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2025 Tony Dewey Passes

Anthony Francis (“Tony”) Dewey passed away Monday, April 14, 2025 at the young age of 69, after a four-year battle with cancer. He was born in Hartford and was an Eagle Scout. He studied Software Engineering at U. Conn. and married Martha O’Brien in 1982. His daughter, Hannah Elizabeth (Miles), born in 1991, was the “sunshine of his life”.
 
Tony had a special place in his heart for our hobby. He was a respected and successful collector, exhibitor, published author, mentor, accredited philatelic judge and an unrepentant “mug hunter”. Most recently he won the George Brett Cup and accomplished a philatelic hat-trick – winning the multi- and single frame Grands as well as the multi-frame Reserve at a single show.
 
He focused on Connecticut and on Hartford, where he lived. His Postal History of Hartford, Connecticut was consistently a Large Gold winner and competed for the Champion of Champions more than once. He was also very active in First Day Cover events, and his Connecticut Tercentenary followed the same path as his Hartford Exhibit. Most recently, he exhibited a specialized and particularly beautiful FDC collection of Tom Mueller cachets.
 
Besides his love of philately, and his family, he was especially fond of cats. Tony had a full life but often noted that was happiest at home with a cat on his lap.
 
Tony will be very much missed.

2025 Garfield-Perry Awards

The 2025 edition of the Garfield-Perry March Party took place 14-16 March at its usual venue in Strongsville, Ohio – just outside Cleveland.
 

Multi-frame Grand went to Alfredo Frohlich for “United States of Colombia 1868-1881” (also Multi-frame Large Gold and the Dale Pulver Award for Best Foreign Exhibit).
 

Multi-frame Reserve Grand went to Tony Dewey for “The U. S. Alphabet-Denominated Rate-Change Series 1978-1998” (also Multi-frame Large Gold; the US Stamp Society Statue of Freedom Medal; and the USSS Southgate Memorial Trophy).
 

Single-frame Grand went to Mark Schwartz for “Carrier Service at Boston: 1821-1863” (also Single-frame Large Gold; Garfield-Perry Award for Best US Exhibit; and the Garfield-Perry Award for Best Postal History Exhibit).
 

Four members won Multi-frame Large Gold for their exhibits:

  • Mark Schwartz for “Independent Mail and Express Company Operations at Boston: 1843-5” (also the American Philatelic Congress Award).
  • William Fort for “Pan American Airlines FAM-5 Air Mail Routes 1929-1945” (also the APS Medal of Excellence 1940-1980 and the American Airmail Society Award).
  • Leonard Hartmann for “Confederate States of America: Lithographed General Issues” (also the APS Research Medal).
  • John Hotchner for “The U. S. CIPEX Souvenir Sheet of 1947: Development, Production, First Days and Contemporary Use” (also the Collectors Club of Chicago Gold Medallion).

For additional members won Multi-frame Gold:

  • Robert Meegan for “United States Domestic Letter Rates from the Act of 1792 to October 1, 1883”.
  • David Mayo for “The U.S. 2¢ Columbian of 1893”.
  • Wayne Farley for “West Virginia in the Confederacy”.
  • Randolph Smith for “Civil War Washington as Seen Through the Drawings of Charles Magnus, Lithographer” (also the AAPE Creativity Award).

Finishing up the multi-frame awards, Thomas Richards won Multi-frame Vermeil for “Mary Pickford (America’s Sweetheart)”.

 

 

William Schultz won Single-frame Large Gold for “Barr-Fyke Machine Cancel – 1899 to 1901 – Westchester, PA.” (also the Machine Cancel Society Award).
 

Two members won Single-frame Gold:

  • Leonard Hartmann for “Jean de Sperati Fake Stamps and Cancellations of the Confederate States of America Stamps”.
  • John Hotchner for “Designing The U.S. Hummingbird Issue of 1992”.

Scott Pendleton’s “Uses of the 1902 Second Bureau 15 Cents Henry Clay” won Single-frame Large Vermeil.
 

Two members won Single-frame Vermeil:

  • Kenneth Nilestuen for “The Era of the Algerine Corsairs, 1597 – 1830”.
  • William Armstrong for “BALLOON MAIL Flights that failed”.

2025 YPLF

The American Philatelic Society runs a program called the Young Philatelic Leaders Fellowship (YPLF) with the aim of encouraging and developing philatelic participation. The US Philatelic Classics Society has been a co-sponsor of the YPLF since the program’s inception in 2009. The Society provides some funding and our members provide mentoring and advice to individual fellows.

 

The YPLF is focused on “young adult philatelists between the ages of 16 and 24” and has 6 possible tracks of participation each of which culminates in completion of a project presented at a stamp show:

 

• Author – Choose a philatelic topic, write 2 articles for publication and create one multi-media presentation
• Curator – Create a museum-style exhibit
• Dealer – Develop a business plan
• Analytic – Conduct 1-3 technical research activities related to philately
• Designer – Create 8 different, original cachets and to present at a national stamp show
• Exhibitor – Build a philatelic exhibit around a topic and that tells a story

 

Each project demonstrates the expertise and skills developed during the fellowship.

 

Fellows are assigned a mentor who assists their development by providing advice, counsel, and introduction to relevant expertise and materials. Also, Fellows attend one or more national stamp shows to both further their development and to show the results of their efforts.

 

Over the course of the program, The Society has sponsored 9 Fellows
2025 – Sjon Brejtfus – Dealer Track
2024 – Theodore Rosenberg – Author/Analytic Track
2023 – Bethany Hunter – Author Track
2019/23 – Victor Livesay – Dealer Track, Alfredo Frohlich Fellow, sponsored by Alexander Haimann
2016 – Evan Schlosser – Author Track
2015 – Charles Epting – Author Track
2014 – Sabrina McGill – Author Track
2013 – Casey Cook – Dealer Track
2012 – Alex Gill – Dealer Track
2011 – John Phillips – Exhibitor Track
2010 – Melissa Stanton – Author Track

 

Alex Gill (YPLF 2012) represents one of the many positive outcomes of the YPLF Program. Just after his college graduation, he served on the expert committee for The Philatelic Foundation in New York City. He has also served as editor-in-chief of two philatelic publications, Across The Fence Post and the Wisconsin Badger Postal History Journal, both issued to stamp collectors across his home state of Wisconsin.

 

Our members have actively served as mentors and sponsors of individual Fellows. One measure of the success of the program is the transition of Fellows to membership in the USPCS.

 

Applications for the class of 2026 are now being accepted [closing date is 15 May]. If you know someone whom you think would be a good fit for the program, please recommend them or encourage them to apply. Instructions and forms are available here: https://stamps.org/learn/youth-in-philately.

 

If you want to directly assist with the program, please reach out to Sarah Aldrich at education@stamps.org.

San Diego 2025


Lester Lanphear’s “US Officials 1873 to 1884” was cock-of-the-San Diego-walk winning the Multi-frame Grand, Multi-frame Large Gold, APS Award of Excellence: Pre-1900, USSS Award and the USPCS Medal.
 
Francis Adams continued a wining streak started at the South Eastern show with “The United Nations and Palestine: 1947-1951” winning a Multi-frame Gold as well as the American Topical Association’s Multi-frame Second Award.
 
Bruce Wasserman won a Single-frame Vermeil with “The Rapid Censorship of Civilian Mail in World War II: 1939-1941”.
 
Next up in March are the Garfield-Perry Party and the St. Louis Stamp Expo.

2024 Florex


FLOREX, the annual Florida Stamp Show hosted by the Florida Stamp Dealers’ Association and the Central Florida Stamp Club, was held at the Volusia County Fairgrounds, 3150 E. NY Ave, Deland.

 

3 societies held member meetings; the Florida Postal History, Canal Zone Study Group, and chapter 23 of the German Philatelic Society.

 

28 exhibits were shown 2 of which were in the Court of Honor. Multi-frame awards earned included 8 Large-Gold, 1 Gold,3 Large Vermeils, and 2 Vermeil. Single-frame awards were given as 3 youth Golds; 1 Large Gold; 3 Golds; and 1 Bronze.

 

John Hotchner’s “World Rarities and Uniquities” was displayed in the Court of Honor.

 

Multi-frame Large Golds were won by Alfredo Frohlich for “Delaware Postal History – 1732 to 1842” (also Postal History Society Best Postal History Exhibit) and Murray Abramson for “Geographical Expansion of Commercial U.S. Mail to Foreign Destinations via Airmail (1920-41)” (also APS Award of Excellence 1900-1940 and the Collectors Club of Chicago Gold Medallion Award).

 

Multi-frame Gold was won by Robert Thompson for “25¢ Honeybee – From Design to Postal Usage”.

 

James Cate won Multi-frame Large Vermeil for “The American Freedom Train 1975 – 1976” as well as the AAPE Gold Award of Honor Pin #1.

 

Single-frame Gold was won by Timothy Wait for his “Adhesive Stamps Used to Pay the 2¢ Tax on U.S. Bank Checks 1862-1883” and Thomas Lera for “Ship Island and New Orleans Postal Markings under Postmaster John M. Parker: 1861 – 1865” as well as the Military Postal History Society Best Military Theme Award.

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