Philatelic and Literature Awards
Despite the pandemic, our hobby has found many ways to keep up activity and recognition. In November, the AAPE conducted AmeriStamp Expo, the annual Single Frame Champion of Champions Competition. Two virtual Literature Competitions were also hosted at Sescal and at ChicagoPex.
The AAPE has taken over responsibilities for the Single Frame Championship from the APS. All single frame exhibits that won a Grand Award at “live” WSP shows during the 12 months before the pandemic hit competed virtually for the top single frame award of the year. There were 29 entries and the Champion of Champions was awarded to Mark Schwartz for “Boston’s Use of the 1847 Issue“.
A literature competition was held under the auspices of Sescal in October. Winning Gold Medals were Ralph H. Nafziger for “Civil Censorship of U.S. First Day Covers During the Prexie Era”; Francis J. Crown, Jr. for two entries “The 10¢ Red ‘Southern Confederacy’ Danville, Va. Provisional Envelope” and “Dr. H. H.Green: An Early ‘Junk Mailer'”. A Large Vermeil Medal was won by Charles J. DiComo for “From the Front Lines: LT. Col. William G. Belknap’s First Hand Account of the Battle of Monterrey During the Mexican-American War in 1846”.
A second literature competition was sponsored by ChicagoPex in November. John Hotchner won the Reserve Grand Award for “The Development and use of Consular Bicentennial Postal Stationery 1990–1994”. A Gold Medal was awarded to Diane DeBlois and Robert Dalton Harris for the “Postal History Journal”. Large Vermeil Medals were won by Robert L. Toal for “The Lipman Postal Card: Forerunner from Philadelphia”; and Bill Schultz and Jasmine Smith for “Scarce Postal Rate of 6 1⁄4 Cents”.
