets and medals during his travels.
USPS: The Great American Mail Race Board Game
Video about the game (YouTube)
$35.00 plus shipping & handling
To order, please contact the Museum Shop at the below telephone number.
Toy U.S. Postal Service Mail Truck
Size: 5 3/4" x 2 1/8” x 2 1/2” high
Made of metal and plastic.
$10.00 plus shipping & handling
To order, please contact the Museum Shop at the below telephone number.
Snowbird Ornament
Size: Size: 2 inches in diameter
Made of porcelain and brass
$28.00 plus shipping & handling
To order, please contact the Museum Shop at the below telephone number.
Suited to a T for Snow
Long before there was all-wheel drive, there was an ingenious way for Rural Free Delivery mail carriers in the 1920s to equip their own automobiles during snowy weather. Called the “mailman’s special,” the kit contained skis that replaced the front tires and caterpillar treads that looped around the back tires for traction. The Postal Museum owns one such equipped 1921 Model T, called Snowbird. It weighs 1800 pounds and announces in shiny gold lettering on its gleaming black surface, “R.F.D Route 2.” Rural mail carrier Harold Crabtree of Central Square, N.Y., owned this Snowbird. He needed it: Central Square averages nearly 9 feet of snow a year.
Glass Mail Box Ornament
Size: approximately 1¾ x 1¾ x 3½ inches
Made of glass
$20.00 plus shipping & handling
To order, please contact the Museum Shop at the below telephone number.
Beautifully detailed, this red, white, and blue blown glass USPS Mail Box Ornament is a great way to celebrate the holiday tradition of sending and receiving Christmas cards.
We have much more merchandise available for sale in our shop. Please feel free to contact us and we will gladly discuss our merchandise.
We are open 7 days a week 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (Eastern Time).
Closed December 25.
The National Postal Museum Shop is located at:
Street Address:
Museum Shop
National Postal Museum
2 Massachusetts Ave., N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20002
Mailing Address:
Museum Shop
Smithsonian National Postal Museum
P.O. Box 37012 MRC 570
Washington, DC 20013-7012
Phone: (202) 633-7027
Fax: (202) 633-9393
