The Spellman Museum of Stamps & Postal History


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The Spellman Museum Library is the major philatelic library in New England and one of a handful of significant philatelic libraries in the United States. Its holdings include items from the collection of Francis Cardinal Spellman, the National Philatelic Museum, the Boston University Philatelic Library Collection, and the H.E. Harris Company. In addition, the museum has items from individual collectors including Harry Lindquist, Marcus W. White, Lloyd B. Gatchell, Bernard Davis, and Clemens E. Prokesch. The Library includes the George W. Angers Memorial Collection of the American Air Mail Society including the Airpost Journal and American Air Mail catalogues, major philatelic exhibition catalogues from 1893 to the present, and name auction sales.

The Library collection documents worldwide postal services and the history, production, use, and hobby of stamps and postal related items. It includes: 4,800 handbooks, pamphlets, postal service publications; 885 trade catalogues; 1,100 philatelic exhibition catalogues; 360 philatelic auction catalogues of individual sales; 35 runs of auction firm sales; 200 significant runs of philatelic periodicals from 1879 to the present.

"Stamps are miniature documents of human history. They are the means by which a country gives sensible expression to its hopes and needs; its beliefs and ideals. They mirror the past and presage the future. They delineate cultural attainments, industrial works, domestic, civil and social life. In a word, these vignettes give a vivid picture of the world, its occupants and their multifarious endeavors." -- Francis Cardinal Spellman, c. 1950

Founded in 1960, the museum brought together the collections of Francis Cardinal Spellman, Archbishop of New York, and the National Philatelic Museum in Philadelphia. The collection now includes over 2,000,000 items including those from President Dwight David Eisenhower, violinist Jascha Heifetz, and General Matthew Ridgway. The Spellman Museum is one of two public museums in the United States devoted to stamps and postal history, the other being the Smithsonian Institution's National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C

The Spellman Museum is an independent, not-for-profit cultural organization (501(c)(3)) with a mission to promote knowledge and understanding of worldwide history and geography through the study of stamps, letters, and other artifacts of people's communication through the mail. This educational mission is advanced through exhibitions, a resource center and library, and programs for children, families, and adults. The Museum is a partner in the Regis College Museum Studies Program providing formal classroom support and internship and practicum experiences for students.

The Spellman Museum is supported by grants, membership, admission fees and related earned income, earnings from an endowment fund, and the annual contributions of trustees, members, and friends. Donations of philatelic collections and literature are encouraged to enhance the museum's collection, for use in public programs, and for resale to support the museum.