US PS E d u cati o n K it
Mailters Mat
Stamps S
tamps were first issued by the US Post Office Department in 1847. Before then, letters were brought to a post office and the postmaster wrote the postage – the cost of delivering a piece of mail – on the envelope. Postage could be prepaid or collected upon delivery. The first adhesive stamps were introduced by a private delivery service in New York. The Postal Service saw the wisdom of adhesive stamps and bought the entire company. Adhesive stamps then became the norm for prepaid postage.
The first US stamps (wiki caption ripoff) The first stamp issues were authorized by an act of Congress and approved on March 3, 1847. The earliest known use of the Franklin 5¢ is July 7, 1847, while the earliest known use of the Washington 10¢ is July 2, 1847.
Today, stamps still do the job of moving the mail. But US commemorative stamps do even more; they chronicle our history and culture. Commemoratives honor important people, places, events and icons in contemporary American life. Some interesting stamp subjects include The Simpsons animated TV series, Major League Baseball Sluggers, the birthday of the Barbie Doll, and of course, US presidents, state ratification dates and more.
Question: • Can you think of some people, places or events in US history that have found their way onto stamps?
Design your own stamp!
Turn page over
Barbie® is a registered trademark of Mattel, Inc. • Jackie Robinson TM, Estate of Jackie Robinson, c/o CMG Worldwide, Indpls, IN. Major League Baseball trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball.