Also this week, a philatelic exploration of the scientific legacy of Marie Curie and her family, and discovering the fun and excitement of collecting booklets from Great Britain.

Printing gaps are not errors in the sense that stamp catalog editors use that term. They are fairly minor artifacts of the printing process.

Having these numbers handy will allow you to easily locate these stamps in the Scott catalogs and learn about their production and values.

The stamp design uses a photograph by Charles Gurche taken at Bollinger Mill State Historic Site.

Attractive stamps encourage recipients to open and read whatever is inside the envelope and to use the response envelopes provided.

Entries with a touch of humor or irony stand the best chance of winning the contest.

Eight popular outdoor games are featured on the stamps: horseshoes, bocce, flying disc, croquet, baseball, tetherball, badminton and cornhole.

Amos Media Co., which publishes Linn’s Stamp News and the Scott catalogs, will have a booth at the show.

Also this week, enjoying the postal history of postcards and postal cards, and a review of a worldwide assortment of stamps from a seller who goes by the intriguing name of Blackbird’s Nest.

The club has occupied the building since 1937. It was designed by architect Stanford White for the art dealer Thomas Benedict Clarke.

All three awards will be presented during a ceremony on Aug. 14 at Great American Stamp Show in Rosemont, Ill.

U.S. Stamp Notes columnist John M. Hotchner offers the story behind stamps and covers of Manumbaland, the creation of Chicago newspaper legend Mike Royko.

A popular United States stamp subject returns Aug. 6 when the U.S. Postal Service issues its set of five Mid-Atlantic Lighthouses forever stamps.

A look at cinderella stamps that were likely created to evince sympathy for convicted murderer Karla Faye Tucker.

Why does the United States Postal Service refuse to disclose the number of no-die-cut press sheets produce?

Both cartoon caption contest winners will receive a 13-week subscription to Linn’s.

The card was sent, July 25, 1944, from Culver City, Calif., probably to a fan in Pennsylvania.

The new horizontal-format stamp shows a portrait of Le Guin painted by Donato Giancola, based on a 2006 photograph.

On the stamp, Raven is set against a white background. Gold diamond-shaped stars and circles are seen on the bird’s body and background.

Also this week, a philatelic review of the independence of the Baltic states, and our anonymous reviewer finds a nice surprise in sample of stamps from a worldwide mixture.