News

The Greater Philadelphia Chapter discusses License and Royalty Stamps

2013-NOV-16…The fourth meeting of the Greater Philadelphia chapter of the USPCS was held. Members met at the Community Room at Hershey’s Mill in West Chester (thanks to Bill Schultz). Eric Jackson, the new Regional VP for Pennsylvania and Delaware, spoke to all about License and Royalty stamps, something akin to Revenues. These were colorful and fascinating stamps, issued not by the U.S. government, but by one business to another, to show that the license fee or royalty for a patented item had been paid. Eric showed not only a wide variety of “off-item” stamps, but in some cases the stamps were still on the item patented, such as linen shirt collars or shoes (reflecting a patent on a manufacturing procedure). A very enjoyable presentation, where we saw items that most of us had never seen, and possibly didn’t even know existed.

Paving the Way for the Future of Philately

November 8, 2013…The U.S. Philatelic Classics Society is pleased to announce that 61 years of The Chronicle of the U.S. Classic Postal Issues, are now available to the public at no cost. The Chronicle, the Society’s quarterly journal, is full of cutting edge research relating to the stamps and postal history of the classic period of United States philately.

Each issue of The Chronicle from 1948 through 2008 is available for all to view as the “WebChronicle™” on the Society’s website. All issues are fully searchable by author or keyword.

Issues from the past five years are available only to members. Those interested in becoming members which be given full access to not only past five years of The Chronicle but also access to the Members Domain where full archives of select exhibits, membership directories, EDU database, among much more.

Join Up now!

C of C Winning Eubanks Exhibit on First Federally Issued Postage Stamps now Online!

2013-11-07…The award-winning Champion of Champions exhibit by Gordon Eubanks on “First Federally Issued Postage Stamps” has been posted in the Resource Center under Philatelic Exhibits. Drop by to view this fantastic exhibit and many others today.

Furthering Philatelic Research Online with the Travers Papers and the 1847 Census

September 3, 2013…The U.S. Philatelic Classics Society is pleased to announce two new online resources. Continuing with the Society’s goal of enhancing the website and providing vital resources for collectors and researchers alike, the Society has decided that these two new online resources should be in the public domain:

The Travers Papers – Consisting of 2,787 typed and handwritten pages. These documents were held by Arthur Travers, Chief Clerk of the Third Assistant Postmaster General, and cover the period 1851-1912. The documents provide an inside view with vital clues about the production of early postage stamps, stamped envelopes, and postal cards from the United States, Cuba, The Philippines, Puerto Rico and Hawaii. None of the documents now presented on the Classic Society’s website were included in the two volume set of books on the 1847 issues recently published by Alexander, Mueller, Brett and Hulme. The material now made available has never been seen by the public, so offers an unparalleled research opportunity. A direct link can be found HERE.

1847 Cover Census – Complete with full search capabilities and over 14,000 covers, this census will provide vital information to collectors of this issue, to postal historians, and to Classic U.S. Philately in general. The census also includes photos, provenance, auction descriptions, certificate information, and much more. The Society welcomes any additions, scans or corrections to listings. A direct link can be found HERE.

PRIMER: Finding Members with Similar Interests to Yours

We’ve been asked by members how they can search the website to find other members who share their interests. With the development of the new USPCS website, this is fairly straightforward. When you log in, you will see a menu on the left. Click on “Member’s Menu” and you will be taken to a page called “Members Section”. At the left, click on the old fashioned telephone for “Directories”. On the right of the new page you will see a group of 3c 1851 stamps entitled “Collecting Interests.” Click on that and you will see the Directory at the bottom of the page. It has a search box above it, where you can put whatever your interest is, and it will find all members with the same interest.

Remember, it can only search for the interest that members have added to their own profiles. If you have not already done so, please go to your profile and add your interests. Finding members who share your interests can lead to new friendships and new information about what you love to collect. And it can also tell you who might be bidding against you at auction :).