1.
Postage stamp
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Postage stamp may also refer to a formatting artifact in the display of film or video, Windowbox. A postage stamp is a piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are printed on special paper, show a national designation and a denomination on the front. They are sometimes a source of net profit to the issuing agency, stamps are usually rectangular, but triangles or other shapes are occasionally used. The stamp is affixed to an envelope or other postal cover the customer wishes to send, the item is then processed by the postal system, where a postmark, sometimes known as a cancellation mark, is usually applied in overlapping manner to stamp and cover. This procedure marks the stamp as used to prevent its reuse, in modern usage, postmarks generally indicate the date and point of origin of the mailing. The mailed item is delivered to the address the customer has applied to the envelope or parcel. Postage stamps have facilitated the delivery of mail since the 1840s, before then, ink and hand-stamps, usually made from wood or cork, were often used to frank the mail and confirm the payment of postage. The first adhesive postage stamp, commonly referred to as the Penny Black, was issued in the United Kingdom in 1840, there are varying accounts of the inventor or inventors of the stamp. The postage stamp resolved this issue in a simple and elegant manner, concurrently with the first stamps, the UK offered wrappers for mail. S. Postal service for priority or express mailing, the postage stamp afforded convenience for both the mailer and postal officials, more effectively recovered costs for the postal service, and ultimately resulted in a better, faster postal system. With the conveniences stamps offered, their use resulted in greatly increased mailings during the 19th and 20th centuries, as postage stamps with their engraved imagery began to appear on a widespread basis, historians and collectors began to take notice. The study of stamps and their use is referred to as philately. Stamp collecting can be both a hobby and a form of study and reference, as government-issued postage stamps. The postage for the item was prepaid by the use of a hand-stamp to frank the mailed item. Though this stamp was applied to a letter instead of a piece of paper it is considered by many historians as the worlds first postage stamp. Rowland Hill The Englishman Sir Rowland Hill began interest in postal reform in 1835, in 1836, a Member of Parliament, Robert Wallace, provided Hill with numerous books and documents, which Hill described as a half hundred weight of material. Hill commenced a study of these documents, leading him to the 1837 publication of a pamphlet entitled Post Office Reform its Importance
2.
Commemorative stamp
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A commemorative stamp is a postage stamp, often issued on a significant date such as an anniversary, to honor or commemorate a place, event, person, or object. The subject of the stamp is usually spelled out in print, unlike definitive stamps which normally depict the subject along with the denomination. Many postal services issue several commemorative stamps each year, sometimes holding first day of ceremonies at locations connected with the subjects. Commemorative stamps can be used alongside ordinary stamps, there are several candidates for the title of first commemorative. A 17-cent stamp issued in 1860 by New Brunswick, showing the Prince of Wales in anticipation of his visit is one possibility. The United States 15-cent black stamp of 1866 depicts Abraham Lincoln, and was the first stamp issued after his assassination in 1865, the U. S. also issued a 5-cent stamp in 1882 showing the recently murdered President James A. Garfield. In addition, the United States issued stamped envelopes for the Centennial Exposition in 1876, although technically these are postal stationery and not stamps. In 1870 Peru issued a 5¢ scarlet Locomotive and Arms stamp and is regarded as the first commemorative postage stamp, other premier commemorative stamps were issued by New South Wales in 1888 to mark its 100th anniversary, the six types all include the inscription ONE HUNDRED YEARS. Commemoratives followed in 1891 for Hong Kong and Romania, in 1892 and 1893 a half-dozen nations of America and Spain issued commemoratives for the 400th anniversary of the Wests discovery of America by Christopher Columbus. The organization broke up after attempts at getting collectors at large to comply with their wishes. Today the early commemoratives are still prized by collectors, definitive stamp Airmail stamp Stamp collecting Postage stamp Commemoration of the American Civil War on postage stamps Territories of the United States on stamps
3.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
4.
Prominent Americans series
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The Prominent Americans series is a set of definitive stamps issued by the United States Post Office Department between 1965 and 1978. It superseded the Liberty issue of 1954, which by the mid-1960s had become somewhat dated and this was the first U. S. omnibus definitive series in which Benjamin Franklin did not appear at or near the beginning, on the ½¢ or 1¢ stamp. This was also the first definitive issue to include a stamp devoted to an African-American, the 5¢ Washington was originally excessively shaded around the lower part of the face, so much so that it has come to be known as the dirty face or unshaven Washington. Originally appearing in February 1966, it was superseded by a version in November 1967. The $1 Eugene ONeill stamp was notable for its use by Theodore Kaczynski, the Unabomber
5.
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
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United States, and is one of the most influential American common law judges, honored during his lifetime in Great Britain as well as the United States. Holmes retired from the Court at the age of 90 years and he also served as an Associate Justice and as Chief Justice on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, and was Weld Professor of Law at the Harvard Law School, of which he was an alumnus. Holmes espoused a form of skepticism and opposed the doctrine of natural law. As he wrote in one of his most famous decisions, his dissent in Abrams v and these positions as well as his distinctive personality and writing style made him a popular figure, especially with American progressives. He was one of only a handful of justices to be known as a scholar, Holmes was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of the prominent writer and physician Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. and abolitionist Amelia Lee Jackson. Known as Wendell in his youth, Holmes, Henry James Jr. Holmes accordingly grew up in an atmosphere of intellectual achievement, and early formed the ambition to be a man of letters like Emerson. While still in Harvard College he wrote essays on philosophic themes, Emerson famously replied, If you strike at a king, you must kill him. He supported the Abolitionist movement that thrived in Boston society during the 1850s, at Harvard, he was a member of the Hasty Pudding and the Porcellian Club, both of which his father had also been a member. In the Pudding, he served as Secretary and Poet, as his father also had, in the summer of 1861 with his fathers help he obtained a lieutenants commission in the Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. Holmess early life was described in detail by Mark DeWolfe Howe, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes--The Shaping Years, 1841-1870. He saw much action, from the Peninsula Campaign to the Wilderness, suffering wounds at the Battle of Balls Bluff, Antietam, and Chancellorsville, Holmes particularly admired and was close to his fellow officer in the 20th Massachusetts, Henry Livermore Abbott. Holmes rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel, but eschewed promotion in his regiment, Abbott took command of the regiment in his place, and was later killed. Holmes is said to have shouted to Lincoln to take cover during the Battle of Fort Stevens, Holmes himself expressed uncertainty about who had warned Lincoln and other sources state he likely was not present on the day Lincoln visited Fort Stevens. Holmes received a promotion to colonel in recognition of his services during the war. He retired to his home in Boston after his enlistment ended in 1864, weary and ill. But by the fall, when it became clear that the war would end, Holmes enrolled in the Harvard Law School, kicked into the law by his father. He attended lectures there for a year, reading extensively in theoretical works. He was admitted to the bar in 1866, and after a visit to London, to complete his education
6.
Stamp collecting
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Stamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps and related objects. It is related to philately which is the study of stamps and it has been one of the worlds most popular hobbies since the late nineteenth century with the rapid growth of the postal service. Stamp collecting proved to be an almost perfect hobby for collectors because there was a never ending stream of new stamps as each sought to advertise its distinctiveness through its stamps. Because some stamps became rare, a international trade in stamps was created. While stamp collectors are of all ages, it has been particularly popular hobby among children, Stamp collecting is generally accepted as one of the areas that make up the wider subject of philately, which is the study of stamps. A philatelist may, but does not have to, collect stamps and it is not uncommon for the term philatelist to be used to mean a stamp collector. Many casual stamp collectors accumulate stamps for sheer enjoyment and relaxation without worrying about the tiny details, the creation of a large or comprehensive collection, however, generally requires some philatelic knowledge and will usually contain areas of philatelic studies. Stamp collectors are an important source of income for countries who create limited runs of elaborate stamps designed mainly to be bought by stamp collectors. The stamps produced by these countries may exceed their postal needs and it has been suggested that John Bourke, Receiver General of Stamp Dues in Ireland was the first collector. In 1774 he assembled a book of the existing embossed revenue stamps, ranging in value from 6 pounds to half a penny and his collection is preserved in Dublin. The first postage stamp, the Penny Black, was issued by Britain in 1840 and it was produced without perforations and consequently had to be cut from the sheet with scissors in order to be used. While unused examples of the Penny Black are quite scarce, used examples are quite common, people started to collect stamps almost immediately. One of the earliest and most notable was John Edward Gray, in 1862, Gray stated that he began to collect postage stamps shortly after the system was established and before it had become a rage. As the hobby and study of stamps began to grow, stamp albums and stamp related literature began to surface, children and teenagers were early collectors of stamps in the 1860s and 1870s. Many adults dismissed it as a pursuit but later many of those same collectors, as adults, began to systematically study the available postage stamps. Some stamps, such as the issues of the Cape of Good Hope, have become legendary. Stamp collecting is a popular hobby in the early 21st century than it was a hundred years ago. In 2013, the Wall Street Journal estimated the number of stamp collectors was around 60 million
