Century-old paintings of flowers are prominently featured on 10 new United States Botanical Art stamps that will be issued Jan. 29 in panes of 10 and in double-sided panes of 20. The Postal Service identifies these formats as booklets. The stamps will be introduced with a first-day ceremony at the American Philatelic Society’s annual winter stamp show, Ameristamp Expo 2016.

Richard Nixon was elected as a Congressman and Senator before becoming vice president of the United States in 1952. Elected U.S. president in 1968, his term ended with his resignation six years later following the Watergate scandal.

A Turkish-born New York Times opinion writer recently gave her first impressions of the USPS, stamps, and the American mailing mailing system.

A Turkish-born New York Times opinion writer recently gave her first impressions of the USPS, stamps, and the American mailing mailing system.

Also this week, Linns.com visitors were interested in the USPS' busy January. Aside from the Quilled Paper Heart Love stamp and Botanical Art booklet stamps that had already been announced, there will be a new Forever-rate flag design, to be issued in booklets and coils, as well as a 10c Pear stamp.

For some reason, the 20-centimo stamp of Costa Rica’s 1910 Portrait issue (Scott 74) strikes a chord with me, and I find it extremely attractive. It was printed by the American Bank Note Co., as part of a set of eight stamps issued in 1910 (Scott 69-76), even though the stamps themselves say 1909 in the right-hand ribbon beneath the bust.

The man known as the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley, was born in Tupelo, Miss., and raised in Memphis, Tenn. He was honored on U.S. stamps in 1993 and 2015.

The Collector’s Club of Chicago (CCC) announced this week that they’ve launched an official website for a collectors of all ages and experience. CollectorsClubChicago.org, which was constructed by volunteer members of the club, took just under three years to complete.

In the Dec. 15, 2014, Linn’s, I pictured the 1949 Christmas greeting card shown nearby and asked if a Linn’s reader could advise just who C.S. Hitchins, M.D., might be. Campbell Buchanan, vice president of the New Haven Philatelic Society, has solved the mystery: Buchanan wrote: “C. Stanley Hitchins, M.D., was a prominent member, and former president of the NHPS during the 1930s and 1940s. Campbell Buchanan, vice president of the New Haven Philatelic Society, has solved the mystery. Buchanan wrote: “C. Stanley Hitchins, M.D., was a prominent member, and former president of the NHPS during the 1930s and 1940s.

Shown nearby is a Christmas card sent in 1946 by E. Tudor Gross. A longtime philatelist, Gross was 67 in 1946. He had joined the American Philatelic Society in 1915, and had served as president of the Rhode Island Philatelic Society in 1921-22. Gross also had written articles on postal stationery for national journals. Attached to the card is a stamplike label, perforated gauge 12½, showing Gross.

Although East Germany’s implementation of its philatelic distribution system was unique, controlled dissemination of special stamp issues for collectors is almost as old as the hobby itself. Let’s consider a few notable precedents.

Every so often, a philatelic pink elephant comes along; something that shouldn’t exist, but it does. Such an item is the 1923 stampless postcard with a neat machine cancel from Montclair, N.J., dated Dec. 27, 1923. Because of the placement of the cancel, it is clear that there was never a stamp on the card.

Australia Post's Jan. 4 dramatic postage rate increase also included the introduction of a two-tier delivery system for consumer mail.

In April 1861, the events in Charleston Harbor in South Carolina changed the course of history. The ensuing four-year American Civil War would tear apart the fabric of our republic. Something as simple as a postage stamp would become a grave concern for the United States Post Office Department. Montgomery Blair, President Lincoln’s postmaster general, realized that the Southern states possessed large quantities of United States postage stamps.

Millard Fillmore, the one-time comptroller of New York, rose to the office of president of the United States following the death of President Zachary Taylor in 1850.

Many Great Seal of the United States Official stamps issued from 1993 on are getting harder to find in mint never-hinged condition. The coil stamps are particularly difficult. Few dealers or collectors put these stamps away in quantity at the time they were issued. The next-to-last to be issued, the 41¢ coil stamp of June 25, 2007 (Scott O162), is a good one to look for. We think it is undervalued in the 2016 Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers, at only $1 for a mint never-hinged single.

Popular in his time, Nostradamus enjoys an even wider following today. His prophetic works remain widely read because they were set in what was for him the far distant future and because they are specific enough to tantalize, yet vague enough that virtually anything can be read into them. On July 2, 2003, the 437th anniversary of his death, Romania issued a se-tenant pair of Nostradamus stamps (Scott 4592). These stamps fit well in topical collections of medicine, astrology and the occult.

Entertainer Danny Thomas devoted much of his life to establishing a charitable hospital for children with life-threatening illnesses: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.

Royal Mail turns 500 years old in 2016, and BBC Newsround provided five interesting facts you might not know about the United Kingdom postal service. Items range from the figures who are behind the founding of the Royal Mail, its first stamp (you just might know that one), and when the first Christmas card went on sale.

Canada will have a new national-level stamp exhibition, Canpex, to take place each fall in London, Ontario. The dates for the 2016 show are Oct. 15-16.