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Smithsonian sunburst Smithsonian National Postal Museum
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    street map of Postal museum

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Owney the dog

Object Details

Description
Mail clerks raised money for preserving their mascot and he was taken to the Post Office Department's headquarters in Washington, DC, where he was on placed on display for the public. In 1904 the Department added Owney to their display at the St. Louis, Missouri, World’s Fair. In 1911, the department transferred Owney to the Smithsonian Institution. In 1926, the Institution allowed Owney to travel to the Post Office Department’s exhibit at the Sesquicentennial exhibit in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. From 1964-1992, he was displayed at the Smithsonian museum now known as the National Museum of American History and in 1993 he moved to the new National Postal Museum, where he remains on display next to a fabricated Railway Post Office train car.
Data Source
National Postal Museum
Date
c. 1885-1897
Object number
0.052985.274.1
Depicts
Owney, American, c. 1888 - 1897
Type
Seals, Symbols & Signage
Medium
skin (animal); fur; bone (animal); glass
Dimensions
Height x Width x Depth: 20 x 11 x 27 in. (50.8 x 27.94 x 68.58 cm)
Place
United States of America
See more items in
National Postal Museum Collection
On View
Currently on exhibit at the National Postal Museum
Topic
The Gilded Age (1877-1920)
Popular Culture
Record ID
npm_0.052985.274.1
Usage
CC0
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/hm8af75c317-9bea-4f46-958c-acc39c349a82

Related Object Groups

  • Dog: Museum’s Best Friend
  • Open Access Highlights
  • Owney the Dog
  • Trains at Smithsonian Station
This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Open Access page.
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HomeSmithsonian National Postal Museum

Visit »

Open daily 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
(Closed December 25)

Admission is always free!

2 Massachusetts Ave., N.E.
Washington, DC 20002

The museum's main entrance is located on the corner of First Street and Massachusetts Avenue NE. Other entrances have variable hours.

street map of Postal museum

Learn more
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Owney, the Railway Mail Service Mascot

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