Contains capsule biographies of every person portrayed on a U.S. stamp between 1847 and 1990. Some of the more than 400 alphabetically arranged biographies are so obscure that even encyclopedias fail... This description may be from another edition of this product.
This book would make an outstanding teaching tool for an educator who is also a stamp enthusiast. Basically, the book dedicates on page per person who appears on an American stamp. The book is very complete, right up to about 1990, but this covers an awful lot of American history, particularly presidents and important personages from very by-gone times.The biographies are short, of course, which means really BIG names like Abraham Lincoln get roughly the same coverage as someone perhaps a bit less distinguised, like Millard Filmore (don't write me and complain, Fillmore fans...I'm just making a point!!). I can imagine that a teacher might have kids look for these stamps (old letters and postcards, junk shops, etc.) as though it were some sort of tresure hunt, and then perhaps use the book to write a report, give an oral presentation, etc. It could help teach history, research methods, presentation skills, or even the joy of hunting for collectibles. It's also a good general knowledge book to have for US stamp collectors who want to know more about the story behind the stamp.It's not brilliantly written, nor exhaustive, but is is handy and does exactly what it promises!
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