National Postal Museum To Host Maynard Sundman Lecture

The Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum will host the 16th Maynard Sundman Lecture Wednesday, Nov. 6, from noon to 1 p.m. in the museum’s Discovery Center. Admission is free, with no reservation required. The moderated discussion about the postal history of World War II will be held with Kees Adema and Jeffrey Groeneveld, co-authors of The Paper Trail: World War II in Holland and Its Colonies as Seen Through Mail and Documents.

Adema is an internationally known postal historian and author of five books and approximately 75 articles and papers. In his presentations, letters from his own collection illustrate lesser-known subjects related to WWII. His latest book, The Paper Trail, written with Groeneveld, looks at the war in Holland and its colonies through mail and documents. Adema has received the highest awards for original research—the Luff Award, Earl of Crawford Medal, Costerus Knighthood and Lindenberg Medal—and was elected to sign the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists, philately’s highest honor.

Groeneveld, a renowned philatelist in the Netherlands, has regularly written for Dutch philatelic magazines on a variety of subjects for more than 35 years. He is one of the country’s leading promoters of youth philately. As a collector he specializes in thematic and postal history, focusing on WWII. His thematic collection on the four Dutch queens was awarded a gold medal in Essen/London. The Paper Trail, published in 2018, was awarded Large Gold Medals at international stamp exhibitions in Verona, Italy, and Stockholm. Earlier this year, Groeneveld was made a Fellow of The Royal Philatelic Society London.

“Kees Adema and Jeffrey Groeneveld have gathered remarkable collections of postal materials, ephemera and photos, as well as incredible stories, and have woven them into the history of WWII in ways that illuminate the lives of ordinary people,” said Susan Smith, the museum’s Winton M. Blount Research Chair. “Their work deepens our understanding of an extraordinary era.”

The event will be livestreamed on the museum’s website. Coffee will be served at 11:30 a.m., prior to the lecture.

The National Postal Museum’s Maynard Sundman Lecture Series was established in 2002 through a donation by Sundman’s sons, David and Donald. The Sundman lectures feature talks by authors and expert philatelists on stamps and stamp collecting.

About the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum

The National Postal Museum is devoted to presenting the colorful and engaging history of the nation’s mail service and showcasing one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of stamps and philatelic material in the world. It is located at 2 Massachusetts Ave. N.E., Washington, D.C., across from Union Station. The museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (closed Dec. 25). For more information about the Smithsonian, call (202) 633-1000 or visit the museum website at www.postalmuseum.si.edu.

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