As the US philatelic community emerges from lock down and returns to stamp shows, USPCS members are sharing their collections across the country. In July, World Series of Philately shows were hosted in Crystal, Minnesota and San Francisco; then in August, the American Philatelic Society hosted their national Great American Stamp Show in Chicago.

 

Minnesota Stamp Expo

Sponsored by the Twin City Philatelic Society, Lake Minnetonka Stamp Club, Maplewood Stamp Club, and Minnesota Stamp Dealers Association, the Minnesota Stamp Expo was hosted in Crystal, Minnesota from July 16 to 18.

In the Multi-Frame Exhibits category, USPCS members Alfredo Frohlich, Larry Nix, and Daniel Ryterband won awards.

Frohlich’s Guatemala – The Provisional Surcharge of 1922  earned a Gold , along with the APS Award of Excellence for 1900-1940 Material.

Nix presented two exhibits: America’s Libraries – The Stamp earned a Gold, while Melvil Dewey – American Library Pioneer &
Social Reformer received a Large Vermeil.

Ryterband won the AAPE Gold Award of Honor for Day of Infamy: Pearl Harbor and the U.S. Pacific Fleet, which also earned a Large Vermeil.

One Frame Exhibits were shown by USPCS members Bob Hohertz, Hal Vogel, and Michael Ley.

Hohertz won First Place and a Large Gold for The American Phototype Two-Cent Instructive Clauses 1867-1872.

Ley’s Burma Civil Censor Hand Stamps 1939-1943 earned both a Large Gold and the APS Award for Research.

Vogel won a Large Gold for Great Britain’s Greatest Irish Polar Expeditioner.

 

WESTPEX

One of the US’s largest stamp shows, WESTPEX was held in San Francisco from July 30 to August 1. The show hosted four guest societies: the American Helvetia Philatelic Society, The Nepal and Tibet Philatelic Study Circle, The Collectors Club (NY), and the Philatelic Foundation. The USPCS also had a presence at the show, and many members entered award-winning exhibits.

In the Multi-Frame category, the Grand Award went to Richard Malmgren‘s Hawaii Postal Cards, which also received a Large Gold and the Best Collectors Club Member Multi-Frame Exhibit (USA Classic).

The State of the US Mail – a Snapshot in Time by Lawrence Haber earned a Large Gold and also won the Best Collectors Club Member Multi-Frame Exhibit (USA Modern), the APS Award of Excellence: 1900 – 1940, and the California Collectors Club Award for Best 20th Century.

Alfredo Frohlich‘s exhibit Wilmington Delaware Postal History received a Large Gold, the Postal History Society Medal for Best Postal History, and the US Cancellation Club Award.

In the Single Frame category, Replating Colombia’s 1861 1 Peso Stamp by Alfredo Frohlich won a Large Gold, and also took home the American Philatelic Society Award of Excellence: Pre 1900, and the Donald Dretzke Memorial Award for Best Used Stamps.

Jerry Johnson‘s U.S. Circular Mail: 1845-1863 earned a Gold and received the San Francisco Pacific Philatelic Society – Margaret Munda Memorial Award of Merit.

Early Expedition Mail of the Himalaya – Mt. Everest Region by Edward Hackstaff received a Gold.

The USPCS also gave a society award, the U.S. Philatelic Classics Society – Best U.S. up to 1894. It was presented to Michael Mahler for Once Was Not Enough: Documents of the U.S. Civil War Stamp Tax Era, 1862-1883, Subject to Multiple Taxes.

 

Great American Stamp Show

A combination of the American Philatelic Society’s annual StampShow, the American Topical Association’s Stamp Show, and the American First Day Cover Society’s AmeriCover show, the Great American Stamp Show was held in Chicago from August 12 to 15. This show hosted the Champion of Champion’s competition, Multi-Frame and Single Frame competitions, and a Literature Competition.

The Benjamin & Naomi Wishnietsky Multiframe Champion of Champions award was presented to USPCS member Daniel J. Ryterband for A Country Divided: Effects of the American Civil War on the Mails.

The GASS Most Popular Award went to In the Beginning…Timbromanie, How the Proliferation of Postage Stamps Started a Collecting Revolution by Vince King.

In the StampShow competitions, the following USPCS member exhibits received awards:

Multi-Frame Reserve Grand
American Heroic Age Polar Expeditions – Hal Vogel

Multi-Frame Large Gold
Engraved Perforated Royal Portraits Issued in Hawaii 1864-1893 – Jeffrey Erichson also Collectors Club of Chicago Award, United States Philatelic Possession Society Multiframe Award
Postal Markings of the Hong Kong “China” Overprints – Ian Gibson-Smith also Philatelic Foundation Award
Rates During the Post-War Chinese National Currency Era – H. James Maxwell
New Jersey Stampless Covers: Handstamp Postal Markings 1775-1855 – Robert G. Rose
Fire on the Water: Steamboat Mail in New York: 1808 to 1855 – Daniel J. Ryterband also Auxiliary Markings Society Award
U.S. 1907-1919 2 ¢ Oval Die Stamped Envelopes – Ross Towle also United States Stamp Society Statue of Freedom Award
U. S. Civil War Documentary Taxes 1862-1872 – Timothy G. Wait also American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors Epilogue Award, United States Philatelic Classics Society Award

Multi-Frame Gold
Adelca – Colombia’s First Official Airmail Stamps – 1932 – Alfredo Frohlich
A Postal History Map of the United States – Chip Gliedman
In the Beginning…Timbromanie, How the Proliferation of Postage Stamps Started a Collecting Revolution – Vince King also American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors Creativity Award, Ephemera Society of America Award
Burma: The Issues of the Republic 1948 to 1952 – Michael Ley
Getting Collared: The Use of Stamp Collars in the United States – Nicholas Lombardi
Imperial & Republic of China Official Postal Seals – H. James Maxwell
Printed Precancellations of Playing Card Makers on Government Die Revenue Stamps, 1862-70 – Michael J. Morrissey
History and Technology of the American Paper Industry in the 1800s – A.J. Valente
Rockford Illinois Postal Markings 1837-1939 – Tim Wait also United States Cancellation Club Award

Multi-Frame Large Vermeil
The Development of Railway Mail Routes in Georgia, 1846-1889 – Douglas & Nancy Clark
25¢ Honeybee – From Design to Postal Usage – Robert E. Thompson also American Philatelic Society Post 1980 Medal of Excellence, Errors, Freaks and Oddities Collectors Club 2nd, Plate Number Coil Collectors Club Award

Multi-Frame Vermeil
Early History of the German East Asia Cruiser Squadron 1895-1900 – Louis P. Pataki

Single Frame Grand
World War I Comes to the German Mail in Shantung, China – Louis P. Pataki also Germany Philatelic Society Third

Single Frame Gold
British Airship R100 – Cheryl R. Ganz
Utica, New York’s Handstamped Postal Markings 1798-1855 – Robert G. and Ellen N. Rose

 

In the National Topical Stamp Show competition, the following USPCS member exhibits received awards:

Multi-Frame Reserve Grand
An ancient partnership, an uncertain future. Butterflies, moths and man – Greg Herbert also ATA Biology Award 2nd

Multi-Frame Gold
The Sun, Myth, Science, Effects, Culture – Anthony Wawrukiewicz

Multi-Frame Vermeil
Melvil Dewey – American Library Pioneer & Social Reformer – Larry T. Nix also Americana Award

Single Frame Large Gold
The Leticia Incident – Fran Adams

Single Frame Gold
The Oceanographic Institute and Museum of Monaco – The First 50 Years – 1910-1960 – Fran Adams

In the AmeriCover competition, the following USPCS member exhibits received awards:

Multi-Frame Grand
The 3¢ Connecticut Tercentenary Issue of 1935 and its First Days – Anthony F. Dewey

Multi-Frame Large Gold
The 3¢ Iwo Jima Stamp and its First Day Covers and Uses – William Kelly also American First Day Cover Society 1932-1945 Award
The 3¢ 1936 Oregon Territory Issue – Ralph H. Nafziger

Multi-Frame Gold
The “Settling of Connecticut” Postal Card of 1986 – Anthony F. Dewey

Multi-Frame Large Vermeil
America’s Libraries – The Stamp – Larry T. Nix

Single Frame Gold
Zeppelin Hindenburg & Tipex – Cheryl R. Ganz

 

In the GASS Literature Competition, the following USPCS members won awards for their entries:

Articles
Gold
Thomas Edison and The Bulb Bill DiPaolo

Large Vermeil
A Noteworthy Pre-Cancel on Lancaster Watch Company’s Advertising Covers Charles J. DiComo, PhD
Re-Evaluating a Philatelic First: The Earliest Depiction of Black History on U.S Stamps Peter Schwartz & Calvin Mitchell

Catalogs
Gold
China Stamp Society Specialized Catalog of China to 1949 H. James Maxwell

Silver
The Overrun Countries Series, Book 8, The Greece Stamp & It’s Varieties Keith Lichtman

Electronic
Gold
PennyPost.org (website of the Carriers and Local Society) Casey Jo White for the Carriers and Locals Society
Crown Illustrated Censuses of Confederate Postmasters’ Provisionals Francis J. Crown, Jr.

Silver
The10cprexiecoil.com Bill DiPaolo

Handbooks
Gold
Spanish Colonial and Mexican Mail in the United States Yamil H. Kouri, Jr also Postal History Award
The Civil War Cigar Stamps Peter R. Schwartz

Large Vermeil
A Study of the Printing Process of the Republic of Indonesia’s Postage Stamps Issued by the Pitt for Java and Madoera 1945-1949 Yan Wiriadi Jodana
Creating the Philatelic Exhibit Synopsis: A Master Class Andrew McFarlane

Vermeil
The 3c Nashville Provisional Adhesive: A Study in Postal History Research Francis J. Crown, Jr.

Large Silver
The Christmas Florida Post Office: A Philatelic Giant in a Tiny Town Christine C. Sanders, Christmas Philatelic Club

Journals
Gold
NJPH, Journal of the New Jersey Postal History Society Jean R. Walton & Robert G. Rose
Postal History Journal Diane DeBlois & Robert Dalton Harris

Large Silver

The Israel Philatelist Donald A. Chafetz

Noncompetitive/Not Judged
The Birth of New Jersey’s Post Vernon R. Morris Jr. M.D

As cases of COVID-19 decline, meetings and events are once again being opened to in-person attendance. The American Philatelic Society encourages philatelists to enjoy stamp shows, attend club meetings, and visit with dealers – but to do so safely. The USPCS joins the APS in promoting the practice of stamping safely.

Easy ways to protect yourself and others from COVID-19 and other diseases include:

Get vaccinated
Vaccination is effective at both preventing and spreading disease. In the US, the COVID-19 vaccine is free. You can visit https://www.vaccines.gov/ to find a vaccination location near you. You will be fully vaccinated two weeks after your final dose of the vaccine.

Remember that not everyone is able to get the COVID-19 vaccine. People with weakened immune systems or on specific medications may not be able to take the vaccine.

Wash your hands
Regularly wash your hands with soap and warm, running water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.

Avoid touching your face
Try not to touch your eyes, nose, or mouth – especially with unwashed hands.

Cover your sneeze
If you need to cough or sneeze, do so into a disposable tissue if available. If you do not have a tissue, sneeze into the crook of your elbow to contain any droplets.

Monitor your health
Take care of yourself. If possible, get plenty of sleep, exercise often, and eat healthy foods. If you are feeling sick, see a doctor or stay home until you are feeling better.

You can read more at the World Heath Organization or Center for Disease Control websites.

On April 28^th members of the United States Philatelic Classics Society presented U.S. Stamps Issued Prior to the First Federal Issue of 1847. The talk was jointly presented by Cliff Alexander, Larry Lyons, Scott Trepel and Sonny Hagendorf. This panel of experts discussed the stamps of U.S. Carriers and Locals, Independent Mails, and Postmasters’ Provisionals, providing an interesting look into early U.S. postal history.

The presentation was a huge success. To quote one attendee: “Of all the programs presented by the CCNY, this has to be ranked as one of the best. Simply wonderful.”

The recording of this presentation is now available HERE on the USPCS website for all members who missed it, or who wish to review the material.

 

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The USPCS’s talks are only the start of The Collectors Club’s Society Program Series. These presentations are not only an excellent source of philatelic knowledge, but they are also an opportunity to connect with fellow stamp societies. Everyone is welcome to register to attend the programs at collectorsclub.org/special-events. Membership to the Collectors Club is not required. Interested members should mark calendars and look forward to the following free specialty society presentations:

On May 12^th members of The Indian Study Circle will present three talks on Indian philately. The Introduction of Stamps in India by Deepak Jaiswal; Skullduggery at the Jammu and Kashmir Post Office – circa 1870s to 1900 by Danforth Walker; and The Introduction and Subsequent Failure of Stamps in Kotah by Sandeep Jaiswal. You won’t want to miss these talks on the rich postal history of India!

On June 9^th, the American Topical Association will join the CCNY for a presentation on topical collecting. The American Topical Association is the worlds largest organization for stamp collectors who focus on specific topics depicted on stamps. From airplanes to zebras, topical collecting has become one of the most popular areas of philately.

On July 14^th the United States Stamp Society presents a special talk dedicated to the 100^th Anniversary of the Fourth Bureau Issue (1922-1932). The Fourth Bureau issue consisted of 27 different designs, each including a prominent American portrait, landmark, or icon. They represent a period of postal innovation, with different styles of perforation and printing used throughout their run; and philatelic interest as the start of modern First Day Cover collecting.

On October 13^th the CCNY will be joined by the Great Britain Philatelic Society. The GBPS deals with all aspects of Great Britain philately. They work to promote and encourage the advancement of British philately.