Bruns, James H.: - James H. Bruns followed his father--a renowned philatelist and postal historian--as a curator with the Smithsonian Institution. Jim was hired as the Smithsonian's curator of U.S. Philately and Postal History in 1983. Within a few years, he rose to the position of Deputy Director of the National Philatelic Collection.When discussions got underway between the Smithsonian and the United States Postal Service to potentially create the National Postal Museum, Jim was appointed by the Smithsonian as the project's manager, planning the museum's building, facilities, and exhibits. The success of such planning led to Jim being appointed as the Founding Director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Postal Museum.Jim is the author of 15 books and more than 150 articles pertaining to postal history and philately.