The book is the first comprehensive handbook ever devoted to the U.S. postage stamps of 1869. The book is the fifth volume in the Linn"s Handbook series. It tells the complete story of the United States" first pictorial stamps, first bicolored stamps and first invert errors. The book consists of 11 chapters (one each for the 11 stamp types), three appendices and an extensive index. Each denomination has its own chapter. And each chapter treats all aspects of the subject stamps, including origin of the design, essays, proofs, specimen overprints, varieties, multiples, cancels, uses of the stamp and reissues. The book also includes a bibliography and a list of "name" collections of 1869 stamps.