Olympic history on display during London Games

A little known requirement for every Olympic Games host city is to put on a stamp-collecting exhibit. Usually these are small and attract only serious collectors. But in London, the exhibit is designed for a larger audience.

This year's Olympics stamp exhibit is at the large and popular British Library, where local residents and visitors have easy, and free, access. The displays focus on stamps and posters from London's two previous Olympics, in 1908 and 1948, and from the first modern Games in Athens in 1896. But they also include other types of artifacts.

Curator Bob Wilcock is particularly proud of a rare copy of the official poster for the 1908 London Olympics. But it is just one of thousands of pieces of history on display.

One of Wilcock's favorite postcards features Thomas Jack, the man who...

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