Stamps Celebrating Authors, Poets Now on Display

Now on display in the Woodruff Cases at HPL is a sampling of United States Postal System stamps from the collection of Linda K. An accidental philatelist (stamp collector), Linda has worked at HPL for more than 25 years, most recently as a display assistant and is the creative eye behind many of the decorations and displays at the library.

While the transit of mail in the U.S. predates the Constitution, the first U.S. postal stamp was not issued until 1847. Both utilitarian and decorative, through the years, illustrations and designs on the miniature works of art have depicted and commemorated historical people, places, and events, attracting interest from collectors of all ages. 

Linda’s collection was started by her grandmother, Alma Adams Brown, who served as postmistress and owner/operator of a general store in Cornish Flat, NH until 1938, a role her husband, Evarts Brown, had until his passing in 1934. 

Linda surmises that her grandmother’s interest in stamps and letters was fueled by not only her proximity and knowledge of the items, but also of her own natural curiosity and love of learning. “I wish I could say, ‘Oh, she fell in love with a stamp and then decided to collect them,’” Linda says. “I think she just kind of fell into it because she was interested, curious, and smart.” 

Prior to moving to Cornish Flat with her husband in 1910, Alma taught school in South Washington, VT, beginning at the age of 15. In 1887, she entered the Vermont Methodist Seminary and Female College at Montpelier, VT. She graduated in 1890 and then headed to Montana to teach in and around Bozeman for three years before returning to Vermont in 1893 to teach. Linda also recalls that Alma served as the librarian at the Cornish Flat Public Library located just across the street from the home. 

As evidenced in her obituary, Alma Adams Brown was highly involved in her community, serving as president of the Sullivan County Women’s Christian Temperance Union, town clerk, town treasurer, superintendent of schools, and secretary of the Cornish Branch of the Claremont Chapter of the American Red Cross. At different times she served as treasurer and secretary of the Missionary Society at First Congressional Church of Cornish Flat.

“It was magical as a child. They were the happiest times of my life.”

The general store and post office were connected to the family’s home, recalls Linda, who as a child spent summers there. “When I was little, we used to go through the house to the stable, into the store and play with the cash register; there were still things on the shelf, but the store wasn't operating anymore.” Linda’s father was a history professor, so his summer’s off from teaching allowed the family time in Cornish Flat. “It was magical as a child. They were the happiest times of my life,” she says. 

Looking through both her grandmother’s and her father’s diaries, Linda says there’s no mention of attending stamp clubs or trying to sell the stamps. “It was just for their personal enjoyment. I think because she handled them every day and, at the time, they were considered to be beautiful works of art,” Linda adds. Also, based on other things they saved, like newspaper articles, she knows her grandparents and parents were very interested in politics and world happenings. 

Many of the stamps and first day edition envelopes Linda inherited were issued after her grandmother’s passing and collected by Linda’s father. “He adored his mother and perhaps he kept up with the stamp gathering in her memory,” she explains. "She’s the one that instilled in my father his love of country and love of reading. They believed in education and knowledge.” 

Like many who end up working in Libraryland, Linda says she “grew up in libraries. Everywhere we went we had to stop at the library so [my dad] could do research,” she recalls. Linda earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in studio art and has displayed other items from her various collections over the years, including vintage hats and magazines.