Cheryl Ganz is the chief curator of philately — stamp collecting — at the National Postal Museum. She is also author of the book “ The 1933 Chicago World’s Fair: A Century of Progress.”
So what’s a typical day at your job?
I have a really cool job; I have a dream job, to be honest. As a curator of philately at the museum, I work on approximately 6 million postage stamps. It’s our country’s national stamp collection. The wonderful thing is I have no two days the same. I study these stamps, I research them, I think about exciting exhibits. You don’t have to be a stamp collector to appreciate that these are great treasures. For example, right now I’m working on an exhibit on Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was a stamp collector, and how he used postage stamp designs to sell optimism and hope during the Great Depression.
How did FDR sell the idea of optimism and hope in the Great Depression?
He worked with the postmaster general on stamp design. They would put pictures or depict very positive images, images that would show benefit to the country. Images that were reminders of people getting jobs. One would be a picture on the stamp of what was called Boulder Dam, which we call Hoover Dam. … Another example, there was a series of pictures showing national parks. He would use the pictures on stamps to help see how we’re getting better. … That exhibit is opening in June.
What’s your favorite stamp?
The most famous iconic stamp, it’s called the inverted Jenny. It’s where the Bureau of Engraving and Printing made a mistake and the printed the airplane in the center of the stamp upside down. That was in 1918.
How much is that stamp worth?
It varies by condition, but people have paid as much as $1 million for that stamp.
