Color Analysis and Microfade Testing of the 1918 Curtiss Jenny U.S. Airmail Stamp

Abstract

The Inverted Jenny is the best recognized stamp in the United States and is displayed in the National Postal Museum’s Gems of American Philately exhibition. A careful approach to exhibition management, including a conservative lighting plan, has allowed the museum to permanently exhibit some of its most precious objects such as the Jenny without subjecting the objects to unnecessary light exposure. One goal of this study is to determine if the museum’s current exhibition practices are effective in protecting such rare philatelic objects given we know very little about the Jenny’s blue and red inks or how they interact with exposure to light.