National Postal Museum  /  The 1847s: America's First Stamps

More than one hundred envelopes featuring the nation’s first two postage stamps, the five-cent Franklin and ten-cent Washington, are the subjects of this show.

  • An exhibition presenting more than one hundred envelopes featuring the nation’s first two postage stamps.
  • Behind the exhibition identity and introductory text, background images from 1847 provide context for the philatelic items.
  • Examples of early postmarks are used as environmental graphics.
  • Three exhibition cases present examples of the non-standardized postmarks from this period.
  • A wall featuring envelopes that traveled by steamboat uses period engravings and quotes.
  • Detail of a case panel layout showing envelope, description, and postmark recreations.
  • The area displaying foreign destination envelopes is distinguished by a different color palette.
  • A “Cancellation Station” where visitors add souvenir cancellation marks to postcards featuring the exhibition identity.

Other projects completed for the National Postal Museum include:

Print materials from Fire & Ice: The Hindenburg and the Titanic feature black and white photographs of both doomed ships.

Fire & Ice: The Hindenburg and the Titanic

Exhibition design, identity, and print materials

Print materials of the Classic Correspondence Kit evoke the design of old air mail letters.

Classic Correspondence Kit

Print Materials

Victory Mail exhibition poster has an illustration of a soldier smiling after receiving a letter.

Victory Mail

Exhibition design, identity, and print materials

Stamps Take Flight exhibition exhibition design has multiples of an airplane shape with one at an angle to convey take-off.

Stamps Take Flight

Exhibition design, identity, and print materials

Mail Call exhibition brochure evokes a postcard with cancellations.

Mail Call

Exhibition brochure