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Showcasing the national stamp collection.

The Stamp Collecting Report, I'm Lloyd de Vries.

"It's colorful, it's bright, it's interactive, it's educational, it's fun."  
RUNS:04

Cheryl Ganz is chief philatelic curator of the National Postal Museum, housed
in the former main post office for the city of Washington. The building is a 
striking example of art deco government architecture from the Depression. Now, 
even the windows are special, with transparencies of famous stamps.

"When you're in the gallery, the light streams in like stained glass windows, 
and at night, we illuminate the 54 stamps,    and if you're outside, it looks 
like a Tiffany window across the front of the building."  
RUNS :12

The Postal Museum recently doubled in size, taking over the main floor with 
the William Gross Gallery.

Susan McGowan of the Postal Service says the agency plans to work more closely
with this branch of the Smithsonian.

“What they’re showcasing here is a lot of our rare, never-before-seen Post-
master General’s Collection.” 
RUNS : :06

Ganz admits there's still work to be done — features that weren't ready for 
the opening of the Gross Gallery.

"We've prepared QR codes, so people can download on their smartphones; we 
don’t have those installed yet. We have a lot of other special things that 
are  yet to be finalized.” 
RUNS :10

But even so, the National Postal Museum is still cutting edge, an example 
for the rest of the Smithsonian system.

I'm Lloyd de Vries of The Virtual Stamp Club. For more on stamps and stamp 
collecting, visit virtual-stamp-club-dot-com.

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A shorter version was prepared for CBS Radio.
Also see our photo essay on the Gross Gallery opening.
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