Postal Work

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I collected stamps for a few years when I was a kid. A philatelic convention at the Seattle Center cured me of that pretty quickly—I realized I was in way over my head and didn't really have the devotion required for finding the coveted upside-down airplane. Still, I've always thought stamps were cool, both as a concept and as a design icon. Above are some of my favorites (click to enlarge).

Before the www, there were people with whom I traded probably hundreds of letters over the years. So even though I've pretty much given that up for e-mail, it's good to see the USPS stepping it up for 2008 with a couple great stamp designs.

Charles & Ray Eames, out this Summer.

Vintage Mahogany Speedboats, out now.

The USPS offers an exhaustive explanation of how new stamp subjects are chosen here. There's a committee which includes members as diverse as Karl Malden, former second lady Joan Mondale, and Graphis editor Martin Pedersen.

If you want to suggest a stamp design, send them a letter.