Most of the museum's efforts during 1994 focused around 

 its three priorities: the inauguration of educational outreach 

 and public programs, creation of new initiatives to promote 

 the museum, and initiation of steps to improve upon the man- 

 agement of the collection. 



The staff of the museum includes 58 full-time positions. 

 Forty-eight of these are Trust Fund positions. The remainder 

 are Federally-funded positions. Three new members joined 

 the staff in 1994, including Dr. Wilcomb Washburn, director 

 of the Amencan Studies Program; Patricia Bonds, assistant to 

 the director for financial affairs; and Polone Bazile, budget 

 analyst. 



During 1994 the museum's curatorial and collections man- 

 agement staff processed 93 accessions, acquisitions that con- 

 sisted of over 30,000 ob|ects. A moratorium on collecring, 

 imposed in 1992 in conjunction with the relocation of the col- 

 lections from the National Museum of American History to 

 the National Postal Museum, remained in effect during 1994. 

 Only routine government transfers from the United States 

 Postal Service, Library of Congress, Bureau of Engraving and 

 Printing and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; as well as excep- 

 tional rarities that filled significant voids in the existing col- 

 lection were acquired during this year. 



Two exhibits opened in 1994, including "Gems of Hawaii: 

 The Persis Collection of Hawaiian Stamps" (August 1994- 

 October 1994) and "Unwelcome: Moritz Schoenberger and the 

 S.S. St. Louis" (September 1994-November 1995). The display 

 of Hawaiian stamps illustrated the history of the Hawaiian 

 Kingdom, its rulers and the political changes that swept the 

 Islands in the 19th century. The other temporary exhibit uses 

 letters to chronicle the experiences of Moritz Schoenberger, a 

 Holocaust survivor who traveled aboard the ill-fated S.S. St. 

 Louis in 1939. The ship left Europe with 933 Jewish refugees 

 bound for Cuba and America, but because of immigration re- 

 strictions, the vessel was turned away and forced to return to 

 Europe. Most aboard ended up in concentration camps and 

 subsequently perished. The objects on display were furnished 

 by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The Ha- 

 waiian exhibit was curated by Ted Wilson and Joseph Geraci, 

 and the S.S. St. Louis exhibit was curated by Nancy Pope. 



During 1994 the museum's education department, headed 

 by Wendy Aibel-weiss, conducted nearly 30 pubic programs, 

 including lectures by prominent philatelists, historians, and 

 scholars. Among the museum's offerings, Michael Grossi re- 

 enacted the everyday life of a Confederate field postmaster in 

 January, illustrating the tumultuous period when mail service 

 was divided between the North and South. The following 

 month, Dr. Joseph Reidy, author and professor at Howard 

 University, discussed the experiences of Buffalo Soldiers — the 

 name given to African American soldiers serving on the fron- 

 tier in the late 19th century. Architectural historian Emily Eig 

 presented a slide lecture on the architectural history of the 

 Washington City Post Office in March. In May the museum 

 hosted the "Material Culture Forum," a presentation that in- 

 cluded lectures on airmail service, Valentines, and postal 



markings. Mary Ann Owens, a member of the Postmaster 

 General's Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee (the group 

 that reviews proposals for stamps and reviews stamp designs) 

 provided a lecture, entitled "Seeing America Through 

 Stamps," in June. Thurston Twigg-Smirh who assembled the 

 Persis Collection of Hawaiian stamps provided a illustrated 

 lecture about this remarkable collection, valued at over $8 

 million, in July. In August, prominent philatelist John 

 Hotchner and Cecil Wertheimer, curator in the historical Re- 

 search Centet of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, dis- 

 cussed stories behind the stamps that were created but were 

 never issued during World War II, as well as those postal is- 

 sues that were. Four refugees who sailed aboard the S.S. St. 

 Louis as children discussed memories of the voyage in 

 September. 



The American Studies Program, headed by Dr. Wilcomb 

 Washburn, became a part of the National Postal Museum in 

 1994. This tuition reimbursement program provides opportu- 

 nities for graduate-level students to work with the museum 

 staff. 



Donations of cash, pledges, and in-kind support amounted 

 to more than $1.5 million, including a $500,000 pledge from 

 Jeanette Cantrell Rudy. To date, this is the largest pledge re- 

 ceived by the museum from an individual donor. This gift 

 will be used to create and maintain a permanent gallery de- 

 vored to the Federal duck stamp and waterfowl conservation 

 efforts in the United States. Since 1955, the Smithsonian has 

 served as the repository of the U.S. Department of the 

 Interior's Federal duck stamp archives. This unique national 

 holding includes an array of historic artifacts, including large 

 die proofs, approved models and full sheets of this Federal rev- 

 enue stamp. Jeanette Cantrell Rudy is one of the nation's pre- 

 mier collectors of Federal duck stamps. She has graciously 

 consented to allow portions of her personal collection to be in- 

 cluded in the upcoming duck stamp gallery. The gallery is 

 slated to open in 1996. In recognition of her generosity, the 

 Smithsonian's Board of Regents voted to name the new gal- 

 lery "The Jeanette Cantrell Rudy Gallery." 



During its inaugural year the museum received several hon- 

 ors, including the Washington Chapter of the American Insti- 

 tute of Architect's "1994 Award for Excellence in Intenor 

 Architecture." In making this award,. the group commended 

 the museum's design, noting that "The architects created a 

 new interior that is both an expressive testament to the contri- 

 butions of the Postal Service and a first-class museum space ca- 

 pable of accommodating large crowds and secure research." 

 The museum also received Inform magazine's award for excep- 

 tional interior architecture. 



Among the nearly 400 entries in the Second Annual 

 Smithsonian Institution Exhibit Awards Program, the Na- 

 tional Postal Museum was the winner of two of the highest 

 awards in this year's contest; taking top honors for outstand- 

 ing "Team Effort" and "Superior Individual Effort." The team 

 effort award acknowledges the exceptional achievements of 

 the museum's original transition team, the small group that 



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