Looking for a last-minute gift?

If you're still shopping for holiday gifts for your favorite stamp collector, consider the 2009 Stamp Yearbook or the updated 36th Postal Service Guide to U.S. Stamps. Both should (might?) be available at your local U.S. Post Office.

According to USPS.com, The Guide to U.S. Stamps costs $19.95 and is a fully illustrated, four–color guide providing the most comprehensive information available about the U.S. stamp program and its vivid history. Beginning with the first stamps issued in 1847, The Postal Service Guide to U.S. Stamps covers more than 4,000 stamps issued up to the present, as well as:

• An updated Stamp Series section that lists stamps categorized by their respective series, such as Legends of Hollywood, Black Heritage, and Nature of America.
• Every category of U.S. Stamp — definitive, commemorative, airmail, duck stamps, stamped envelopes, and more — all organized into easy-to-use, color-coded sections for quick access.
• Detailed listings for each stamp, with color illustrations, Scott catalog numbers, dates of issue, used and unused prices, quantities issued (when known), and separate listings for design variations.
• A complete guide to the 2009 commemorative stamp program.
• Advice on how to start your own stamp collection.
• A resource section, a glossary of important terms, and much more.

A little more pricey is the 2009 Stamp Yearbook. At $59.95, it highlights an array of men and women who helped fulfill the promise of America. From entertainment icons Bob Hope and Gary Cooper, to educator and activist Anna Julia Cooper, and a host of brave civil rights pioneers and visionary leaders such as Abraham Lincoln, this year’s honorees represent our nation at its best. Their stories, retold on stamps and in the 64–pages of the hardcover book, are sure to fascinate and inspire.

The yearbook also includes profiles of stamp artists as well as timelines and quotes. Plus, for the first time, a special section designated for collecting mail–use stamps has been created. The yearbook comes with 61 stamps plus mounts from this year’s collectible program.