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PHILATELIC MUSEUMS IN THE UNITED STATESlast week E-Sylum Feature Writer and American Numismatic Biographies author Pete Smith submitted a two-part listing of Money Museums in the United States, past and present. This week he submitted this companion piece on Philatelic Museums in the United States. Thanks! Interesting. -Editor
Philatelic Museums in the United States
What was the first philatelic museum in the United States? How many philatelic museums are there currently? This listing might answer those questions, or perhaps not. 1866 The National Philatelic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution Museum of American History traces it beginning to the acquisition of a pane of 10-cent Confederate stamps in 1866. The first exposition was in 1908 following a donation of 20,000 stamps from David W. Cromwell. From 1908 to 1963, the collection was at the Arts and Industries building. In 1964 the collection was moved to the National Museum of American History. 1894 A Postal Museum was established on the first floor of the Post Office Building in Washington, DC. This was proposed by Postmaster General John Wanamaker, founder of Philadelphia department stores. In the early years it appeared to come and go. The collection was shown at the Atlanta Exposition and returned in 1906; later shown at the Jamestown Exposition and returned to a new space on the third floor in 1908. It closed in 1911 with the collection transferred to the Smithsonian. 1930 Alpheus B. Slater gave his stamp collection, valued at $25,000, to the Rhode Island Historical Society, desiring that the collection remain in Providence. In 2023, the museum still maintains the Slater Postal History Collection.
1935 Federal Stamp Museum opened in June on the sixth floor of the postal building,
Washington, DC. Several news stories reported on the opening but the name 1939 The U. S. Postal Service created a traveling museum to tour the country. Estimated value of the collection was a million dollars. 1948 National Philatelic Museum in Philadelphia opened on December 5, 1948, at Broad and Diamond Streets in Philadelphia. It was affiliated with Temple University. In 1960, much of the collection was transferred to the Spellman Museum of Stamps and Postal History. 1951 The Boys Town Philamatic Center opened in 1951. Millions of stamps were donated and sold to benefit the program. The center closed in August 1987. The collection was sold at auction in May 1991.
1963 Spellman Museum of Stamps and Postal History was established on the campus of Regis
College in Weston, Massachusetts. Widely promoted as 1982 Tacoma Philatelic Center and U. S. Postal Service Museum opened October 4. 1982. Museum assets were sold at auction in 2007.
1993 National Postal Museum. 2 Massachusetts Ave., NE. Washington, DC., Opened on July
30, 1993 in the former Washington City Post Office Building. It 2004 The American Philatelic Center was dedicated June 2004 affiliated with the American Philatelic Society. It is located in the former Match Factory in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania.
Postal History Museums
1914 James Farley Post Office Museum in Manhattan was between Madison Square Garden and Penn Station. The building opened in 1914. The museum was installed sometime later. The Postal History Museum was closed in 2017. 1932 Richmond Postal Museum opened in the Post Office of Richmond, Virginia. Postmaster Berkeley Williams claimed it was the first postal museum in the United States. 1960 The Postal History Museum on the first floor of the Post Office department was opened in February 1960 and closed in 1961 with the collection transferred to the Smithsonian Institution. 1969 Western Postal History Museum opened at the Arizona Historical Society in Tucson, Arizona. In 1990 the name was changed to the Postal History Foundation.
Post Office Museums
Brown County Historical Society Museum My home town of New Ulm, MN had an old post office that was converted into the Brown County Historical Society Museum. There are many old post office buildings that have been converted into various museums. The buildings have been preserved but not their postal history. Are we missing any? Let us know if you're aware of other philatelic museums and exhibitions. I hope to visit one of these someday - I'm curious to learn what they have in the line of crossover numismatic items such as encased postage stamps or postal currency. For bibliophiles, philatelic libraries may hold several treats - before numismatics came into its own as a hobby and science, there were many publications large and small that covered both stamps and coins. -Editor
To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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