CreativeCoffins, the British company that has been making personalized coffins since 2008, is now offering stamp variations on their coffins for customers who want their loved ones buried with the stamps they treasured.

Alma Thomas, born Sept. 22, 1891, painted March on Washington after participating in the historic 1963 event.

Wildlife artist Joseph Hautman won the federal contest for a record-tying fifth time, while his brothers Robert and James placed second and third, respectively.

Chuck Jones was a top animator and director for Warner Bros. He created the popular characters Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote, and directed many of their cartoon adventures.

Lt. Thomas Grosvenor is featured prominently in a scene from the 1775 Battle of Bunker Hill, as painted by the American artist John Trumbull.

The U.S. Postal Service unveiled its new Paul Newman forever stamp on Friday, Sept. 18, during a ceremony held in the Playhouse Square District in Newman's native Cleveland.

Hungarian-born political reformer Lajos Kossuth was widely admired in the United States following the 1848 Hungarian revolution, and he was honored on two stamps issued in 1958.

Let’s have a party! In 1917, a fund-raiser was held that became the subject of the postal card shown nearby. This 1¢ green Jefferson postal card was canceled March 15 at Prince Bay, N.Y.

An order for postage placed through the Stamp Fulfillment Services division of the United States Postal Service turned up quite a find for one lucky New Jersey collector: one of the 100 upright $2 Jenny Invert panes.

On Sept. 14, Canada Post unveiled its second of three sets of Haunted Canada stamps. Recalling popular Canadian ghost stories, this series shines a spectral light on dark tales from throughout the land. Each of the five stamps focuses on a supernatural site, with images made extra eerie through the use of holographic foil.

Also this week, the U.S. Postal Service responded to an article about religious themes on stamps, and Mary-Anne Penner announced three additions to the 2015 United States first-day cover program.

During an outstanding film career cut short by a self-imposed retirement at a young age, Swedish-born actress Greta Garbo became an international superstar. She was born Sept. 18, 1905.

The Oct. 16-17 auction from Schwarzenbach Auktion Zurich includes an example of the 1845 2½-rappen Basel Dove stamp used on a folded letter. The Basel Dove is the only stamp issued by the canton of Basel in Switzerland, and it is cherished for its attractive three-color design (it was the first stamp printed in three colors) and its embossed image of the white dove in the center, the first stamp worldwide to depict a bird.

The Roosevelt small die proof albums were produced in the early part of 1903 during President Theodore Roosevelt’s administration. The use of his name by philatelists, to identify these proofs, is the sole connection that he has to these albums.

Starting in December 1910, Official postal savings mail stamps were issued in denominations of 1¢, 2¢, 10¢, 50¢, and $1 (Scott O121-O126). Use of the stamps was discontinued in October 1914, and unused stocks in the hands of postmasters were returned and destroyed.

A surprise for collectors and servicers of United States first-day covers: We are pretty much done for the year. Before the American Philatelic Society’s Stampshow 2015 last month, in Grand Rapids, there had been one commemorative and one definitive issue listed for the last four months of this year.

About a year ago (Linn’s, June 30, 2014), I asked in the U.S. Stamp Notes column if any Linn’s reader could explain the date “JUL 6 ’12” handstamped in red on the back of the mint 1¢ green George Washington stamp (Scott 498), shown here front and back.

Mary-Anne Penner, acting director of Stamp Services for the United States Postal Service, confirmed to Linn’s that she is having discussions with the two firms that print U.S. stamps about producing a soakable stamp.

It is true that no new U.S. stamps with religious themes are planned this year. The Postal Service currently has three different traditional Christmas stamps showing religious scenes available for purchase in standard formats: the 2011 Madonna of the Candelabra Christmas forever stamp (Scott 4570), the 2013 Virgin and Child by Gossaert forever stamp (4815), and the 2012-13 Holy Family forever stamp (4813).

A stamp collector in Oklahoma is the latest lucky buyer of a $2 Jenny Invert pane showing the biplane in the center of all six stamps flying right side up. As a promotional scheme, the United States Postal Service intentionally created 100 panes of the upright variety of the 2013 Jenny Invert issue (Scott 4806).