Katanga, 1961
George S. Champlin Memorial Collection
Thousands of Little Colored Windows : Brown University’s Stamp Collections is now on exhibit at the John Hay Library. This exhibition is curated by students in Professor Steven Lubar’s Museum Collecting and Collections class (Fall 2015). Over the course of the semester, the students delved into Brown University Library’s extensive stamp collections.
Their research uncovers the breadth of the collections and highlights the numerous ways in which postage stamps and postal history hold relevance to social history, political and cultural studies. Thousands of Little Colored Windows : Brown University’s Stamp Collections approaches the stamp collections through varied lenses, revealing narratives of design, production, use, and collecting. The exhibition includes an interactive digital gallery of stamps from the George S. Champlin Memorial Stamp Collection.
The stamp collections housed at the John Hay Library range from comprehensive national and global catalogues to thematic albums. The personal collections of George S. Champlin, Webster Knight (class of 1876), and Robert Galkin (class of 1949) constitute the foundation of the Library’s philatelic holdings. In addition, the library maintains specialized collections of postal, historical, and design-related interests, such as special delivery stamps, first day covers, a set of patriotic envelopes addressed to Abraham Lincoln, and rare printing errors.
Admission to the John Hay Library is free and open to the public. Thousands of Little Colored Windows : Brown University’s Stamp Collections will remain on view through May 13, 2016. For additional information and standard operating hours consult the Library website: http://library.brown.edu/hay/.
Dates: February 10 – May 13, 2016
Time: 4 – 5:30 p.m.
Location: Exhibition Gallery, John Hay Library, 20 Prospect Street, Providence