The American Philatelic Society Instagram account is a favorite of mine. They've always got something neat to say that I never knew about the wild world of philately AKA stamp collecting. One of their latest posts linked back to an older column from The American Philatelist, a magazine produced for members of the APS. They had the lovely idea of pre-stamped envelope with a snowflake for mailing holiday cards. There was even a service to customize your envelopes with a return address. They'd letterpress it, even! However, it was like no one considered the fact that most greeting cards come with envelopes already and that the size they picked was kind of awkward. This seasonally appropriate philately tale is pretty representative of the U.S.P.S. stamp program to me. They have a cool idea but then fail to promote it properly. Of course, since the envelopes were such a commercial flop, they are now a rarity. I've never seen one of these in the wild before, and I've seen A LOT of stamped materials. 
It's really too bad, because that is SUCH a pretty holiday design!
Posted by: CMN | December 20, 2018 at 12:34 PM