The Stanley B. Ashbrook Cup is awarded to authors of articles, books, or other studies concerning United States postal history from the Colonial Period to 1894. This year it is presented to Leonard Piszkiewicz for his book, United States Supplementary Mail.

Len began collecting covers in 1950 when his father addressed an envelope for him to obtain a cancellation from the Chicago Fair. After Loyola University and a doctorate in organic chemistry from California Institute of Technology, he settled in Santa Clara, California. While glad to have escaped the winters, Len never lost interest in Chicago, whose postal history he began to collect seriously in the late 1970's. Many of his findings have been published in the Illinois Postal Historian, which he has edited since 1990.

His 2006 book, Chicago Postal Markings and Postal History Vignettes, provides a fresh approach to Chicago postal history while documenting United States Post Office mail handling procedures from the mid-19th century through the middle of the 20th century. Although, starting with the Chicago cancellations and auxiliary markings, this book is much more than merely a catalog of them. Len's research documented the postal regulations that engendered the markings. While many of the markings are particular to Chicago, the understanding of how and why the Post Office marked a piece of mail in a particular way can be applied to post offices across the nation.

Len's articles have appeared in a wide variety of philatelic publications, including the Chronicle and the United States Specialist, which he has edited since 1998. His award winning exhibits have ranged from "Usages of the Presidential Issue of 1938" to vintage LaSalles that he restored.

Although New York Supplementary Mail covers and markings are well known, the history and operation of this service has been poorly understood by many collectors. Before Len's book, a few collectors knew a fact or two about how the service had operated, based on covers in their collections. U.S. Supplementary Mail had never been researched in a systematic way; the information he gleaned from newspapers and government documents was almost entirely unknown to the philatelic world. Len traces Supplementary Mail, defined as "late mail dispatches on ships from U.S. ports for which double postage was charged," from its 1853 origins in New York harbor, through its development in other American ports, to its end with the outbreak of World War II. The initial chapters on the New York Supplementary Mail service and markings, both on the docks and from the post office, are followed by chapters devoted to other American ports ranging from Boston to Honolulu. A significant portion of the book is devoted to methods of identification for supplementary mail covers, especially those outside of New York, which did not receive distinctive markings. Not only does this book substantially expand on Dr. Warren Babcock's booklet published 70 years ago, but also Len makes a convincing case for the reexamination of Classic period, double rate covers from other port cities for possible examples of Supplementary Mail.

The Chase Cup was not awarded this year.

The Simpson Cup was not awarded this year.

The Susan M. McDonald Award, awarded by the Section Editors of the Chronicle, for the best article in the Chronicle for 2008:

"Stamp Shortages in the Caribou Gold Country: Mail From Williams Creek via San Francisco, 1864-1868," by Steven Walske, Chronicle 218

Based on a census of known covers from the remote British Columbia mining town of Williams Creek, this thorough and thoughtful article examines the various forms of franking on the surviving covers to deduce patterns of postal usage dictated by periodic stamp shortages and regulatory changes. This is a detailed and well-researched work, richly supported by cover illustrations showing the highly-colorful mixed-franking uses that characterize external correspondence from British Columbia during this era. This is a marvelous rate piece of research, showing how cover-census data can be mined to add new information to the philatelic record.

Cheryl Ganz's philatelic life has always been a bit different from the norm. She collected as a youngster, and was attracted early to air mails, most particularly to Zeppelins. In her late teens, when many collectors were setting their stamps aside, Cheryl bought her first Zepp cover - which she still has. She since has developed a number of world-class Zeppelin collections and exhibits, chief among them being "Zeppelins and the United States" (a GPS Grand Award and an international large vermeil), "ZRS4 Akron" (national gold), "The 50¢ Zeppelin Issue: A Study in Design" (a 1-frame exhibit which was awarded a national platinum and an international vermeil plus special prize), and her exceptional display division exhibit titled "Come Take a Ride on the Hindenburg" (a national Grand Prize and APS Champion of Champions candidate, and selection for the Court of Honor in the Washington 2006 International Philatelic Exhibition).

Cheryl has been an authoritative and prolific philatelic author and speaker, predominantly on airmails and Zeppelins, drawing heavily on her own research and collections. Of particular note are her authorship of the American Zeppelin and Airship section of the 2002 Michel Zeppelin- und Flugpost-Spezial-Katalog, her contributions as co-compiler of The Lighter-than-Air Index (published 2002 by Atlantis Publications), and her input of Zeppelin and airmail entries on Arago, the National Postal Museum's on-line research tool. She served as editor of the American Air Mail Society's 1996 book on Collecting Airmail, and as Associate Editor of the 1992 AAMS book Via Airmail . Additionally, she was editor of the Chicago Philatelic Society News-Bulletin from 1983-90, and editor of The Zeppelin Collector beginning in 1976 (and still continuing - a 32-year tour to date!).

In 1990, Cheryl decided to improve her career potential, and over the next 10 years completed a Master's Degree in American history (with honors), followed by a Ph.D. in American history. Quite unexpectedly, she found that her dual qualifications as philatelist and historian matched the needs of the National Postal Museum, and she joined the NPM staff in time for the Washington 2006 International and related activities. She served as assistant curator or curator for 3 distinct special exhibits her first year, was quite involved on site with Washington 2006, and was co-organizer of the Winton M. Blount Symposium on Postal History. She also worked heavily with the NPM's Arago project.

In January 2007, the untimely death of Wilson Hulme, NPM's Chief Curator and Cheryl's direct supervisor and mentor, considerably increased the scope and complexity of Cheryl's duties. Her performance under pressure was exceptional. She was appointed initially as Interim Chief Curator, and subsequently was selected to succeed Hulme as Chief Curator, the position she continues to hold. As the first to hold that position who is fully qualified as a philatelist as well as historian, she has been able to incorporate stamps and postal history within the broader structure of social history, particularly as it relates to the U.S. As she has said regarding the NPM, "We see stamps not as little pieces of paper you put in a book, but as a metaphor to America and a way to connect people and tell stories."

It would be remiss to close without mentioning Cheryl's major organizational contributions and recognition: