Mail Delivery

On January 25, 1932, the US Post Office Department issued its first stamp honoring the Olympic Games.  Those games were the first to be held in the US.

On January 17, 1898, the first US stamp created to conform to the change in colors recommended by the Universal Postal Union was issued.  The UPU had recommended the standardization of colors to make international mail easier to process.

On January 11, 1978, the USPS issued its smallest postage stamp, featuring the famed Indian Head Penny. The stamp was a USPS experiment to cut costs and increase output.

On December 29, 1908, the US Post Office Department issued its first coil stamps on a national scale. These stamps ushered in a new era in both mail delivery and philately.

On December 10, 2014, the USPS issued the scarce $2 circus souvenir sheet. Issued in two formats, it sold out before it was even issued, and even scarcer errors were later discovered…

On October 17, 1916, the US Post Office issued a 5¢ Washington stamp. The stamp had small changes from previous issues that went overlooked by collectors, so few were saved. Plus, this stamp spawned some famous errors…

On October 1, 1896, Rural Free Delivery was introduced in a handful of West Virginia towns. Rural free delivery made the mail faster, more convenient, and more valuable, bringing our nation together like never before.

On September 27, 1916, the US Post Office issued its first postage stamp on unwatermarked paper in over 20 years.  The change was in response to war-time constraints, but would become permanent.

Howard Bertram Koslow was born on September 21, 1924, in Brooklyn, New York. Over the course of 40 years, Koslow produced artwork for more than 50 US stamps and postal cards, including the popular and long-running Lighthouse Series.