We may not send as much mail as we once did. But many of us still find joy in stamps.

• Each one is a miniature work of art and tells a story — whether it's honoring a historical figure, marking a political or cultural milestone, or designed simply for aesthetic charm.

💰 The money quote: "Stamps have ... become one of few truly national platforms for visual art," writes Liza St. James in The New York Times Magazine (gift link).

• "I'm drawn to the way stamps have traveled or will travel where you will not."

Flashback: Over 100 years ago, stamp scholar and enthusiast Walter Benjamin projected that they'd soon be obsolete, St. James notes. He said, "In a century of mechanization and technology, the postage stamp does not have a very long life ahead of it."

• Our fascination with stamps has lasted — and doesn't seem to be waning yet.

🔮 What we're watching: Stamp collection as a hobby has gained traction among younger people, The Guardian reports. It's the perfect mix of unplugged and Instagrammable.

• And even people who aren't collectors find delight in stamps — whether it's searching for the perfect ones for wedding invitations or picking out a special one for a letter to a friend.

📮 Are you a stamp collector? Or have you received or sent mail with a particularly awesome stamp? Send a pic of the stamp, your two-sentence story behind it, and your name and hometown to [email protected] — and we'll share some of those tiny artworks in future editions.

This photo comes from reader Karan Chhatpar of Metuchen, N.J. His wife, Nishi Shah, snapped it on a safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda during their honeymoon.

• "We loved the backdrop of the mountains while the elephant posed in front of us," Karan writes.