Christmas Seals Part I Of II

Christmas Seals are not postage stamps, but have become a very collectible stamp throughout the years. They are labels that look like postage stamps that are usually applied to the back of envelopes at Christmastime. Nowadays, they are distributed by the American Lung Society in hopes of raising funds as well as awareness for a variety of lung diseases. In some cases these stamps are just as valuable to collectors as actual postage stamps.

Christmas Seals have an interesting history that I would like to share with you. The first seals were issued in Denmark in 1904 and the first in America were issued in 1907. Originally they were produced to help fight the most feared of all diseases, Tuberculosis (TB), otherwise known as the “White Plague”. With TB not being a mainstream problem any longer, the focus was changed to help fight all lung illnesses.

In the last 1880’s, there seemed to be no cure for TB. An American doctor, Dr. Trudeau, who suffered from the illness himself, decided to live out his remaining days in a cabin in New York. After much rest, sunshine and fresh air, he began to get well. He became convinced that his peaceful surroundings cured him of the deadly illness. In 1884, the fully recovered doctor opened the first ever sanatorium to solely treat TB patients.

Please check back on Monday for the conclusion to this post.