The Smithsonian Postal Museum Holds on to the Past with Opening of Stamp Gallery

What's a stamp?

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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It seems like an odd bit of news for 2013, but the Smithsonian Postage Museum has announced that they will be opening the world's largest stamp gallery on September 22. The 12,000-square-foot William H. Gross Stamp Gallery will explore the history of the stamp and its impact on the country and the world, things that it seems the Postage Museum itself should already address. Included in the collection will be many rare stamps that collectors will drool over: the 24cent inverted Curtiss Jenny,  one of two 1868 1-cent Z-grill stamps in existence, and stamps of Hawaiian kings pre-statehood, to name a few.

The addition of the gallery makes sense for the institution, but the timing seems off. Post offices are suffering in the digital age and as a result, so is the Postage Museum. Most children these days don't know what stamps are, and creating a space for an older target isn't always a smart way to plan for the future. Either way, the William H. Gross Stamp Gallery fills a void at the Museum and it will be interesting to see how it does and what other gems of history are included in the 20,000 piece collection.

RELATED: Like Most of D.C., the Smithsonian Institute Is Suffering from Overcrowding 
RELATED: The Smithsonian Gallery Facing Exhibition Closures Due To Federal Budget Cuts 

[via ArtInfo]

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