Museums: National Postal Museum #1 (Part 2 of 3)

[Today's post is another milestone for The 10 Year Plan blog.  This post is #800.  Thanks for following our blog.]

Our visit to the National Postal Museum continues.

Mail sped along the ground by railroad and it also sped through the air by plane.  Below are some of the early aircraft that carried mail for the U.S. Postal Service.  

In addition to telling the story of the everyday task of delivering millions of pieces of mail, the museum also tells the story catching the criminals who stole mail or used the mail system to further their crimes.  

One mail thief, the "Jack-in-a-Box Thief" was especially ingenious and daring.  

Protecting the mail has long been a very serious business, especially during the decades when the mail was the only affordable alternative for sending valuables.  To carry out their enforcement duties, postal inspectors were well armed.  

One of the most interesting displays in the museum was about Operation Bogart, named for a bogus art scam that used the U.S. Mail to delivering counterfeit art with forged signatures.  You can read about it below.  

The exhibit includes a sample piece of counterfeit art, a supposed lithograph of a painting by Spanish artist Joan Miró. 

The fakes seemed real to our untrained eyes.  We wonder how many of the counterfeit pieces are still hanging on living room walls, or museum walls. 

Next Up:  What would the National Postal Museum be without a great stamp collection?