AIGA San Francisco and the Smithsonian National Postal Museum collaborate to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of the Museum.

The Exhibit Opening will be September 26, 2008.

Alphabetilately is, as its whimsical name implies, an alphabet of philately. The name, and the alphabet’s 26 entries, were developed by collector Bill Senkus, a passionate philatelic raconteur, in the Spring of 1997, as a project of the San Francisco Chapter of AIGA. Each letter stands for some aspect of the collecting of stamps or the sending of mail.

Mr. Senkus debuted his alphabet slide show at an AIGA SF evening program to a full house of almost 150 designers and other stamp enthusiasts, illustrating a whirlwind of philatelic facts with slides of stamps, envelopes, and ephemera. Twenty-six “non-postage stamps” were designed pro bono for the project by designers at 26 SF Bay Area studios, to introduce each topic.

These images and their definitions will provide the lively and enlightening framework for an exhibition showcasing selected items from the Smithsonian National Postal Museum’s impressive collection.

Each of the 26 letters stands for some aspect of the collecting of stamps or the sending of mail. The stamps, ephemera, and artifacts exhibited in Alphabetilately will graphically document the spectrum of the American experience, from historical subjects to popular culture, from actual events to important ideas.

Alphabetilately will be a universally appealing exhibition and a lively educational experience for visitors of every age. It will also provide an extraordinary showcase for selections from our unparalleled collection of American postal and philatelic history.

The National Postal Museum opened its doors on July 31, 1993. Since then the museum has created dozens of exciting exhibits and programs which have delighted and engaged its millions of walk-in and online visitors. The museum is on track to make the next 15 years even more exciting. We invite you to take this journey with us. A number of dynamic and captivating exhibits are now in the planning stage. New exhibits promise intriguing and compelling examinations of American’s postal system and opportunities to examine exceptional treasures from the stamp collecting world. Of course the museum’s lively and alluring public programs will continue to delight audiences with events through the year that offer something for everyone.

More information on the Exhibit and the Museum.