Now in its 37th edition, The Postal Service Guide to U.S. Stamps is an indispensable handbook for philatelists and hobbyists everywhere. The only fully-illustrated, four-color guide to U.S. stamps, this official publication from the United States Postal Service provides the most comprehensive information available about the U.S. stamp program and its vivid history. Every category of U.S. stamp is included—definitive, commemorative, airmail, duck stamps, and stamped envelopes—and the book is organized into easy-to-use, color-coded sections for quick access.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

The journey continues! This is the second book of the series, "United States Stamps: A History." It continues the tale of when the Bureau of Engraving and Printing took over the task of making our stamps. The Bureau would go on to print almost all United States stamps for the next century. The book explores why the Bureau took over and the problems they had when they first started making stamps. But the Bureau was a quick learner as soon after they would go on and create the finest group of United States stamps of all time, the Omaha commemorative series. Next, the first regular series and the first several commemorative series of the twentieth century are reviewed. A detour is made to review both all United States postage due and special delivery stamps since these stamps were introduced about this time. So discussing them now is both a review and a preview of all United States stamp production. The last chapter is a series of updates and corrections. The author realizes that the knowledge of United States stamps is in continual growth, so this last chapter keeps the first volume of the series up to date.

The 43rd Edition of The Postal Service Guide to U.S. Stamps presents 171 years of U.S. stamps, from the Postmasters' Provisionals of 1845, through the final issuance of 2016. Beautiful high-resolution imagery and updated values accompany stamps and postal stationary from across the Postal archive. Special "back-of-the-book" sections include the 19th century Newspaper and Periodical stamps, Airmail, Special Delivery, Official Mail, and Federal Duck Stamps. The Guide opens with an introduction to the hobby and tips on stamp collecting, and mini stamp stories are sprinkled throughout the book. Each era of the U.S. stamp program is introduced with a story about the International Philatelic Exhibitions hosted in the United States over the past 110 years.