Postal History

  • Postage Stamp Use Becomes Mandatory

    On January 1, 1856, the United States Post Office made a change that permanently transformed how Americans sent mail. Beginning on that date, all domestic letters were required to be prepaid using postage stamps. Although the Post Office had first begun selling stamps on July 1, 1847, their use had remained optional for nearly ten years. By making stamps compulsory, the federal government created a more efficient, reliable, and modern postal system suited to a rapidly growing nation.

  • Postal Savings Officials 

    On December 22, 1910, the US Post Office Department issued its first Postal Savings Official Mail stamp. These stamps were part of an innovative effort to help everyday Americans save money safely, especially in rural areas and among working-class citizens. Though the stamps were short-lived, they remain a fascinating glimpse into early 20th-century financial history.

  • US Tests Female Mail Carriers in Cities

    In the midst of World War I, a major change quietly began in the United States Postal Service: for the first time, women were seriously tested as city letter carriers. On November 23, 1917, First Assistant Postmaster General John C. Koons issued a call to the postmasters of eight of the largest US post offices to run 15-day trials of women serving as letter carriers in the city.  This experiment was described as a potential wartime necessity, because many men were off fighting, and extra postal workers were already needed to handle the heavy Christmas mail in December.

  • Trans-Mississippi Philatelic Expo Issue

    On October 10, 1934, eager stamp collectors crowded the mezzanine of Omaha’s Hotel Fontenelle, waiting in line for the chance to buy a brand-new souvenir sheet featuring the majestic granite cliffs of Yosemite National Park. Released to commemorate the Trans-Mississippi Philatelic Exposition, the sheets sold out in less than an hour, leaving many empty-handed but cementing the issue’s place in stamp-collecting history.