William H. Gross Stamp Gallery

10c Washington on Pony Express cover, 1860. Loan from William H. Gross.
A Pony Express rider carried this cover, considered one of the most historically significant in U.S. postal history. Notice the notation on the front: “recovered from a mail stolen by the Indians in 1860.”

24c Curtiss Jenny inverted block of four, 1918. Loan from William H. Gross.
This upside-down blue plane within a red frame is the most famous U.S. stamp and one of the world’s most famous printing errors. Only one misprinted sheet of 100 stamps was sold.

Amelia Earhart solo transatlantic flight cover, May 20, 1932.
On her historic solo flight across the Atlantic, Earhart carried 50 pieces of unofficial mail—each postmarked before and after landing, cacheted, numbered, and autographed to document the record-setting event.

Amelia Earhart’s flight suit, 1920s.

Apollo 15 Lunar Mail cover, 1971. Postmaster General’s Collection. Loan from USPS.

Hindenburg disaster card, May 6, 1937.

July 4, 1776, John Hancock cover. Loan from George Jay Kramer.
This letter to John Hancock was handstamped in New York on July 4, 1776—birthday of the United States of America.

Letter mailed aboard RMS Titanic, April 10, 1912.

Silk Road Letter, 1390.

Swedish feather letter, c. 1808.