Postage stamps from the award-winning Helen Cushman Philatelic Collection are now being exhibited at the San Diego Central Library. Several large display cases inside the Special Collections Center contain dozens of colorful stamps that should interest art lovers and philatelists alike.
As one sign explains, Helen Cushman, a prominent civic activist in San Diego, participated in many regional and national competitions that showcased her Topical stamp collections. Her 1974 book entitled “San Diego Vacation” won the top prize at the national SOJEX Stamp Exposition. The book illustrated the best of San Diego using postage stamps to illustrate why San Diego is a great place to visit.
Peering into the display cases, I noticed postage stamps of different shapes and sizes from many nations. Her collection, in fact, spans 234 countries and over 160 years of production. Many of the stamps she collected commemorate events and/or people of historical significance, capturing a glimpse in time.
I fondly remember collecting stamps when I was very young. I would carefully tear away the corners of received mail, soak the stamps in a sink to separate them from the envelope, dry the stamps on a towel, then use a licked hinge to attach my new finds to the correct pages of a big stamp album. That was long ago. I’m not sure what became of my album. Sold at a swap meet, perhaps. It’s fun to imagine that those stamps I gathered might now be in the collection of another young person!
If you’ve never visited the San Diego Central Library’s rooftop Ninth Floor, you really should. There are beautiful views of the city, an art gallery, and the Marilyn & Gene Marx Special Collections Center, where you’ll find not only these stamps, but a museum-like collection of research materials, fine art and rare books!
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Hi Richard,
We come to San Diego every March and are wondering if this exhibit will be there then. I really enjoy your posts and we find many things to do.
Diana and Art Nielsen
Rochester, New York
djnielsen@rochester.rr.com
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It should be. It’s very new and the exhibits remain on display for many months. It’s a fun little adventure simply to visit the Central Library’s “rooftop” Ninth Floor, right up near the building’s lattice dome. If the Rare Books wing is open or the art gallery is open, that makes it much more interesting. If you’re a baseball fan, check out the Eighth Floor’s Society for American Baseball Research section next to the immense reading room–there are many displays and photos concerning the history of baseball!
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