-Newsletter! YSCA E

The Penny Black October 2019

The very first postage reform allowed anyone stamp was released in to post a letter weighing Long Live the Queen 2 Great Britain on May 1, up to ½ ounce anywhere 1840. in the Victorian 3 Inventions It was called the ‘Penny for only a penny. This Black’ because of it’s change was so popular Contact Us 4 color—black and the cost- that the United States one penny. decided to reform their New Issues 4 way of sending letters Children and teenagers The stamp featured the too. The U.S. introduced were early collectors of profile of the monarch of their first postage stamps in the 1860s and Morse Code 5 Messages Great Britain at the time– stamps in 1847. 1870s.

Queen . Nice To Meet You! 6

Before the invention of the adhesive , postage was paid by the person receiving the Imagine getting a STAMP FACT: NOT the one sending. birthday card in the The United States mail from your Postal Service In 1837, Sir grandparents. Before issued their first introduced the idea of the Sir Rowland Hill’s postal Halloween– sender pre-paying postage With more mail going reform, you would have themed stamps in September 2016. with an adhesive postage out, the hobby of stamp had to PAY to get your stamp to send a letter. On collecting began! birthday card in the January 10, 1840, the mail! Uniform Penny Postage

Where is Stamp Man? Email [email protected] Stamp Man is a friendly YSCA with the location of member who appears in every our friend. Include Scott 5137-5140 issue of the Newsletter. your mailing address in your e- However, he is shy and likes to mail and you will hide. Find where Stamp Man is receive some stamps hiding! for your collection!

Last Month’s Answers: Stamp Man was on Page 3, U.S. Symbols and Landmarks: 1) G 2)C 3)D 4)B 5)F 6)A 7) Should be the Liberty Bell but there was an error in the answer key! No stamp was shown for the Constitution (E). Did you catch my mistake?!

Long Live the Queen!

Princess Victoria was born on May 24, 1819 . When she was born, she was 5th in line for the crown of England. But her uncles did not have children, so she became the heir to the throne. In 1837, King William IV died and Victoria became Queen at age 18. She spoke many languages, such as German, French, Italian, Latin and Hindustani.

The is the time period from June 20, 1837 to January 22, 1901– the reign of .

In 1840, Queen Victoria married the German prince, Albert. Before 1840, many brides did not wear a white dress When Queen Victoria decided to wear a white gown, the tradition of a bride wearing white began! Victoria and Albert had 9 children together. Albert passed away in 1861 from typhoid fever. After that, Victoria wore black mourning clothes for the rest of her life.

Queen Victoria ruled the biggest empire in history. This included the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, India and many other small countries and islands. Many places in the world are named after Queen Victoria: Queensland in Australia, Victoria Falls in Africa, and the city of Victoria in Canada.

Queen Victoria died on January 22, 1901 at the age of 81. She was the Queen of England for 64 years. For a long time she was the longest reigning British monarch. But on September 5, 2015, Queen Elizabeth II became the longest reigning British monarch. As of 2019, Queen Elizabeth has been Queen for 67 years! She is 93 years old.

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Victorian Inventions

Pedal-Driven Bicycle: Invented by a Scotsman named Kirkpatrick MacMillan in 1838. It was originally called a “Velocipede!” In 1872, British engineer James Starley invented the penny-farthing bicycle. It had a huge front wheel -almost six feet from top to bottom- and the seat was above the wheel. It had no brakes!

Morse Code: Samuel Morse invented Morse Code in 1837 and the first Morse code message was sent in 1844. This method of communication is still sometimes used today! Test out your Morse code skills on page 5.

Sewing machine: Elias Howe invented the first American sewing machine in 1846. It was used for fixing clothes at a factory, and on production lines.

Christmas Cards: The first Christmas card was created and sent in 1843. John Calcott Horsley printed the first Christmas card for Sir Henry Cole. Sir Henry Cole, a wealthy British businessman, wanted a card he could send to friends to wish them a "Merry Christmas."

Very first Christmas card!

There were MANY inventions during this time period. Can you find another interesting invention from the Victorian Era? Ask your parents to research inventions online or at the public library. Email me at [email protected] and I will send you a prize!

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Young Stamp Collectors of In 2014, The America Did you know? Guinness Book of 100 Match Factory Place World Records Bellefonte, PA 16823 stamps.org/Young- confirmed that the corn Collector maze at Cool Patch Pumpkins in Dixon, California was the Email: [email protected] largest ever created. It was 60 Scott 5005 Editor and Youth Education Assistant: acres. It was so big that Kathleen Edwards several visitors called 911 after getting lost in it for a few hours!

When Christopher Columbus arrived in San Salvador in 1492, he was so certain he was in India, he called the natives “Indians.”

New Issues...  Winter Berries was issued on September 17, 2019.  A set of 4 Forever stamps featuring 4 winter berry plants: Winterberry, Juniper berry, Beautyberry and Soapberry.

 Walt Whitman was issued on September 12, 2019.  A three ounce stamp commemorating Walt Whitman (1819-1892) and 32nd issue in the Literary Arts series.  An American poet, he is considered the father of modern American poetry.  He is the author of over 400 poems in the book, Leaves of Grass.

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Morse Code Messages

In 1844, Samuel Morse sent his first telegraph message, from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore, Maryland. What was his message? Use the Morse Code key below to figure it out! Email your answers to [email protected] and you will receive a prize!

Scott 924

•—— •••• •— — •••• •— — •••• ——• ——— —•• •—— •—• ——— ••— ——• •••• —

MORSE CODE KEY

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Meet your fellow members!

First Name/Age: Will, 12 First Name/Age: Varun, 16 State I Live In and Interesting Fact: State I Live In and Interesting Georgia. Georgia has an island. Fact: North Carolina. The oldest state Favorite Food: oatmeal university in the U.S. is in North Carolina (UNC Chapel Hill) Favorite thing to do: Collecting stamps and playing video games. Favorite Food: pasta What type of stamps do you collect? What is Favorite Thing to Do: play board games your favorite part about ? I What type of stamps do you collect? What is have been collecting stamps for four months and your favorite part about stamp collect- I collect all types of stamps, but mainly from for- ing?: Some of the types of stamps that I collect eign countries. My favorite thing about collecting are dog stamps, train stamps, and space stamps. is it is a soothing hobby. I am currently looking My favorite part about stamp collecting is seeing for a authentic, penny black for a decent price. all of the different designs on stamps.

First Name/Age: Dennis, 17 Favorite Food: Salmon Favorite Thing to Do: Workout What type of stamps do you collect? What is your favorite October is Stamp part about stamp collecting?: I love to collect Stamps from Collecting Asia and former European colonies. Especially Vietnam. My Month! favorite part about stamp collecting is seeing the effort put into designing a stamp and admiring the art of it.

Want your profile to be featured in the next issue? Email your answers to the questions above to [email protected]!

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