The Lost Stamp Album

The Plot Against America

Philip’s stamps move from childhood treasure to a symbolic measure of threatened identity and irreversible loss.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A Collector’s Order A Collector’s Order from "The Plot Against America". A Collector’s Order An intimate collection Philip arranges stamps in an album and studies their details with the attention of a young naturalist.

A Collector’s Order from "The Plot Against America". A Collector’s Order An intimate collection Philip arranges stamps in an album and studies their details with the attention of a young naturalist.

A Collector’s Order An intimate collection Philip arranges stamps in an album and studies their details with the attention of a young naturalist. The hobby links his home life to national history and gives him a sense of mastery. An American inheritance His collection confirms his uncomplicated belief that America is his homeland.

Lindbergh on a Stamp Lindbergh on a Stamp from "The Plot Against America". Lindbergh on a Stamp A divided keepsake Philip owns a 1927 airmail stamp commemorating Charles A. Lindbergh’s flight.

Lindbergh on a Stamp from "The Plot Against America". Lindbergh on a Stamp A divided keepsake Philip owns a 1927 airmail stamp commemorating Charles A. Lindbergh’s flight.

Lindbergh on a Stamp A divided keepsake Philip owns a 1927 airmail stamp commemorating Charles A. Lindbergh’s flight. Its rising collector value now seems linked to the possibility of Lindbergh’s political victory. Private contradiction Philip cannot discard the stamp even as he fears the man it celebrates.

The Nightmare Pages The Nightmare Pages from "The Plot Against America". The Nightmare Pages National symbols defaced Philip dreams that Hitler replaces Washington on commemorative stamps and swastikas cover national parks.

The Nightmare Pages from "The Plot Against America". The Nightmare Pages National symbols defaced Philip dreams that Hitler replaces Washington on commemorative stamps and swastikas cover national parks.

The Nightmare Pages National symbols defaced Philip dreams that Hitler replaces Washington on commemorative stamps and swastikas cover national parks. The album translates public anxiety into a private vision of national capture. The child’s imagination Philip’s fears are not abstract: they alter the familiar objects through which he knows America.

The Album Goes Missing The Album Goes Missing from "The Plot Against America". The Album Goes Missing Flight and injury Philip carries the album when he runs toward the orphanage disguised in Seldon’s clothes.

The Album Goes Missing from "The Plot Against America". The Album Goes Missing Flight and injury Philip carries the album when he runs toward the orphanage disguised in Seldon’s clothes.

The Album Goes Missing Flight and injury Philip carries the album when he runs toward the orphanage disguised in Seldon’s clothes. A fall and a horse’s blow leave him unconscious, and the album disappears from the woods. An irreplaceable loss His mother searches without finding it, and the child experiences the loss as another bodily rupture.

A Bankbook in Its Place A Bankbook in Its Place from "The Plot Against America". A Bankbook in Its Place A hidden secret Bess discovers the money Philip carried in Seldon’s clothes and opens a savings account for him.

A Bankbook in Its Place from "The Plot Against America". A Bankbook in Its Place A hidden secret Bess discovers the money Philip carried in Seldon’s clothes and opens a savings account for him.

A Bankbook in Its Place A hidden secret Bess discovers the money Philip carried in Seldon’s clothes and opens a savings account for him. She keeps the details from the rest of the family, treating the episode as finished. A changed childhood The missing album cannot be replaced, and Philip’s former sense of order remains damaged.

age seven, in 1940

summer 1940

autumn 1940

May 1942

May 1942, after his hospital discharge