USPCS at GASS

The USPCS invites you to join us at the Great American Stamp Show (GASS) in Chicago the weekend of August 12-15 at the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois.

Society Dinner

The USPCS and Royal Philatelic Society London will jointly hold a reception and dinner Thursday evening, August 12.

• Time: 4:30 pm – 9:00 pm
• Place: Fogo de Chão
• Price: $89
• Reservations required: contact Alex Haimann at haimannat@gmail.com

The event will have a private area for the reception with a cash bar. Dinner will be in an adjoining private dining room. The standing reception will begin at 16:30 and continue until 18:30 with everyone then sitting down for dinner. We have received feedback from prior attendees that they would like more time to socialize before dinner and the 2-hour reception is our solution. Feel free to arrive at any point between the 16:30-18:30 time frame.

USPCS Meeting & Presentation Schedule

Friday, August 13

• 8:00 am – 10:30 am Board of Directors Meeting (USPCS Members Only, 2 1/2 hrs.) – Room 55
• 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm Jim Milgram, MD presents The Express Mail of 1836-1839 – Room 59

Saturday, August 14

• 11:00 am – 12:30 pm Dwayne Littauer presents Transatlantic uses of Nesbitt Stationary – Room 59
• 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Cliff Alexander presents Proofs and Essays of the Franklin and Eagle Carrier Stamps – Roomm 59

Society Booth

Please visit the society booth to meet up with fellow members.

GASS is the largest US stamp show, hosted by the American Philatelic Society, the American Topical Association and the American First Day Cover Society. Last year’s show was moved online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year the show will be taking place in person.

The US Philatelic Classics Society (USPCS), Inc. has named Jane F. Sodero of Halifax, Nova Scotia, as the society’s Regional Vice President for members in Canada as well as other International Members. In addition to serving Canadian collectors of United States stamps, the USPCS’ award-winning journal the The Chronicle of the U.S. Classic Postal Issues is a premier source of original research on transatlantic and other foreign mails of interest to postal historians around the world. Most issues of the Chronicle are publically-available on the society website, along with other census data, research files, and monographs.

The USPCS has long-held strong ties with Canada. In fact, the USPCS held its annual meetings at the CAPEX exhibitions in 1978 and 1996. In addition, the annual award for the best article in the Chronicle is named for Susan M. McDonald, an important student and exhibitor of cross-border mail with Canada. Canadian and European dealers and auctioneers have increasingly recognized the value of advertising in the Chronicle and Ms. Sodero’s appointment will allow the USPCS to better-connect with Canadian and other international collectors of US stamps and postal history.

The USPCS Annual Meeting was held virtually on February 20th. During the event, society awards were presented to the winners.

The Tracey Simpson Cup awarded to Walter A. Demmerle

The Tracey Simpson Cup is awarded for outstanding service to the USPCS. Formerly known as the Lester G. Brookman Cup, this award has been presented by the society since 1971. This year Walter A. Demmerle was honored with the award, celebrating his 25 years of service to the society as the publications sales manager.

Demmerle’s work includes maintaining the inventory and fulfilling orders of the Chronicle and other USPCS publications. He is responsible for handling returned copies, sending out back issues to new members, and replacing missing copies. The USPCS thanks Demmerle for his dedication with this award.

The Carroll Chase Cup awarded to James A. Allen

Since 1957, the USPCS has awarded the Dr. Carroll Chase Cup to authors of articles, books, or other studies concerning United States classic stamps, including back-of-the book material. For 2020, the award was presented to James A. Allen for his article “The 3¢ 1851 Stamp Plates: Color Changes and Earliest Documented Uses” published in the May 2020 Chronicle.

Allen’s study of the 3¢ 1851 stamp analyzed stamps using advanced tools from the National Postal Museum. His work provides new information regarding the stamps’ color and variations.

The Richard Winter Cup awarded to Steven C. Walske

Steven C. Walske is the second recipient of the Richard F. Winter Cup, which was first presented by the society in 2019. The cup is awarded to authors of print or digital media that concerns US postal history from the Colonial period to 1900.

Walske was presented the award for “Tales of the Civil War Blockade”, a six-part article published in the Chronicle. The series used philatelic material to tell the stories of several Civil War blockade runner ships. Walske is a respected student and exhibitor of US postal history, with a special interest in blockade mail.

The Susan M. McDonald Award presented to Timothy P. O’Connor, M.D.

Awarded since 1995, the Susan M. McDonald Award is presented by the Section Editors of the Chronicle, and honors the year’s best Chronicle article. The 2020 winner is Timothy P. O’Connor, M.D., for his article “The Free Franks of Benjamin Franklin as documented in The Papers of Benjamin Franklin”.

O’Connor’s article, published in the February 2020 issue of the Chronicle, is the result of extensive research into the letters of Benjamin Franklin. O’Connor studied the nearly 50 volumes of the Franklin Papers at Yale and visited various archives to study and record these letters. His work illustrates covers never before seen by the philatelic community and presents a list of archived Franklin free franks, organized with information including dates, destination, and contents of the letters. This is a huge undertaking, appreciated by the USPCS and future philatelists and historians.

Distinguished Philatelist Awarded bestowed upon Dr. Vernon R. Morris & Hugh V. Feldman

The Distinguished Philatelist Award is bestowed for exceptionally meritorious service to US philately through published research, award-winning collections, active participation in the organization and promotion of philatelic exhibitions and sustained administrative service to the national or international organizations which further United States philately. This year, two philatelists were honored as Distinguished Philatelists.

Vernon R. Morris, Jr., M.D. is an award winning philatelist from Philadelphia. He is active in multiple stamp organizations, including the American Philatelic Society, United States Philatelic Classics Society (Regional Vice President for Florida/Board of Directors), and Carriers and Locals Society (President). He is on the Board of Trustees for the Philatelic Foundation, the Manuscript Society, Pennsylvania Postal History Society, Mid Atlantic Federation of Postal History, and Florida Postal History Society.

Through his study of postal history, especially Philadelphia local posts, he has earned multiple McDonald Awards (USPCS) and Editor’s Awards (CALS). In 2006, his exhibit “Fighting the Fed in Philadelphia: Locals, Carriers, and Independent Mails, 1835 ro 1867” won the Champion of Champions award, and proceded to earn five large gold metals in international competition.

Hugh V. Feldman is a fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society, a member of the Postal History Society of Great Britain (serving as President, Treasurer, and Editor). He served as the Chairman of Stamp Active, promoting the hobby among schools and clubs.

Among Feldman’s philatelic works are three published books: Letter Reveiving Houses of London, U.S. Contract Mail Routes by Water, and U.S. Contract Routes by Railroad. For these books he has been awarded two Crawford Medals by the RPSL and the Rowland Hill Award for Authorship.He has revieved large gold medals for exhibits at both FIP and WSP shows.

For more information, see the Award Recipients 2020-21 Page.