2023-02 American Philatelist

FEBRUARY 2023 $6.95

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e’re proud of being America’s leading stamp dealer and the nation’s most active stamp buyer. And when we receive testimonials like this one, it tells us how important our fair-dealing and professionalism is to our clients. Here’s what else this long-time collector shared with us:

“(Your buyer) was friendly and very nice, but he stuck to business, rapidly went through a very diverse collection, and offered a price above the others I had received. Honest, polite, affable and satisfactory in all ways. I am so glad I went to Mystic and that I was able to deal with your buyer...

No stress, no regrets.”

J.S. – Lexington, MA Here’s why, like Mr. S., you can rely on Mystic when you sell your stamps to us...

Mystic pays you more with high market prices. We pay what your stamps are really worth, even if it’s more than you expect. We need stamps to satisfy our family of collectors. We bid against many dealers and can honestly say the vast majority of our bids are higher.

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When Mystic makes you an offer, we pay you on the spot – no middleman, no waiting.

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Mystic buyers are friendly, honest, knowledgeable, and professional. Testimonials from hundreds of satisfied sellers confirm it. We treat people the way we like to be treated – it’s the only way we do business.

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Collectors have trusted us for nearly a century. We’ve been buying stamps since 1923 to fulfill our collectors’ needs. We survived the Depression, recessions, wars, and the rise of the Digital Age. Our customers still depend on us to build their collections. We need your stamps!

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NEWSFLASH: UK ‘New Issue’ Because Collectors are seldom treated as Very Important Decimal Machins Philatelists (VIP’s) UPA is paying for this ANNOUNCEMENT to be Invalidated...

UPA VIP Series … British Post Office Swap-Shop

If You Collect Great Britain QE2 IGNORE THIS AT YOUR PERIL ...

IM If You Wish to protect the value of Your surplus MINT regular British QEII Decimal Stamps Act Now –

ACT NOW

?

OS S ST / L LECTORS O C S L U O SERIONS FOR C O I T PLICA

There’s Still Time If You Act NOW – Everybody knows that prices of NEW ISSUES are under-pinned by the ‘face value’ printed on the stamps because the face value signifies the amount of ‘service’ that the issuing Post Office is liable to provide.

Imagine MINT United States stamps suddenly becoming invalidated … well that is precisely what is happening in the UK … Even before the untimely demise of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth 2 the British Post Office announced that the regular small decimal Machin Queen’s Head series issue will be invalidated.

Now You may be thinking “so what ?” – that will make my stamps more valuable. We urge you to think again because the amount of MINT BRITISH QE2 regular Machin stamps on the market issued over the past 50 years is H U G E Nobody can predict the future – but we urge you to DO this now if you have quantity of MINT DECIMAL Stamps suitable for ‘postage’ … because after January 2023 these stamps will be invalidated. PLUS – bear in mind that the market is ever-moving backwards to quality classic stamps that they aren’t printing any more – Bear in mind that some modern GB collections have $1,000’s / £1,000’s face value … So, here’s where you go to check this out NOW:

https://www.royalmail.com/sending/barcoded-stamps Or simply Google: Post Office Swap Shop And here’s where you go if you collect Classic British and British Empire Stamps, USA Foreign - nobody can invalidate them: FREE 20,000+ Auction Lot Catalogue + 1st US$60 FREE Introductory Offer when you win stamps in excess of $85 (GBP£75):

There’s Still Time If You Act NOW: https://www.upastampauctions.co.uk/catalogue-request/ Or simply Google: UPA Stamp Auctions FREE Catalogue

AMERICAN PHILATELIST THE

February 2023

PAGE

QUACKERY BY MAIL

Table of Contents

VOLUME 137 • NO. 2 • WHOLE NO. 1,465

112

BY EDWARD GRABOWSKI The Oxypathor – a device promoted to cure whatever ailed you – had a worldwide sales and distribution network.

Trouble was, the company promoting it likely knew it was a fake but still used the mails to generate a bundle of sales. That is, until mail inspectors stepped in.

PAGE

WORKING TO LIFT A SCAM MAN’S SHROUD

130

BY RICK BARRETT William Hale, a charming and showy storyteller, often found philatelic customers with ease. Trouble was, much of what he peddled were philatelic fakes, forgeries and fantasies. The author tracks down the scoundrel’s intimate details and revisits some long-touted philatelic disinformation.

PAGE

COLLECTING COAST TO COAST

144

BY WAYNE YOUNGBLOOD When millions of U.S. soldiers and support personnel headed off to World War II, one of the most cherished family mementos were recordings of loved ones sponsored by commercial entities. Those keepsakes of 80 years ago are an interesting collecting niche.

MEET OUR YOUNG PHILATELISTS

PAGE 166

BY NICK MILLER The Young Philatelic Leaders Fellowship – the APS program designed to encourage philately among young people – paused for a while because of health risks. Happily, the program has returned and we introduce you to the YPLF Class of 2023.

PAGE

150

DOMESTIC MAIL MARKINGS FROM NYC

BY JAMES W. MILGRAM, M.D. More than 350 types of hand-carved cancellations were used in the 1860s on domestic mail from New York City. These may be the largest group of what is known as fancy cancellations. Could there be even more out there?

PAGE

A SECOND SALUTE

152

BY CHARLES POSNER The U.S. honored the Marquis de Lafayette with a postage stamp in 1952, but just five years later the Postmaster General Arthur Summerfield announced another stamp for the French hero of the American Revolution.

First day ceremonies were held in three locations.

A COCOS (KEELING) ISLANDS MYSTERY PAGE 140

BY VINCENT SGRO The sparsely populated Cocos (Keeling) Islands, a territory of Australia, has a modern-day rarity among its stamps. The author tracks the likely reasons why only a handful of collectors obtained a set of souvenir sheets honoring ocean explorers.

ON OUR COVER Designed by Chad Cowder.

Other Features 164 162 168 170 178 105

APRL Notes Books & Catalogs Bridges Buy and Sell Classified Ads Editing Philately

98 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

181 172 108 174 188 190

Index of Advertisers In Touch Letters to the Editor Membership Report New U.S. Issues New World Issues

102 101 182 192

Our Story President’s Column Show Time Worldwide in a Nutshell

The Stamp Marketplace

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hipstamp.com/auctions

Ends Thursday Night Join over 100,000 stamp collectors on HipStamp, and place your bids each Thursday evening from 7pm eastern in our weekly One Cent No Reserve Auctions featuring over $100,000 in retail of stamps, with each starting at just one cent. Plus, browse and search over 6 million stamps from 1,200 dealers, to find the next gem for your collection at any time!

AMERICAN PHILATELIST THE

Save $10!

Since 1887 — The Longest Continuously-published Philatelic Magazine in the World EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF APS PUBLICATIONS Susanna Mills, ext. 207 • smills@stamps.org SENIOR EDITOR Jeff Stage • jstage@stamps.org GRAPHIC COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST Chad Cowder, ext. 223 • CCowder@stamps.org ADVERTISING SALES Steve Schwanz Fox Associates, Inc. 800-440-0231 x114 adinfo.theamericanphilatelist@foxrep.com

American Philatelic Society American Philatelic Research Library 100 Match Factory Place • Bellefonte, PA 16823 814-933-3803 • 814-933-6128 (Fax) STAMPS.ORG • STAMPLIBRARY.ORG

Relive your memories of the Moon Landing...

Mint Stamps Honor 50th Anniversary

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Scott English, ext. 219 • scott@stamps.org DIRECTOR OF MEMBERSHIP Wendy Masorti, ext 218 • wendy@stamps.org CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER Jeff Krantweiss, ext. 216 jkrantweiss@stamps.org GENERAL INFORMATION apsinfo@stamps.org ADDRESS CHANGES & MEMBERSHIP INQUIRIES membership@stamps.org, ext. 201 DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION/ YOUTH/DIGITAL CONTENT Eric Spielvogel, ext. 239 eric@stamps.org DIRECTOR OF EXPERTIZING Ken Martin, ext. 205 kpmartin@stamps.org DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION SERVICES Scott Tiffney, ext. 246 stiffney@stamps.org DIRECTOR OF SALES Carol Hoffman, ext. 270 stampstore@stamps.org EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT & DONATIONS Amy Larimer, ext 225 • amy@stamps.org SHOWS/EXHIBITIONS, ext. 217 stampshow@stamps.org

A

Yours for Just $5!

ct now to get eight mint stamps honoring the Moon Landing for just $5. You’ll save $10.45 off Mystic’s regular price and get FREE shipping and guaranteed delivery.

Where were you when man first walked on the Moon?

The Moon Landing answered President Kennedy’s call to send a man to the Moon by the end of the 1960s. It also marked America’s victory in the Space Race against the Soviet Union. On July 20, 1969, millions of people watched Neil Armstrong exit the Eagle landing module. His declaration of, “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind,” changed the world forever.

Stamps are windows to the past – recall every step of Apollo 11 This is your chance to get two mint souvenir sheets with stamps picturing moments from the Apollo 11 mission. The sheet of six features circular stamps with photoquality images of the Earth, Moon, lunar module, and astronauts. The two stamps on the other souvenir sheet picture the Apollo 11 mission patch and the plaque left on the Moon by Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong.

Send today and you’ll also receive special collector’s information and other interesting stamps on approval. Strict limit of one set at this exclusive low price.

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50th Anniversary Moon Landing Stamps

✔ Yes! Send me the set of eight Apollo 11 stamps for just $5. I save over $10 ❏ plus get FREE shipping and guaranteed delivery. Strict limit of one set.

The American Philatelist (ISSN 0003-0473) is published monthly by the American Philatelic Society, Inc., 100 Match Factory Place, Bellefonte, PA 16823.

Periodicals postage paid at Bellefonte, PA 16823 and at additional mailing offices. Price per copy $6.95. Canadian Distribution Agreement Number 40030959.

Opinions expressed in articles in this magazine are those of the writers and are not necessarily endorsed by the society and/or the magazine. The American Philatelist cannot be responsible for the accuracy of any information printed herein.

Postmaster: Send address changes to: The American Philatelist 100 Match Factory Place, Bellefonte, PA 16823. ©2023, The American Philatelic Society, Inc. 100 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

Quick order at MysticAd.com/CP114 Name _____________________________________________________________________ Address ___________________________________________________________________ City/State/ Zip ______________________________________________________________ *Add state sales tax to order total.

❏ Check or money order Do I pay tax? info.mysticstamp.com/tax Charge my: ❏ Visa ❏ MasterCard ❏ American Express ❏ Discover Exp. Date___/___

Send to: Mystic Stamp Company, Dept. CP114, 9700 Mill St., Camden, NY 13316-9111

President’s Column

BY Robert Zeigler President Ziggy_Travesty@yahoo.com

Let’s Get Together in 2023

I

t’s never too early to plan to see philatelic friends or visit in August. Once again, the American Topical Association a stamp show. It’s already February, and for some of us, and the American First Day Cover Society will jointly host time passes quickly. The American Philatelic Society has the event with us. The United States Postal Service will be several events planned in 2023, and I wanted to invite all our our top sponsor again this year and is planning first day members to participate in one or more. events for Thursday and Friday. GASS 2023 is the first time the APS has held an annual show in Cleveland since 1999, APS Spring Meeting (St. Louis Stamp Expo, March 24and the Cleveland-area collectors have been busily promot26): In March, the APS Board of Directors and staff will be ing the show and preparing for our visit. Thank you for all traveling to St. Louis to see society members and hold meetthe enthusiasm. (See p. 172 for more information.) ings. On Wednesday, March 23, the Board will meet in person to hear reports and consider proposals to help boost the Dealer Member program. On Saturday, March 25, we will hold a general membership meeting before the show’s opening. If you’re near the show or planning to attend, please join us or stop by the APS booth to say hello to our staff representatives. For more information about the St. Louis Stamp Expo, visit https://www.stlouisstampexpo. com.

Summer Seminar (June 11-16): The last time we held an in-person summer seminar was in 2019, and we often get requests to schedule another event. Last year, the APS canceled Summer Seminar due to a lack of participation from the pandemic and travel costs. As things have somewhat returned to normal, please plan to join us for our first Collectors browse dealer stock at GASS 2022. event in four years. It’s an excellent chance to spend time with friends and use our APS UNEXPO 2023 (Bellefonte, PA, October 20-21): The services, and the weather is usually pleasant. (See p. 168 for United Nations Philatelists sponsored a successful UNEXPO more information.) in 2017. Unfortunately, the 2021 show was canceled due to Volunteer Work Week (July 17-22): In 2022, 40 APS COVID concerns, but the event is now planned for October. members and significant others traveled to Bellefonte to parWhether you’re a U.N. collector or an APS member, this is a ticipate in the annual Volunteer Work Week. Thanks to their great show. Not only will you be able to spend extra time at efforts, we sorted donations in the library and the Trenchard the American Philatelic Center, but you’re visiting Central Collection, organized donated material for sale in the Stamp Pennsylvania while the leaves are changing. For more inforand Cover Shop to support our education programs, helped mation, visit www.unpi.com. scan items for internet sales and editorial, and more. It’s a chance to work closely with the APS staff and support the You are welcome to visit the American Philatelic Center programs you like to use, all for our fellow members. Expect any time of the year, but the APS has several special events to more information soon, but you can contact our Education bring together collectors at the same time. If you’re planning Department at education@stamps.org with any questions. a trip or would like more information, visit https://stamps. org/contact/visits-tours on our website to get all the inforGreat American Stamp Show (Cleveland, Ohio, August 10-13): Our annual summer show will be in Cleveland mation you need. I hope to see you soon!

FEBRUARY 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 101

Our Story

BY Scott English Executive Director scott@stamps.org

Update: An Outline of Plans for Board Action APS/ASDA Merger Not Our Best Option

IN Philatelist:

September, I outlined several significant challenges for our hobby and the APS, which I reiterated in a December column in The American

1. The changing nature of the marketplace. As more collectors buy online, the APS should work to protect their interests. Our Code of Ethics has served the hobby well for more than 136 years, but we have to extend its reach to all channels of the philatelic marketplace.

2. The changing nature of organized philately. We have a maze of organizations, some doing well and others challenged by declining membership. We have to ask whether those organizations can still serve the larger collecting community or if they exist out of tradition.

3. Our aging pool of dealers and experts. We are fortunate to have knowledgeable philatelists who help sort through fakes and forgeries and serve to educate future generations. The reality is that time comes for us all, and dealers and experts are no exception. We should ensure that knowledge and preserve expertise for future generations.

There are several ways to meet these challenges. The proposed merger with the American Stamp Dealers Association sparked a conversation that’s been long overdue. A merger presents both risks and opportunities for the APS and collectors. However, it is not worth pursuing if the risks outweigh the possibilities. After gathering more information on the ASDA, soliciting feedback from APS members, evaluating all options to achieve our challenges, and performing due diligence with the ASDA, I have outlined a plan for the APS Board of Directors.

The APS/ASDA merger is not our best option to move forward. Looking at the risks and opportunities of a merger, the scale tilts toward the risk side. We’ve spent years getting the APS and APRL fiscal house in order, and a merger with the ASDA will not further what we’ve accomplished.

102 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

We should live by the credo of the U.S. Army, “Mission First, People Always.” We will meet our mission if we take care of collectors. In our most recent member survey, 43 percent of members supported a merger, while 22 percent opposed the merger. We should not ignore the concerns of those who oppose the merger by rushing ahead. Doing so takes the focus off the critical challenges we face in this hobby and only kicks the can further down the road.

The APS already has a dealer member program, with hundreds of APS members registered as dealers and a Dealer Advisory Council established by the APS Board in 2016.

Both programs should be more effective in serving collectors and dealers.

We found consensus, with 85 percent of members responding agree dealers and collectors should work together to create more ethical practices in the hobby. With that, I will present a plan to the APS Board of Directors at our Spring Board Meeting in St. Louis on March 23, 2023, to address these issues. Specifically, a reconstituted Dealer Advisory Council, appointed by the APS President and confirmed by the APS Board. With the resolution, the group will work with APS leadership to refine the dealer member program to: 1.

Establish clear professional standards,

2.

Improve dealer benefits, and

3. Recommend programs to train future experts.

Through this revised council, we will also build a coalition of online sellers and identify best practices to allow collectors to buy with confidence online.

We are fortunate to have three professional philatelists elected to the APS and APRL boards, Matt Kewriga, Michael Cortese, and Charles Epting. They have already stepped up to participate in this critical discussion. I thank them for their leadership and look forward to working with them.

This proposal is the best option to meet today’s challenges in the hobby. Our collecting community and organized philately have work to do, and it’s time to start doing it.

Continued on page 104

Have Tongs, Will Travel!!

“SELLING A STAMP COLLECTION SHOULD BE A REWARDING EXPERIENCE.”

BY CAR

BY BUS

The “BEST SALE” is when the buyer will personally visit your city and view your collection. The dealers listed below will travel to “any city” to view appropriate holdings.

UNFORTUNATELY many collections in the $2,000.00 to $20,000.00 range do not economically justify the time and expense for a professional buyer to travel long distances to personally view your collection.

BY TRAIN

BY PLANE

We Want to Visit!!

We Want to Buy!!

WE OFFER A SOLUTION:

Each dealer listed below has designated a state, and region, he will make every effort to personally visit. Contact that dealer direct and discuss your collection and options.

YOUR GUARANTEE:

While each dealer listed is an independently owned business, all are members of either the ASDA or APS (most - both), insuring fairness and integrity in purchasing your collection.

If you lIve In:

Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New England, New Jersey, New York and Canada Call or WrIte:

Randy ScHoll

Randy ScHoll STaMP co.

7460 Jager Court | Cincinnati, OH 45230 Email: randyscholl@fuse.net Phone: (513) 624-6800 www.randyschollstampcompany.com If you lIve In:

If you lIve In:

California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Oregon and Washington Call or WrIte:

neWPoRT HaRboR STaMP P.O. Box 3364 | Newport Beach, CA 92659 (800) 722-1022 (Dave) newportharborstamps@gmail.com

If you lIve In:

Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, South/North Dakota, Missouri, New Mexico, Wisconsin Colorado and Arkansas

North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia and Virginia

Call or WrIte:

PRM enTeRPRiSeS, inc.

coinS, STaMPS ’n STuff llc JeRRy KoePP

P.O. Box 42037 | Urbandale, IA 50323 1-847-778-5519

Call or WrIte:

Randall T. ScRibneR 10700 Hickory Ridge Rd. | Harrisburg, NC 28075 Phone: (704) 575-2795 E-mail: scrib1@yahoo.com Coins also wanted

APS-2.qxp_APS 28.04.20 20:45 Seite 1

Continued from page 102

Member Survey, Member Services, and You

Browse and search without obligation to register.

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www. philasearch.com Ad 2 of 7 104 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

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In December, the American Philatelic Society sent the first in a series of surveys to improve our services to members. The initial poll touched on several topics, and in my next column, I will share the survey's full results.

In our first survey, we asked some broad questions about our member services to understand better how APS members were accessing those services. Our next series of surveys will dig deeper into each service to look at the positives and negatives of each service and what we can do to increase the value of your membership.

We received more than 5,000 responses to our first survey, so thanks to each of you for participating.

The percentage of members using our services is worth comparison and discussion. We’ve researched this subject over the years. I won’t discuss The American Philatelist. Utilization of the journal remains above 98 percent.

Circuit Sales: The APS Circuit Sales program is one of our oldest and longestserving programs. Starting as the exchange program, members can buy or sell stamps through sales books on circuits, going from member to member. In our most recent survey, 19 percent of members use the service today. Historically, that’s consistent with past surveys predating the technology age. In 1982, 22 percent of members participated in the program; by 1996, 19 percent of APS members were still receiving and submitting stamp books. We have more questions about how to increase participation, both for buyers and sellers. For the rest of our members, I encourage you to learn more about the circuit program. It’s an affordable way to build country collections from fellow APS members. For more information, go to: https://stamps.org/services/buy-and-sell.

American Philatelic Expertizing Service (APEX): Over the past three years, we’ve received some of the greatest numbers of requests for expertizing in more than a decade. If you’re buying online or from an unknown source, APEX provides guaranteed opinions in 90 days or less. In our most recent survey, 23 percent of APS members use APEX as part of their membership package. By comparison, only 3 percent of members used APEX in 1982, and 6 percent used APEX in 1996.

APEX has been around since 1903 and continues to meet the needs of APS members. We’re proud to see higher program utilization, but we’d like to invite members to try the service. For more information, go to: https://stamps.org/services/ stamp-authentication.

American Philatelic Research Library (APRL): In our most recent survey, 32 percent of members use the research library. That is a vast improvement over historical surveys, such as 5 percent in 1982 and 7 percent in 1996. As we provide more online resources, such as the David Straight Memorial Philatelic Union Catalog and the Robert A. Mason Digital Library, more APS members can access the library’s value no matter where they are in the world. We continue to add to those digital resources and ask you to visit our library virtually or in person this year.

Two services that did not exist back in the 1990s are internet sales and our online education platform, C3a. In our recent survey, 31 percent of members have used internet sales. With our HipStamp partnership, we will ask more questions about members using online stamp sales and how we can help. Only 14 percent of members have tried out C3a, and we’ll be looking to get more information on how we can grow the use of the learning platform for members and beginners.

We will get into more details about the member survey in March, but we always welcome your thoughts and suggestions. Please do not hesitate to contact me directly at scott@stamps.org or by mail, and I will respond.

Editing Philately

2022–2025

PRESIDENT Robert Zeigler ziggy_travesty@yahoo.com

BY Susanna Mills Editor-in-Chief of APS Publications smills@stamps.org

BOARD OF VICE PRESIDENTS Mark Banchik mebanchik@gmail.com Cheryl Ganz cherylganz@yahoo.com

Philatelic Hustlers of the World; the Hustle and Bustle of the APS

Yamil Kouri yhkouri@gmail.com

“W

hat fun, to clean out my office!” So said hardly anyone. The APS headquarters has been a whirring hive of activity since December, as we have moved various offices to new locations in the building, including our editorial office.

It’s no small task to excavate my desk from its piles of papers and books, let alone the filing cabinets of assorted detritus from editors of the distant past.

Of course, I could easily spend hours sorting through my findings – photos and negatives from 80s stamp shows, decades-old receipts from past APS staff picnics, slides of stamp images used to put together issues of the AP in the 90s. It’s all evidence of a lot of hard work that’s happened here over the decades: the ephemera behind the legacy of The American Philatelist.

Don’t worry – we’ll keep what we need to keep to tell the story of the APS and preserve its records.

In this issue

APS Official Family

I’ve been excited about this issue for many months. I’ve been thinking of the issue as “Snake-Oil Salesmen and Philatelic Hucksters,” a name that evokes the very dregs of philatelic society, of long-ago fraud and larger-than-life characters. Luckily the ne’er-do-wells in this issue are far enough removed in time that their crimes no longer spur personal pain and regret – they scammed our philatelic forebears, and hopefully won their just deserts.

The first story comes from Ed Grabowski, who has assembled an impressive collection of material related to the supposedly cure-all medical device, the Oxypathor. Elvard Moses, who patented and sold the device around the world, was convicted of international mail fraud. The covers, postcards and ephemera resulting from the worldwide advertisement of this device are fascinating. So too are the images of the device itself and its supplementary “attachments”.

Our next story is from Rick Barrett, who in his study of the infamous philatelic fraudster William B. Hale, discovered a factual error that was repeated again and again across many philatelic publications in the years since Hale’s death. Barrett tells Hale’s story, diving into contemporaneous newspaper reports, old philatelic advertisements, and government records.

He also corrects the record on the circumstances of Hale’s final years.

Scott Tiffney also gets in on the fun of philatelic fraud in his column “APRL Notes,” with a story gleaned from the library’s records: Hungarian stamp dealer and forger Béla Desiderius Szekula (later, Sekula). He moves through Szekula’s various controversies and conflicts, as well as his multiple attempts to publish philatelic journals.

Meanwhile the same problems that concerned our forebears concern us today. There will always be scam artists in the world of philately, but no more are they traveling salesmen who use false names to continue their trade. Now they may be online grifters who, using multiple email addresses or usernames, can sell fakes or counterfeits without fear. I am sure that many of you could share your own stories about run-ins with these grifters.

While I’m on this topic, therefore, I would draw your attention to two columns in this issue. The first is Scott English’s column “Our Story” on page 102. In the December issue, Scott outlined the APS’ important role of protecting collectors’ interests in the online stamp marketplace. He shared a proposal to join with the American Stamp Dealers Association to further this goal. In an update in this issue, Scott explains why a merger between the APS and ASDA

SECRETARY Peter P. McCann ppm103226706@aol.com TREASURER Kathryn (Kathy) Johnson kjj5217@gmail.com DIRECTORS-AT-LARGE Elizabeth Hisey lizhisey@comcast.net Michael Cortese mc@noblespirit.com Matthew Kewriga matt@kewriga.com Evan (Van) Siegling sieglinge@yahoo.com IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT Stephen Reinhard StephenReinhard42@gmail.com STAMP THEFT COMMITTEE Nicholas A. Lombardi P.O. Box 1005 Mountainside, NJ 07092 stamptheft@stamps.org APS INSURANCE PLAN Hugh Wood Inc., 220 Match Factory Place Bellefonte, PA 16823 Toll Free: 888-APS-6494 Phone: 212-509-3777 Fax: 212-509-4906 aps@hughwood.com

ADDRESS CHANGES To change your address online visit stamps.org and log into your My APS account. Or mail your new address information to APS, 100 Match Factory Place, Bellefonte, PA 16823 (Fax: 814-933-6128).

Please try to give us four weeks’ notice. You can also add an e-mail address or website to your APS record.

CONNECT ONLINE

FEBRUARY 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 105

is not the best option to address these challenges. However, there are other routes available to the APS to protect collectors and work together with dealers and experts. Read more in Scott’s column.

The second column that you should read is Director of Sales Carol Hoffman’s “Buy and Sell.” The APS’ online StampStore is now hosted on HipStamp’s website. For buyers, using the APS Store on HipStamp should be an improved browsing and buying experience. For sellers through APS, you’ll find a far increased audience for your materials.

Carol shares an up-to-date guide to using the platform on page 170.

Also in this issue

While the topic of philatelic wrong-doing is a rich vein to tap, the rest of the issue takes us to different pastures.

We travel to the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, a small Australian territory. Vincent Sgro uncovered a discrepancy related to a specific set of modern souvenir sheets, which clearly exist yet were not listed in catalogs. He found out why and righted the wrong.

Next, we jump into World War II with Wayne Youngblood’s “Coast to Coast” column, where servicemen heading off to Europe could first mail a recorded message home to their loved ones via record, courtesy of Pepsi-Cola.

In the latest article in partnership with the U.S. Philatelic Classics Society, the esteemed James Milgram comes, hat in hand, with a request to supplement a significant research project he has been working on, a monograph of fancy cancel uses on domestic mail from New York City. If you’ve ever wanted to participate in a crowd-sourced project, this article might be for you. James’ monograph will only benefit from your help, and you could have an opportunity to add to the body of philatelic knowledge on the topic. I’ll let him tell you about it.

We welcome another installment from Charles Posner in his series exploring the commemoratives of the 1950s.

Here’s a familiar face – the Marquis de Lafayette, depicted once again on a U.S. stamp.

Finally, there are many important announcements to share. One is Yamil Kouri’s update on Boston 2026, found

Please keep your feedback coming and share your views. Remember: if you wish to see an always-improving American Philatelist, you – our readers and APS members – must become a part of this exciting journey.

Reach out with your questions, concerns, and suggestions. Write a letter to the editor (LetterToTheEditor@stamps.org.) More importantly, volunteer to participate. This is your American Philatelist. My email is smills@ stamps.org. Letters by regular mail are always welcome and will be responded to in kind.

106 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

on page 160. Another is an introduction of our new director of education and content, Eric Spielvogel, who will simultaneously introduce himself and share some news of Summer Seminar 2023.

Last but not least

My kingdom for a quiet month at the APS! But the world keeps turning, and there is always much to do. I appreciate your support and your feedback, and hope that the new year is treating you well.

CALL FOR WRITERS

The American Philatelist depends on our members, who provide much of the content of this magazine. I’d like to encourage more members to join our roster of philatelic writers for The American Philatelist, Philatelic Literature Review, and stamps.org website. We are glad to review article proposals and submissions. The editorial team considers articles on any philatelic topic, but is especially interested in topics on U.S. stamps and postal history. Send your proposal or submission by email to aparticle@stamps. org. For more information about APS writing guidelines, visit aps.buzz/writeap.

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Letters to the Editor LetterToTheEditor@stamps.org

[Editor’s note: The following letters are a sample of those received since the publication of Executive Director Scott English’s December 2022 column regarding the proposed merger with American Stamp Dealers Association (ASDA). On page 102 of this issue, Our Story announces that the proposal and merger will not be moving forward. Scott’s final proposal for the APS Board lessens the need to publish letters on the topic, however the responses we received are still valuable contributions to the wider conversation. Therefore, several representative letters are published for your interest.]

Concern about potential shift in interests if merger occurs I read with both interest and concern of the discussions of a merger between the American Philatelic Society and the American Stamp Dealers Association that were contained in the December issue of The American Philatelist. While I can see some of the appeal as outlined in Executive Director Scott English’s opening column in The AP, I find myself more in agreement with others who are expressing reservations.

The value in the APS, from the perspective of someone who joined as a young person and has maintained membership in the intervening years, is that it has historically been an organization of, by, and for collectors. My concern in merging with a trade association is that the emphasis would shift from collectors to dealers, and that the needs and interests of collectors on a budget, as many members are, will be lost in the shuffle.

As it stands, our organization does a good job representing those members, and if that were to change I fear many would consider something vital to have been lost. If our emphasis shifts toward the business of stamps, rather than the hobby and study of stamps and postal material, it will be even harder for collectors of limited means or young collectors to feel like they are valued in our organization.

While I am always interested in ways to sustain the APS in the future, what I have seen so far does not inspire much confidence that a merger with the ASDA is the way forward.

Zachary Agatstein Providence, Rhode Island

Dealers, collectors cross paths, but have different destinations Here’s another voice chiming in about the proposed merger of APS and ASDA. As an ambassador for APS, it was my pleasure to participate in the Volunteer Week in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania back in 2014. Although it was a long trip to drive from New Hampshire, I wanted to contribute to a hobby close to my 108 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

heart, having been a collector since I was 8 years old.

The staff was very welcoming and encouraged me to take home a bin of low-value used stamps to distribute. These, I shared freely at a few stamp shows close to home while distributing APS pamphlets and swapping stories with other collectors. When invited to a bigger show in 2017 in Boxborough, Massachusetts, I enthusiastically agreed. Sharing the stamp bin from headquarters while talking to both new and old collectors, I was able to recruit six new members; all this while sharing what I love!

However, when invited to another show, it was made clear to me that giving away free stamps was not permitted.

“Took away from the dealers who paid for their spaces to be there.” Honestly? The stamps I shared weren’t worth but a pittance, and sparked an interest in a hobby for more than one collector.

I know that it is a business for dealers. They work hard to organize and sell stamps traveling long distances to attend shows. I respect that having been self employed for my entire working life. But the bottom line is that dealers and APS members don’t share the same enthusiasm in recruiting more collectors to the hobby. I’ve since been sharing that bin with my local club. It’s fuller than ever with contributions as members take away or add to it.

As a member of APS, I would like to know the impetus necessitating a merger. There’s a difference between commercial philately and volunteers who focus on the hobby.

Betty Jane Meulenbroek Alton Bay, New Hampshire

Could merger benefit both groups and benefit our hobby?

The proposed merger between the APS and ASDA deserves reasoned consideration. The two organizations are dependent upon each other, and are not adversaries.

The stamp hobby is not growing, and new ideas are needed. Repeating what has been done in the past is unlikely to produce different results.

Scott English deserves commendation for presenting a bold, new idea for consideration. Before rejecting it, why not allow each organization to study the feasibility? It may benefit each organization, as well as our wonderful hobby.

Benjamin Trichilo Oakton, Virginia

World Class addition appreciated I am writing a letter in response to a wonderful column in the October edition of The American Philatelist, “World Class, a True Blue Worldie,” by Barry White. I really enjoyed it.

I’ve been collecting stamps since 1968, 54 years. Really

good stamps have come and gone, including a New Zealand No. 1, a 2-pound first watermark Kangaroo stamp. But I have kept and continue to add to my Minkus Master Global album. It gives me great pleasure and tranquility. My mom gave me the album for Christmas in 1972. Through all life’s changes that album has been a constant. I am approaching 50 years of APS membership.

Ralph McKenna Braintree, Massachusetts

Hungary nearly had a 1954 soccer stamp I read with interest Kenneth Gilbert’s article on “The Miracle of Bern.” As one born and raised in Hungary, one who listened to that game on Hungarian radio, I have a different view of that game than most Germans, of course. This letter is to alert the readers that there is yet another philatelic angle to that game.

Hungary was expected to win the final and the printing presses were all primed to print an airmail stamp commemorating the event. It was to use the same format as the series of 1953 (Scott 1057-61, C123-27) on occasion of the opening of the People’s Stadium. Today, the stadium is named after Ferenc Puskás, captain of that Hungarian soccer team that went on to glory in Hungary and in Spain.

When the bad news came that West Germany won the 1954 championship game, the presses were stopped before the red color could be applied. As seen on the illustration nearby, both the red stripe in the Hungarian flag and the red star on top of the Communist coat of arms are missing. The text surrounding the image on the stamp declares: “In memory of the victory gained at the 5th football World Championship.” Incidentally, in 1954, it was still called the World Championship, rather than the World Cup. This incomplete and unissued item is sometimes available at auctions of Hungarian stamps.

Derick P. Pasternak Seattle, Washington

Learning hobby’s business helps you collect what you like The November issue of The American Philatelist provided some frank, inside information on stamp auctions, as well as something of their history. Understanding the latter is clearly a help in understanding the former, today.

We might view this as the business-end of philately. The expertise provided by Bob Rufe and Charles Epting, assisted by the APS staff, and its availability to the membership in general, is something that would never (and probably could never) have been published anywhere else.

There is no question that the business end of philately is indispensable for collectors. This is regardless of whether or not they consider themselves to be participants in, pardon the term, philatelic commerce. Someone who has never sold an item has nonetheless probably been a buyer at some point. Availability of material, with platforms for finding it,

An unfinished and unissued 1954 block of four World Championship soccer stamps from Hungary.

is essential, as Mr. Rufe emphasizes.

But philately is also a hobby and an art. This art form comprises not only stamp design (highly important in itself), but also the craft and perception of what might form a coherent collection, the ability of those who form them, and, for the small minority of philatelists who choose to do so, exhibition technique and skill. There is a close parallel to the area of fine art, such as collectors of paintings and sculptures, albeit, doubtless, the financial dimensions might differ.

The one thing that might be added is that in the world of fine art, the first advice to a collector is usually, and fundamentally, to collect what you like. Preferably, also, to think about why you like or dislike certain works or collections.

That is a matter of personal taste, pure and simple, and hence brings it into the realm of an art that is not, necessarily, predicated on commerce.

Philately is not different. It does have its commercial aspects. For that matter, it also has its scientific aspects. But, at the end of the day, for most of us, it is an art form and hobby that happily removes us from our usual drudgery. The “collect what you like” angle might be added, importantly, to the excellent coverage of the commercial aspect.

Tony Fox Carlsbad, California

Marketing of new U.S. stamps cuts chances of attracting youth It has been my hope that my grandchildren would someday become collectors. I have come to realize that the problem is not a lack of interest by the young. The problem is that the actions and policies of the United States Postal Service FEBRUARY 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 109

(USPS) are killing the hobby.

When I was a preteen, I got 25 cents a week allowance.

It wasn’t much, but things didn’t cost so much then; to go to the Post Office and purchase a newly issued 4- or 5-cent first class stamp was not a big investment. I could purchase the latest stamp and have plenty of money left over for candy or bubblegum.

Today, it is not uncommon for a preteen’s allowance to be $5 a week, so purchasing a 63-cent postage stamp still isn’t a big investment. But today you cannot routinely go to the Post Office and purchase a single copy of that newly released forever stamp. Unlike the moisture activated stamps of old, the new self-adhesive stamps are not routinely sold individually. They come with fancy selvages, often a picture or essay on the back of the liner, and must be bought as full sheets of 12, 16 or 20 stamps.

Purchasing the latest stamp issue at the post office is most often an investment of $12 or more, no longer less than 20 percent of a preteen’s allowance. So why would a preteen even consider collecting stamps they cannot afford when they can more cheaply invest in cool new apps for their phone or computer?

The USPS attempt to make stamp collecting more interesting with fancy selvage and educational narratives on the liner sheets has had the unintended effect of making the hobby less available to a primary target audience, our youth.

Not cutting the serpentine perforations through the backing paper and permitting the sale of individual stamps has made the hobby unaffordable to the preteen.

And, this problem is compounded by the large number of individual stamps issued each year. By Scott Number in the 124 years from 1847 through 1971 the Post Office Department issued 1,392 stamps. But, in the following 50 years, the USPS issued 4,259 stamps; an average of 85 stamps every year. Why so many? In 2022, to purchase just one of each stamp issued costs more than a $50. Because most issues must be purchased as sheets, the cost to collect is prohibitive to the preteen collector.

It’s not competing activities and technologies that is keeping our youth from developing an interest in the wonderful world of philately. The policies of the USPS have made

Errata

NOVEMBER

Page 1012. The Smithsonian’s Arts and Industries Building is NOT “The Castle,” as was implied. The buildings are next to each other, but separate.

DECEMBER

Page 1174. The first name of the artist who created the 2022 Hanukkah stamp was misspelled in a couple of places.

Her name is Jeanette Kuvin Oren.

110 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

the hobby unaffordable for them.

Henry I. Jehan Jr. Lake Mary, Florida

Deborah Samson deserves a stamp As the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution approaches, we hope you can join us with a letter of support, and petition for a new stamp to honor Deborah Samson, a female soldier in the Revolutionary War. She also was a teacher, mother and housewife.

Once every several years a new book is written about her. A few of the titles are Masquerade, A Female Review (which Deborah herself wrote in 1797), The Secret Soldier, Cloaked in Courage, The Girl who Went to War. We know that countless students in have learned of her life, trials and tribulations. And many a college student or book author has sorted through history records to prepare a book, a report or a thesis about this “Old Soldier,” as she was called. Reenactors throughout the United States portray her.

There are many attributes that make her stand out and worthy of this stamp request. Here are a few: Samson, disguised as a man, was the first woman to enlist and serve a full term in Washington’s Continental Army.

She was the first woman to be honorably discharged at war’s end.

Samson was the first woman to receive a pension as a wounded veteran.

She was the first woman to go on a one-year lecture tour to talk about and heal the nation from the war.

After Samson’s death, her husband was the first man to

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

We encourage readers to send their comments, questions and feedback to The American Philatelist.

Submission of a letter implies consent to publish, unless specifically prohibited by the sender. The decision of whether to publish is made by the editorial staff of The American Philatelist.

Generally, letters will be published unless determined to be offensive, disrespectful, libelous, or not chiefly related to the stamp hobby.

The opinions expressed in a Letter to the Editor are those of the author and not The American Philatelist.

We do not publish or accept requests for the publication of anonymous letters.

To allow more Letters to the Editor, you are respectfully requested to limit submissions to 500 words or less. If your submission is longer, the editorial team will ask you to resubmit a shorter version, or provide you a copy of an edited version to review prior to publication.

Submit your letters to letterstotheeditor@stamps. org or mail a typewritten copy to: Letter to the Editor The American Philatelist, 100 Match Factory Place, Bellefonte, PA 16823.

receive a pension as a widower.

This veteran’s spirit lives on today. She is honored at West Point at the Women’s Memorial in Arlington Virginia, and by the Veterans Administration with an annual award given in her name to outstanding women veterans. Visit www. deborahsamson.com for more information or contact me at pumpconn@msn.com if you have any questions about our petition for this stamp.

Steve Connolly Sharon Historical Society Sharon, Massachusetts [Editor’s note: Ideas for new U.S. stamps are received by the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee by mail to Stamp Development, Attn: Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee, 475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Room 3300, Washington, DC 202603501.]

Why do old Christmas Day cancellations seem common?

Thank you for Christine Sanders’ article in December about collecting Christmas-related postal history. I much enjoyed reading its interesting contents. But the article made me have the following questions: Christmas Day has been a federal holiday since 1870, yet your collection is founded on postmarks or auxiliary markings showing December 25. Post offices are closed on federal holidays.

What explains the cancellation marks or auxiliary markings on December 25?

Would similar marks exist for other federal holidays – e.g., July 4 – so as to allow a collection of Independence Day mail and auxiliary markings?

Drew Kershen Norman, Oklahoma

Author’s response to Christmas Day cancellations query There are a number of reasons why one can find items with postal markings of December 25 (or any other federal holiday) in years after 1870 when Christmas Day was made a federal holiday. The reasons vary with the year as well as the type of postal marking.

San Diego Stamp Show San Diego, CA February 24-26 USA Postal History Colonial to Prexies: Transatlantics, Destinations, Expos, Inland Waterways, Railroads, Express, Possessions & Military

STEPHEN T. TAYLOR

5 Glenbuck Road, Surbiton, Surrey KT6 6BS England 011-441-372-468566 info@stephentaylor.co.uk www.stephentaylor.co.uk

Your American Dealer in Britain

The post office has always been charged with the responsibility “to be open sufficiently to meet the public convenience.” This, in early years (mostly pre-1900), was defined by the local postmaster since many ran post offices which were the only location for picking up and sending one’s mail as well as purchasing postage.

Then, too, even today, the post office is charged with “moving the mail” so certain mail transport and special delivery services continue to be performed even on Christmas Day. In the mid-1920s, post offices with Christmas-associated names (e.g. Christmas, Bethlehem, Star, Santa Claus) enhanced their mail traffic (and thus, their income) by offering Christmas Day postmarks (indicating the day the item entered the mainstream).

There is a little-known regulation, that as long as one requests a specific date for a postmark and that date is later than the date the request is made, the request can be granted. Covers with such postmarks (found on much more recent and usually Christmas-related covers) are considered “philatelic covers.”

Auxiliary markings dated December 25, on the other hand, are placed on the mail only on the actual date of the marking. Thus, these are proof that someone in the postal service was actually working on that date. Those who collect postal markings of a specific date are pleased to find any type of postal marking for that date. However, auxiliary markings with the date are harder to find.

Christine Sanders Englewood, Florida [Editor’s note: In addition to Christine’s information, postmasters in the early years – particularly those in small towns who may have worked out of businesses such as hotels or general stores – often made their own hours. Also, their pay was based on the amount of postage sold, so it may have been financially beneficial to be open to the public or after being contacted by a customer.]

POW camp dates of use shed light on date of card I very much enjoyed the article “Extra Trimmings for Christmas”; however, there is a correction that I would like to bring to your attention. Regarding Figure 12 on page 1112 of the article, the author states that the POW card dated December 25 was probably written in 1940, which is not correct. The POW card was sent from the Camp P.G. number 73 (Campo di Fossoli) which was established in May of 1942 and was closed in September 1943 with the surrender of Italy. This means that the card was written on December 25, 1942. As a footnote, after Italy surrendered, the Germans turned this camp into a transit camp (Camp Carpi) for Jews (including Primo Levi) to be sent for extermination, mostly to Auschwitz.

Larry Nelson Mantoloking, New Jersey FEBRUARY 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 111

Philately and International Mail Order Fraud, Elvard L. Moses and the Oxypathor Company EDWARD GRABOWSKI

AT

the turn of the 20th century the international mails had become efficient, reliable and inexpensive. A few American entrepreneurs recognized that the mails could be now used to defraud the public on an international scale. One of the most successful of these charlatans was Elvard L. Moses of Buffalo, New York (Figure 1).

This is a familiar road as it is my third chapter on philately and international fraud. The first chapter introduced E. Virgil Neal, aka Xenophon la Motte Sage, and the New York Institute of Science. The second presents Professor A. Victor Segno.

Moses marketed the Oxypathor, a medical treatment device, which he sold for $35 per unit, about $700 in today’s purchasing power. The device cost $1.25 to produce. It consisted of a cylinder filled with chemicals (sulfur, sand, carbon and lead acetate based on one analysis), and wires coming from the ends of the cylinder that ended in electrodes, which were supposed to be attached to the ankles and wrists of the subject being treated.

The Oxypathor was supposed to polarize the skin and permit the ready entry of oxygen into the blood. Moses claimed that high levels of oxygen in the blood could cure virtually every known human disease.

Moses was not the creator of the Oxypathor concept, but he was its most successful marketer. Through national and international mailings and local advertising he was able to establish about 450 Oxypathor franchises on all five major continents.

112 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

Figure 1. Elvard L. Moses, creator of the Oxypathor medical device.

Figure 2. Hercules Sanche, initiator of the concept of oxygenators and, specifically, his Oxydonor.

Figure 3. Hercules Sanche’s Oxydonor Victory, as marketed in the United States and Canada.

FEBRUARY 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 113

Figure 4. A typical Sanche Oxydonor advertisement.

Moses began sales of the Oxypathor from his Buffalo headquarters in 1908 and was ultimately convicted in late 1914 of mail order fraud by the combined efforts of the United States Post Office Department and the American Medical Association. He was sentenced to 18 months in the Atlanta Federal Prison. The trial revealed that he sold more than 45,451 Oxypathors during this period. However, after his conviction and sentencing, no refunds were ever made to the defrauded Oxypathor customers.

The purpose of this article is to document and detail Moses’ Oxypathor fraud as revealed through surviving ephemera and postal history. Included are sections on: the Oxypathor as a medical device; establishment of the Oxypathor franchises; advertising the Oxypathor; Oxypathor postal history; recent Oxypathor clinical studies; and the trial and incarceration of Moses.

The Oxypathor as a medical device As noted, Moses was not the creator of the Oxypathor concept – a medical device that would oxygenate the blood and cure a myriad of diseases. This honor is attributed to one

Figure 5. An 1896 Hercules Sanche cover to Illinois.

Figure 6. The Oxypathor as developed by Elvard Moses.

114 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

Figure 7. The Oxypathor instruction book in mint, never-read condition.

Figure 9. Oxypathor powder and shaving soap were among the items offered to the public.

Figure 8. Oxypathor accessories offered in the instruction book.

Hercules Sanche who initiated the concept in the late 1890s in the U.S. (Figure 2).

Sanche actually was able to patent an oxygenator device, and by 1900 had elaborated it into the Oxydonor, which he marketed from offices in Detroit, Chicago, New York and Montreal. A picture of a typical Sanche Oxydonor is shown (Figure 3).

The device consisted of a nickel-plated gas pipe, which was filled with essentially inert chemicals and sealed at both ends. A wire extended from one end that ended in a metal electrode, which was supposed to be strapped to the patient’s wrist or ankle. Supposedly, the device polarized the skin and permitted the ready entry of oxygen into the blood. The presence of high levels of oxygen in the blood was claimed to cure a variety of diseases.

During actual use, the Oxydonor was supposed to be immersed in a bath of water, as the temperature of the water altered the efficacy of the device. The colder the temperature of the Oxydonor, the more potent was the treatment. This is contrary to what is normally seen in chemistry – in which the warmer a chemical reaction, the faster it proceeds.

A typical ad for the Oxydonor is illustrated (Figure 4).

During the latter part of 1915 the Fraud Order Department of the Post Office Department investigated Sanche and his Oxydonor, and issued an order denying him and his company the use of the mail for the selling of this fraudulent device that did nothing.

Sadly for philatelists, very little mail survives from the Sanche era. I have noted but one Sanche cover (Figure 5) in more than a decade of searching all likely avenues. The cover carries a simple 2-cent rate sent in 1896 from Sanche’s New York office to a potential client in the village of Hardin, Illinois. It shows a delightful ad for Sanche’s Oxydonor Victory, the name of his device at that time.

Figure 10. A German advertisement for Oxypathor franchisees.

The sale of the Oxydonor was so profitable for Sanche that many imitators arose in the United States. The most successful of these was Elvard L. Moses of Buffalo.

Moses appropriated and expanded on Sanche’s ideas, and his version of the device was ultimately named the Oxypathor. Moses modified his version of the device such that it was longer than the Oxydonor. It had wires coming out of both ends leading to electrodes that were supposed to be atFEBRUARY 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 115

Figure 12. A cover from Espirito Santo, Brazil, apparently in response to an ad for franchisees.

Figure 11. The Oxypathor booth at the 1911 North Carolina State Fair. (Image courtesy North Carolina State Archives.)

Figure 13. From left, the top page of the trademark registration package for the Oxypathor in Peru; a consular revenue stamp with consular cancel.

tached to a wrist and ankle of the patient.

A well-used example of Moses’ device, complete with carrying case, is shown (Figure 6). The two standard electrodes are shown at the center and right of the figure. The instruction book for the Oxypathor was more than 130 pages (Figure 7)!

To expand sales for his company, Moses created a variety of accessories for the Oxypathor, which were sold as part of the after-market, as we say today. A sample of these from the instruction book is shown (Figure 8).

Most probably, Moses sold an accessory for every human orifice and surface, male or female. Note the curved third electrode shown at the left in the picture of his Oxypathor model in Figure 6. This was supposed to be placed over the forehead or any other painful area of the subject, which presumably oxygenated the area directly.

Moses also created and sold a group of creams, powders and soaps to enhance Oxypathor treatments (Figure 9). To me, the accessories were a clear indication of what a master marketer he was.

Establishment of the 116 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

Oxypathor franchises The basic Oxypathor, its instruction booklet and its outer packaging weighed about 2.2 pounds (1 kilogram). Moses recognized that selling these nationally and internationally from the home office in Buffalo would be difficult and expensive, and that every international sale would have to individually go through foreign customs offices with all of their bureaucracy and possible fraud.

So he decided to sell the Oxypathors through local franchises that would be established throughout the U.S. and in the principal countries abroad.

The major foreign languages (Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Russian, etc.) were apparently not a problem, as suggested by the German ad for franchisees shown in Figure 10. An English translation of the ad reads, “Representatives Sought – OXYPATHOR – Registered Trademark,” and goes on to note the marvels of oxygen treatment to cure a variety of diseases.

Also, Moses notes in the ad that there are 450 representatives on five continents. Additional advertising indicated that 300 of the franchises were located in the United States and 150 were located in foreign countries. Figure 11, taken from the internet, shows a franchise booth at the 1913 North Carolina State Fair. A permanent Oxypathor sales branch was maintained in downtown Raleigh.

A cover from Espirito Santo, Brazil on April 25, 1913 (Figure 12) at the 200-reis rate is most probably a response to an ad for representatives from Brazil that was undoubtedly in Portuguese To protect his interests, Moses registered the Oxypathor trademark in each country prior to establishing franchise offices.

Shown are a portion of the Oxypathor trademark registration papers for the country of Peru.

The actual document is four pages long, but only the first and last pages are shown. The first page is the cover document (Figure 13), which shows that the registration took place August 16, 1912, at the Peruvian Consulate in New York City. A Peruvian 2-sols revenue stamp is tied to the front by the Consulate’s handstamp, indicating that routine charges applied for this service. The final page (not shown)actually mentions the Oxypathor Company, and contains a notary’s endorsement relative to the signatures from Buffalo on the document.

Figure 14. A typical ad for the Oxypathor from the Ohio Architect, Engineer and Builder.

Advertising the Oxypathor Moses and his franchisees advertised profusely in worldwide newspapers, magazines and specialty journals. Ads were prepared by Moses

Figure 15. A full-page ad from the Pacific Coast Oxypathor Company.

FEBRUARY 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 117

Figure 16. Oxypathor advertising blotter showing the home of Ralph Waldo Emerson.

for use by the franchisees, but they were also free to do their own advertising.

A typical ad from The Ohio Architect, Engineer and Builder, a trade magazine, is shown (Figure 14). It is from the Northern Oxypathor Company, of Elyria, Ohio. It is well-designed and names a few of the diseases that could be treated, noting the importance of oxygen in the treatment of disease. It also illustrates the standard Oxypathor.

The reader is requested to write for detailed information on the device and there are testimonials on the success of its use. No mention is made about the price for the Oxypathor, but as previously noted, the standard price was $35 per unit (equivalent to about $750 in today’s purchasing power). The estimated production cost of the Oxypathor was about $1.25.

One of the most spectacular Oxypathor ads was that from

Figure 17. An example of the Oxypathor advertising sewing kit.

Figure 18. An advertising booklet from the British Columbia Oxypathor Company.

118 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

Figure 19. Belgian stamp booklet from 1912.

Figure 20. Front and back ads on the booklet in Figure 19.

the Pacific Coast Oxypathor Company, which in 1911 took a full front page of the Oregon Sunday Journal newspaper in Portland, Oregon (Figure 15). This ad (discovered on the internet) contains just about everything that one might want to know about the Oxypathor, plus a scantily clad young lady, as per 1911 standards, demonstrating the Oxypathor, and a coupon to be cut out and mailed in for additional information on the device. To complement paper ads, Moses also produced Oxypathor pins, a child’s mirror and a series of blotters showing famous American homes. The latter could even be colFigure 21. The business card from the holder of the franchise in Rochester, New York. lected as a set to get an example of each home (Figure 16). One of the most unusual U.S. ads was the sewing kit shown was incorporated into a booklet of four panes (Figure 19). in Figure 17.

The local Oxypathor Company at Anvers contracted for an ad on the back cover of the booklet. Advertisements on the Advertising could also be prepared by the local franchises front and back covers are shown (Figure 20). This is among as illustrated by the advertising booklet of the British Columthe rarest Belgian booklets of the period. This ad has a major bia Oxypathor Company (Figure 18). In addition to informaerror in its composition. It notes oxidation of the blood, not tion on the Oxypathor, this booklet contains numerous testioxygenation. If the Oxypathor actually oxidized the blood it monials, including many from members of the clergy. would have been disastrous for the patients.

One of the most creative Oxypathor ads was that of the Figure 21 shows the business card of the franchise holder Anvers, Belgium franchise of the company. A new King Albert I stamp was issued in 1912 and the 10-centimes value in Rochester, New York. Apparently, he attempted to visit FEBRUARY 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 119

a customer or potential customer at home. Finding him out, he left his business card with a message on the reverse which has survived to this day.

Despite the fact that Rochester is but 90 miles from the home office of Buffalo and was connected by rail, Moses saw fit to have a franchise there and someone in Rochester did enough business to maintain the franchise.

Postal history – the United States Figure 22. An underpaid Oxypathor cover with a 2-cent Washington coil.

Figure 23. A 1908 postcard from the N.A. Merrell franchise in California.

Figure 24. A picturesque envelope from the Buffalo home office to N.A. Merrell in Boulder, Colorado.

120 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

Unfortunately, postal history related to the Oxypathor is very rare.

Since Moses dealt primarily with franchisees, there simply was not the level of correspondence that one might expect had he been dealing with individual clients. Many of the Oxypathors were bought at the local branches, and no correspondence was necessitated by these sales. There is no evidence that any of the Oxypathor branches had sufficient correspondence to warrant regular selling of their covers to the philatelic trade. This includes the home office in Buffalo.

Still, a few covers suggesting the history and scope of Moses’ scam can be found with diligent searching. At this writing, only 25 Oxypathor covers comprise the entirety of my collection.

Beginning with U.S. postal history, the first cover shown in this section (Figure 22) was posted from the Home Office in Buffalo on January 12, 1912, and franked at the standard 2-cent rate with a 1912 Washington coil. It reached into the second weight level (3 cents postage) and arrived in Syracuse, where it was charged 2 cents due.

The cover was preprinted with the Oxypathor cachet, a Liberty-like figure holding a torch in her left hand and pointing to the heavens with her right, and the return address of the Buffalo home office. The choice of a silver ink for this cachet is unusual as it does not show strongly, as in this case, and is a poor choice for advertising. However, as we shall see, Moses apparently favored this cachet and it was used by many Oxypathor franchise offices as printed in the Buffalo home office.

Apparently someone named N.A. Merrell had two Oxypathor franchises, one in California and a second in Colorado. The California postcard shown (Figure 23) was posted in 1910 from Santa Anna to Merrell in Santa Barbara in 1910. At this time, the Oxypathor was known by its initial name, the “Oxygenator,” as the ad on the address side shows. Note that the device at the top of the card is clearly that by Moses.

A remarkable Oxypathor envelope (Figure 24) shows a quiet rural scene and was printed to look like a letter card. This is addressed to Merrell in 1913 at the Northern Colorado Oxypathor Company in Boulder.

Postal history – Europe The simple cover shown in Figure 25 was posted from Seville, Spain at the 25-cent rate to the home office in Buffalo. The reverse bears the cachet of an insurance company. Possibly someone there was inquiring opening a franchise.

A similar cover shown via the Retro-Reveal process (Figure 26) was posted from Las Palmas, Canary Islands at the same rate also to the home office. The envelope bears a light printing of the standard Oxypathor cachet. Retro-Reveal processing clearly shows the cachet, and the return address of the of the Canary Islands office. Data such as this, along with franchise advertising, helps to establish the locations of the various franchise offices. Without question, there was a proper franchise on the Canary Islands despite their size and remoteness.1 The cover from Russia shown in Figure 27 is critically important to the overall Oxypathor story, a significant piece of postal history and an albatross that sits in a prominent place in my Oxypathor exhibit. It represents a triple-weight registered letter posted from Moscow at a 40-kopeck rate corresponding to 30k postage and 10k registration. It was posted on November 1, 1912, and bears a New York City transit and a Buffalo arrival of November 29, 1912.

Figure 25. A cover posted in 1913 from Seville, Spain to the Buffalo home office.

Figure 26. The Retro-Reveal processing of a cover confirms the existence of the Canary Islands franchise.

Figure 27. A triple weight registered cover from Moscow, Russia.

FEBRUARY 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 121

Figure 28. A Guatemala City posting at the 50-cent international rate with clear image of the Oxypathor cachet.

Figure 29. A cover from Santiago, Chile to the Oxypathor branch office in Bridgeberg, Ontario, a possible back-up to the main office in Buffalo.

Unfortunately, this excellent franking is marred by the fact that one of the 10k stamps has been lost, and a corner of the left envelope torn away, things that exhibit judges do not hesitate in noting. What they fail to accept is that this is the only Oxypathor cover from Russia that has been recorded.

In addition to being a highly desirable franking, this envelope bears the return address of the Russian-American Trade and Industry Agency. This was an umbrella agency under which American companies had to operate as part of doing business in the Russian Empire. As a higher weight registered letter, this envelope probably contained cash money (American dollars?) for the purchase of Oxypathors.

Although not mentioned, this letter undoubtedly came from the Oxypathor franchise or something similar, operating in Russia.

122 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

Postal history – Central and South America Central and South America has been a relatively fertile field for finding Oxypathor covers.

A September 1911 cover from Guatemala City franked at the 50-centavos rate to the home office in Buffalo is a simple example (Figure 28). In this case, the silver Oxypathor cachet readily shows against the dark background of the envelope. These envelopes were printed in Buffalo by Moses for use by the franchise branches if they wished, and undoubtedly paid for.

Shown in Figure 29 is a Chilean postal stationery envelope revalued to 20 centavos with an additional 10-centavos stamp to prepay the 20 centavos overseas rate from Santiago on August 13, 1915, to the Oxypathor office at Bridgeburg, Ontario (Canada), where it was received on September 15. A

Figure 30. A 1913 registered cover from Santiago, Chile. The reverse shows the Oxypathor cachet of the franchise.

merchant’s cachet on the reverse identifies the sender as a seller of Oxypathors.

Bridgeberg, Ontario is a small town across the Niagara River from BufFigure 31. A registered letter from the established franchisee in Montevideo, Uruguay. falo. One cannot help but wonder why The reverse shows the Oxypathor advertising seal. would there be another office so close to the home office? Most probably, Moses was using the Canadian office as an alvember 16, 1913, to the home office at Buffalo (Figure 30). ternate shipping point for Oxypathors.

The envelope bears the standard silver cachet modified for It may have been easier to ship those to British Empire desthe Santiago branch, and a registry label to confirm registratinations from a member of the British Empire community tion. The reverse shows Santiago and New York transits and rather than from the United States. Another issue is that by a Buffalo arrival. In addition, a handstamp from this branch September 1915 Moses was incarcerated in the Atlanta Fedoffice is present, which gives the address of the branch with eral Prison serving an 18-month term for mail order fraud. the classical image of the Oxypathor nicely centered in the Possibly, the sender in Chile was aware of that, and decided cachet. to contact the Bridgeberg office as an alternate means of conUruguay has provided three covers for the collection, a tinuing his Oxypathor business. remarkable number given its small size. Let’s look at a couple.

Also from Chile is a registered cover at the 40 centavos rate posted from the Oxypathor branch at Santiago on NoFigure 31 shows a cover from one Felipe Urgal, whose loFEBRUARY 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 123

cally printed return address envelope shows he was already the franchise dealer in Montevideo. He promises perfect health with the Oxypathor and notes that he is the exclusive agent for such in Uruguay. The letter was posted at a double weight registered rate of 31 cents on September 15, 1913, and arrived in Buffalo on September 29. It bears an “AR” handstamp, indicating that a return receipt was requested.

Undoubtedly, this letter contained some cash or monetary

Figure 32. A cover from Pausandu, Uruguay posted after Elvard Moses’ incarceration in Atlanta Federal Prison.

Figure 33. Advertising cover from the Caracas, Venezuela franchise to the home office in Buffalo. The reverse shows a special label created by the franchisee.

124 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

vehicle for the purchase of additional Oxypathors and/or related supplies. The reverse of this letter shows an example of the Oxypathor advertising seal, which had been prepared by Moses and used by some of the franchisees.

The second cover from Uruguay (Figure 32) is from the town of Paysandu, located up the Plate River from Montevideo, at the registered 23-cent rate (note the boxed registry cancel), and was posted on September 19, 1915 to the Oxypathor Office in Cleveland, Ohio. This is another example of correspondence after the incarceration of Moses in Atlanta Federal Prison. The letter was forwarded to Buffalo, but not the regular Oxypathor office on Pearl Street. This could suggest that the regular office was closed.

The last cover from this area (Figure 33) is one of the most striking. It was posted on February 23, 1913, from Caracas, Venezuela on a beautiful advertising envelope from Costanzo Vanaina, who ran the local franchise. The letter was posted at the 1-bolivar registered rate to Buffalo, and shows New York transits on the reverse but no Buffalo arrival.

The front of the envelope shows a young lad quietly reading a children’s book while taking his Oxypathor treatment. The reverse shows a sealing label created by the franchisee, and a note that he is seeking to organize and coordinate the franchisees of Venezuela. This is the only example of such that I have seen.

This cover illustrates the latitude that franchisees had in organizing and running their business in the local areas.

Postal history – East Asia Saving the best for last, as with dessert, we now come to the postal history from the East Asia.

The first item is an English-language postcard that was designed to be sent to successful customers of the Oxypathor (Figure 34). There is no indication of its creator. The purpose of the card was to have successful clients recommend six of their friends or acquaintances who might benefit from Oxypathor treatment. The reverse of the card has the notations, “Help Humanity and Help Yourself, and OXYPATHY – The Best Friend the Sick Ever Had.” The front of the card instructs the sender to: “Put a One Cent Stamp Here and So Save Suffering and Perhaps Life.” This suggests that the card was of United States origin.

This example was properly used from Japan. It was posted from Takanabe, Myazaki Prefecture on September 23, 1911, at a proper 1½-sen rate, and was received at Kobe Sannoniya on September 26, 1911. Six names and addresses were provided by the sender as possible Oxypathor clients.

The sender’s name is at the bottom of the reverse of the card.

This represented a simple, and probably successful, way of soliciting new customers. I have not seen another example of the use of this card.

The final two Oxypathor covers are from the Russian Office in Harbin, Manchuria. “Harbin Manchuria?” you ask.

By the beginning of the 20th century Harbin was becoming a center of international activity. The Chinese Eastern Railway, which the Russians had financed, reached Harbin and was an extension of the Trans-Siberian Railway, thus providing ready land access to many areas in Russia and

Europe. Sixteen countries established consulates in Harbin around this time, and many western religions established branches of their churches there. Economic activity flourished. With so much western influence, it was a logical place for Moses to establish a franchise.

The cover shown front and reverse (Figure 35) bears an Oxypathor cachet showing a typical view of the Oxypathor with accompanying text. The cover was posted from the Russian foreign office at Harbin, Manchuria on October 10, 1915 (Russian date). The Cyrillic “D.Ts.” (“Passed by Censor”) in red was applied in Kransnoyarsk, Siberia, and is the first recorded use of this handstamp. The reverse shows the cover was received November 2, 1915, in Petrograd and dispatched from the same office on November 4. The violet handstamp to the right indicates that the letter was opened and resealed by the censor at Petrograd. The cover is addressed to a spirits manufacturer and distiller in Glasgow, Scotland. I quickly identified this as one of the rarest and most remarkable covers in my entire fraud collection.

The second Harbin cover is courtesy of Wade Saadi. This cover (Figure 36) is founded on the same Oxypathor advertising envelope as is the previous cover. It was also posted at the Russian Office in Harbin, but on June 12, 1914 (Russian date). The sender franked the cover with 10 cents worth of low value Chinese stamps, which were not valid at the Russian post office. The invalid nature of these stamps was noted by highlighting them in blue crayon (not canceling them with the Harbin datestamp). I am unfamiliar with Russian practices for such, but this type of highlighting and not canceling invalid stamps is similar to what the French did during this period.

Figure 34. An Oxypathor solicitation card used from Japan, and suggestions for Oxypathor clients from a satisfied client.

FEBRUARY 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 125

Figure 35. An Oxypathor cover and reverse from the Russian Office in Harbin, Manchuria to Glasgow, Scotland.

The letter traveled via the northern route through Russia by rail, “Via Siberia.” On arrival in New York, the letter received the duplex New York due handstamp at the Hudson Terminal on July 15, noting that it was 10 cents postage due. To verify collection of that amount, a 10-cent Parcel Post postage due stamp was applied and it was manuscript canceled. I believe that proper use of this stamp makes this an exceptional cover. This cover is addressed to The Cosmopolitan Correspondence Club of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Is there anything known about the Oxypathor franchise owner in Harbin, Manchuria? My most recent web search has shown that the sole representative of the Oxypathor Company of Buffalo was Joseph Emanuel Ravetta, of the Manchuria Import & Export Company in Harbin. He also held the same position with respect to the Coreo (Korea) Oxypathor Company. Also noted was the fact that he was also the representative of The Cosmopolitan Correspondence Club (CCC) of Milwaukee in all of China, and that he spoke Japanese and Mandarin Chinese. This information comes from a publication of the CCC of Milwaukee named the Globe Trotter.

These last two covers establish the existence of an Oxypathor franchise in Harbin, Manchuria, but I do not think either of them represent use for Oxypathor business. It seems more likely that the letter to a distiller in Scotland from an importer was for Scotch whiskey, for which there might be a strong demand in Harbin.

The Cosmopolitan Correspondence Club was an international club chartered in 1900 to promote worldwide correspondence among its members. Members were often collec126 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

tors of stamps, postal cards, curiosities or other materials. As the representative in China, Ravetta was probably writing to Milwaukee regarding club business. He was likely using Oxypathor envelopes for general business and private activities.

The trial and incarceration of Moses Medical fraud was rampant in the United States for the first quarter of the 20th century. The U.S. Post Office Department and the American Medical Association maintained a major joint effort to identify and close down fraudsters throughout this period. Their successes were reported regularly in the weekly issues of the Journal of the American Medical Association, and in summary volumes published periodically for the public record.

For my studies of mail order fraud, I have been using a 1921 edition of Nostrums and Quackery: Articles on the Nostrum Evil, Quackery and Allied Matters Affecting Public Health (Volume II). Reflecting the size and complexity of fraud problem during these times, this volume is more than 800 pages long. Hundreds of examples of medical fraud are documented. Oxygenators, including the scams of Hercules Sanche and Elvard L. Moses, are discussed in the chapter “The Gas-Pipe Cures.” This information is available online via Google Books.

Although Sanche was the creator of the oxygenator scam around 1900 with his Oxydonor device, it was not until late 1915 that the overworked Fraud Order Department of the U.S. Post Office turned its intentions towards him, most likely because he was a lesser player in this scam.

Figure 36. An Oxypathor cover from the Russian Office in Harbin, Manchuria improperly franked with Chinese stamps. (Courtesy of the Wade Saadi collection.)

With the department’s successful prosecution of Moses, who was the master marketer in this area, the department issued a fraud order debarring Sanche and his companies. The Post Office Department memorandum reads (in part): “On October 13, 1915, a fraud order was issued against Dr. H. Sanche & Co. and allied concerns … upon evidence satisfying the Postmaster-General that under such names the said concerns and parties were conducting a scheme for obtaining money Figure 37. A postcard shows the Atlanta Federal Prison where Elvard Moses was through the mails by means of false and incarcerated. fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises. The scheme consisted in the lifetime of his scam, which is about $32M in today’s purchassale, through the mails, of a device know which it ing power. There is little mention of the overseas Oxypathor as an as the ‘Oxydonor’ which it was represented business and sales in the summary presented. This suggests would, when attached to the diseased human body in accordance with certain directions, cause the that the estimated gross sales of the Oxypathor may be on body to absorb increased amounts of oxygen and the low end, and real total sales were much higher. by this means cure practically every disease. All such A postcard from the Atlanta Federal Prison is shown representations and claims were found to be false (Figure 37). Records from the prison indicate that Moses, and fraudulent ….”

Since Moses was by far the most successful perpetrator of an oxygenator fraud, his case received the greatest attention from the government and medical authorities. “On November 6, 1914 he was convicted in the United States District Court at Rutland, VT of using the mails in the furtherance of a scheme to defraud in the conduct of his business, and was sentenced on November 7, 1914 to 18 months in the penitentiary at Atlanta, GA,” the chapter stated.

The Moses case is presented in great detail in the aforementioned book. In the government summary it is noted that from the inception of the Oxypathor Company in 1909 until his conviction, Moses sold 45,451 Oxypathors at $35 each. That suggests he realized $1.6M in gross sales over the

at age 53, resided there from March 22, 1915, until June 5, 1916, and his crime was Using Mail to Defraud. In my search for material from the prison, I am hoping that someday I might find a postcard actually written by Moses himself.

After release, Moses seems to have resided in Buffalo, but I have been unable to locate any information on his activities in the post-prison period.

Conclusion For the past seven years, I have been giving philatelic talks on Moses and the other fraudsters in my collection, and have looked for some learned statement with which to end each talk.

FEBRUARY 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 127

At first I thought that Puck’s comment on humans might be appropriate: “Lord what fools these mortals be.” Shakespeare offers a comment for just about every life situation.

But possibly I am being too harsh on what is my grandparents’ generation.

When we compare the states of science and medicine in 1910 with those of today, there are fantastic differences.

Despite these, we, as a species, remain easily fooled. The flat-earthers still exist, though their numbers are small, and belief in astrology is down to 5 percent. So possibly hope for us mortals yet remains.

lied Matters Affecting the Public Health: Reprinted With or Without Modifications from The Journal of the American Medical Association, Volume II (1921), Arthur J. Cramp Editor, Press of the American Medical Association, pp 705-720, Chicago. Available online via Google Books.

State Archives of North Carolina Photos Facebook page, https://aps.buzz/ NCOxypathor.

Oregon Sunday Journal, Oct. 29, 1911, Portland, Oregon (https://aps.buzz/

Endnote 1. The Retro-Reveal image processing website is no longer available.

An alternative is Postmark Reveal and it is available at: https://www. postmark-reveal.com/.

Resources “Philately and International Mail Order Fraud, the Success of the New York Institute of Science in Hungary,” OPUS XVIII, Académie Européenne de Philatélie, pp 121-134, (2018). English version of the article is on the website of the Society for Hungarian Philately of the U.S.: https://hungarianphilately.org/articles/philately-and-mail-order-fraud/.

“Philately and International Mail Order Fraud: The Success of Professor A. Victor Segno and His American Institute of Mentalism in the European African Colonies,” OPUS XXIII, Académie Européenne de Philatélie, (2023), in press.

“The Giver of Oxygen: Hercules Sanche and the Oxydonor” (1996), Micaela Sullivan-Fowler, Journal of Medical Humanities, Vol. 17, pp 31-42.

“Philately & International Mail Order Fraud: The Oxypathor Franchise Office in Harbin, Manchuria,” by Edward Grabowski, Collectors Club Philatelist, Vol. 95, 313-316 (2016).

Nostrums and Quackery, Articles on the Nostrum Evil, Quackery and Al-

PortlandOxypathor).

T

Edward Grabowski, who spent his entire professional career as a chemist with the Merck Research Labs, started collecting stamps just after World War II, and fate ultimately brought him to the French colonies after first collecting the world, then the United States and then France. His “Guadeloupe Postal History” exhibit won the Grand Prix d’Honeur at the Washington 2006 show.

In 2014, he received the APS Luff Award for Philatelic Research. During 2013 and 2014 it was his pleasure to serve as president of the Collectors Club of New York.

Recently, his principal philatelic focus had been on the postal history of the French Colonial Allegorical Group Type and its era. It was while collecting this area that he first discovered covers related to using the mails to perpetrate mail order fraud on an international scale at the turn of the 20th century, which has now become his principal philatelic endeavor. Given that his philatelic interests are now worldwide, he always asks that fellow collectors inform him of any fraud material they encounter in their own collecting interests. Ed can be reached at: edjjg@alum.mit.edu.

For Further LEARNING

Recommendations from the APRL research staff: Bruns, James H. “Images of a Scandal: The 19th Century Star Route Frauds” The Heliograph, Spring 1988.

Clifton, Robert Bruce. Murder By Mail And Other Postal Investigations (Ardmore, PA: Dorrance & Company, 1979). [G3701 .P859 C639m 1979] Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Senate. Use of Mass Mail to Defraud Consumers Hearing Before the Subcommittee on International Security, Proliferation, And Federal Services of The Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Fifth Congress, Second Session, September 1, 1998. (Washington, DC: U.S. G.P.O., 1999). [KF26 .G6739 1998d] Dattolico, Michael. “Cuba: The Postal Frauds of 1900” The American Philatelist, October 1994.

Grabowski, Edward. “Philately and International Mail Order Fraud the Success of the New York Institute of Science in Hungary” (Academie Europeenne de Philatelie, 2018). [IP70792]

128 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

he Author

Holbrook, J. Ten Years Among the Mail Bags: Notes from The Diary of a Special Agent of The Post-Office Department (New York, NY: Loomis National Library Association, 1888). [G3701 .M219 H724t 1888] Jones, M. “Star Route Mail Fraud 1870 – 1880” The American Philatelist, September 1972.

Mikulski, Zbigniew. “Postal Fraud in the Kingdom of Poland, 1858-1870” Bulletin of the Polonus Philatelic Society, May/June 1998.

Nelson, Larry. “Nigerian Mail Fraud Scheme. Too Good to Be True” The American Philatelist, May 1998.

Pisoschi, Rumitru. “Postal Fraud in Walachia” Romanian Philatelic Studies, 1981.

Simmons, C.C. Philatelic Frauds (Chariton, IA: C.C. Simmons, 1883). [HE6184 .F721 S592p CLOSED STACKS] Speirs, Dale. “Advance Fee Mail Fraud” Postal History Journal, February 2002.

Tilles, Harvey G. “To Prevent Postal Fraud and Deceit” (Harvey Tilles, 2006). [HE6184 .F721 T575p 2006 EXHIBIT]

WILLIAM B. HALE:

A World Class Swindler

And How An 80-Year Philatelic Mystery Was Solved

O

RICK BARRETT

ne reason the foundation of our great hobby is solid is because of the continuing degree to which excited collectors seek answers and share their knowledge.

Even with the vast number of resources available from individuals and places like the American Philatelic Research Library, there will always be questions that puzzle us, and secrets to explore. The quest to solve those riddles is an ongoing task, and it is a marvelous thrill when striking stories reveal themselves and are then freely shared.

What began for me as a simple project to design a pamphlet and numbering system for souvenir stamps pertaining to the 1901 Pan American Exposition, eventually grew into an investigative philatelic adventure.

Two men were associated with those stamps that we now call cinderellas. One was a good fellow named Raynor Hubbell, of Buffalo, New York, and the other was an extremely intriguing bad guy. I found well over a dozen repetitive, perplexing statements concerning the fate of this “huckster” that required investigation.

Figure 1. Two unauthorized cinderellas William B. Hale created for the 1901 Pan American Exhibition in Buffalo, New York.

130 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

The huckster who created fake stamps for the Pan American Expo was a stamp dealer named William B. Hale (Figure 1), from Williamsville, a small town in the bucolic Berkshires of central Massachusetts, where illustrator Norman Rockwell later created many of his beloved images of Americana.

Born in 1871, Hale came from a well-to-do family. His father, Seth P.H. Parker Hale, owned a general store, was an American Express agent, justice of the peace, and the town’s postmaster.

Hale was an educated lad, who as a teenager began selling coins and stamps by mail. His first known advertisements were in Golden Argosy (Figure 2), which many would later know as Argosy Magazine. At age 17, William became member No. 507 of the American Philatelic Association, the predecessor to the American Philatelic Society Hale then placed seven consecutive ads in the magazine that you are reading right now, The American Philatelist, and continued to promote his business in numerous stamp magazines for almost two decades (Figure 3). He grew into a well-known character in late1800s philatelic journals and enjoyed a positive rapport with many publishers. There were literally hundreds of magazines devoted to stamp collecting at that time, representing the entire Figure 2. Early on, William Hale advertised United States, as well as a large portion his business in Golden Argosy magazine, was of the world, and Hale’s name was fre- corresponding with clients and joined the quently seen in numerous publications. American Philatelic Association as society member No. 507, as advertised in the May Around the mid-1890s, Hale 10, 1888, edition of The American Philatelist. claimed that poor eyesight drove him to transition from exclusively selling When one meticulously views 1890s philatelic publicastamps by mail to becoming a traveling tions, it becomes clear that Hale likely found it difficult to philatelic dealer. One would assume that a similar optical visit certain locations over and over again because it was range would be required whether stamps were being put revealed that he was selling fakes and reproductions. Many into an envelope or a stock book. Regardless, Hale’s name collectors who made purchases in good faith were later diswas becoming synonymous with fascinating adventures, appointed to find out that some of Hale’s stamps were forgas well as tall tales. He became known nationwide as “The eries and they’d been hoodwinked. So, instead of visiting the Stamp Drummer”, a drummer being a term associated with same old stomping grounds, Hale became not just a nationtraveling salesmen. wide traveler, but over many years, a worldwide globetrotter.

The editors of many stamp journals loved it when Hale It seems to me astounding that he lived on the edge of came through their town, as it provided interesting copy for integrity for so long before his indiscretions became widely upcoming issues. A number of them declared how exciting known. it was to have Hale stop by their offices or attend a local There are an abundance of articles, features and firststamp club meeting, where he shared his wares and fantastic stories (Figure 4). hand accounts revealing what an engaging and dynamic FEBRUARY 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 131

Since stamps were first issued, nefarious scoundrels have attempted to use potions, chemicals or a combination thereof to remove cancellations with varying success.

Figure 3. William Hale advertised regularly in several stamp publications.

Figure 4. Stamp collecting societies and clubs enjoyed visits from the personable William B. Hale.

character Hale was, which is likely why folks looked away when his shady business shenanigans were reported.

The October 20, 1898 Allegheny Philatelist noted that William was “a very pleasant and agreeable gentleman” and that “he makes friends rapidly, and when his hour for departure arrives his friends are loath to see him go.” The June 1899 Virginia Philatelist reported that he left “a most favorable impression upon all who came in contact with him.” And, the editor of The Herald Exchange wrote in the September 1, 1899 issue, “When in New York, Mr. Hale calls at our office and always has some news to tell us and good stamps to show.”

The words “normal,” “mild-mannered,” or “boring” certainly did not apply to this swashbuckling personality. In fact, when sharing about this dazzling character now, I enjoy 132 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

saying that if he were around today, he would be a terrific candidate for a reality TV show!

The excitement that Hale exhibited in the philatelic world carried over to other areas of his life (Figure 5). Filatelic Facts and Fantasies, a monthly that started publishing in 1892 and lasted seven years, offered the following about Hale: He was run over by a team of horses, was on a train held up by banditos in Mexico, almost drowned, twice traveled the Atlantic on an ocean liner, experienced a 16-month odyssey abroad, met the Pope, and was nearly killed in a historic, tragic New York City hotel fire. What may or may not have been true was not relevant; Hale clearly was a magnetic individual who routinely found himself in stunning situations. A few years after the new century unfolded, the attention Hale received in philatelic papers eventually ceased.

Hale’s stamp-dealing heyday came to an end in early 1906 when he was confronted by a very respected philatelist, J.M. Bartles, a well-known and highly regarded stamp merchant and a philatelic expert with a thriving auction house in Boston. Bartles was an important, emerging figure of distinction in our hobby who was later named to the American Philatelic Society Hall of Fame.

Bartles was in Europe in late 1905, and when visiting with some collectors in Hamburg, they asked for his assistance. Hale had sold some newspaper stamps about a year or so prior when he was overseas, and the German philatelists eventually learned that their purchases had forged cancellations on them. Bartles promised to come to their aid. When he returned to the United States, Bartles confronted Hale personally, and William came clean. Hale promised to make restitution to those who contacted him, and Bartles pledged to pursue action, “if the forger raises any kind of trouble.”

Hale also said he would destroy any remainders of the imitations in the presence of Bartles, and hopefully that was done.

The January 1906 edition of Germany’s PhilatelistenZeitung (The Philatelist’s Newspaper) printed a notice that finally exposed Hale’s antics (Figure 6). Bartles was quoted saying that the government (German or U.S.?) had taken charge of the case, and that further developments remained to be seen. What is known is that a few collectors burned by the longtime con artist permanently closed the door for any further trickery or mail order stamp sales from Hale.

So, what unfolded next?

Well, Hale’s overseas connections made for a fairly easy transition to becoming a postcard distributor. Most quality postcards of that era were printed in Germany because

Figure 5. Filatelic Facts and Fantasies in the 1890s recounted some of William B. Hale’s questionable experiences.

Figure 6. A German newspaper in 1906 exposed William Hale’s transgressions.

printing methods there were the highest quality at the time.

Hale eventually had his name on hundreds of cards picturing images from small towns in Massachusetts, mostly landmarks and nature scenes. It is estimated that the inscriptions “W.B. Hale” or “Wm. B. Hale” appear in small letters next to the word “Publisher” on approximately 400 different picture postcards (Figure 7). Today, most of them are inexpensive keepsakes, whether postally used or never mailed.

Since Hale’s travels and activities were no longer being documented in philatelic journals, details of his life are scant for more than a decade after his stamp dealing career ended.

Hale’s corruption catches up to him … twice!

Figure 7. William B. Hale changed his business dealings to become a postcard distributor. The picture on one of his postcards along with the publisher imprint from the other side.

The practice of “stamp washing” has been around since the first Penny Black was issued in England in 1840. The concept refers to the practice of erasing cancellations from postally used stamps and then offering them for sale “as unused” at a price less than face value.

For many years, governments and postal entities employed a variety of methods to thwart this illegal activity. These security methods included applying grills, special inks, surface coatings, and perfins to limit stamp cleaning and resale. The cutting or slashing of U.S. revenue stamps, many with high face values, was an effort to stop their reuse and to prevent the loss of a huge amount of income.

However, since stamps were first issued, nefarious scoundrels have attempted to use potions, chemicals or a combination thereof to remove cancellations with varying success. Even to this day, postal authorities remain vigilant.

In 2019, a stamp-washing couple in Britain was convicted of “adapting, supplying and possessing articles for fraud” (i.e., “stamp washing”) that resulted in loss of £421,000 to the Royal Mail.

Stamp journals of the 1890s and early 1900s regularly contained mentions of arrests being made for stamp washing (Figure 8). When caught, perpetrators were fined and usually given anywhere from a suspended sentence to up to FEBRUARY 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 133

used postage stamps, as detailed in Section 205 of the United States Criminal Code. A grand jury returned five counts against him, including one that alleged he supplied “washed” postage in the amount of more than $500 to H.E. Harris & Company, the well-known philatelic firm. After initially pleading not guilty, when disposition of his case occurred on June 30, 1926, Hale flipped his plea. Hale was sentenced to one year and a day in the House of Corrections in Worcester, Massachusetts. Due to ill health, part of his punishment was served in the town’s City Hospital before he Figure 8. Stamp-washing became a common practice experienced freedom again. around the turn of the last century.

Did jail time rehabilitate William B. Hale? Absolutely not! three years in prison. Besides these reports, most journals denounced the idea of stamp washing, yet a few actually Based on his subsequent actions, Hale may have been boldly offered some examples of how to do so. plotting future activities during the duration that he was incarcerated. After his release, Hale sought out eight people Like today, philatelic dealers back then were grateful over the next year and a half to act as agents to supply him to sell large accumulations or collections of used stamps. with used inventory on a tremendously grand scale.

Yet they were almost universally united against the underHale also bought auction lots from Nassau Street dealers handed idea of cleaning stamps, as it cast a negative light on and loved getting batches with high denomination stamps. the hobby. Reputable sellers felt that the quicker the issue of Those, once cleaned, were easier to sell in bulk to businesses stamp washing was eradicated; honest business reputations that shipped high volumes of mail and packages. Though could be protected. Their hope, too, was that editorial focus illegal, Hale’s strategy was otherwise a sound one and he would then completely return to legitimate hobby topics. grew his business to astronomical heights.

About 100 years ago, Hale was becoming one of the most A fantastically prosperous return allowed Hale to enjoy prolific stamp washers ever documented. His initial chalthe high life in prominent settings. He had two suites in the lenge was to figure out how to make direct public appeals Charleston Hotel in South Carolina; one where he lived, to purchase used stamps. Since he’d already tarnished his along with another that he worked out of (Figure 11). name via his fraudulent selling activities in philatelic trade When business packages arrived for him in Room 221 magazines years before, Hale decided to advertise using (sometimes containing used postage inside with a face value the moniker “Spot Cash Williams,” an alias noted in a 1926 of $5,000 or more), William would remove the cancellations court docket and a 1929 indictment (Figure 9). from his product and arrange to regum those stamps. They While doing research, it was thrilling to pick up Hale’s were sent to Hubbardston, Massachusetts, addressed to Dr. trail again in a 1922 U.K. journal called The Postage Stamp.

Roosevelt Robie, one of many fictitious names that Hale Hale simply advertised (Figure 10), “Second quality stamps, used; those names also included W.H. Scott. of U.S. and Canadians, bought and sold cheap.” An influx Eventually, retail batches were assembled for his customof used inventory from whatever deals he could coordinate ers, which he aggressively sought out. At the height of his fueled his underhanded activities; yet before long, the law crookedness, William was bringing in more than $3,000 per caught up with him. day from washed stamps, totaling more than $1 million a Hale was arrested on March 16, 1926, for cleaning year. Using an internet calculator for wages allowing for inflation, that comes to more than $15 million per year in today’s money!

Hale was stealing a huge amount from the coffers of the post office. When they got wind of his antics again, he became a high priority to take down.

William A. Kenyon, a veteran postal inspector with decades of experience, was put on the case (Figure 12). Hale was subsequently arrested on March 27, 1929. When Kenyon, with other Figure 9. A 1926 Court Docket lists William B. Hale, who sometimes went by “Spot Cash Williams.” postal authorities, including lead 134 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

inspector Francis Shea, entered Hale’s room that morning, Hale was in full work mode, washing his stamps. He announced that what they saw was his own personal collection and fibbed, “I’m very peculiar about my stamps; you see, I’m washing them now. I must have them clean; I simply can’t stand a dirty stamp!”

Along with Hale, Kenyon and his colleagues carted off correspondence, meticulous registers, canceled checks, bookkeeping records, workshop utensils, and a bushel of stamps.

Afterwards, Kenyon said that in a lifetime of investigating crimes against the Post Office Department, Hale was “the biggest and most brazen crook I have ever encountered.” Details of his arrest were picked up by The Associated Press and Hale’s plight was literally front-page news across the country (Figure 13).

It was reported that over time, Hale’s stamp-washing ring brought in more than $4 million! Though in police custody once again, to the disgust of authorities, Hale never disclosed the chemical recipe or formula he used to remove cancellation inks.

Since overwhelming evidence was gathered at Hale’s second arrest, including a ledger that detailed all of his illegal transactions, Hale really had little choice but to plead guilty.

This time, on June 6, 1929, the stamp man, 58 years old, was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment (Figure 14).

Two days later, Hale left the Charleston County Jail with a U.S. marshal and traveled by train to the federal penitentiary in Atlanta, where he served his time. Hale did not handle incarceration well. Fellow inmates bullied him, his Figure 10. William B. Hale’s ad in a 1922 British journal sought attorney seemed minimally attentive to his case, and numer- “second quality” (used) stamps. ous chronic health problems were all substantial challenges to Hale. He even claimed that prison food, dramatically different from first class meals he was accustomed to, made him weak and vulnerable to sickness.

In the succeeding months, Hale sent numerous letters to his lawyer and pleaded for any condition that would grant him early release. This request required time-consuming coordination between Hale’s attorney and the presiding judge, the prosecuting district attorney, and Postal Inspector Shea. Since all of Hale’s financial accounts were frozen upon his arrest, Hale’s retainer came in the form of some rare stamps held by his lawyer that Figure 12. Postal Inspector William were initially designated to be Figure 11. A receipt from the Charleston Hotel made out to A. “Bill” Kenyon headed up the sold for bail, which was denied. William B. Hale. investigation into William B. Hale.

“I must have them clean; I simply can’t stand a dirty stamp!”

– William B. Hale

FEBRUARY 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 135

Figure 14. William B. Hale’s sentence is reported.

Figure 13. The Indianapolis Star of June 1, 1929 reports the arrest William B. Hale and others in a $4.5 million stamp-washing enterprise.

Philatelic Misinformation The following publications reported that William B. Hale died in a federal penitentiary; many also incorrectly stated the year of his death: Postal Markings, December 20, 1936, Vol. 6, No. 7, Pg. 1.

Postal Markings, January 20, 1937, Vol. 6, No. 8, Pg. 1.

Philatelic Forgers, Their Lives and Works by Varro E. Tyler, 1976. Published by Robson Lowe.

Canadian Stamp News, May 1-15, 1978, Vol. 2, No. 23, Pg. 14.

U.S. Cancellation Club News, Spring 1982, Vol. 16, No. 2.

Newfie Newsletter of the Newfoundland Study Group of BNAPS, May/June 1987, No. 11.

Linn’s Stamp News, May 18, 1987, Vol. 60, Issue 3054.

Linn’s Stamp News, July 27, 1987, Vol. 60, Issue 3064.

Newfie Newsletter of the Newfoundland Study Group of BNAPS, July/August 1991, No. 36.

Philatelic Forgers, Their Lives and Works by Varro E. Tyler, 1991. Published by Linn’s Stamp News.

Maple Leaves- Journal of the Canadian Philatelic Society of Great Britain, August 1992, Vol. 22, No. 11.

Spurious Stamps by H.K. Petschel, 1997. Published by the American Philatelic Society.

Newfie Newsletter of the Newfoundland Study Group of BNAPS, May/June 2008, No. 130.

Newfoundland Fakes and Forgeries, by Ed Wener, 2012.

Published by Eastern Auctions, Ltd. 136 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

The Stoney and Crosland law firm may have stipulated that an agreement for additional representation include the expectation of payment once Hale had access to financial assets. This may explain why attorney-client letters showed that consistent follow-up was lax, which might have caused Hale to serve more time than was mandated. He was eligible for parole in late December 1929, yet the order approving his release was not finalized until seven months later. On August 10, 1930, William B. Hale became a free man again; records show that shortly afterward he was living in an apartment in South Boston. What happened next?

The truth behind philatelic tall tales, finally revealed Frank L. Coes (also known as F.L. Coes) was from Worcester, Massachusetts, and came from an affluent family. His grandfather made a fortune after inventing and patenting a monkey wrench; Frank later wound up with a $200,000 inheritance. Coes, just a year younger than Hale, was a stamp dealer and collector, and served in several capacities in philatelic organizations. He was a lifetime member of the Society of Philatelic Americans, for which he was a periodic officer, and the stamp editor of Boys Life magazine, for which he wrote regular philatelic columns.

At some point, it logically seems likely that Hale crossed paths with Coes due to their interests and proximity. Hale’s hometown of Williamsville / Hubbardston is just 20 miles northwest of Worcester, and when Hale went overseas in 1900, he took a stamp dealer from Worcester to be his interpreter.

Because of what unfolded many years later, I’m drawn to the conclusion that it is quite likely that a case of bad blood developed between Coles and Hale. Could Hale have burned Coes with some of his nefarious forgeries?

In the late 1920s, when Hale’s two arrests occurred, there was little mention in the philatelic press. Nothing about his activities appeared in any stamp journals after Hale’s

sentencing in 1929 for his second stamp-washing offense.

My best thinking suggested that if I move on and contact My resolve was strong to find the end of William’s drama the Bureau of Prisons, then why not ask for information on somewhere. In my quest to tell the entire life story of this Hale’s 1929 case as well? The agent at the bureau began by charlatan, I turned to conventional newspapers so a proper tempering my expectations that I could locate anything at all final chapter to his narrative could be told. After aggressive on either case; he then directed me to the National Archives. research, still nothing!

Looking back, I feel quite lucky to have next connected with The next publication to include information about Hale a very competent and astute archives technician, who grawas the December 20, 1936 edition of Postal Markings (Figciously assisted me in my quest for Hale answers over the ure 15). The cover article was the first of a multi-issue report next five months. titled “Some Hale Handstamps,” which also appeared in the Previous research had brought me in contact with a January 20 and February 20, 1937 editions.

The premise of this section you’re reading right now emerges from that three-part Postal Markings feature that was written by none other than Frank Coes. Coes proclaimed that in 1935 Hale died in the federal penitentiary in Atlanta and that when he passed away, a number of forged handstamps Hale used to make fraudulent covers were found in his cell. I sat with these details for a bit so I could figure out what it all meant. Yet to me, when pondering the information in Coes’ articles, it just seemed extremely odd that a federal inmate could have wooden handstamps and cancellation blocks in his cell, especially ones that could be used for forgery! It just didn’t make sense.

When trying to finalize the timeline for Hale’s life and write about his demise, collaborative verification became difficult.

I spent many days going through stamp journals from the mid-1930s and none of them ever mentioned Hale, nor was his name anywhere in the mainstream press during that time.

I continued digging and looked for more answers at several philatelic libraries. What I found was that the information that Coes wrote in Postal Markings was digested, referred to, and reprinted in at least 12 other publications for Figure 15. Frank Coes’ cover story in a 1936 edition of Postal Markings reports fake nearly eight decades, one as recently as 2012. cancellations falsely attributed to William B. Yet, even though I found the same story repeated over Hale. Coes claimed Hale died in 1935 in a federal and over again, things still didn’t seem reasonable to me. I prison and had bogus canceling devices in his cell. The author found evidence to the contrary. made it an adventure to either authenticate Coes’ story or uncover the real truth. In my mind, things simply didn’t add up. As it turns out, the collecting community was done a big disservice when Postal Markings printed misinformation written by Coes, and some terrific philatelic talents later repeated it. Some of these were obscure stamp journals, while others were very wellknown periodicals.

I put on my Sherlock Holmes hat and grabbed my laptop once again. My attempts to get to the bottom of things took me on a meandering road over the course of many months in 2017. In the end, persistence was the best virtue I could have employed.

I began by calling the Worcester County Jail and House of Corrections to inquire about records pertaining to Hale’s 1926 incarceration. I was tersely told “we don’t have those; check with Figure 16. A federal prisoner card reports William B. Hale’s vital statistics, the Federal Bureau of Prisons.” including his date and location of death.

FEBRUARY 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 137

treasure trove of original documents that had been in the files of Hale’s attorney in Charleston, South Carolina. Essentially, I could review Hale’s second stamp-washing case from the “defense” side and was hoping to locate any documents that may have been archived by the “prosecution” side. That finally became possible when the original case number was uncovered in my materials, and assistants to the archives technician were able to locate another windfall of Hale legal papers. During this phase of research, I was especially grateful to my then 90-year-old father, a still-practicing attorney, for interpreting the legal jargon.

With some effort, the odyssey of Hale’s request for parole became clear. Yet, might the government have any further information, possibly about a third arrest that could support Coes’ report that Hale died in a federal penitentiary in 1935?

The technician at the National Archives in Atlanta told me, “to my knowledge, the Atlanta Federal PeniFigure 17. William Bennett Hale’s death certificate. tentiary didn’t keep many detailed records of their inmates during the period 1925 to 1938.” The only other thing he could offer was a scan of a prisoner index card that simply had Hale’s name and inmate number on it.

We seemed to have exhausted the options of his agency, yet he recommended following up further with the Department of Justice and vital statistic centers in states where William B. Hale had resided.

In order to acquire additional data, I wound up submitting a Freedom of Information Act Request filed with the Department of Justice’s Federal Bureau of Prisons. It actually was quite easy to do, once I learned where to turn, as well as the lingo and a few parameters involved. Mine was categorized as a “complex” request, rather than “simple” or “expedited.”

Figure18. William B. Hale’s Mason card, which also confirmed With the kind assistance of a supervisory attorney, a his death date. highly qualified student trainee located Hale’s prison record within six weeks. It was a piece of deteriorating film, yet to cate for Hale. I distinctly remember the goose bumps I felt me the information was invaluable. when this second confirmation of Hale’s passing arrived in The image of the card (Figure 16) confirmed the durathe mail one Saturday. I knew then I could safely go to press tion of Hale’s sentence, the date he was sentenced, date he with this remarkable, credible information. The certificate was eligible for parole, dates of parole board meetings, date also noted his last residence, cause of death (cirrhosis of the he was actually paroled, date his full sentence would end, liver, chronic alcoholism), along with the date and place of AND the date of his death. What a thrill it was for me to burial. And things would get even better! finally get conclusive confirmation of the demise of William B. Hale: September 18, 1930. That was just five weeks after After hearing from the state of Massachusetts, I conhis release from the federal penitentiary in Atlanta – not tacted the town clerk in Hubbardston, Massachusetts to see 1935, as Coes suggested. if there were any local records available. I was referred to the caretaker of Forest Lawn Cemetery, Hale’s final resting place.

When working on stories, reputable journalists are chalOver the next 10 months we corresponded by email until I lenged to obtain more than one source, especially when revealing sensitive material. I felt that if I was going to was able to meet the caretaker in person. I felt it important disprove information that had been reported for 80 years, I to visit Hale’s hometown, and to also see for myself his had better make sure I was on solid ground when doing so. eternal home and family marker. That day I was pleasantly surprised when the caretaker gave me a copy of Hale’s StanAs suggested by the National Archives technician, my dard Certificate of Death, as recorded by the town of Hubnext step was to contact the Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statistics to obtain a certified death certifibardston (Figure 17). This was confirmation number three, 138 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

and number four would follow soon thereafter.

Much earlier, after learning that Hale was a Mason, I spoke with a friendly man at the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts to see what they might have in their files. Hale’s Mason membership card was eventually found some time later; what a revelation to see that Hale had listed his occupation as “musician!” The card (Figure 18) also noted the dates when his three Masonic degrees were completed, and when he was granted membership into the organization. The date of Hale’s death was once again confirmed, as the card noted “Deceased 1930-9-18.”

So, all was said and done and my research was nearly complete. After six years, the materials spoke for themselves.

The tale written by Frank L. Coes and perpetuated for more than 80 years was debunked, and the true story of what happened to William B. Hale finally emerged. Apparently, when writing about the antics of this illustrious huckster, the Coes information was accepted as fact again and again. So, a lesson I learned was that sometimes even perpetuated reports require further investigation to allow for a proper picture to be conveyed.

Homes and other structures built years ago need occasional inspection to preserve their longevity. And, logistics and study of our great hobby are sometimes worth revisiting, too. Even if it means questioning the quality and depth of research that has previously been done, and presented before.

For philately’s foundation to remain strong, we must remember that it is built on the astute examination of subjects and materials. If one simply follows a path and infuses the process with common sense and logic, new truths can certainly be uncovered. The amazing and exciting story of swindler William B. Hale is proof of that!

T

he Author

Rick Barrett has collected stamps for the past 55 years thanks to his late Uncle Clark. Barrett worked in a stamp store for three years as a youngster and has always enjoyed expanding his philatelic awareness. He joined the American Philatelic Society in 1982, and is a member of several other collecting organizations. Barrett loves sharing interesting philatelic stories, many of them uncovered at the American Philatelic Research Library. His first book, Buffalo Cinderellas, was wonderfully received and has won two awards, including an APS gold medal literature award. The high-quality hardcover details the fascinating life stories of two men who distributed souvenir stamps for the 1901 Pan American Exposition. One was a reputable man, and the other was a traveling charlatan, William B. Hale, who later drifted into the darkness of forgery and swindling. Buffalo Cinderellas is available at the APS gift shop or at the APS website. Barrett’s APS Chatty Award-winning Stamp Chat presentation about William B. Hale, “The Wild Life of a Philatelic Swindler,” can be viewed on the APS YouTube channel.

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Solved!

A Cocos Islands Souvenir Sheet Mystery VINCENT SGRO

T

he Cocos (Keeling) Islands, a territory of Australia, is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean consisting of 27 coral islands, of which two are inhabited by about 600 people. The islands, 1,700 miles northwest of Perth, are strategically important because of their proximity to shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean.

Tourists in recent years have discovered the islands’ stunning coral reefs, aquamarine water, and abundant sea life, so tourism is a growing industry. In 2017, Cossies Beach was named Best Beach in Australia by the ediFigure 1. The first Cocos Islands tor of Best Beaches in Australia. stamps show a map of the islands (Scott 3), coco palms (Scott 4) and a Geographically, there are two islands with the disdukong, a type of sailboat (Scott 5). tinction of being called “Cocos.” There is Cocos Island in the Pacific Ocean administered by Costa Rica, which is nearly 12,000 miles from the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, the subject of this article. The “Keeling” in the name honors Captain William Keeling, who in 1609 discovered the islands during one of his voyages from Java to England.

The first stamps inscribed “Cocos Keeling Islands” appeared in 1963. Prior to that, stamps of the Straits Settlements were used from April 1, 1933 to March 1, 1937. During the World War II, the islands were under British military control.

When regular postal service resumed in September 1952, the stamps of Singapore were used until 1955, when the United Kingdom transferred the Cocos to Australia and Australian stamps were put into circulation. In June of 1963 the island issued its own stamps inscribed “Cocos (Keeling) Islands” (Figure 1). Its stamps are avidly collected by collectors Down Under and are valid for postage in Australia.

Going through a recent purchase of Figure 2. A Cocos (Keeling) Islands souvenir sheet (Scott 221a) from 1990 includes all four Navigators stamps in different denominations.

Cocos stamps, my interest was piqued 140 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

when I found four miniature sheets issued in 1990 as part of the Famous Navigators set (Scott 218-221) but were not listed by Scott or Stanley Gibbons catalogs. (There is a recent update that we’ll explore here at the end.)

Scott, which refers to these as the Explorers and Their Ships stamps, does list an imperforate miniature sheet depicting the four navigators (Figure 2).

But I had four perforated individual miniature sheets — one for each denomination of the navigators — with two stylized compasses printed in the left and right margins (Figure 3).

Inquiries to dealers in Australia regarding the availability of the souvenir sheets showing individual navigators were fruitless. Those I contacted had no idea the sheets even existed and were extremely interested in learning more.

Further research confirmed that these four miniature sheets are a distinct and separate issue. This is confirmed by a copy of the Cocos Islands Philatelic Bureau new issue bulletin (Figure 4), which clearly lists them as a new issue.

At the bottom right, the 45-cent mini sheet of Capt. Keeling is shown along with the wording, “module of 4 stamps in block; available for each denomination.”

Yet, hardly anyone I contacted in Australia knew of this issue.

Additional proof that these miniature sheets with stylized compasses were a separate and distinct postal release can be found in copies of correspondence from Note Printing Australia (from its archives), the printers of the stamps for the Cocos. It lists the production of four different formats for the Navigator issue: four individual stamps; an imperforate miniature sheet with all four stamps; a sheet of 10 stamps, and modules of four. (Figure 5).

After many inquiries, I’ve learned that these indiFigure 3. All four Cocos Islands Navigators stamps had a minimal vidual miniature sheets, called modules by the printer, release as blocks of four with stylized compasses in the selvage. fell off the philatelic radar screen when released, which resulted in the majority of collectors and dealers in Auswho received the miniature sheets of the individual stamps tralia and elsewhere being unaware of their existence. How appear to be those who had standing orders directly with the did this happen? philatelic bureau in the Cocos Islands.

Most collectors at that time ordered their Cocos new isIt is noteworthy that the standard Navigators stamps sues from the Australian Philatelic Bureau, not from the Cowere printed in sheets of 10 (Figure 6) and do not have the cos Philatelic Bureau. Cocos collectors were alerted to new stylized compasses printed in the margins as do the four releases in the Australian new issue bulletin and ordered souvenir sheets. them directly from the bureau.

There was a question as to whether the Scott and Stanley Gibbons catalogs would recognize the validity of these minWhen the Navigators stamps came out, the Australian iature sheets and assign them catalog status. bureau listed the set of four stamps, the imperforate minIn this regard, the following excerpt from This Is Philatiature sheet, but did NOT list the four perforated souvenir ely, by Kenneth A. Wood, should be helpful in determining sheets on its new issues bulletin. Therefore, the majority of their legitimate status as issues worthy of listing: “Souvenir collectors did not know of their existence, and, hence, never Sheet – A souvenir sheet is a small sheet of stamps issued for had the opportunity to acquire them. The only collectors FEBRUARY 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 141

a specific commemorative purpose and having a commemorative inscription or artwork in its border.”

The four miniature sheets do have artwork – the stylized compasses imprinted on their borders are not found on regular sheets. Certainly, this fits Wood’s description of a souvenir sheet.

In summary, Graeme Morriss, editor of the Australasian Stamp Catalogue posted the following on Stampboards, an Australian based philatelic website (www.stampboards.com).

Figure 4. A copy of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Philatelic Bureau new issue bulletin confirms the existence of miniature sheets of all four stamps in blocks of four as shown in the sketch at bottom right.

Figure 5. A production letter dated August 6, 1990 from the printing firm of Note Printing Australia. The information listed next to “Quantities” confirms that blocks of four of individual stamps were to be printed.

142 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

A medal-winning collector of Cocos (Keeling) Islands has advised me: “The blocks (modules) of four were released by Cocos (Keeling) Islands Philatelic Bureau, as part of the issue along with the imperf miniature sheet and the regular sheets of 10, but were never sent to the Australian Philatelic Bureau to be included with the other issues.

They were available only from the Cocos (Keeling) Island Philatelic Bureau.

“I had a standing order with them, so I naturally received them in my order.

When I didn’t see them included in the formats available from the Australian Philatelic Bureau I made enquiries and was told that the Sydney Philatelic Bureau did not know anything about them.

“So it appears to me that they were kept for, and released, to standing orders directly from the Cocos (Keeling) Island Philatelic Bureau only. As such, they were indeed part of the official release of that issue from the Cocos … Hope this helps.”

I just received a positive update regarding a catalog listing for these stamps after submitting documentation regarding the existence of these miniature sheets to Stanley Gibbons and Scott. I’m happy to report that Stanley Gibbons, in its just released Australia and Territories catalog, has given the sheets full catalog status, listing them as MS227A, with the notation that the miniature sheets of four were only available from the Cocos Post Office and not from the philatelic bureau in Australia.

The same documentation was sent to the editors of the Scott catalog, who will hopefully mark the existence of these sheets as well.

So, how scarce are these sheets?

I’ve been told that there were probably fewer than 100 standing order accounts for new issues from the Cocos Philatelic Bureau in 1990, but this cannot be confirmed. However, the sheets are not to be found on price lists of major Australian dealers who stock the Islands’ stamps.

Correspondence in the Australian National Archives from the Cocos Philatelic Bureau dated

July 30, 1990, indicates that apart from Australia Post (which did not receive any of the four perforated miniature sheets), United Kingdom distributor Harry Allen received 20 sets and Herrick Stamp Co. of New York 10 sets. In contrast, Harry Allen ordered 6,000 of the regular imperforate sheet and Herrick, 1,200.

So, it’s possible some collectors in the United States and Great Britain have these modern day rarities in their collection. If you have a Cocos collection, check it out.

Figure 6. The standard Navigators issue was printed in sheets of 10, such as the $1 Captain Belcher and Samarang (Scott 220).

Resources

Australia, with Australian States and Territories, 12th edition (London, UK: Stanley Gibbons, 2022) Wood, Kenneth A. This is Philately, Volume I (Van Dahl Publications, 1982).

StampBoards.com website (www.Stampboards. com). January 22, 2020.

T

he Author

Vincent Sgro, a life member of the American Philatelic Society (likely for more than 50 years), is a retired publisher. He has collected primarily British Commonwealth stamps, particularly postally used copies.

1939–1945 Poland — General Government Complete (168 different)

168 diff Mint NH 168 diff Mint 168 diff Used

$325.00 $200.00 $350.00

www.DonSCal.com

Don S. Cal PO Box 1732 • Port Angeles, WA 98362 Tel: 250-383-6211 • E-mail: dcal@victoriastamp.com Dealer member APS since 1985 FEBRUARY 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 143

COLLECTING COAST TO COAST

BY WAYNE YOUNGBLOOD

Mailing Memories W artime brings out deep emotions, as well as a desire to have some artifact of loved ones before they march off to battle; or, for that matter, for a soldier to have a tangible keepsake of loved ones they may never see again.

From a philatelic standpoint, this was first made abundantly clear during the Civil War, using the then-new medium of commercial photography to capture the images of loved ones.

Millions of cartes de visites (CDVs; small photograph) were created both for soldiers (with images of loved ones back home), and of the soldiers themselves for their families.

During the brief time of the so-called “sun photo tax” (September 1, 1864 to August 1, 1866), these images bear First Issue revenue stamps, with fees based on the size of photo. CDVs, slightly smaller than modern playing cards, were easy to carry and were the most popular. Since the tax came about well after the introduction of the series of revenues, there was no need to create a stamp for photographic images, as all revenue stamps were by then being used for various types of surcharges.

Figure 1. A Civil War-era CDV of a small child, possible a keepsake for a father going off to war. The CDV has a 2-cent orange First Issue Proprietary stamp (Scott R14c) affixed to pay the “sun photo tax.”

Figure 2. A World War II keepsake in the form of a mailed record. Although many types exist, those mailed from Pepsi-Cola Service Centers appear to be the most common. Of those recorded by the author, this is Type I. 144 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

As an example, Figure 1 shows both sides of an 1865 CDV of a formally dressed small child. On the reverse is a 2-cent Proprietary stamp.

With that background, let’s fast-forward about 75 years to World War II, when portable recording booths, similar to the example that accompanies this article, were just beginning to appear. Departing servicemen at various locations (such as the New York City Pepsi-Cola Service Center or some USO clubs) could create a sound recording (record) that could then be mailed back home. We’ll focus on a few this month.

Although not rare, nice examples of mailed records (with the mailing envelope complete) are not easily found, but illustrate these particular keepsakes of the war very nicely.

The most common WWII mailed records, in my experience, are Pepsi-Cola-produced records, such as the example shown in Figure 2 and, yes, there are several different collectible varieties.

During the war, Pepsi-Cola ran several canteens in New York City, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, California; they provided meals, showers and other services to active military. One of these services was providing recording booths set up to allow (mostly) men the opportunity to send a recorded message home before shipping out. Traveling recording booths were also sent to other military camps.

In addition to the previously mentioned cities, I’ve found examples of Pepsi records from Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and a fleet post office. The mailing dates I’ve noted (for those that can be established) fall between early 1943 and mid-1945. Although I’ve seen only a photo (not the real thing), there’s a Canadian version of these, too.

As printed on the mailer, the records were to be treated as 3rd Class Matter (merchandise), for which the prevailing rate was 1½ cents, although I’ve seen examples mailed by airmail, special delivery and first class.

It is my understanding that the cost of producing the record and the basic postage were borne by Pepsi, with military personnel paying any additional postage beyond 3rd Class. Each came with a “Notice of Receipt” postcard that could be mailed by families receiving the records.

An example is shown in Figure 3; they are uncommon and I’ve never seen a postally used example.

Figure 3. Pepsi records contained “receipt” postcards, such as this one, to be mailed back to Pepsi, likely to build a mailing list for the “free” service.

Figure 4. The earliest form of Pepsi record had a one-line inscription just above the solid blue area.

Later versions either had the line obliterated or (in later printings) eliminated entirely.

FEBRUARY 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 145

Figure 5. This version of the Pepsi record appeared in 1945; it is a two-sided picture disc.

There are two primary types of the records themselves, shown in Figures 4 and 5. The earliest (and most common) is a plain black disc (78 rpm), with a red, white and blue label. The blanks were provided by RecorDisc Corp., of New York, a now-defunct company that produced blank records for home recording use during the 1940s and ’50s.

Of these, I’ve noted three types. The first, as shown (Figure 4), bears the inscription “Recorded by the Record Guild of America, New York City, N.Y.,” just above the solid blue area; the second type has this inscription blacked out; the third has it eliminated entirely. This record type exists for those mailed in 1943-45.

Figure 5 shows both sides of the slightly scarcer picture disc type, known from 1945.

One side bears photos of the three previously mentioned Pepsi-Cola Centers; the other side features a red, white and blue target design with a note from Pepsi.

Of the mailers, I’ve noted three printing types on thick card and manila paper (several shades of each).

Type I, as shown in Figure 2, is a thick card stock. The red “This is a recorded message from your Man in Service” is printed in large, red lettering. The negative “Do Not Fold” is in a small box below. So far, I’ve found this only on thick card stock.

Figure 6. Type II Pepsi record mailer, with large lettering and large blue box.

146 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

Figure 7. Type III Pepsi mailer, with smaller lettering and small blue tablet at bottom.

Figure 8. This postwar use of a Pepsi picture disc utilized a different type of mailer. While the basic service was the same for service personnel, the USO was likely using up old record blanks.

A Type II mailer (Figure 6) maintains the larger red lettering, but now has a very large “Do Not Fold” tablet at bottom.

So far I’ve found this only on thick card stock.

Type III, shown in Figure 7, features both the smaller lettering and small “Do Not Fold” box at bottom. So far, I’ve found this only on heavy manila paper.

A May 27, 1948, postwar example (Figure 8) was postmarked with a U.S. Navy device. It contains the Type II picture disc, but comes from a USO “Home Away From Home.”

The envelope is manila, and despite the “Fourth Class” admonition, it is franked with three 5-cent airmail stamps.

Of those Pepsi records I’ve encountered, most are franked with a single 1½-cent sheet stamp, but coils are occasionally encountered, as are other interesting uses. The piece shown (Figure 9) was not only somehow censored (the only one I’ve seen to date), but also bears a “Happy Easter” Fleet Post Office (FPO) marking tying a 2-cent Defense issue stamp.

A heavily reinforced example shown (Figure 10) contains five records and bears a single-stamp franking of the 15-cent Prexie, mailed February 19, 1944, which paid the first-class rate for a 5-ounce letter.

Figure 9. The only example of a censored record known to the author.

It also bears a “Happy Easter” Fleet Post Office (FPO) cancellation.

Figure 10. A single-franking 15-cent James Buchanan Prexie (Scott 820) pays the 5-ounce first-class postage on this mailer containing five records.

FEBRUARY 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 147

Figure 11. A nurse helps a serviceman create a Red Cross recording from his hospital bed in this undated photo.

Figure 12. This Red Cross mailer contains a white record with a label matching the cachet.

But Pepsi wasn’t the only one in the business of mailing records for service folk during the war.

The American Red Cross also offered service personnel the opportunity to send a record back home.

Figure 11 shows a nurse helping a serviceman record a message from his hospital bed. Figure 12 shows a 1942 example from Denver (Dec. 16), franked with a pair of 2-cent Defense stamps. The record itself is white, with a label matching the cachet on the cover.

Another item (Figure 13) is a bit more of a mystery. It was mailed March 13, 1944 airmail special delivery from

Tucson, Arizona. The cover contains a Red Cross record, but was mailed from a “Military Camps Show” sponsored

by Shell Oil Co. as the back of the cover shows.

The other large promoter of WWII recordings was the American Safety Razor Corp., producer of Gem razor blades. From what little I’ve been able to divine, Gem set up at several USO clubs with portable recording booths, much like Pepsi did, and mailed out records free of charge for the service personnel.

Most Gem examples I’ve seen, such as the one shown (Figure 14), bear Bureau-precanceled coil stamps from

Figure 13. This mailer, also containing a Red Cross record, was sent airmail special delivery March 13, 1944 from Tucson, Arizona. The reverse of the cover identifies it as having been created and mailed from the Shell Oil Co. “Military Camps Show.”

148 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

Los Angeles. A couple have hand-stamped coils with indistinguishable postmarks. In each case, the record is a photodisc, both sides of which are shown (Figure 15), along with a paper slip letting the recipient know the record is a unique master recording and should be handled with care.

Given the poor condition of the vast majority of these wartime keepsakes, they were greatly treasured and played over and over by loved ones who received them and were no doubt even more treasured by the families of those who didn’t return.

There are likely other types of WWII mailed sound recordings out there, as well as other varieties of the types outlined here. A detailed study is ripe for the picking!

The story of mailed sound recordings continues on through the 1970s – at least – but many of these were much more commercial in nature and would be the subject of another story.

Figure 14. The American Safety Razor Corp. used its Gem Razor imprint as a wartime promotion for creating and mailing records for service personnel.

Figure 15. The Gem Razor photodiscs, like those created by Pepsi-Cola, feature two-sided images.

For Further LEARNING

Recommendations from the APRL research staff: Detroit Edison Philatelic Society. “A Study of V-Mail Envelopes” (Detroit Edison Philatelic Society, n.d.).

[G3701 .C873 D483s] Hotchner, John M. “U.S. Stamp Notes – A Marine Wrote Home by Voice in 1947,” Linn's Stamp News, July 12, 2021.

Hudson, James W. Victory Mail of World War II: V-Mail, The Funny Mail (Philadelphia, PA: Ingram, Baker & Taylor, 2007). [G3701 .M644 H885v] Kugel, Alfred F. “The US Army and Its Postal Service Abroad During World War II” ([Hinsdale, IL: A.F. Kugel, 2000). [G3701 .M644 K95u 2000 EXHIBIT] “U.S. Post Office Department under the direction of the Postmaster General. A Wartime History of the Post Office Department: World War II, 1939-1945” (Washington, DC: Post Office Dept., 1951). [G3701 .P859 U58w 1951] FEBRUARY 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 149

Cancellations on Domestic Usages From New York City, 1862-1869 JAMES W. MILGRAM

D

uring the years 1862 to 1869 New York City employed unusual hand-carved cancellations on stamps and stamped envelopes for both domestic and foreign mail. Most of these markings appear to have been carved from wood, so with the large volume of mail, each cancellation device only lasted a short time. It appears from an analysis of the markings that one individual made the more unusual carvings.

Most of the markings are geometric types as shown in the examples here, although others were more simple grids. Many can be found struck with sharp clear impressions, which are quite attractive to collectors. New York City cancellations of this period are the largest grouping of a type known as “fancy cancellations.” There were also very fancy types that showed specific objects, like stars, shields and even people and animals, but by and large most of the markings were not representational.

I have digitally recorded more than 450 different types on domestic mail and am seeking copies of new designs for a planned publication illustrating each marking from an actual example, not a drawing.

150 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

Figure 1. A 1-cent 1861 stamp used on a drop rate cover to New York with the postmark, “NEW YORK MAY 17 1863” and a huge cancellation called a four-wedge type with triple wedges. Each marking will bear a descriptive name in the final listing.

Figure 2. A 3-cent 1861 stamp on mourning-type envelope with black border. The postmarking device appears to be a duplex, that is, the two parts are connected to each other. Thus, on this small envelope one strike was used to postmark the same, but a second strike shows the date postmark with New York name. This marking is a very elaborate geometric marking.

Many of these markings are shown in United States Cancellations 18451869 (1980) by Hubert Skinner and Amos Eno. The book shows many of the fancy cancellations and markings as drawings because they have not been located on covers. Scans from real covers are needed both as images for a new article and also to confirm that New York was the origin of the markings shown in the drawings.

The illustrations planned for the new publication, a monograph, will include both the cancellation on the stamp or entire and the town postmark showing the date of usage, but not the full envelope. We also have found many new markings not listed in the book, so those reading this article may own other new markings. The listings will include the local uses on drop letters, many of which were in colors that render them quite attractive.

In addition to these markings found on domestic mail, there were other, different markings that have been seen only on mail going to Europe or other countries. The foreign usage markings are not a part of this study. Some of the foreign markings resemble those used on letters sent within the country (domestic). The same person may have carved both sets of wooden killers.

Readers can send copies of their covers to me at j-milgram@ northwestern.edu or contact me for an address to which photocopies can be mailed. Please send only unusual types, not the common grids.

The result of this study will be the first of four more comprehensive articles on the subject, with a plan of four sequential articles on cancellations. It is likely that a monograph will be produced after publication.

T

HE AUTHOR

Figure 3. An illustrated envelope with original 3-cent stamp in upper left overpaying the 2-cent drop letter charge for a letter addressed to the city from within the city. The stamp is canceled by a blue postmark called 8 circular hollow petals, but probably is not a duplex.

Blue ink was used because the letter was a drop letter. The town postmark reads “NEWYORK CITY JUL 25” (1868). The cover was forwarded and an additional stamp at upper right was added to pay the new postage charge of 3 cents. This black postmark appears to be a duplex since in both strikes the two parts maintain the same relationship to each other (and thus were joined). The addressee had left the postage to prepay forwarding, but otherwise forwarding charges would have been collected on receipt.

U.S. PHILATELIC CLASSICS SOCIETY Articles written by members of the U.S. Philatelic Classics Society, an APS affiliate, appear periodically in The American Philatelist.

The U.S. Philatelic Classics Society is a nonprofit association of people interested in the pre-1894 stamps and postal history of the United States. Our goal is to encourage philatelic research and the exchange of information among our members and other philatelic organizations. We welcome anyone interested in the classic era of United States philately to join. More information can be found on the society website at www.uspcs.org.

James W. Milgram is a retired orthopaedic surgeon who has been a member of the APS since 1958. He has written many philatelic magazines, including more than 65 articles for The American Philatelist. The study described here is his first major project on the subject of stamp cancellations.

He collects United States postal history covers before 1900 and interesting historical letters.

Stamps, stationery, postal history, die proofs from around the World.

Send a note of your interests and we’ll advise you of suitable items we have.

If in London, please visit our offices and browse our stock.

Have you visited our DELCAMPE STORE?

1, Wardour Street London W1D 6PA Great Britain Phone: 011-44-20-7930-6100 Fax: 011-44-20-7494-2881 E-mail: philatelists@argyll-etkin.com Website: www.argyll-etkin.com FEBRUARY 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 151

1950s

Cataloging U.S. Stamps

BY CHARLES POSNER

3¢ Bicentenary of the Birth of Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette Figure 1.

The making of the stamp On May 26, 1957, Postmaster General Arthur Summerfield announced that a commemorative stamp to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of the Marquis de Lafayette, “le soldat de deux pays,” would be issued on the following September 6, the actual anniversary of his birth (Figure 1).

On August 10, he further announced that first day ceremonies would be held simultaneously in three sites that according to him were closely associated with Lafayette.

These were Lafayette College, in Easton Pennsylvania; Fayetteville, North Carolina, the first town in the United States to bear his name; and Louisville, Kentucky, where the opening day of the 1957 Kentucky State Fair was to be called “Lafayette Day.” Only five years before, on June 13, 1952, at the behest of the American Friends of Lafayette, a commemorative stamp was issued to celebrate the 175th anniversary of Lafayette’s landfall at Georgetown, South Carolina.

Overriding the view that two stamps honoring the same person ought not to be issued within a short time, it was widely assumed that the bicentenary of Lafayette’s birth provided the perfect opportunity to confirm continuing Franco-American friendship. To that effect, the Lafayette Bicentennial Committee was set up on September 8, 1956.

To emphasize its importance, President Dwight D. Plate Number Report Plate. No. 25798 25799 25800 25801

Impressions 165,525 165,527 171,294 171,295

152 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

Eisenhower became honorary head of its National Committee. Other members included Clarence Douglas Dillon (1909-2003), the recently retired American ambassador to France, as president; Hervé Alphand (1907-1994), the French ambassador to the United States; and dignitaries such as Henry Francis DuPont (1880-1969), who served as vice president; and Herman B. Wells (1902-2000), president of Indiana University, located at Lafayette, Indiana.

Events in the United States

In the United States – where there are in excess of 100 towns and counties in 38 states named after Lafayette and at least 25 major outdoor sculptures, busts and statues – festivities were organized throughout the entire bicentennial year.

For some years in advance, organizations like the American Friends of Lafayette were active in preparing the ground for nationwide celebrations.

To name but a few, one of the first celebrations organized by the Lafayette Bicentennial Committee took place on April 12, when ceremonies were held at the Rockefeller Center to mark what the mayor of New York proclaimed as Lafayette Bicentennial Day. The previous night, the fifth Avril à Paris gala was held in honor of the 183rd anniversary of Lafayette’s marriage to Marie Adrienne Françoise de Noailles (17591807). It was held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel with Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962) and her playwright husband, Arthur Miller (1915-2005), in Printed attendance, along with French actors Gérard August 19, 1957 Philippe (1922-1959) and Jean Marais (1913August 19, 1957 1998). A parallel banquet was held in Paris under August 21, 1957 the aegis of General Pierre Armand Gaston BilAugust 21, 1957 lotte (1906-1992), former minister of defense.

ernors issued a proclamation that designated 1957 as Lafayette Bicentennial Year, as did many mayors and other elected officials across the country.

Events in France

Figure 2. Portrait of the Marquis de Lafayette by Joseph-Désiré Court (1797-1865) used as the basis for the postage stamp.

In France, the National Bicentennial of Lafayette Committee set about organizing a year of celebrations. The main events took place in Paris and at Chavaniac, Lafayette’s birthplace. One of the first events occurred on February 6, marking the signing of the Franco-American alliance of 1778. On May 20, homage was paid to Lafayette by American and French troops assembled at the foot of his statue in Paris. On July 3, President René Coty inaugurated an exposition at the Hôtel de Rohan in Paris of more than 600 artifacts from the National Archives.

The Paris Mint struck a bronze medal designed by sculptor and engraver Maurice Delannoy (1885-1972). It was 6.9 centimeters (2¾ inches) in diameter.

On June 6, the mayors of 21 American municipalities named for Lafayette started a Lafayette tour, a three-day tour or pilgrimage through the Auvergne, Lafayette’s native stomping grounds, as part of Lafayette week. It was kicked off with a banquet. France had invited mayors of approximately 40 municipalities from 16 Eastern, Southern and Midwestern states that bore the name Lafayette. The mayor of Lafayette Colorado turned down the invitation because “Our town was named for La Fayette Miller, a rancher.”

The French press reported that the visitors wore “colorfully informal clothes.” Transported by air from Paris, they disembarked at Vichy airport where Mayor Pierre Coulon (1913-1967) received them. Specially organized buses and trains provided transport across the Auvergne. The highlights of their visit were the Château de Chavaniac, converted into a museum; a speech delivered by Prime Minister Maurice Bourgès-Maunoury (1914-1993); and a reception by President of the Republic Jules Gustave René Coty (1882-1962).

On the same day, San Francisco opened a French film festival featuring the work of Marais and Philippe, Françoise Arnoul (1931-2021), Micheline Presle (b. 1922) and the films of the director Jean Renoir (1894-1979). The Bay Area celebrations concluded on September 13 at a gala dinner addressed by the French ambassador, who used the occasion to tell his American audience how the French were playing a civilizing role in Algeria.

On April 23, Henry Francis du Pont welcomed dignitaries to Winterthur Museum of American Decorative Arts in Winterthur, Delaware, formerly du Pont’s home, which staged a major exhibition devoted to Lafayette.

The luminaries who attended were French ambassador Technical information: to the United States, Hervé Alphand (1907-1994); govDate of issue: September 6, 1957 ernor of Delaware, James Caleb “Cale” Boggs (1909Catalog number: Scott 1097 Designer: Ervine Metzl 1993); and Pierre Bédard (1895-1970), chairman of Modeller: Charles Ransom Chickering the executive committee of the National Lafayette Vignette engraver: Charles Alton Brooks Bicentennial Committee and president of the Parsons Frame engraver: Robert Joseph Jones School of Design. The Voice of America broadcast the Letter engraver: Robert Joseph Jones Color: maroon (Post Office Department); rose lake (Scott) proceedings.

Format: Electric eye plates of 200 divided into On June 7 and 8 the convocation of Lafayette Colfour post office panes of 50 by horizontal gutters, lege at Easton, Pennsylvania awarded honorary docarranged 10 horizontally by 5 vertically torates, including those to Ambassador Alphand, who Perforation: 10.5 by 11 in his acceptance speech defended the Algerian war, Size 0.84 inches by 1.44 inches (21.34 mm x 36.58 mm) Printing: Bureau of Engraving and Printing using and General Pierre Armand Gaston Billotte (1906a Cottrell Electronically Actuated Web Press 1992), former minister of defense, who reviewed LaQuantity issued: 122,990,000 fayette’s contribution to the American Revolution.

First day sites: Events and homages took place throughout the year, Easton, Pennsylvania covers serviced: 260,421 Fayetteville, North Carolina covers serviced: 230,000 and many other organizations, such as the American Louisville, Kentucky covers serviced: 207,856 Friends of Lafayette were involved. New England gov-

FEBRUARY 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 153

Figure 3. Artist Ervine Metzl (1899-1963) made his living as an illustrator, including images for magazines and posters.

A record of the events and ceremonies was placed into an album that Jean Marie and Pierre Billotte sent to President Eisenhower on behalf of the French committee.

Designing the stamp The design process started with a Figure 4. The proof of the 1957 Lafayette stamp signed by Postmaster General Arthur detailed sketch drawn by Ervine Metzl, Summerfield. which had as its centerpiece a portrait of An homage to Metzl’s work posted by a relative can Lafayette as a lieutenant general in 1791. It be found on Instagram at https://www.pinterest.com/cliffwas taken from an oil painting on canvas done in 1834 by mama/ervine-metzl-graphic-artist/ (Figure 3).

Joseph-Désiré Court (1797-1865).

Metzl worked from a photograph of the painting that The design itself hangs at the Palace of Versailles (Figure 2). Metzl’s drawing At the center of Metzl’s vertically arranged composition was passed to Bureau of Engraving and Printing designer is the half-length Court portrait of Lafayette as he was imagCharles Chickering to model it for engraving. ined to have looked in 1791.

Metzl (1899-1963) was a successful illustrator for magaEntwined ornamental vines on left and right sides zines and other commercial clients and designed a halfencase the reproduction of the painting. On the left side the dozen other U.S. postage stamps. In the past, Metzl had vines twine around a late 18th century flintlock rifle and criticized the bureau’s designers for producing over-detailed on the right side around a replica of the sword presented to designs that often obscured the message of the stamp.

Lafayette by the United States Congress. The legend “1757 La Fayette 1957” is inscribed over the portrait in dark modiIn this case, Chickering produced two models from the fied script. At the top is a plaque that bears the initials “R.F.” Metzl drawing, both of which simplified his original design. and a Liberty cap from the French Revolution, while furled Chickering eliminated the arrows at the top of the stamp flags extend toward the sides with a torch and a scroll at but otherwise was faithful to Metzl’s work. The two very their center. similar models were submitted for approval July 19 to the Post Office Department and one was accepted on July 22.

While the Liberty cap was very much a symbol of the The POD approved the die proof on August 6.

French Revolution, the configuration of the flags surround154 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

ing the medallion marked “RF” – for République Française are not. Those were generally symbols of the Third Republic and, in any case, as a monarchist Lafayette was opposed to having a republic.

The entire design is housed within a double outline frame (Figure 4). Immediately below the portrait is the denomination “3¢” in white Roman typeface within a shaded circular frame from which emanate long slender leaves bearing a fleur-de-lis on either side. Across the bottom of the stamp is the wording “United States Postage,” in dark lettering.

A missed opportunity?

Would the bicentennial have been an occasion for a joint issue, if not a parallel stamp issued in France?

First, the postal authorities in the United States were only just beginning to envisage the possibility of a joint issue. One did not come into being until 1959. More importantly, France did not issue a postage stamp because the Marquis de La Fayette (as it was spelled by his father and before the French Revolution) was never anywhere near as popular in France as he was in the United States, where he was an icon of the American War for Independence. For the French, La Fayette, although committed to universal suffrage, human rights, and the abolition of slavery, was associated with the defense of the monarchy.

In France, Lafayette was only given his own postage stamp recognition in 1989 when he appeared on a 2f 20c plus 50-cent semipostal stamp as part of a first series (Scott B605) of stamps called Revolution Leaders and Heroes.. He had, however, previously appeared with George Washington and the airplane The Spirit of St. Louis on two stamps in 1927 to mark the national convention of the American Legion, held between September 18 and 27 of that year in Paris.

The subject In my previous article about the 1952 stamp issued to celebrate the 175th anniversary of Lafayette’s landing in America in 1777, I wrote of his involvement in the American Revolution and his importance in securing the recognition, and more importantly the financial and military aid that allowed the colonial forces to triumph over their British adversaries.

His arrival was not necessary greeted with enthusiasm.

What on earth was George Washington, fresh from defeat after defeat by the British army, to make of the short, slim, and pale 19-year-old French nobleman with the impossibly long name of Marie-Joseph Paul Roch Yves Gilbert de Motier, the Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1836), who was ushered into his presence as still one more in the procession of dreamers and adventurers who offered him their services?

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), Arthur Lee (17401792) and, above all, Silas Deane (1738-1789), the revolutionaries’ representatives in France, were bombarded with requests from young wayward nobles like Jean-Georges

Muller de la Piolette, who wanted to open a glassworks; vintners such as the “chevalier” Thomas O’Gorman of Tonnerre (1732-1809); and monks like P. Nicéphore, a Benedictine who said he would serve in the army if Franklin would pay off his gambling debts. Franklin finally composed a model of recommendation for the applicants: I must refer you to himself for his Character and Merits, with which he is certainly better acquainted than I can possibly be.

The year 1777 had brought forth many volunteers before the young Lafayette, who had served as a reserve captain in the French dragoons, bought a ship, the Victoire, and sailed to America with 11 companions. He arrived in South Carolina and traveled overland to Philadelphia, where he was given the rank of major general in the American army, and then reported to Washington.

Earlier that year, 24-year-old Thomas-Antoine de Mauduit du Plessis (1753-1791), later murdered by his own regiment, arrived with Philippe Charles Tronson du Coudray (1738-1777), who subsequently drowned in the Schuylkill River.

Charles-François Sévelinges, the Marquis de Brétigny, sailed on his own ship with supplies and nine officers. Captain Jacques Boux offered to build ships but only delivered them after the war was over. And then there was a certain Rullecourt, who sailed the wrong way and occupied an island off the North African coast.

Lafayette had developed a strong Messianic commitment to the cause of the colonialists, thanks to his Rousseauinspired romanticism. The orphaned aristocrat dreamed of the “noble savage”: simplicity, virtue triumphant, and nature enthroned in Voltaire’s American wilderness. He was determined to join their battle against the old order.

Understandably, Washington was far from keen, but there was something about the young man who incessantly quoted his moral guides, Voltaire and Rousseau, whom Washington had never read, that he found attractive.

Lafayette offered to serve without pay (only expenses), and he was so well connected in France, despite having sailed illegally against the expressed wish of Louis XVI, that Washington listened. When Lafayette said, “I am here to learn, not to teach,” Washington relented.

In our earlier account we described his subsequent participation in military campaigns, which led him to being named maréchal du camp (field marshal).

After Cornwallis’ surrender Lafayette returned to France, where, as a liberal aristocrat, he fought for a constitutional monarchy in the 1789 Revolution.

While serving as the commander of the Armée du Centre at Metz, he was accused of treason and fled, ending up in an Austrian prison until 1799. Opposed to Napoléon, he left the political field of combat until the reinstatement of the monarchy under Louis XVIII (1755-1824) and Charles X (1757-1836). A strong supporter of the Bourbon restoration, he became vice president of the Chamber of Representatives. He served as a deputy and on various occasions FEBRUARY 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 155

Figure 5. First day covers from Louisville, Kentucky with designs from Ken Boll, Fluegel and Artmaster.

took command of the Garde nationale. Disappointed by the Bourbons’ authoritarian tendencies, he helped LouisPhilippe (1773-1850) succeed to the throne.

By 1804, because of his years of confinement in various prisons, he was bankrupt. He lost his ancestral home, the 13th-century Château de Chavaniac, a fortified manor house of 18 rooms, as well as a residence in the exclusive Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris.

Thomas Jefferson offered him the governorship of the Louisiana territory as a form of compensation, which he turned down for fear of Napoléon acting against his family.

Congress gave him two checks for “services rendered.”

One was for $120,000 (in terms of spending power the equivalent of $2.65 million in 2020) and the other for $809,000 (2020 equivalent of $17.8 million). He also was given land in Louisiana and Florida. In contrast, many veterans of the Continental Army received little or no recompense and, indeed, were subject to a round of high taxes. The disparity only highlights the importance attributed to Lafayette.

Meanwhile, Lafayette kept up contacts with the new American republic. Accompanied by his son, Georges Washington de La Fayette (1779-1849), in 1824-25 he triumphantly toured the United States for 13 months. Everywhere he was feted, traveling to all 24 states and visiting his 156 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

old friends John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and, particularly, James and Elizabeth Monroe (1758-1831; 1786-1830), who with Gouverneur Morris (1752-1816) had helped his family financially and had secured the release from prison of his wife, Marie Adrienne Françoise de Noailles, Marquise de Lafayette (1759-1807).

In the cold light of day Lafayette was a hero, an asset, and also a burden, but his star shone very brightly, particularly in the U.S., which posthumously awarded him honorary citizenship in 2002.

In the 18th and early 19th century French mind there was no room between the idea of a republic and a monarchy, and Lafayette’s adherence to the idea of a constitutional monarchy or monarchy light was an anachronism. His attachment to the United States was looked on with ambivalence.

His funeral, held May 22, 1834, at the Église de l’Assomption, was attended by King Louis Philippe and his government as well as by representatives of the army and other dignitaries. More than 100,000 filed by his coffin. In the United States, an equestrian statue was erected in his honor in front of the White House. In France every year, the American ambassador presides over a ceremony at his grave at the Picpus cemetery to honor the memory of “our French friend.”

Figure 6. First day covers from Easton, Pennsylvania with designs from Fleetwood and Kolor Kover.

First day ceremonies For the first time in the 13 years since the stamp to mark the 75th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railway (Scott 922) – which was issued simultaneously at San Francisco, Omaha, and Ogden Utah – first day of issue sales took place at three different sites. These were Louisville, because September 6 was called La Fayette Day to mark the opening of the 1957 Kentucky State Fair; Easton, Pennsylvania, because it was the site of Lafayette College; and Fayetteville, North Carolina because it was the first American community named after him.

L. Rohe Walter, special assistant to the postmaster general, said it was not a new policy but that each of the three cities named “had such valid claims for recognition that it was impossible to slight any one.”

Here is a review of ceremonies at the three sites for the issuance of the Lafayette stamp on Friday, September 6, 1957.

Louisville, Kentucky (Figure 5) The celebration began at 9:25 a.m., when Minute Men Air National Guard planes put on a 25-minute display, including one plane that flew only 30 feet above the fairgrounds and released a French flag by parachute. Thereafter, an entourage of carriages that began the previous Monday in Maysville, Kentucky, and passed through all the Kentucky towns Lafayette visited in his 1825 tour, arrived.

Robert Valeur, the first counselor of the French embassy, who had traveled from the beginning “in a rickety, ancient stagecoach down the main streets of practically every town in northern Kentucky,” along with Lieutenant Colonel Robert Bouchard and his wife, arrived to a greeting by the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America. The Daily Advertiser of Lafayette, Louisiana reported that, “the staff is afraid he’ll need a lot of the soothing ointments when he gets

back to Washington.”

The first day of issue ceremony, the third to be held at Louisville, started at 11 a.m. in front of Freedom Hall at the Kentucky State Fairgrounds in Louisville (ironically named after Louis XVII). The ceremony began with the massed bands of Kentucky high schools playing La Marseillaise, led

by A.G. Wright, band director of Purdue University, located in Lafayette, Indiana.

Assistant Postmaster General Eugene J. Lyons (19191998), heaped praise on Lafayette before presenting 14 leather-bound albums each containing a sheet of the stamps autographed by the postmaster general to Governor Albert Benjamin “Happy” Chandler (1898-1991), Lieutenant Governor Harry Lee Waterfield (1911-1998), Louisville Mayor Andrew Broaddus (1900-1972), Valeur, and senators Thurston Ballard Morton (1907-1982) and John Sherman Cooper (1901-1991).

Valeur hung a gold and white medal around neck of the governor, in part because on a recent trip to France he had said Algeria was a “French problem” and the United States should “not butt in.” Valeur also presented a rosebush flown in from France. It was planted temporarily near the main flagpole in the fairgrounds. Not to be outdone, the Louisville chapters of the Amicale Française and the Alliance Française presented a further dozen bushes to form a nucleus of a Lafayette rose garden.

Postmaster Joseph Denunzio Scholtz (1890-1972) set up a branch post office for the day in the fairgrounds’ exhibition wing. In the evening, a celebratory football game took place in the stadium between Lafayette High School and Louisville’s St. Xavier High School.

State Fair Board Chair Smith Broadbent then dedicated the main entrance road as Lafayette Avenue.

FEBRUARY 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 157

Figure 7. First day covers from Fayetteville, North Carolina with designs from Velvetone and the Masonic Stamp Club of N.Y.

Easton, Pennsylvania (Figure 6)

Fayetteville, North Carolina (Figure 7)

The first day ceremonies at Lafayette College, were a more somber affair. They started at 12:15 p.m. in the Colton Memorial Chapel, with Ralph Cooper Hutchison, PhD (1898-1966), president of the college, conducting the proceedings.

Hutchison spoke of Lafayette as one of the “great men of the world and human freedom.” Next, French Consul General Pierre Gabard (1913-1967), based in Philadelphia, said it was a great honor to be present at the college for the issue of the stamp.

Assistant Postmaster General John M. McKibbin, Bureau of Post Office Operations, a former vice president of Westinghouse Electric Corporation, paid tribute to a “remarkable and inspiring man, one who at an early age recognized America’s fight for freedom as a history-making step toward all mankind’s fight for the same freedom.” He reviewed Lafayette’s contribution to the revolution and described the painting that served as the basis for the stamp.

He presented souvenir albums to Hutchinson; newspaper publisher Lloyd Felmley, president of the board of trustees; senators Joseph Sill Clark and Edward Martin; Francis Eugene “Tad” Walter (1894-1963), Pennsylvania congressman; Orion H. Reeves, the mayor of Easton; Lyle T. Streeter (1906-2000), acting postmaster of Easton; and Pierre Gabard (1913-1967), of the French Consulate in Philadelphia At 8:30 a.m., the stamp was placed on sale simultaneously in the Alumni Memorial Gymnasium of the College and at the Easton Post Office.

The final ceremony took place in the only U.S. community named after Lafayette during his lifetime.

The ceremonies were held at Breece’s Landing on the Cape Fear River, followed by a Lafayette 200th Anniversary banquet. Assistant Postmaster General Hyde Gillette (19062007), presented albums to a large number of distinguished guests, including North Carolina Governor Luther Hartwell Hodges (1898-1974), French Embassy Attaché Jacques Andriani, and Fayetteville Mayor George Burbank Herndon.

During the day Fayetteville organized a pageant. Herndon was not present because he, along with other mayors from American localities named Lafayette, was attending a ceremony in France for ceremonies at Lafayette’s birthplace During the day the presidents of France and the United State exchanged telegrams that were read at a ceremony in Washington D.C. Parallel events took place in France the same day. As in Louisville, a cavalcade started out at Vichy three days before the ceremonies. On Sept. 6, celebrations were held at the Château de Chavaniac, which included a group of French and American dignitaries such as Charles Yost, U.S. Minister Counselor in Paris, representing Ambassador Amory Houghton, and his wife; General William Y. Smith, a career military office who just five years earlier had been shot down over North Korea while flying his 97th combat mission; and Abram Nathaniel Spanel (1901-1985), industrialist and philanthropist, and his wife. On Sept. 7, Prime Minister Maurice Bougès-Maunoury arrived at Chavaniac to speak on the theme of Franco-American solidarity.

158 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

The Road to Boston 2026 YAMIL H. KOURI JR.

Reserve Booths and Meeting Space at the Show

T

hirty-eight months to go! I’m writing this column in early December and just watched the last match Team USA played in the soccer (otherwise known as “football” elsewhere) World Cup, getting beat by the Netherlands. Well, at least with our World Expo there will be only winners with no tickets required, as entry is free!

It is definitely not too early to start making plans to attend Boston 2026 World Expo, taking place for eight days from May 23 to 30, 2026 at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.

One of the highlights of such an event is the opportunity to “meet and greet” other like-minded stamp collectors from around the world. This is especially welcomed as we continue to shake off the hibernation that the Covid pandemic brought upon us in recent years. Perhaps there’s no better way to do so than by visiting the Expo’s many society booths and attending meetings and presentations taking place throughout the show.

Several major U.S. philatelic societies and organizations have already begun planning their participation at Boston 2026, including the United Postal Stationery Society, U.S. Philatelic Classics Society, United States Stamp Society, Philatelic Foundation, and American First Day Cover Society.

They will be joined by many more as the show nears. Now is the time for groups to start considering taking part in this once-a-decade event. And yes, organizations based outside the U.S. are especially encouraged to join us.

Heading up our work in such participation for show floor tables and meetings is Society Chair Mark Schwartz of

Philadelphia. Reach him by email at Mark.Schwartz@Boston2026.org.

Society tables on the show floor are being made available. These must be staffed every day of the show. Table configuration details are pending.

While more than 40 meeting rooms of various sizes are being made available to Boston 2026 at the convention center, we expect requests by societies for a meeting or presentation to be overwhelming. That was the case for Washington 2006 and New York 2016. Priority dates and room blocks will be assigned first to donating societies, however, ample hour-long slots will remain for any bona fide philatelic group that requests to reserve a meeting room sometime during Boston 2026.

What should you do?

Decide who within your group should act as its liaison with Boston 2026 and have him or her send an email request to Mark. Please include the society name, liaison contact information (name, address, email address, phone number), society web address (if applicable), estimated number of attendees, preferred meeting date and/or request for a table.

We cannot guarantee specific meeting dates or times but will do our best to accommodate requests.

Scheduling is not expected to be finalized until 2025, but every effort will be made to release details as soon as possible to allow societies ample time to notify their membership to make plans to attend.

Even if you don’t attend Boston 2026 with a society, I’ll bet you will leave having joined at least one of them!

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160 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

Books & Catalogs

BY Gary Wayne Loew Guest Contributor

Award Winning Philatelic Treatment and Presentation – A guide to Display, Thematic and Topical Exhibits for Exhibitors, Collectors and Judges. By Dr. Edwin J. Andrews. First edition, 167+vii pages, 8½ x 11 inches. Published by Exhibitors Press, 2021. ISBN: 9798454594732. Available from Amazon, paperback $40, hardcover $55.

Philatelic exhibiting is about using postal artifacts to tell a story. At its core, the material – the stamps and ephemera – is what drives the story. And yet, being a knowledgeable collector with deep pockets is not sufficient to win superior exhibiting awards. Indeed, the same material, exhibited by the same collector, can achieve significantly different award levels under different circumstances. What determines such different outcomes? Treatment and Presentation.

The comprehensivelytitled new book by Dr. Edwin J. Andrews, Award Winning Philatelic Treatment and Presentation – A guide to Display, Thematic and Topical Exhibits for Exhibitors, Collectors and Judges, is a welcome addition to the literature of philatelic exhibiting. The breadth of the coverage – display, thematic, and topical exhibits – is important here. Andrews uses a compare and contrast approach to highlight how the three categories differ and how the same material can be successfully used for each type.

The other aspect that adds to the robustness of the book is the wide target audience, including exhibitors, collectors, and judges. The relevance of exhibiting principles to collectors may not be immediately apparent. But an increasing number of philatelists are electing to design their own album pages. Thoughtful design and intelligent inclusion of information, as is required for successful exhibiting, can also be employed to enhance custom album pages. Moreover, the sense of “completeness” that drives exhibit story telling can also benefit collectors in their quest for, well, complete collections.

162 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

In exhibiting, strong philatelic material must first be organized into a coherent story line, mounted to emphasize that story, and be supplemented with the exhibitor’s philatelic knowledge. Andrews brings together each of these aspects when addressing treatment and presentation. Strong material without a vibrant story is not an exhibit. And if worthwhile knowledge is not effectively communicated to the viewer (whether judges or the public), then the story is unremarkable, and the exhibit is not successful.

The author opens with an introduction that is very helpful in informing the reader what is to come. The brief section “How to Use This Book” brings into focus the ways to maximize the readers’ understanding of each chapter. His inclusion of a definitions section is particularly important to elucidate the sometimes arcane nomenclature of exhibiting. Andrews’ usages may not all be universally accepted, but we can understand how he is using each term.

Chapter 1 offers the spring board to understanding “treatment” in general. Andrews’ discussion of the contents and organization of the Title Page is critical to initiating a successful treatment. In particular, pay attention to his comments on the Purpose and Scope statements. I found the examples of these two statements very helpful, but the inclusion of “what not to do” examples offered particular insight, not generally found in books on this subject.

The illustrations of actual exhibit pages are numerous and very expository. Each illustration is worthy of study to ensure that the reader fully grasps the author’s explanations of principles. Sadly, this book suffers from a common plight in books about exhibiting. The book size is 8½ by 11 inches, the same size as a single exhibit page. Hence, a full page illustration needs to be reduced to 6¾ by 8½ inches, effectively a reduction of some 37% in area. This degrades both the readability and the sharpness of the figures. Nevertheless, a careful reader will want to make the additional effort to study these figures; the information contained therein is important.

Differences of Display and Thematic exhibit treatments.

Chapters 3, 4, and 5 delve into treatment specifics for Display, Thematic and Topical exhibits, respectively. In each chapter, Andrews employs the powerful compare and contrast approach summarized in the nearby chart. He frequently shows side-by-side full page examples of an exhibit page with the same material but presented in a Thematic vs Display (or similar) treatment. The results are of great advantage to exhibitors deciding which type of exhibit to develop for their material.

Good books about exhibiting discuss principles, tips,

and tricks. Andrews adds very helpful advice about traps to avoid. Knowing what not to do is perhaps of greater importance to both novice and advanced exhibitors. But the author goes a step further. In addition to this cornucopia of what to do, Andrews includes a strong chapter on Advanced Mounting and Presentation Techniques: not just what to do, but how to do it. This implementation advice can make a world of difference, enabling the exhibitor to go beyond flat, boring, and unimaginative displays. Andrews shows us how to reveal material to its best advantage, drawing the viewer to pay greater attention.

Following Andrews’ advice – both the what to do and the how to do it – will surely result in far better philatelic exhibits. Both judges and the viewing public will gain a greater appreciation for the exhibitor’s material, knowledge, and storytelling prowess. Happier judges make for happier exhibitors.

Edwin Andrews’ excellent book can help make that a reality.

FEBRUARY 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 163

APRL Notes

BY Scott Tiffney Librarian & Director of Information Services stiffney@stamps.org

A Brief Intro to One of Philately’s Miscreants There is no hobby which has so many pleasant ramifications as philately. It lays open to the collector a thousand alluring bypaths. – Alvin Fay Harlow

IN

keeping with this issue’s theme of some of the more “interesting” people and events in philatelic history, one of the more colorful and somewhat controversial characters of note in philatelic circles is that of Hungarian philatelist, publisher, society organizer, auction house manager, stamp dealer and forger Béla Desiderius Szekula (later Sekula) (Figure 1).

Born on February 9, 1881, in Szeged, Hungary, Szekula opened a business in Budapest as a wholesale and retail merchant of postage stamps in 1898. In the same year he published his first and ultimately only issue of a journal he titled Levélbélyeggyűjtők Lapja Figure 1. Bela Szekula in (Figure 2). Using the journal as an advertising plat- 1901, age 20. form for his business, Szekula’s first dubious philatelic moment came as a result of his sending large quantities of unsolicited approvals abroad to notable philatelists. Although this action may have been more zealous than controversial, the result earned him his first Figure 2. The December 1898 issue of negative rumblings among collectors and the philatelic press.

Undeterred, in 1901, Szekula went on to publish his second philatelic jour- Levélbélyeggyűjtők Lapja. nal Szekula Briefmarken-Verkehr in Budapest and later Geneva, Switzerland (Figure 3). Szekula used the journal as a political platform when in the January 1902 issue he called for the foundation of an international society of stamp collectors to be called “Internationale Philatelisten-Verband” (Association of International Philatelists) with himself as its director. Seemingly audacious at first, the idea caught on, when in two years’ time the fledgling group grew from 20 founding members from 10 different countries to more than 400 members.

However well intentioned, controversy continued to follow him when in 1903 he received further criticism for extensively advertising certain stamps of Puerto Rico that had been surcharged “HABILITADO 17 OCTUBRE 1898,” but were never valid for franking. Upon seeing these issues in the marketplace, many prominent collectors widely regarded the issues as fraudulent.

Further negative press continued in the same year when Szekula offered the 1902 commemorative stamps of the Dominican Republic, issued on February 25, for sale, cancelling them with fake postmarks of Santo Domingo dated January 20, 1902.

But the two controversial incidents for which Szekula is best remembered occurred in the early 1930s.

The first involved Jean Adolphe Michel, the former postmaster in Ethiopia.

Michel was the sponsor of the Ethiopian 1919 Animals and Rulers issue (Scott Figure 3. The July 1902 issue of Szekula 120-134) and owner of the original dies and plates. At the time, Michel was Briefmarken-Verkehr.

164 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

given permission by the Ethiopian government to reprint and sell these stamps 10 years after their first issuance in 1919. Michel commissioned Szekula for the reprints. However, when the latter began offering these stamps as “originals,” he and Michel were brought under criticism. Notable European stamp dealers initially called the issues “forgeries” then later “unauthorized reprints” before grudgingly accepting them. By then, however, the damage was done.

The second incident involved Szekula’s suspicious involvement in the creation and distribution of the colorful 1934-1936 Tannu Tuva issues. With little hard evidence of his specific connection to their issuance, but with a strong suggestion of a conflict of business in- Figure 4. The landing page of APRL online catalog with “USED BOOKS FOR SALE” tab terest nonetheless, Szekula became one of the circled. main promoters, suppliers and sellers of these issues. The philatelic press cried foul as they were wary of the Hungarian’s hand in the appearance and distribution of these issues.

But this is just a brief overview of just one man’s philatelic story. For more about the colorful life and times of Bela Szekula and many other interesting people and events in the history of this great hobby, feel free to contact the library at library@stamps.org and make use of the services and collections of the APRL.

Ongoing subscriber special As mentioned in last month’s column, there is a Philatelic Literature Review (PLR) subscription special for new and renewing subscribers ongoing in 2023.

In January and February if you become a new subscriber to the PLR, the library’s quarterly journal, you will receive a $10 one-time discount code to use for the purchase of books from the library’s used books inventory. New subscribers will be sent a one-time use code when they subscribe. In addition, for those renewing their PLR subscriptions, the same $10 one-time purchase discount code will be sent.

Upon receiving their codes, subscribers can use them for a one-time purchase in the months of January through March. To see what items are currently available in the library’s used book inventory, click on the “USED BOOKS FOR SALE” tab on the first page of the David Straight Memorial Philatelic Union Catalog or contact the library at library@stamps.org (Figure 4). Be sure to check back regularly as the inventory is updated on a weekly basis as new items come into the library.

If you have been interested in becoming a PLR subscriber in support of the library, now’s your best chance!

Volunteer outreach Whenever one of the library staff members talks about or provides a tour of the library for visiting members, we regularly refer to the APRL as “your library,” meaning it be-

Figure 5. Student volunteers processing library donations.

longs to our members. As staff, we do our best to meet and exceed the expectations of our members and library patrons.

One of the ways is which we accomplish all the tasks and projects that are part of managing the library is through the help of volunteers (Figure 5).

Currently, the library is fortunate to have six on-site volunteers that regularly provide weekly hours of work for us, but we always welcome those who can assist us with tasks that can be done remotely. The primary task for which we are always in need of remote volunteers is that of indexing articles in philatelic periodicals. Using a template provided by the APRL, remote volunteers can create article records for inclusion into the online catalog.

If members are coming for a visit, they can also volunteer time to the library in areas such as donation and archives processing. If you are interested in volunteering in the library whether remotely or in-person contact the library at library@stamps.org and we can arrange possible volunteering opportunities.

FEBRUARY 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 165

Young Philatelic Leaders Fellowship returns to offer mentorship

AS

Nick Miller, Online Learning Specialist

part of the American Philatelic Society’s efforts to foster and grow a new generation of philatelists, the Young Philatelic Leaders Fellowship program seeks out up-and-coming philatelists and guides them through a year-long project.

The age range of YPLF participants is 16 to 24, with a direct focus on students in high school and college.

At the beginning of the program, each Fellow chooses a track to follow. There are currently six separate tracks: author, curator, exhibitor, dealer, designer and analyst.

These tracks each require different assignments to be completed and one final proj- The YPLF Class of 2023 is (from left) Bethany Hunter, Victor Livesay, Trevor Bills and Silas ect. As an example, the ultimate goal of the Ernst. author track is to write and publish multiple philatelic articles.

For Fellows, expenses are covered for traveling to, lodging for, and attending two Great American Stamp Shows, a trip to the National Postal Museum, and Summer Seminar at the American Philatelic Center at Bellefonte, Pennsylvania.

Fellows are also paired with a mentor, an expert in their specific field, who will support and help bring them into the philatelic community. You may have seen YPLF members at the 2022 Great American Stamp Show as they managed their own booth, sold first day covers and walked around the you the individuals in the Class of 2023! show floor, interacting with and interviewing other dealers Trevor Bills is the Donald and Bonnie Lee Fellow, sponand collectors. sored by Jim Lee in memory of his parents. Trevor is a colThe YPLF started back in 2009 and has since produced lector of U.S. and worldwide stamps, first day and special 29 graduates of the program. The graduates came from a vaevent covers, and postal stationery, and is also a cachet and riety of backgrounds and philatelic interests, such as graphic postcard designer. design, engineering, and entrepreneurship.

This budding postmark expert began collecting interestDue to COVID-19, YPLF was put on hold for a few years. ing postmarks as a young child. Trevor attends Angelo State The Class of 2023 is the first class since the Class of 2019, University in San Angelo, Texas, where he is double majorwhich had made it halfway through the program before it ing in marketing and management and is active in more was put on hiatus. Members of the Class of 2019, Trevor Bills than 20 student organizations. He serves as the student body and Victor Livesay, have returned and joined the Class of president.

2023 to complete their projects. They join Silas Ernst and Within the YPLF program, Trevor is on the Designer Bethany Hunter, both high school students who have been Track, where he will focus on designing postcards, cachets, collectors from a young age. and postmarks postmarks, with his mentor, Alex Haimann.

Each Fellow brings a unique set of skills, background, He is currently interested in creating an exhibit frame about and collecting interests that have made them perfect for the YPLF program. It gives me great pleasure to introduce to interesting postmarks.

166 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

Victor Livesay is the Alfredo Frohlich Fellow, sponsored

by Alex Haimann. He attends Ohio State University, where he is majoring in mechanical engineering.

Intrigued by the designs and images observed during evenings spent looking through albums with his father, Victor began his own philatelic journey at a very young age.

U.S. classics and private die proprietary stamps are the focal points of his collection. He loves the feelings he gets when he finds a scarcely seen, attractive item, and especially enjoys when a unique item jumps off of an album page.

Victor is on the Dealer Track, which focuses on an entrepreneurial philatelic career. Currently, Victor buys and sells stamps through online sources like eBay and HipStamp and also in person at stamp shows and stores. So far, he has continued his dealings with the help of his mentor, Richard Friedberg. His final project will be to create a solidified business plan.

Bethany Hunter, the U.S. Philatelic Classics Society Fellow, is a senior in high school who is on the Author Track.

She is the second of her family to be a part of the YPLF program as her brother, Ian, was in the Class of 2018.

Bethany describes her collection as “a small treasure trove of cool stamps.” Her collection includes stamps from all over the world, with her favorites being the ones that depict an interesting moment in history. She considers stamp collecting to be a way to connect with the past and learn from people long forgotten.

Bethany is primarily interested in postal history and is focusing her work on American V-Mail. Ultimately, her final project will consist of publishing a philatelic article based around her research, as well as a presentation of her topic and research. So far, she has been continuing research on VMail with the help of her mentor, Cheryl Ganz, and is gathering resources for future use.

Silas Ernst is a high school junior who is on the Analyst Track. His interest in philately started when he discovered a

potato chip can full of stamps and covers in his grandmother’s attic. Afterwards, his visit to the 2014 St. Louis Stamp Expo helped solidify and expand his collecting interests.

Mixing his love for engineering with his love of philately, Silas enjoys delving into expertizing and the scientific analysis of stamps. For his project, he is interested in the use of color on stamps and how we can use forensics to gain a deeper understanding of stamp identification, with the help of his mentor, Richard Judge. He has been researching and analyzing data related to color and stamp identification.

The fellows will continue their work throughout 2023, coming to a conclusion at the Great American Stamp Show in Cleveland, Ohio. At the show, the fellows will showcase their completed works and projects.

Thank you to everyone who supports this program and thank you to our fellows for their hard work. I am excited to see their final projects and I hope you are, too. If you have any questions about the YPLF program, please email me at nmiller@stamps.org.

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FEBRUARY 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 167

Bridges

BY Eric Spielvogel Director of Content and Education eric@stamps.org

Turning the Page in 2023

T

his edition of Bridges might just as appropriately be titled Transitions.

My name is Eric Spielvogel, and in November of this past year, I joined the American Philatelic Society as its new director of education and digital content.

I join the APS after almost 20 years at Penn State as a learning designer and media specialist, serving a number of its centers, departments and colleges. These include the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, the Center for Sustainability (formerly within the College of Engineering, now part of the Sustainability Institute), and most recently, World in Conversation, a NATO-supported center within the College of Liberal Arts.

In these capacities, I worked directly with faculty and academic researchers to share their knowledge, research, and stories by producing educational video and multimedia, creating and implementing effective and engaging online courses and programs, and supporting their students and learning communities, both resident and online, through classroom technologies, video conferencing, and online learning management systems (like C3a).

My path to the APS has not come through a life of philately, per se. A few months after meeting Scott English and having a brief conversation with him about the future of APS’ educational offerings, I took Scott up on his invitation to get a glimpse into the world of philately by attending the Aerophilately show held in November at the American Philatelic Center.

I recall with great clarity how, within a few minutes of entering the building, I felt as if I’d been transported to another world; a world where stamps were much, much more than just postage and pretty pictures, as I and most people I know perceive them.

The world I’d stepped into was so much more than that – stamps, and covers (not envelopes!), and all other manner of philatelic materials I’d never heard of before. And when the dealer I was chatting with randomly dipped her hand into a box of European advertising covers, and pulled out one from the town of my birth – Nuremberg, Germany – featuring one of the great things Nuremberg is known for – Leb168 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

kuchen (gingerbread) – the hook had been set!

I follow in the footsteps of the very accomplished and highly regarded Cathy Brachbill, who served the APS for five years, and whose considerable talents and energies as an educator and manager led to substantial growth in the APS’ offerings in philately-based education, teacher-training, classroom-based learning, and online education.

Cathy accomplished much by serving and balancing the needs of two quite different audiences: the very detailed and sophisticated learning needs of APS’ community of experts and deeply rooted philatelists; and the broader, topical and advocacy-driven needs of those just beginning their explorations into the hobby, both young and old.

I also feel compelled to acknowledge the contributions of Ross Jones, who took over for Cathy this past fall, while also maintaining his normal duties as head of web application and online systems. His leadership in the development of systems for data collection and analysis, media creation and distribution, and social media activity continued to help transform the APS into the more modern information and online learning-oriented organization we have today.

So, here I am, becoming acquainted with the vast resources and network of people dedicated to philately, eager to learn, and eager to serve the APS staff, membership, and potential hobbyists and enthusiasts, in continuing to grow and develop APS’ educational offerings.

I’m excited, here and now, to announce that Summer Seminar will once again return to Bellefonte this summer as a live, in-person event, from June 12 to 16 16 (see page 163).

So please save the date, and look for additional information in coming months.

I really look forward to meeting as many of you as I can in the next few months, and whenever possible, collaborating with you to continue in the advancement of APS’ educational mission. Please feel free to reach out to me anytime you have questions or ideas that can help us meet this objective.

Wish Central

“Making Buying & Selling Wishes a Reality!”

Gary Posner

From Classics to Back-of-Book, please visit www.garyposnerinc.com where you will find to the right on our home page a “CLICK HERE” link to the many lots we have listed at Collectors Corner.

Another Great Resource: Our eBay Store: www.ebay.com/str/garyposner—with a Best Offer Option !

#131. 1875 Ultramarine & Carmine Re-Issue of the 30¢ 1869 Pictorial, Mint, Hinged, Part Original Gum, Reperfed at Bottom, a Beautiful Stamp with Amazingly Rich Color and a Crowe Certificate.

Our List Price $2,500 Special Ad Price $1,895

#J8. 1879 1¢ Deep Brown Special Printing Postage Due, Unused, No Gum, Fine to Very Fine, Natural Straight Edge at Left, 100% Sound with a PF Certificate.

Scott for O.G. $16,000 Our List Price $6,400 Special Ad Price $5,500

#J17. 1884 3¢ Perf 12 Red Brown Postage Due, Used, Light Cancel, Very FineExtremely Fine with a PF Certificate.

Our List Price $500 Special Ad Price $440

Hawaii #43. 1886 2¢ Rose Used, Blue Target Cancel, Well Centered in Wide Margins with a PSAG Certificate Grade of 98J. Our List Price $500 Special Ad Price $425

Bob Prager

Canal Zone #J20c. 1925 10¢ Rose Red Postage Due with Striking “Canal Zone” Double Overprint, Mint, Fine to Very Fine, with Never Hinged Original Gum and a Crowe Certificate.

Our List Price $450 Special Ad Price $400

#RW65. 1998-99 $15 Duck Stamp, with a PSE Certificate Grading it 100 Gem NH. SMQ $325 Our List Price $325 Special Ad Price $280

#RW80b. 2013-14 Hunting Permit “Duck” Stamp Souvenir Sheet Beauty, with a PSE Certificate Grading it Gem 100 Mint OG NH. SMQ $400 Our List Price $400 Special Ad Price $340

Have Similar?

If you have individual pieces or a collection, it will pay you to call Bob Prager at 800-323-4279 to arrange for its lucrative sale or consignment.

#J32P4. 1894 2¢ Deep Claret Left Margin Plate Proof Block of Four On Card, Extremely Fine, Fresh And Pristine.

Scott $900 Our List Price $640 Special Ad Price $550

#J55. 1914 Perf 10 5¢ Carmine Lake Postage Due Imprint, Star & No. 5524 Plate Block of 6, Mint, Fine to Very Fine, Super Fresh with Never Hinged Original Gum. Scott $1,050 Our List Price $595 Special Ad Price $500

GARY POSNER, INC.

265 Sunrise Highway, Ste. 1-308, Rockville Centre, NY 11570 Cell: 917-538-8133 • Phone 800-323-4279 • Fax 516-599-2145

www.garyposnerinc.com • GaryPosnerInc@aol.com

eBay Store: www.ebay.com/str/garyposner

Gary Po

They’r

Buy and Sell

BY Carol Hoffman Director of Sales choffman@stamps.org

APSStampStore StampStore and and HipStamp APS HipStampPartnership Partnership

W

e are excited to announce that the APS Stamp

easily locate treasures for your collection. Watch for upcom-

We are excited announce the APS StamponStore officially launched December 20. You Storetoon HipStampthat officially launched De- on HipStamp ing how to video clips and visit ouron FAQ page at https://aps. can reach thecember new store at can www.stampstore.org by visiting www.HipStamp.com and finding us under 20. You reach the new store atorwww. buzz/APSHipAnswers (the link is case-sensitive; pleasethe type stampstore.org or byover visiting www.HipStamp.com finditsin precise capitalization). store listings. With 100,000 members andand $20 million annual sales, HipStamp is the leading ing us underdevoted the store exclusively listings. Withto over 100,000 membersFounded in 2016, HipStamp was built for stamp marketplace stamp collecting.

APS Store sellers’ experience and $20 million in annual sales, HipStamp is the leading collectors, by stamp collectors. marketplace devoted exclusively to stamp collecting. Found-

First and foremost, APS Store sellers will continue to submit items directly to the APS, where all the work of uploading, scanning, answering questions, filling orders, processing returns/refunds are done by the APS staff. You simply APS Store buyers’ experience Buyers will be required to set up a HipStamp account if you don’t already have one. This can easily be done by sit back, watch your sales, and receive a monthly check! Our clicking “Sign at the top the screen and following recommend that setreports up your Buyers will Up” be required to setright up aof HipStamp account if sellersthe willprompts continue (we to access their items andyou status account with the same email file with the APS). you don’t already have one.

Thisyou can have easily on be done by clickthrough the MyAPS portal at www.stamps.org. Sellers’ mateing “Sign Up” at the top right of the screen and following the rial will now have increased visibility with the 100,000-plus Buyers at (we the recommend new APS Store on set HipStamp will receive same level of service as before: being able to buy prompts that you up your account with the HipStamp members and through being tagged in favorites the same emailsellers you have on file the APS). want listswho as well as by appearing withofother searches from multiple from onewith location; all sellers are APSand members abide our Code Ethics; next of similar interest.

For information about getting started a Buyers the new APS will receive business dayat shipping; oneStore pointonofHipStamp contact with APS staff for problems or returns; a secure checkout; and as our seller, contact APS Director of Sales Carol Hoffman at casame level of service as before: being able to buy from 30the day money back guarantee. Buyers will have access to HipStamp’s advanced search capabilities as well as hoffma@stamps.org or call 814-933-3803 ext. 270. multiple sellers from one location; all sellers are APS mem“item and “want features. bers watching” who abide by our Codelist” of Ethics; next business day Coming soon shipping; one point of contact with APS staff for problems While this new format may take some time to get used to, we believe you will find it is a more intuitive or returns; a secure checkout; and our 30 day money back Some additional features are coming in the weeks ahead. approach toBuyers easilywill locate your collection. for upcoming to videocertificates clips and through visit ourthe guarantee. havetreasures access to for HipStamp’s advanced Watch The highest priority how is requesting FAQ page at https://aps.buzz/APSHipAnswers (the link is case-sensitive; please copy its precise capitalization). search capabilities as well as “item watching” and “want list” American Philatelic Expertizing Service. We’re also working features. with HipStamp on launching the member badging program, so buyers can search for APS members to buy and receive While this new format may take some time to get used to, we believe you will find it is a more intuitive approach to member discounts in the APS Store.

APS Store sellers’ experience ed in 2016, HipStamp was built for stamp collectors, by APS buyers’ experience stampStore collectors.

170 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

First and foremost, APS Store sellers will continue to submit items directly to the APS, where all the work of

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Mark Eastzer President

In Touch

BY Wendy Masorti Director of Membership and Shows wendy@stamps.org

2022 Membership Recap

WE

#TogetherWeGrow

welcomed 1,580 new members to our collecting community in 2022! A big THANK YOU to the 212 members, dealers, clubs and societies who referred new members. Of the new applications received, 727 were a direct result of their recruiting efforts – continued proof that together we can grow.

Our top 10 recruiters for 2022 are listed here as well as our top 10 recruiting sources. While we give a special shout out to these recruiting champions, we want to stress the importance of “ONE.” Of those 727 referred new members, 162 were the result of a single referral, which may not seem like much, but each one does make a difference. Every time you recruit a member, you strengthen the hobby.

So, make it a goal this year to recruit a friend, family member or colleague that you know has an interest in collecting. We have recruiting tips and tools on our website at www.stamps.org/together-we-grow. Alternatively, feel free to contact the membership team who can provide you with brochures and applications to share.

Thanks to everyone for a great 2022!

GASS 2023

Our show team is gearing up for Great American Stamp Show 2023 to be held August 10-13 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Plan to join us in this fun-filled city. Hotel information as well as sign-up forms for dealers, exhibitors, societies, cachetmakers, volunteers and pre-registration are now available. Visit www.stamps. org/GASS for more information.

See you in Cleveland!

Auctions Stamp Shows Retail Store Internet

sterlingstamps.com auctions.sterlingstamps.com Sterling Stamps• Mark Vervaeke 455 E Grand River, Suite 103 Brighton, MI 48116 810-220-6000

mark@sterlingstamps.com APS Dealer, ATA, ASDA, MSDA 172 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

D & P Stamps

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We also carry a large variety of Middle East & Worldwide.

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Please send us your Want List APS ATA, ISPP, NSDA Members

Top Ten Recruiters Donald J. Sundman Alexander T. Haimann William P. Athens Graham Beck Matthew E. Liebson Joseph Zec Niki L. Oquist Lewis Burchett Edward L. Davidson Arthur A. Luther

233 146 20 11 11 9 7 6 6 5

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2023

CLEVELAND

NEW USPS STAMPS TO BE ISSUED AT SHOW Life Magnified - Ceremony on Thursday, August 10th Thinking of You - Ceremony on Friday, August 11th

JOIN US AT GASS, AUGUST 10-13 Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland

Now Available - hotel information as well as sign-up forms for dealers, exhibitors, societies, cachetmakers, volunteers, and pre-registration.

Visit www.stamps.org/GASS

Membership Report No. 12, December 2022

NEW APPLICANTS The following applications were received during December 2022. If no objections are received by the Executive Director (814-933-3803) prior to February 28, 2023, these applicants will be admitted to membership and notice to this effect will appear in the April 2023 issue.

Alcorn, Luther D. (236049) Creedmoor, NC Sheets; Retired Alexander, John H. (236107) Jasper, AL US-Plate Blocks; 78; Funeral Home Emp. & Pastor Allingham, Robert K. (236016) Lake Mary, FL Blocks/Guideline Blocks-First Day Covers-Faroe Islands-UN/US Stamps; 66; Retired Andrews, Alan S. (236015) Chino Valley, AZ Commemorative Panels-British CommonwealthBritish Gutter Pairs-Great Britain; 77; Retired Andrews, Scott (236046) Kingston, NY Commemoratives-Errors, Freaks, Oddities-19th Century20th Century; 56 Archambault, Tom (236118) Fort Lauderdale, FL US-Newspapers & Periodicals-Savings (Postal/ Treasury/War)-Classics; 69 Batkin, Mike (236099) El Paso, TX Becker, Michael (236117) Salisbury, NC US-ItalyCayman Islands-Vatican City-Coats Of Arms; 31 Beno, Tim (236037) Alexandria, LA French Colonies-British Colonies-Portuguese Colonies; 62; CFO Benson, Robert E. (236062) Bellefonte, PA; Retired Berry, Stephen (236093) Graniteville, VT; 71 Bromead, Kathleen (236136) Valdese, NC 19th Century-20th Century-First Day ProgramsAustralia Brubaker, David A. (236064) Tumwater, WA US-Canada-United Kingdom-Mexico-United Nations-Dead Countries; 80; Retired History Prof./Consultant Buescher, Ken (236108) North Ridgeville, OH

174 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

Busch, Rosanne (236071) Sun City, AZ; 67 Carney, Mike (236039) Elizabeth, PA First Day Covers-20th Century; 72 Carter, Brad (236050) Newport, RI US; Professor Cavanaugh, James (236074) Farmington, CT USUnited Kingdom; 79; Retired Coleman, Craig L. (236103) Peachtree City, GA New Zealand-19th Century-20th Century-Air Mails; 50 Collins, Michael (236025) Portland, OR US-Canada; 69; Retired Connolly, Steve W. (236083) Sharon, MA Patriotic Covers; 67 DeLeon, Michael J. (236122) Newport News, VA Used US-19th Century-20th Century-Commemoratives-Bulls Eye/SON Cancels-Civil War Covers; HVAC DeVore, William (236005) Hayward, CA 19th Century; 75 Dobek, Thaddeus P. (236033) Warren, MI USWorldwide; 72; Retired Dolce, Diana N. (236023) Hollywood, FL Washington/Franklins-Cut Squares-Covers-19th Century-20th Century-Classics; 63; Retired Dryer, Joel S. (236038) Evanston, IL Air Mails-Flight Covers-Commemoratives Eagle, Tim (236100) Radford, VA Commemoratives Eaton, Peter W. (236075) Salado, TX US-United Nations; 76; Retired Ehresman, Kenneth W. (236051) Huntingdon, PA US; 75; Retired Esneul, Jerry (236123) Gulf Shores, AL; 82 Evelyn, Peter (236013) Peterborough, ON Canada Farley, Austin G. (236052) Tacoma, WA US; 83; Retired Journalist Fell, James R. (236028) Roaming Shores, OH British Empire-British Commonwealth-US-Confederate States; 70; Retired Navy Captain/Univ. Prof.

NEW MEMBERS Applications 235738-235917 as previously published have been accepted for membership by the Board of Vice Presidents.

SUMMARY Total Membership, November 30, 2022................26,223 New Members 181 Reinstated 35 Deceased 26 Resignations 27 Total Membership, December 31, 2022 26,386 (Total Membership, December 31, 2021 was 27,268 a difference of -882).

Freeman, Alex (236031) Hampden, ME Commemoratives-Maine-Used US; 72; Retired Frisch, Steve (236043) Cincinnati, OH Commemoratives-First Day Covers; 57 Gaby, William L. (236040) Ft. Mill, NC ClassicsCanada-Commemoratives; 67 Gehre, Jerry L. (236098) Johnson City, TN CancelsCommemoratives-19th Century-20th Century; 83; Retired Gelbeck, Jim (236094) La Crosse, WI; 78; Retired Goering, Al (236010) Columbus, IN US; 69; Engineer Gray, Jeffrey J. (236076) Sandisfield, MA US; 66; Retired Groth, Karl (236124) Rensselaer, IN Guelcher, James M. (236036) Woodbridge, VA Belgium Haase, Ferdinand Carl (236073) Dallas, TX Hahn, Norma (236065) Craig, CO Issues-Rarities; Retired Hartman, Jeff (236047) Greeneville, TN; 55

Hendrick, John R. (236135) New Oxford, PA 19th Century-Belgium-France-Ryukyus-United Nations; 80 Hernandez, Selma (236085) Portland, TX; 41; Medical Laboratory Scientist Herron, Denis B. (236137) West Palm Beach, FL 19th Century-20th Century-Confederate States-Officials/Official Mail-Canada-Canadian Provinces Higaki, Steven Y. (236077) San Jose, CA Japan; 67; Retired Hill, James R. (236026) Erie, PA US; 52; Information Technology Hilton, Susan R. (236088) Greenville, SC Air MailsCoils-California-South Carolina-Civil War Covers; 52; Retired Holmes, Alicia (236009) Phoenix, AZ 19th CenturyGermany-Peru-Officials/Official Mail-ClassicsArgentina; 36 Houglum, Dennis R. (236084) Southaven, MS Russia/USSR/Independent Republics-Czechoslovakia-Romania-Poland-British Colonies-British Empire; 69; Retired Ingraham, Craig S. (236095) Saint Louis, MO British Commonwealth; 75; Semi-retired Attorney Irizarry, Richard G. (236126) Buda, TX Commemoratives-Christmas; 61; Federal Worker Jefferis, David (236066) Sedalia, MO Germany-USPortugal; 85; Retired Johnson, Stephen E. (236017) Lebanon, OH Possessions-Allied Military Governments-Commemoratives-Used US-Ryukyus-Worldwide; 63 Kaspar, Alex (236089) New York, NY Postal History; 75; Art Dealer Kast, Alfred A. (236014) Dayton, OH

Keig, Steven (236006) Mead, WA Classics-Blocks/ Guideline Blocks-US-Isle Of Man-Coil Line PairsChannel Islands King, Alexander H. (236119) Santa Rosa, CA 19th Century; 80 Kleit, Natanya B. (236109) Bexley, OH US-First Day Covers; 17; Student Knox, Travis (236012) Westborough, MA BirdsPenguins-Disney-Dinosaurs-Scouts; 14 Koskie, Steven (236020) Ruston, LA Kulp, James H. (236022) Richlands, NC Imperforates-Air Mails-Classics-Covers-Plate BlocksCommemoratives; 58; Retired Military Lance, Kenneth J. (236102) Playa Del Rey, CA 20th Century-19th Century-First Day Covers-California-Booklets/Panes-Perfins; 77 Legarreta, Luis F. (236078) Olathe, KS; 60; Custodial Liberty, Vincent A. (236121) Henderson, NV 19th Century-Blocks/Guideline Blocks-Air MailsBooklets/Panes-Bureau Issues-Classics; 68 Lieberman, Reina G. (236029) Bensalem, PA USPlate Blocks; 69; Retired Teacher Long, Richard (236101) Mt. Pleasant, SC Blocks/ Guideline Blocks-19th Century-Plate Singles; 76 Loucky, John P. (236053) Hemet, CA Asia-World War II-Worldwide; 71; Prof.

Luecke, Carl (236090) Savannah, GA; 83; Retired Marshall, Winston S. (236032) Sherman, TX Famous People-19th Century-Winston Churchill; 57 Masri, Samir (236063) Cypress, CA 19th CenturyClassics-Errors, Freaks, Oddities-Civil War Covers-Cancels-Naval Covers; 64 Mathis, Michael W. (236086) Lebanon, TN Commemoratives-Classics-Coil Line Pairs-CoilsCommemorative Panels-Plate Blocks; 66

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Matthews, Andy (236060) Crane Hill, AL Cancels; 57 Matzke, Robert B. (236082) Gridley, CA; 74; Retired McCollum, Michael (236021) Rockville, MD 19th Century-20th Century; 45 McDonald, Sherri (236105) Germantown, TN; 60 McKinney, Isaac J. (236120) Lexington, KY Armenia-Russia/USSR/Independent RepublicsWorldwide-Lots & Collections-Used WorldwideAzerbaijan-Georgia; 15 Meeks, David S. (236067) Indianapolis, IN US; 75; Retired Pharmacist Merrill, Thomas P. (236041) Rowlett, TX 19th Century-Plate Blocks-Commemoratives-Confederate States-First Day Covers-20th Century-SheetsMNH; 74; Retired Messenger, Mischelle (236044) Ipswich, MA Used US-Foreign Perfins-Bulls Eye/SON Cancels-Classics-Errors, Freaks, Oddities-Pictorial Cancellations; 57 Mohs, David (236138) Saint Cloud, MN Used US Monchunski, Anna (236110) Las Vegas, NV US Moore, Robert Jr. (236054) Highland Heights, KY US-First Day Covers; 68; Retired Morris, Lonnie D. (236055) San Antonio, TX 1949 To Present; 71; Retired Morrissey, Lloyd C. (236091) Novato, CA ClassicsUS-Worldwide-Cancels-Postcards; 58; Philatelist Morse, Jeff (236104) Denver, CO Plate BlocksCommemoratives-Definitives-US-Errors, Freaks, Oddities-Revenues/Tax Paids (Federal); 63 Murray, William (236024) Arlington, VA; 64 Nelson, Bryan (236045) Concord, NC; 43 Nelson, Jim (236132) Mundelein, IL 19th Century20th Century-Air Mails-Coil Line Pairs; 79 Newman, Janice (236092) Saskatoon, SK Canada

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Eric Jackson

The hobby’s premier dealer of revenue stamps since 1975 P.O. Box 728 • Leesport PA 19533-0728 Phone: 610-926-6200 E-mail: eric@revenuer.com FEBRUARY 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 175

Nitsche, Jon H. (236079) Waukegan, IL Worldwide; 88; Pumping and Filtration Plant O’Shea, Jim (236111) Cary, IL US Singles; 64 Oakley, Robert R. (236116) Lexington, KY Commemoratives-First Day Covers-US-Used Worldwide; 67; Retired Oberman, Patricia A. (236061) Oro Valley, AZ Berlin-19th Century-Air Mails-Civil War CoversConfederate States-Postal Cards; 76; Retired Oldham, Scott (236048) Joliet, IL US-Air MailsSpace; 65 Onkst, Wayne (236133) Erlanger, KY Used US; 66; Retired Palin, Ronald N. (236034) Wingate, IN US-First Day Covers; 78; Retired Papp, Alexander R. (236131) Littleton, CO 20th Century-19th Century-Back Of The BookWorldwide; 69 Payne, Gillis L. (236080) Ramer, AL US Mint; Retired Poste, Tom M. (236056) Edgewood, WA US Mint And Used; 75; Retired Pronti, Paul M. (236030) West Seneca, NY US; 64; Optometrist Reason, Robert (236112) Sedalia, MO US-Worldwide; 63 Rodrigues, Susan I. (236096) Reno, NV; 76; Shift Supervisor for IGT Rozier, Neil L. (236042) Clayton, NC 19th Century20th Century-Confederates States-Air Mails; 77; Retired Accountant Ruitenberg, Robert V. (236068) Johnstown, PA US Mint And Used-Air Mails; 61; Technician Runtsch, Randy (236007) Rochester, MN Used USGreat Britain-Canada-Australia-New ZealandJapan; 63 Scott, Mark (236008) Sewickley, PA Classics-Civil War Covers-Commemorative Panels-Confederate States-US Shakar, Jamie (236128) Magnolia, TX Shishoff, Lex (236004) Beavercreek, OH Worldwide (New & Used)-Conservation Stamps-US Postal History-War Covers/Stamps-Philatelic Literature; 29 Simpson, Glen (236127) Hardy, KY Commemoratives-Plate Blocks-Postal Cards Skweir, Stefan (236139) New Tripoli, PA Air MailsBooklets/Panes-Confederate States; 48; Dealer Smith, Barbara A. (236019) Mount Vernon, IN; 64 Snyder, Keith (236072) Lake Havasu City, AZ Duck/Hunting/Fishing Stamps-Washington/ Franklins-Postal Cards-US; 58 Snyder, Kent (236018) Bayside, NY Commemoratives-US; 78; Retired Sokolowski, John (236097) Plains, PA Spicer, Ken (236129) Coupeville, WA Used Worldwide-Blocks/Guideline Blocks-Commemoratives-Covers; 81 Spiller, Dave W. (236115) Lacey, WA Duck/Hunting/Fishing Stamps-Air Mails-Commemoratives; 57

Stone, Betty J. (236035) Albemarle, NC US-Worldwide; 78; Retired Sullivan, Mark E. (236081) Bow, WA US-Early Air Covers; 72; Retired Sulzbach, Peter (236027) Fort Myers, FL; 82 Sulze, Frank (236069) Rolla, MO US-Worldwide; 74; Retired Thacker, William C. (236057) Mollusk, VA USCanada; 90; Retired Thompson, Richard D. (236058) Munday, TX US; 72; Writer Turner, Aaron M. (236106) Hidden Valley Lake, CA Western Europe-19th Century-20th Century-Errors, Freaks, Oddities-First Day Covers-US Postal History; Antique Collectibles Vacca, Charles M. (236113) Coventry, RI Italy-Vatican City-Early Issue US; 67; Attorney Vapiwalla, Faizul (236070) Toronto, ON Canada 19th Century Vars, Keith A. (236011) Torrance, CA Advertising Covers-Duck/Hunting/Fishing Stamps-Booklets/Panes-Commemoratives-Covers-Revenues/ Tax Paids (State/Local); 66 Vega, Susano (236134) El Paso, TX US; 81; Retired Whalen, Christopher (236087) Marshfield, VT USFirst Day Covers-Vermont-Canadian ProvincesEthiopia-Plate Blocks; 60; Retired Whitney, Scott D. (236114) Worthington, OH Revenues-US; 66; Quality Manager Whittico, James (236130) Belleville, MI Worldwide; 83 Wlodyka, Edward (236125) Salem, NH; 75; Retired Wrzensinski, Chris L. (236059) Lansing, MI

Eckstein, Kurt E. (8960-060164), Cary, IL Greiner, Truyde S. (11710-114697), Lancaster, PA Hill, Paul D. (11322-057331), Bargersville, IN Kersh, Dianne W. (12240-056934), Star, MS Konrad, Robert W. (9954-069872), Waukesha, WI Lee, H. Bert (7413-052024), Terry, MT Lewis, Irving G. (9873-066552), Buffalo Grove, IL Lorek, Richard J. (186561), North Royalton, OH McCarroll, William H. (8459-058132), Lawrenceville, NJ McNamara, George R. (9890-067124), Nora Springs, IA Nadal, William H. (131578), Dover, NJ Powers, James F. (178513), North Port, FL Rosenberg, Alex J. (3940-038034), New York, NY Seliga, Joseph F. (9119-046927), Trenton, NJ Thurn, Joseph R. (185172), Saint Paul, MN Usinger, Frederick D. (8438-058671), Milwaukee, WI Van Heertum, Richard M. (228287), Lakeland, FL Williams, Stephen J. (225625), Murfreesboro, TN Wood, Howard E. (218033), Missouri Valley, IA

DECEASED

The following have been approved for classification as a stamp dealer according to qualifications established by the Board of Vice Presidents.

All dealer listings are located online at www. stamps.org/Dealers.

Avi Itzhak, Carmel (231645), Tel Aviv, Israel Becker, George C. (6770-054356), Blue Island, IL Boulais, John P. (225408), Holyoke, MA Budnik, Frederick (10339-071127), White Bear, MN Cordrey, Charles B. (11581-050418), Seaford, DE Cutshaw, E. G. (145714), Grapeland, TX Dingenthal, Harry F. (2730-036709), Garland, TX

DEALER LISTINGS

TATyszka Stamps, Thaddeus A. Tyszka (218885), Crowley, TX, https://www.hipstamp.com/store/ tatyszka-stamps KS Philatelics, Kurt Streepy (213241), Smithville, IN, www.ksphilatelic.com

Rocky Mountain Philatelic Library Stamp and Cover Auctions http://www.rmplauctions.org Next auction closes February 23rd at 4:00 pm MST

No Buyer’s Premium

Nieser Stamps & Coins PO BOX 8533 Houston, TX 77249 832-212-1285 www.kennieser.com kennieser@yahoo.com 176 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

Classified Ads UNITED STATES 20-33% OF SCOTT $1,000,000 WW inventory. Lots of US & cols.

Catalog avail. www.BillsStamps. com Many finer sets & singles up to $1,000 Unconditional money-back guarantee doctoryes007@aol.com 214-213-8066 (1465) UNITED STATES Classics + www. hipstamp.com/store/ralphsroom (1467) FREE 83 PAGE PRICELIST. Call, write or email. Includes 19th century to Forever issues, Air Mail, Ducks and other BOB. Or, visit my website and shop my online store.

Enter www.thenorthwoodsstamps. com into your address bar at the top of the page. Major credit cards and paypal accepted. John Brown. Northwoods Stamps. PO Box 823 Rochester, MN 55903. brown55902@aol.com.( 507 ) 2525956 (1465) WANTED US SCOTT RS307, ic Franklin with large overprint IR and Dr Kin black. Send price quote to flsmithmd@msn.com (1466) www.Stamps-America.com (1468) BARNEY’S STAMPS has Mint & Used Commemoratives, Airmails, 19th Century, Ducks and much more. AlPlease visit at www. barneysstamps.com (1469) FREE 40-page U.S. U.N. Pricelist (412)-431-3800 or view online www.fortpittstamps.com Fort Pitt Philatelics PO Box 6009 Pittsburgh PA 15211 (1471) EARLY TO THE LATEST PLATE BLOCKS on approval. Positions filled. Send me your want list today John Robie, PO Box 2-A, Linden, CA 95236 (1472)

www.stamps.org/Classified-Ads

US MINT/USED 1840-1940 singles and plate blocks send on approval.

See it before you buy it. Philatelic Friends, PO Box 187, Carlisle, PA 17013 (1473) USED/MINT PNCs. Google Himes PNCs (1473) stampsforseriouscollectors.com (1476) ebay.com/str/littlearttreasures (1477) stampsforcollectors.net (1477) FREE USA CATALOG: Pre-Cancels & Punch cancels. D. Wilson 808 Demasters Ave NW, Huntsville AL 35801 (1466)

US FIRST DAY COVERS LIKE APPROVALS? Try APS Circuit Books for U.S. First Day Covers! We can build your collection. Email CircuitBooks@stamps.org (1471)

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Catalog avail. www.BillsStamps. com Many finer sets & singles up to $1,000 Unconditional money-back guarantee doctoryes007@aol.com 214-213-8066 (1465) www.forpostalhistory.com British Commonwealth and Worldwide Postal Incidents (1466) stampsforcollectors.net (1467) LIKE APPROVALS? Try APS Circuit Books for British Commonwealth!

We can build your collection. Email CircuitBooks@stamps.org (1471)

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AFRICA

LIKE APPROVALS? Try APS Circuit Books for China! We can build your collection. Email CircuitBooks@ stamps.org (1471)

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ARMENIA

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(1468)

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FRENCH COLONIES 20-33% OF SCOTT $1,000,000 WW inventory. Lots of France & cols.

Catalog avail. www.BillsStamps. com Many finer sets & singles up to $1,000 Unconditional money-back guarantee doctoryes007@aol.com 214-213-8066 (1465)

GET NOTICED WITH CLASSIFIED ADS Classified advertising in The American Philatelist is a cost-effective way to get the attention of over 27,000 American Philatelic Society members around the world. Call or email Chad today for more details (CCowder@stamps.org).

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1 line 2 lines 3 lines 4 lines 5 lines 6 lines 7 lines 8 lines 9 lines 10 lines 11 lines

1 month $ 3.94 $ 7.88 $ 11.82 $ 15.76 $ 19.70 $ 23.64 $ 27.58 $ 31.52 $ 35.46 $ 39.40 $ 43.34

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To calculate the number of lines for your ad, count all letters, numerals, punctuation and blank spaces between words. Divide the total by 34 and round up to the next whole number. Advertising is restricted to current APS members; please include your APS number.

All classified ads must be prepaid.

The best way to submit classified ads is online at www.stamps.org/ Classified-Ads. Classified ads are also

accepted via mail by sending your ad text and payment to AP Advertising, 100 Match Factory Place, Bellefonte, PA 16823. When submitting your ad, please include your card number (VISA, MasterCard or Discover only) and expiration date. Checks must be drawn on a U.S. bank.

Renewal Notice: If (1465) appears after your ad, it expires after this issue. Deadline for the April 2023 issue is February 23.

Interested in display advertising in The American Philatelist or online with Stamps.org?

Contact Advertising Director Steve Schwanz for more information Fox Associates, Inc. 800-440-0231 • adinfo.theamericanphilatelist@foxrep.com 178 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

GERMANY ThePhilately.com (1467)

PANAMA JOIN: www.COPAPHIL.org (1471)

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Year sets avail. HSE, POB 4028 Vineyard Haven, MA 02568 Phone (888) 868-8293 (1469)

ITALIAN COLONIES 20-33% OF SCOTT $1,000,000 WW inventory. Lots of Iltaly & cols.

Catalog avail. www.BillsStamps. com Many finer sets & singles up to $1,000 Unconditional money-back guarantee doctoryes007@aol.com 214-213-8066 (1465)

POLAND

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Lubelskistamps.com Email: Dan@ Lubelskistamps.com (1467) www.StampsOfEasternEurope. com WANT LISTS FILLED. New issues. Year sets avail. HSE, POB 4028 Vineyard Haven, MA 02568 Phone - (888) 868-8293 (1469)

LIKE APPROVALS? Try APS Circuit Books for Italy! We can build your collection. Email CircuitBooks@ stamps.org (1471)

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US, BCW AND OTHER PRE-1990 WW STAMPS AND OTHER COLLECTIBLES. Contact us to fill your empty spaces. See our new website at www. chevychasecollectibles.com Member APS, ASDA and IPDA. Email info@chevychasecollectibles. com (1465)

build your collection. Email CircuitBooks@stamps.org (1471)

SOUTH AMERICA stampsforcollectors.net (1467)

20-33% OF SCOTT $1,000,000 WW inventory. Lots of France & cols.

Catalog avail. www.BillsStamps. com Many finer sets & singles up to $1,000 Unconditional money-back guarantee doctoryes007@aol.com 214-213-8066 (1465)

SWITZERLAND LIKE APPROVALS? Try APS Circuit Books for Switzerland! We can build your collection. Email

COLLECTOR CLEANING HOME. 500 Diff. older stamps. $13 postpaid. Also 50 Albums pages with stamps $38 postpaid. Many Reorders. Stiedemann, E 2511-944 Av, Boyceville, WI 54725 (1466)

CircuitBooks@stamps.org (1471)

PORTUGAL UKRAINE

www.StampsPortugal.com (1468)

www.StampsOfEasternEurope.

ROMANIA

com WANT LISTS FILLED. New

www.StampsOfEasternEurope. com WANT LISTS FILLED. New issues. Year sets avail. HSE, POB 4028 Vineyard Haven, MA 02568 Phone - (888) 868-8293 (1469)

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WORLDWIDE

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SCANDINAVIA

RUSSIA

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www.StampsOfEasternEurope. com WANT LISTS FILLED. New issues. Year sets avail. HSE, POB 4028 Vineyard Haven, MA 02568 Phone - (888) 868-8293 (1469)

(1466)

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PRE 1955 SETS, SINGLES, NB/ HI@ Less Used Clearance Price Scott Cat. 2021 US, Canada/ Newfoundland, GB/Col. Europe: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus; Danzig, France/Saar, Germany, Greece, Italy Vatican, Liechtenstein, Netherland, Russia, Turkey, Covers, Stationary Cards, S. Cal. CP 864 Succ. B Montreal Que. H3B-3K5 Canada (1469) FREE NEW 200-PAGE WORLDWIDE PRICE LIST Find out why most collectors place orders when they receive our lists. We have the stamps you need at the prices you like. Martin Winter 800 W. Willis Rd., Apt.1045, Chandler, AZ 85286 E-mail:winter310@aol.com (1471)

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Remember the APS and APRL in your Will Call (814) 933-3803 for info on estate planning FEBRUARY 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 179

LIKE APPROVALS? Try APS Circuit Books for Worldwide! We can build your collection. Email CircuitBooks@stamps.org (1471) SELLER ID 534232: US, Polynesia (1475) stampsforseriouscollectors.com (1476)

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ALBUMS MAC’S ALBUMS ON EBAY. Duck stamps 1934-2022. US 201821. Custom Topical. Details> crmcdona@indiana.edu (1471)

ANNOUNCEMENTS COMMON RARITIES offers the collector a booklet pane bonanza!

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APPRAISALS WORLD WIDE STAMP APPRAISALS Valuation and written report provided. Sellers Agent Services info@hungarianstamps.com (888)868-8293 HSE POB 4028, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568 (1468)

APPROVALS WORLDWIDE. GREAT PRICES BEGINNER TO ADVANCED. Sets and Singles. State interest. Larry Serenari, 766 Nestle Quarry Rd., Falling Waters, WV 25419 (1472) US AND WORLDWIDE. See it before you buy it. Philatelic Friends, PO Box 187, Carlisle, PA 17013 (1473)

EXCHANGE YOUR DUPLICATES at Scott catalog value, 10% in stamps.

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INTERNET

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WORLDWIDE APPROVALS DISCOUNT 66 2/3% from Current Scott. Send APS# to Robert Ducharme, C.P. 592, St. Jerome, QC J7Z 5V3, Canada (1475)

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WANTED GREAT ALLENTOWN FAIR. Collector seeks postal history & other memorabillia from Allentown Fair (Allentown, PA). Email e_stas@cox. net (1466) 1914-1918 GERMAN OCCUPATION OF BELGIUM. I am collecting the Belgian cancels on these Germania stamps. Want list available. Trades also welcome. falconrw@comcast. net (1472)

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180 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

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Index of Advertisers Amos Media — www.linns.com — www.amosadvantage.com

Frank Bachenheimer 183 173 163

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Randy Scholl Stamp Co. Have Tongs Will Travel

— www.greggnelsonstamps.com

180

— www.randyschollstampcompany.com/havetongs-will-travel.asp 103 Rasdale Stamp Company

160

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160

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C3

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K.A.P. Stamps

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175

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143

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179

Mountainside Stamps, Coins & Currency

Downeast Stamps — www.destamps.com

— www.mountainsidestamps.com 167

Mystic Stamp Company

107

Nieser Stamp and Coin

Dr. Robert Friedman & Sons — www.drbobfriedmanstamps.com — www.DutchCountryAuctions.com E.S.J. van Dam, Ltd. — www.canadarevenuestamps.com Eastern Auctions

180 C2, 100

— http://rmplauctions.org

176, 180

Scott A. Shaulis — www.shaulisstamps.com

179

Southwest Stamps — www.ebay.com/str/southweststamps

189

Sparks Auctions — www.sparks-auctions.com

159

Stampbay, Inc. — www.stampbay.com

179

Stamps Plus — stamps-plus.com/pse.html

179

Stephen T. Taylor — www.stephentaylor.co.uk

111

Sterling Stamps — auctions.sterlingstamps.com

172

Steve Crippe

180

— www.malack.com

184

176

— www.tropicalstamps.com

172

177

Universal Philatelic Auctions — upastampauctions.co.uk

97

Palo Albums Inc. — www.paloalbums.com

179

180

179

Rocky Mountain Philatelic Library

Tropical Stamps, Inc.

— www.kennieser.com 139

180

143

Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Inc.

Steve Malack Stamps

— www.mysticstamp.com

Dutch Country Auctions

180

169

HB Philatelics

APS Estate Advice

— www.pennyblackstamp.com

Philasearch.com — www.philasearch.com 104

Gregg Nelson Stamps

APS Summer Seminar — stamps.org/summerseminar

179

Gary Posner, Inc.

APS Great American Stamp Show — stamps.org/GASS

Penny Black Stamp Company

— www.astampdealer4u.com

Paradise Valley Stamp Company, Cornerstamp,

Vance Auctions Ltd

Inc. — www.stamp-one.com

— www.vanceauctions.com

186

Vogt Stamps — www.vogtstamps.com

179

WESTPEX — www.westpex.com

184

— www.easternauctions.com

161

Patricia A. Kaufmann

Eric Jackson — www.ericjackson.com

175

— www.trishkaufmann.com

176 186

About the Index of Advertisers This index is included to help readers find advertisers included in this edition of The American Philatelist. The support of these dealers and services is very important to the APS and to The AP. Advertising is a privilege of membership and each business represented here is a member in good standing of the Society. Some postal organizations, like the U.S. Postal Service, are not directly members, but are afforded the opportunity to advertise because of their standing, reputation and impact on the hobby. Advertising is open to any member of the American Philatelic Society.

For any advertiser that maintains a website, that web address is listed with their information above. Additionally, the online version of the journal includes clickable links for each of these companies and individuals. These links make visiting the advertisers’ websites easy and avoids the possibility of mistyping the web address from these listings.

As you interact with these advertisers, please tell them you saw their ad in The American Philatelist and let them know that you appreciate their support of the journal and the hobby in general.

FEBRUARY 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 181

Show Time The “Show Time” Calendar features a list of upcoming shows and APS events. To obtain a listing, please submit a “Show Time” form, available online at www.stamps.org/ShowCalendar or by mail from APS headquarters.

Information must be received 60 days before desired publication time.

The listings are free to World Series of Philately and other shows that are sponsored by an APS chapter or affiliate. Other shows/bourses may purchase listings for the month of the show/ bourse and the month prior only. The listing fee is $25 per show per issue. Shows designated *B* are bourse only.

Grand award winners from *WSP* shows are eligible for the annual APS World Series of Philately Champion of Champions competition.

Note that CofC eligibility may be affected if WSP criteria are not achieved for an individual show.

Visit aps.buzz/Calendar for a complete listing of shows and APS events.

Arizona February 4 First Saturday Stamp Show, , Burgess Hall at the Scottsdale United Methodist Church, 4140 N. Miller Road, Scottsdale. *B* Contact: Steve Gross Email: gross.steve@gmail.com New Jersey February 4 MSC Monthly Bourse, Merchantville Stamp Club, Martin Luther Chapel School Gym, 4100 Terrace Ave, Pennsauken. *B* Contact: James Natale Email: jnatale3307@comcast.net Website: https://www.merchantvillestampclub. org/ Indiana February 4-5 MSDA Indianapolis Stamp Show, Midwest Stamp Dealers Association, Lawrence Community Center, 5301 N. Franklin Road, Lawrence. *B* Contact: Michael Mules Email: msdastampshow@gmail.com Website: https://msdastamp.com/ Wisconsin February 11 Janesville Stamp Club Annual Exhibition and Bourse, Janesville Stamp Club, Holiday Inn Express - Janesville Conference Center, 3100 Wellington Place, Janesville.

Contact: Jane Redenius Email: jaanred@hotmail.com Kentucky February 11-12 MSDA Louisville Stamp Show, Midwest Stamp Dealers Association, Triple Crown Pavilion, 1780 Plantside Drive, Jeffersontown. *B* Contact: Michael Mules Email: msdastampshow@gmail.com Website: https://msdastamp.com/ Kansas February 17-18 The Cessna Show, Cessna Stamp Club, Cessna Activity Center, 2744 George Washington Blvd, Wichita.

Contact: Ralph Lott Michigan February 17-18 Fernpex 2023, Birmingham Stamp Club, Sokol Cultural Center, 23600 W. Warren, Dearborn Heights. *B* Contact: Fred Como Email: karate1dad@netscape.net Website: https://birminghamstamp.club/ 182 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

stampshow@stamps.org

Arizona February 17-19 ARIPEX, Arizona Federation of Stamp Clubs, Mesa Convention Center, 201 N. Center St., Mesa.

Contact: Kevin Lesk Email: aripex2023@gmail.com Website: http://www.aripex.org/ South Carolina February 18-19 Columbia Winter Stamp and Postcard Show, Columbia Philatelic Society, Spring Valley High School Cafeteria, 120 Sparkleberry Lane, Columbia.

Contact: Mark Postmus Email: mapostmus@yahoo.com Website: http://www.sefsc.org/columbiastamp-show.html Ohio February 24-25 Toledo Stamp Expo, Stamp Collectors Club of Toledo, Graystone Banquet Hall & Conference Center, 29101 Hufford Road, Perrysburg.

Contact: Cliff Campbell Email: cjcampml@gmail.com Website: http://toledostampclub.org/ Florida February 25 Bay-Pex Stamp and Coin Show, Clearwater Stamp Club, Banquet Masters Hall, 13355 49th Street N, Clearwater.

Contact: Roger Waivio Email: rogerwaivio@gmail.com Nebraska February 25-26 LINPEX 2023, Lincoln Stamp Club, Country Inn & Suites, 5353 North 27th Street, Lincoln.

Contact: Dale Niebuhr Email: dale.niebuhr@gmail.com Website: https://www.lincolnstampclub.org/ Wisconsin February 25-26 Stampfest 2023, Milwaukee Philatelic Society, St. Francis Lions Community Center, 3476 East Howard Avenue, St. Francis. *B* Contact: Keith Trischan Email: keith.t@earthlink.net Website: https://milwaukeephilatelic.org/ Connecticut February 26 Fourth Sunday Stamp Show, New Haven Philatelic Society, Annex Y.M.A Club, 554 Woodward Ave, New Haven.

Contact: Jesse Williams Email: redgyphon@gmail.com Website: http://nhps1914.com/ Illinois March 3-4 MSDA Joliet / Will County Stamp Show, Midwest Stamp Dealers Asscociation, Messiah Lutheran Church, 40 S. Houbolt Ave., Joilet.

Contact: Michael Mules Email: msdastampshow@gmail.com Website: https://msdastamp.com/ Arizona March 4 First Saturday Stamp Show, , Burgess Hall at the Scottsdale United Methodist Church, 4140 N. Miller Road, Scottsdale. *B* Contact: Steve Gross Email: gross.steve@gmail.com New Jersey March 4 MSC Monthly Bourse, Merchantville Stamp Club, Martin Luther Chapel School Gym, 4100 Terrace Ave, Pennsauken. *B* Contact: James Natale Email: jnatale3307@comcast.net Website: https://www.merchantvillestampclub. org/

Ohio March 4-5 McKinley Stamp Club Show, McKinley Stamp Club of Canton, St. George Serbian Orthodox Hall, 4667 Applegrove St. NW, Canton.

Contact: Dave Pool Email: lincolnway@sssnet.com Website: https://mksc.webs.com/ Tennessee March 4-5 KnoxPEx “Cycling” 2023, Knoxville Philatelic Society, Rothchild Catering & Conference Center, 8807 Kingston Pike, Knoxville.

Contact: Tom Broadhead Email: broadhea@utk.edu Website: https://www.knoxstamps.com/ Florida March 10-11 Citrus County Coin, Stamp & Currency Expo, , Citrus County Florida National Guard Armory, 8551 W. Venable Street, Crystal River.

Contact: Bruce Schneider Email: sparky3bear1950@aol.com Website: https://citruscoinclub.org/ Michigan March 10-11 MICHIPEX2023, Michigan Stamp Club, Sokol Cultural Center, 23600 W. Warren Ave, Dearborn Heights. *B* Contact: Richard Chellevold Email: arbor@provide.net Maryland March 11 Tidewater Stamp Club Annual Show, Easton, MD, Tidewater Stamp Club, Tidewater Stamp Club Annual Show, 314 North Street (Miller Hall), Easton.

Contact: Carol W. Armstrong, Secretary/ Treasurer Email: cwarmstrong01@atlanticbb.net Illinois March 11-12 Rockford 2-3-4 Stamp Expo, Rockford Stamp Club, Forest Hills Lodge, 1601 West Lane Road, Loves Park.

Contact: Timothy Wait Email: t.wait@comcast.net Website: https://rockfordstampclub.com/ New Mexico March 11-12 Mesilla Valley Stamp Show, Las Cruces Convention Center, 680 East University Ave, *B* Contact: Richard Hiss Email: RHHiss@comcast.om Website: http://mvsc-nm.org/ New York March 11-12 BUFPEX 2023, Buffalo Stamp Club, The Knights Hall, 2735 Union Road, Cheektowaga.

Contact: Alan Davis Email: ddavis504@roadrunner.com Website: www.buffalostampclub.org Ohio March 17-19 Garfield-Perry March Party, Garfield-Perry Stamp Club, Best Western Plus, 15471 Royalton Rd., Strongsville. *WSP* Contact: Rocco Caponi Email: rocco.caponi@gmail.com Website: http://www.garfieldperry.org Oregon March 18 Stampfest – Willamette Valley Stamp Show, Greater Eugene Stamp Society, St. Judes’s Church, 43rd and Willamette Streets, Eugene.

Contact: George Struble Email: gstruble@willamette.edu Website: https://greatereugenestampclub. weebly.com/

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Wisconsin March 18 BAYPEX 2023, Green Bay Philatelic Society, St. Matthew Catholic Church, 2575 S. Webster Ave (parking in rear), Green Bay. *B* Contact: Mark Schroeder Email: markthetuba@gmail.com Website: https://www.wfscstamps.org/Clubs/ GreenBay.shtml Tennessee March 18-19 Nashville Stamp and Postcard Show 2023, Nashville Philatelic Society, Gallatin Civic Center, 210 Albert Gallatin Ave., Gallatin.

Contact: Tom Tribke Email: show@nashvillephilatelic.org Website: http://www.nashvillephilatelic.org/ Oregon March 19 STAMPEX - Willamette Valley Show, Salem Stamp Society, Scottish Rite Center, 4090 Commercial Street SE, Salem.

Contact: George Struble Email: gstruble@willamette.edu Website: www.salemstampsociety.org/WVExh1. html Missouri March 24-26 St. Louis Stamp Expo, Area Clubs, St. Louis Renaissance Airport Hotel, 9801 Natural Bridge Rd., St. Louis. *WSP* Contact: Fred Boatwright Email: stampooh@centurylink.net Website: http://www.stlstampexpo.org Alberta, Canada March 25-26 Edmonton Stamp Club 2023 Spring National Stamp Show, Edmonton Stamp Club, Central Lions Recreation Centre, 11113 - 113 Street, Edmonton. *WSP* Contact: John Bucci

Email: edmontonstampclub@outlook.com New York April 2 Website: https://www.edmontonstampclub.ca/ 2023 Hilton Stamp & Coin Show Philatelic Open Connecticut March 26 House, Western Monroe Philatelic Society, Hilton Fourth Sunday Stamp Show, New Haven Exempts Club, 135 South Ave., Hilton. *B* Philatelic Society, Annex Y.M.A Club, 554 Contact: Dave Bombard Woodward Ave, New Haven.

Email: dbombar1@rochester.rr.com Contact: Jesse Williams Pennsylvania April 14-15 Email: redgyphon@gmail.com WILKPEX 2023, Wilkinsburg Stamp Club, Holiday Website: http://nhps1914.com/ Park Fire Hall, 415 Old Abres Creek Road, Mississippi March 31-April 1 Pittsburgh.

Gulfpex 2023, Gulf Coast Stamp Club, St. Martin Contact: Andy Novotny Community Center, 15008 LeMoyne Blvd, St. Email: nvoand@hotmail.com Martin/Biloxi.

Website: www.wilkinsburgstampclub.com/ Contact: Robert O’Dell Washington April 15-16 Email: Robert7reo@yahoo.com Spring Stamp, Postcard & Paper Show, Website: https://www.gulfcoaststampclub.org/ Evergreen Stamp Club, Kent Commons, 525 Wisonsin March 31-April 1 4th Avenue North, Kent.

MSDA Madison Stamp Show, Midwest Stamp Dealers Association, Double Tree by Hilton Contact: Lisa Foster Madison East, 4402 E. Washington Ave., Email: fosteld@gmail.com Madison. *B* Website: https://classic.stamps.org/EvergreenContact: Michael Mules Stamp-Club Email: msdastampshow@gmail.com New York April 16 Website: https://msdastamp.com/ Albany Spring Stamp & Postcard Show, Fort Arizona April 1 Orange Stamp Club, American Legion Hall, 4 First Saturday Stamp Show, , Burgess Hall at the Everett Road, Albany.

Scottsdale United Methodist Church, 4140 N. Contact: Michael Krug Miller Road, Scottsdale. *B* Email: majkstamps@gmail.com Contact: Steve Gross Website: www.fortorangestampclub.org/ Email: gross.steve@gmail.com RW1 F/VF OG NH, CERT RW1 VF/XF JUMBO, no Ohio RW1 XF-SUP OG LH, RW2 F/VF OG VLH, RW2 VF/XF, Used, RW3 VF/XF OG21-22 NH, April Virginia $499 April 1-2 gum! $195 MSDA Select! $350 niStamp ce! $275 Show, Choice!Midwest $199 fresh $525 Dayton Stamp SPRINGPEX 2023, Springfield Stamp Club, John Dealers Association, IBEW Local 82 Hall, 6550 R. Lewis High School, 6540 Franconia Road, Poe Ave, Dayton. *B* Springfield.

Contact: Michael Mules Contact: Kevin Hans Email: msdastampshow@gmail.com Email: SSCVAinfo@gmail.com Website: www.springfieldstampclub.org/ Website: https://msdastamp.com/

63rd Annual Stamp Show

WESTPEX 2023 April 28-30, 2023

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RW8 F/VF OG NH, Fresh RW8 SUPERB JUMBO, RW9 F/VF OG NH, fresh RW9 VF OG NH, FRESH! RW12 VF/XF OG NH, RW16 SUPERB OG NH, RW1 XF-SUP XF-SUP RW2 F/VF F/VF VLH, RW2 Used, RW3 VF/XF OG NH, NH, RW2 Used, RW3 VF/XF OG Color! $185 Used, GEM! $175 RW1 $180 OGOGLH,LH, RW2 $150OGOGVLH, SelVF/XF, eVF/XF, ct! $105 BRIfresh GHT!$525 $125 Select! $350 nice! $275 Choice! $199

RW1 F/VF F/VF OG OG NH, NH,CERT CERT RW1 RW1VF/XF VF/XF JUMBO, JUMBO,nono RW1 $499 gum! $499 gum! $195 $195

United States Philatelic Classics Society Scandinavian Collectors Club Polonus Polish Philatelic Society APS—Town Hall Meeting San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront Hotel 1800 Old Bayshore Highway, Burlingame, CA

A World Series of Philately Exhibition with 3,000+ Pages in 250+ Frames Prospectus & Entry Forms Available from Ross Towle 400 Clayton Street, San Francisco, CA 94117

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Select! $350

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fresh $525

RW4 F/VF+ OG NH, mount glazed!OG$199 RW4 F/VF+ NH,

RW5 F/VF OG NH, great RW5 F/VF OG VLH, very RW7 F/VF OG NH, nice RW7 VF OG NH, Super! colorOG$325 $189NH, Super!

RW5 F/VF NH, great RW5tiny F/VFthinOG$105 VLH, very RW7quacker F/VF OG$165 NH, nice RW7 VF OG

RW18 SUPERB OG NH, RICH! $135

RW23 XF OG NH, Select! $125

RW25 SUPERB OG NH, Fresh! $175

mount glazed! $199

color $325

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RW8 F/VF OG NH, Fresh RW8 SUPERB JUMBO, RW9 F/VF OG NH, fresh RW9 VF OG NH, FRESH! Color! $185 Used, GEM! $175 $180 $150

tiny thin $105

RW12 VF/XF OG NH, Select! $105

RW16 SUPERB OG NH, BRIGHT! $125

RW18 SUPERB OG NH, RICH! $135

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RICH! $135

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RW31 SUPERB OG NH, RW32 SUPERB OG NH, Lovely! $110 GEM! $135

RW33 VF/XF OG NH, CHOICE! $135

RW35 SUPERB OG NH, SUPER! $155

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RW31 SUPERB OG NH, RW32 SUPERB OG NH, Lovely! $110 GEM! $135

RW33 VF/XF OG NH, CHOICE! $135

RW35 SUPERB OG NH, SUPER! $155

RW2 F/VF OG NH, Fresh! $488

RW2 VF/XF OG NH, GEM! $1,095

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RW26 VF OG NH, Choice! $104

RW8 F/VF OG NH, Fresh RW8 SUPERB JUMBO, RW9 F/VF OG NH, fresh RW9 VF OG NH, FRESH! Color! $185 Used, GEM! $175 $180 $150

RW27 SUPERB OG NH, RW28 XF OG NH, Rich Select! $135 Color! $150 RW12 VF/XF OG NH, Select! $105

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WE BUY / SELL STAMPS and COINS 184 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

nice! $275

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Hosting

RW4 F/VF+ OG NH, RW5 F/VF OG NH, great RW5 F/VF OG VLH, very RW7 F/VF OG NH, nice RW7 VF OG NH, Super! mount glazed! $199 color $325 tiny thin $105 quacker $165 $189

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Iowa April 22-23 CERAPEX 2023, Cedar Rapids Stamp Club, Machinists Union Hall - Local 831, 222 Prospect Place SW, Cedar Rapids.

Contact: Steve Kossayian Email: skossayian@msn.com Website: http://www.crsc.mysite.com/ Connecticut April 23 Fourth Sunday Stamp Show, New Haven Philatelic Society, Annex Y.M.A Club, 554 Woodward Ave, New Haven.

Contact: Jesse Williams Email: redgyphon@gmail.com Website: http://nhps1914.com/ California April 28-30 WESTPEX, WESTPEX, Inc., San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront Hotel, 1800 Old Bayshore Highway, Burlingame. *WSP* Contact: Behruz Nassre Email: behruz@gmail.com Website: http://www.westpex.com Michigan April 29-30 Plymouth Show, West Suburban Stamp Club, Hellenic Cultural Center, 36375 Joy Road, Westland. *WSP* Contact: Tim Strzalkowski Email: showchair@plymouthshow.com Website: www.thewssc.com/plymouth-show/ Massachusetts May 5-7 Philatelic Show, Northeastern Fed. Of Stamp Clubs, Boxboro Regency Hotel & Conference Center, 242 Adams Place, Boxborough. *WSP* Contact: David Ball and Mark Butterline Email: david.ball@philatelicshow.org; mark.butterline@philatelicshow.org Website: http://www.PhilatelicShow.org Oregon May 5-7 PIPEX 2023, Northwest Federation of Stamp Clubs, Monarch Hotel & Conference Center, 12566 SE 93rd Ave, Clackamas. *WSP* Contact: Mark Loomis Email: mmloomis1@gmail.com Website: http://www.pipexstampshow.org/ Arizona May 6 First Saturday Stamp Show, Burgess Hall at the Scottsdale United Methodist Church, 4140 N. Miller Road, Scottsdale. *B* Contact: Steve Gross Email: gross.steve@gmail.com New Jersey May 6 MSC Monthly Bourse, Merchantville Stamp Club, Martin Luther Chapel School Gym, 4100 Terrace Ave, Pennsauken. *B* Contact: James Natale Email: jnatale3307@comcast.net Website: www.merchantvillestampclub.org/ Ontario, Canada May 6-7 ORAPEX, Ottawa Philatelic Society, Nepean Sportsplex, 1701 Woodroffe Avenue, Ottawa. *WSP* Contact: John Tooth Email: info@orapex.ca Website: https://www.orapex.ca/ Wisconsin May 6-7 WISCOPEX 2023, Fond du Lac Stamp Club, Hotel Retlaw, One North Main Street, Fond du Lac. Contact: Jim Stollenwerk Email: smallgasengine65@gmail.com Website: https://www.wfscstamps.org/ WISCOPEX/

New Jersey May 13 Clifton 2023 Spring Stamp, Cover, Postcard Collectables Show, Clifton Stamp Society, Clifton Community Recreation Center, 1232 Main Avenue @ Washington Avenue, Clifton. *B* Contact: Tom Stidl Email: stidl@verizon.net Website: http://www.clifton-stamp-society.org/ Essen, Germany May 25-28, 2023 IBRA 2023, Essen.

Contact: U.S. West Coast Commissioner: Vesma Grinfelds Email: vesmag@gmail.com Contact: U.S. East Coast Commissioner: Chris Lazaroff, Email: Clazfdc@gmail.com Website: https://ibra2023.de/en/home-english/ Colorado May 26-28 Rocky Mountain Stamp Show, Rocky Mountain Philatelic Exhibition, Inc., Arapahoe County Fairgrounds - Exhibition Halls A & B, 25690 E. Quincy Ave, Aurora. *WSP* Contact: Ron Lampo Email: chairman@rockymountainstampshow. com Website: http://www. rockymountainstampshow.com/ Connecticut May 28 Fourth Sunday Stamp Show, New Haven Philatelic Society, Annex Y.M.A Club, 554 Woodward Ave, New Haven.

Contact: Jesse Williams Email: redgyphon@gmail.com Website: http://nhps1914.com/ Virginia June 2-4 NAPEX, National Phil. Exhibitions of Washington D.C., McLean Hilton at Tyson’s Corner, 7920 Jones Branch Dr., McLean. *WSP* Contact: John Schorn Email: jschorn@gmail.com Website: http://www.napex.org Arizona June 3 First Saturday Stamp Show, Burgess Hall at the Scottsdale United Methodist Church, 4140 N. Miller Road, Scottsdale. *B* Contact: Steve Gross Email: gross.steve@gmail.com New Jersey June 3 MSC Monthly Bourse, Merchantville Stamp Club, Martin Luther Chapel School Gym, 4100 Terrace Ave, Pennsauken. *B* Contact: James Natale Email: jnatale3307@comcast.net Website: https://www.merchantvillestampclub. org/ Ohio June 9-10 Colopex 2023, Columbus Philatelic Club, Doubletree Hilton Worthington, 175 Hutchinson Ave, Columbus. *WSP* Contact: Guy Purington Email: gpurington@homesteadcos.com Website: https://www.colopex.com/ Wisconsin June 17-18 MSDA La Crosse Stamp Show, Midwest Stamp Dealers Association, La Crosse Center, 300 Harborview Plaza, La Crosse. *B* Contact: Michael Mules Email: msdastampshow@gmail.com Website: https://msdastamp.com/ Oklahoma June 23-24 OKPEX 2023, Oklahoma City Stamp Club, Reed Center, 5800 Will Rogers Road, Midwest City. *WSP* Contact: Joe Crosby Email: joecrosby@cox.net

Connecticut June 25 Fourth Sunday Stamp Show, New Haven Philatelic Society, Annex Y.M.A Club, 554 Woodward Ave, New Haven.

Contact: Jesse Williams Email: redgyphon@gmail.com Website: http://nhps1914.com/ Arizona July 1 First Saturday Stamp Show, Burgess Hall at the Scottsdale United Methodist Church, 4140 N. Miller Road, Scottsdale. *B* Contact: Steve Gross Email: gross.steve@gmail.com Pennsylvania July 8 Eastern PA Stamp Show (EPASS), Allentown Philatelic Society, Schnecksville Fire Company, 4550 Old Packhouse Road, Schnecksville. *B* Contact: Brian Gaydos Email: briangaydos1971@gmail.com Website: http://aps-lv-stamps.org/ Wisconsin July 8-9 MSDA Milwaukee Area Stamp Show, Midwest Stamp Dealers Association, Waukesha Expo Center – Forum Building, 1000 Northview Road, Waukesha. *B* Contact: Michael Mules Email: msdastampshow@gmail.com Website: https://msdastamp.com/ Indiana July 15-16 MSDA Indianapolis Stamp Show, Midwest Stamp Dealers Association, Lawrence Park District Community Center, 5301 N. Franklin Road, Lawrence. *B* Contact: Michael Mules Email: msdastampshow@gmail.com Website: https://msdastamp.com/ Washington July 15-16 Summer Stamp, Postcard & Paper Show, Evergreen Stamp Club, Kent Commons, 525 4th Avenue North, Kent.

Contact: Lisa Foster Email: fosteld@gmail.com Website: https://classic.stamps.org/EvergreenStamp-Club Minnesota July 21-23 Minnesota Stamp Expo, Twin City Philatelic Society and Various Local Clubs, Crystal Community Ctr., 4800 Douglas Dr., N., Minneapolis. *WSP* Contact: Randy A. Smith Email: rasmary4@frontiernet.net Website: http://www.stampsminnesota.com/ MN%20Stamp%20Expo.htm Connecticut July 23 Fourth Sunday Stamp Show, New Haven Philatelic Society, Annex Y.M.A Club, 554 Woodward Ave, New Haven.

Contact: Jesse Williams Email: redgyphon@gmail.com Website: http://nhps1914.com/ Nevada July 29-30 Greater Reno Stamp & Cover Show, Nevada Stamp Study Society, National Bowling Stadium Hall of Fame Museum, 300 N. Center Street, Reno.

Contact: Erik Fields Email: show@renostamp.org Website: https://renostamp.org/ North Carolina July 29-30 CHARPEX 2023, Charlotte Philatelic Society, Worrell Bldg, Central Piedmont Community, 1228 Elizabeth Avenue, Charlotte.

Contact: Mike Lampson Email: cps@charlottestampclub.org Website: https://www.charlottestampclub.org/ home/charpex FEBRUARY 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 185

Arizona August 5 First Saturday Stamp Show, Burgess Hall at the Scottsdale United Methodist Church, 4140 N. Miller Road, Scottsdale. *B* Contact: Steve Gross Email: gross.steve@gmail.com New Jersey August 5 MSC Monthly Bourse, Merchantville Stamp Club, Martin Luther Chapel School Gym, 4100 Terrace Ave, Pennsauken. *B* Contact: James Natale Email: jnatale3307@comcast.net Website: https://www.merchantvillestampclub. org/ Ohio August 10-13 Great American Stamp Show, American Philatelic Society, American Topical Association, & American First Day Cover Society, Huntington Convention Center, 300 Lakeside Avenue, Cleveland. *WSP* Contact: Wendy Masorti Email: stampshow@stamps.org Website: http://www.stamps.org/GASS Wisconsin August 19-20 TOSAPEX 2023, Wauwatosa Philatelic Society, St. Francis Lions Community Center, 3476 East Howard Avenue, St. Francis. *B* Contact: Michael Mules Email: foxriverstamps@gmail.com Connecticut August 27 Fourth Sunday Stamp Show, New Haven Philatelic Society, Annex Y.M.A Club, 554 Woodward Ave, New Haven.

Contact: Jesse Williams Email: redgyphon@gmail.com Website: http://nhps1914.com/

Arizona September 2 First Saturday Stamp Show, Burgess Hall at the Scottsdale United Methodist Church, 4140 N. Miller Road, Scottsdale. *B* Contact: Steve Gross Email: gross.steve@gmail.com New Jersey September 2 MSC Monthly Bourse, Merchantville Stamp Club, Martin Luther Chapel School Gym, 4100 Terrace Ave, Pennsauken. *B* Contact: James Natale Email: jnatale3307@comcast.net Website: www.merchantvillestampclub.org/ Maryland September 2-4 BALPEX 2023, Baltimore Philatelic Society, Baltimore Hunt Valley Inn, 245 Shawan Rd., I-83 Exit 20 East, Hunt Valley. *WSP* Contact: Carroll Browne Email: carrollbrowne@aol.com Website: http://www.balpex.org Washington September 8-10 SEAPEX, Seattle Philatelic Exhibitions, Inc., Tukwila Community Center, 12424 42nd Ave., S., Tukwila. *WSP* Contact: Carol Edholm Email: seapex.show@gmail.com Website: http://www.seapexshow.org/ New Jersey September 9 CLIFTON FALL 2023 STAMP COVER POSTCARD COLLECTABLES SHOW, Clifton Stamp Society, Clifton Community Recreation Center, 1232 Main Avenue @ Washington Avenue, Clifton. *B* Contact: Tom Stidl Email: stidl@verizon.net Website: http://www.clifton-stamp-society.org/

Albums! Boxes!

Collections!

Illinois September 9-10 MSDA Chicagoland, Midwest Stamp Dealers Association, College of DuPage - Student Resource Center (SRC), 425 Fawell Blvd, Glen Ellyn. *B* Contact: Michael Mules Email: msdastampshow@gmail.com Website: www.msdastamp.com Texas September 15-17 Greater Houston Stamp Show, Houston Philatelic Society, Humble Civic Center, 8233 Will Clayton Parkway, Humble.

Contact: Ron Strawser Email: ghss@earthlink.net Website: https://houstonstampclub.org/ Ohio September 16 TUSCOPEX 2023, Tuscora Stamp Club, Tuscora Park Pavilion, 161 Tuscora Avenue NW, New Philadelphia.

Contact: Steven Worsham Email: slworsham@frontier.com Wisconsin September 22-23 MILCOPEX 2023, Milwaukee Philatelic Society, Brookfield Conference Center, 325 South Moorland Road, Brookfield. *WSP* Contact: MaryAnn Bowman Email: maryann15b@mac.com Website: https://milcopex.org/ Connecticut September 24 Fourth Sunday Stamp Show, New Haven Philatelic Society, Annex Y.M.A Club, 554 Woodward Ave, New Haven.

Contact: Jesse Williams Email: redgyphon@gmail.com Website: http://nhps1914.com/

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186 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023 22 AP 1-6th Page Vertical.indd 1

3/9/22 12:34 PM

New U.S. Issues

BY Jeff Stage

T

Two New High-Value Stamps Help Kick Off 2023

he U.S. Postal Service scheduled eight releases featuring stamps with 10 face values for the first month of 2023. This month, we’ll take a quick look at two highvalue stamps scheduled for release January 22 that continue a high-value series that began 15 years ago. This article was produced before the stamps were issued, but the following is what we knew at press time.

The Florida Everglades and Great Smoky Mountain stamps will accommodate new postage rates for Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express flat-rate envelopes, respectively.

These are the 28th and 29th issues in the American Landmarks series that began in 2008 with the $4.80 Mount Rushmore (Scott 4268) and $16.50 Hoover Dam (Scott 4269) stamps. All of the stamps feature original artwork

by Dan Cosgrove. Greg Breeding was art director for both stamps.

The new stamps were to be issued without formal ceremonies January 22, the day the new postal rates go into effect. The Great Smoky Mountains stamp will carry a first day location of Gatlinburg, Tennessee while the Everglades stamp will carry a first day city of Homestead, Florida.

The Great Smoky Mountains stamp has a bit of a quirky publicity history. If you notice the image shown here, the stamp has a denomination of $26.95. That is the rate of basic Priority Mail Express that was set with rate changes of a year ago and the issuance of the $26.95 Palace of Fine Arts stamp.

That denomination as shown here was adjusted in the printing process for the Florida Everglades stamp to reflect the new rate of $28.75, which went into effect January 22. In early January, the online USPS sales site showed the stamp with a $28.75 value.

To add to the oddity, however, even the $26.95 denomination shown on this publicity image was not the correct rate as 2022 drew to a close. Last fall – effective October 2 – the USPS raised the rates for Priority Mail Express to $27.90 but issued no new stamp as it was a “temporary” rate change.

The Great Smoky Mountains stamp shows a red-railed hawk flying above the mountains near Newfound Gap, between Gatlinburg, Tennessee and Cherokee, North Carolina. “Home to the most visited national park in the United States, the Great Smoky Mountains boast extensive national forests and a vast array of native plants and animals,” the USPS said. “Equally rich in history, folkways and culture, they are an American treasure.”

The new Priority Mail stamp honors the wetlands that 188 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

The Florida Everglades and Great Smoky Mountains are depicted on the latest stamps in the American Landmarks series.

spans some 2 million acres in southern Florida, from Lake Okeechobee to Florida Bay. The Everglades is one of the largest wetlands in the world and the most significant breeding ground for tropical wading birds in North America.

The new stamp celebrates the Everglades with art that shows a sawgrass marsh as seen at sunset from the edge of a cypress dome.

The denomination is $9.65, which drops last fall’s “temporary” rate of $9.90 by 25 cents for a basic Priority Mail flat-rate envelope.

Most years since this series started, there have been two stamps issued to accommodate the Priority Mail rates, though only one was issued in 2011 and 2021; there were three in 2014; and none in 2015.

The Postal Service has previously stated that all of Cosgrove’s artwork has been completed but has not offered a hint as to when the American Landmarks series will conclude.

The stamps were likely produced in panes of four, though the U.S. Postal Service’s Stamp Fulfillment Service center sometimes accommodates collectors by allowing single-stamp purchases through a special code for online ordering (https://aps.buzz/USPSbuystamps) or by a direct call. Those details were unavailable at press time, but I would urge customers interested in ordering single highvalue stamps to call the USPS customer service number (1800-782-6724) to inquire.

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New World Issues

BY William Silvester

ǺLAND – Tractors

The last two stamps in a three-year veteran tractors series were issued January 4 by Ǻland. Photographed by David Lundberg, designed by Johanna Finne, and printed by Cartor Security Printers, the €1,80 features a 1955 Ferguson TES20, owned by Sven-Åke Jansson and kept on the premises of the veteran tractor club in Jomala. The €2,90 value shows a 1960 Fordson Super Major in front of a barn on a farm located in Önningeby, Jomala. The stamps and other products are available from https://aps.buzz/AlandTract3.

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA – Christmas and New Year

Hrvatska Pošta Mostar marked Christmas and New Year with a pair of commemoratives on December 1. The two €1,10 values depict a snowman surrounded by gifts for Nova Godina (New Year) and St. Nikole greeting children before a village scene to celebrate Božić (Orthodox Christmas) on January 7. Bosnia has two Christmas celebrations as Roman Catholics mark the day on December 25. Cultural events and mass are a large part of Bosnian celebrations, with the prime focus on spending time with family and friends.

Bosnian stamps are available online from https://aps.buzz/BosniaXmas2022.

CANADA – Monique Mercure

The life and career of Francophone actress Monique Mercure (1930-2020) is celebrated on a domestic rate Permanent stamp booklet of six issued November 14 by Canada Post. According to the Canada Post website, “This stamp features an illustrated black-and-white portrait by Oriana Fenwick that captures Mercure’s striking beauty and expressive eyes, caught in a sidelong glance.” Mercure began her meteoric rise to fame while in her late 20s, eventually appearing in dozens of television series and movies as well as theatrical productions. Over her 60-year career she garnered numerous accolades and awards, including a Companion of the Order of Canada. The booklet can be found online at https://aps.buzz/CanMercure.

CHRISTMAS ISLAND – Christmas

Two stamps, which when put together form a single scene, were issued by Australia Post November 1 for use on Christmas Island, continuing the tradition of issuing light-hearted secular stamps. The Christmas Island airport is the scene of Santa’s arrival on the 65-cent stamp, with a reindeer pilot at the controls on the international rate $2.60 value. Numerous red crabs scramble to act as Santa’s helpers with an assortment of the island’s unique birds and butterflies on the stamps and souvenir sheet. The stamps are illustrated by Imogen Joy and designed by Jo Muré, Australia Post Design Studio, and printed by RA Printing on self-adhesive paper in sheetlets of 10. They are available from https://aps.buzz/XmasIsleXmas22.

GREAT BRITAIN – 100th Anniversary of the Discovery of Tutankhamun’s Tomb

The discovery of the complete, undisturbed tomb of the boy king, Tutankhamun, by Howard Carter in November 1922, is the subject of eight stamps in four se-tenant pairs issued November 24 by Royal Mail. There were 5,398 items found in the tomb and later transferred to the Grand Egyptian Museum. Those shown on the stamps were photographed by Araldo de Luca.

It took Carter 10 years to catalog the items. The set includes the head of the king and an inlaid fan, a gold mask and falcon pendant, a lion head from a couch and a throne detail, and a model boat and guardian statue. The set and other products were designed by Andy Altmann, printed by Cartor Security Printers, and are available at https://aps.buzz/GBTut. 190 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

GREENLAND – Walrus Franking Labels

When parcels do not fit into the franking machine, a stamp is printed onto a franking label which in, then affixed to the package. Greenland issued a set of four of these labels on November 11. The labels feature the Greenlandic walrus, which Greenlanders call “Aaveq,” and the Old Norse called “hrossval” or “the horse from the sea.” Carston Egevang, a biologist and researcher at Greenland’s Nature Institute at Nuuk, shot the photographs of the single walruses at Sand Island and Young Sound in 2007 and the group of walruses in Thule in 2013. There are estimated to be only 5,000 adult walruses in Greenland, many of which migrate to Canada in the summer. The labels can be ordered in any denomination from DKK 18.00 to DKK 100, with 25 øre intervals from https://aps.buzz/GreenWalrus.

ISLE OF MAN – Manx Winter

Manx Winter stamps featuring scenes by renowned illustrator Julia Ashby Smyth grace the last Isle of Man issue to bear an image of Queen Elizabeth II. The distinctively Manx / Celtic illustrations feature Laxey Wheel (73p), Ballabeg Stop (£1.04), Sulby Methodist Church (£1.38), Onchan Church Hall (£1.75), Groudle (£2.01), and Agneash (£2.55). A limited edition cover was issued with a special Windsor Road postmark (December 12) to commemorate the last Manx stamp to receive royal approval by Queen Elizabeth II Lord of Mann. The stamps were issued in sheets of 20, printed by bpost and issued on November 2. The stamps, presentation pack, and first day covers are available from https://aps.buzz/ManxWinter22.

NETHERLANDS – A Floral Greeting

Six flowers grace the floral greetings booklet issued on November 15, with the value indication “1,” intended for domestic mail up to and including 20 grams.

The flowers include lupine, geranium, tagetes, Persian lily, wood anemone and French rose. The stamps and booklet design were rendered by designer and artist Joëlle Wehkamp, from Nederhorst den Berg, using drawings and watercolors from the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam’s digital archives. Her designs have been used by the museum on numerous products that they sell as Art Alphabet. The A Floral Greeting stamp booklet is available from https://aps.buzz/DutchFloral22.

NEW ZEALAND – Year of the Rabbit

The rabbit represents the fourth year in the Chinese Zodiac calendar. The design chosen by New Zealand Post for its commemoration of the Year of the Rabbit is based on the Chinese nianhua poster. These New Year woodblock prints were commonly used as household decoration in China for folklore depictions of how the Jade Emperor immortalized the rabbit for his noble and self-sacrificing character. The four gummed stamps were issued on December 7 in $1.70, $3.00, $3.80 and $6.70 denominations as singles in sheets of 20 and on a souvenir sheet. Designed and illustrated

by Ying-Min Chu, YMC Design and printed by Southern Colour Print, Napier, New Zealand, the stamps are available online from https://aps.buzz/ZealandLunar23.

• • • • • New worldwide stamps images are presented for information and are not necessarily shown at the correct scale. The quality of images available at the time of release varies widely and we resize to achieve the best possible reproduction. Links that begin aps.buzz are shortened and case sensitive. Please copy the capitalization precisely in order to access the link.

FEBRUARY 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 191

Worldwide in a Nutshell

BY BOB LAMB • AP Columnist

TUNISIA Status: Presidential Republic Population 11,896,972 (2022 estimate) Area: 63,170 sq miles Currency: 1 Tunisian Dinar = US $0.32

T

unisia is a republic, about the size of Washington state, on the Mediterranean coast of Africa about 90 Tunisia Scott 390 miles from Sicily. Legend says that around 814 BC, a Phoenician queen fleeing her brother founded the city of Carthage, near modern Tunis, which later became the dominant maritime power in the Mediterranean. In 146 BC, after three wars with Rome, the Romans razed the city and annexed its territory.

Later, Julius Caesar, recognizing the value of the fertile Tunisian lands, began to resettle the area with retired soldiers. Carthage beTunisia Scott 246 came the capital of the new Roman province of Africa and the bread basket of the empire, a city second only to Rome in importance in the Western Empire.

When the Vandals overran the area in 459 AD, the harbors became havens for pirates. In the mid-7th century, Arabs overran Tunisia and converted the people to Islam. The Ottomans took Tunisia in 1574 and appointed a bey (a provincial governor) to govern the country. As Ottoman power waned, the Tunisian beys gained considerable autonomy.

At the 1878 Berlin Conference, at Bismarck’s suggestion, Great Britain secretly offered the French control of Tunisia to counterbalance the British acquisition of Cyprus. While occupying Tunisia was intended to help France protect its interests in Algeria, the French failed to act on British concession.

This inaction was embarrassing to the hawks in the Quai d’Orsay who thought it made France look weak. Meanwhile, the Italians were increasing their activities in Tunisia. The Quai devised a plan for French forces to enter Tunisia under the guise of suppressing an uprising by a troublesome border tribe. In March 1881, the French political leaders agreed to the plan.

The Scramble for Africa, by Thomas Pakenham, has the most detailed account of the bey's submission of any source that I found. It reads, in part, as follows:

Tunisia Scott 319

Tunisia Scott 793

“On April 4, a border incident occurred and two weeks later, a French force marched across the border. The French … arrived at the bey’s palace in Tunis on May 12. Accompanied by the ambassador, the French general handed the bey a treaty in French which would effectively make Tunisia a French protectorate. The bey’s request for a translation was denied. Instead the ambassador summarized the main points ... Failing to gain political support and learning that his brother would be made bey if he failed to accept, the bey broke down and signed the treaty.”

A Tunisian independence movement began after World War I but did not have much impact until the 1930s when it came under the leadership of Habib Bourguiba. In the 1950s, France began to withdraw its troops at Tunisia’s insistence and in 1955, Tunisia became autonomous. In March 1956, it became an independent monarchy under Bey Mohammed al-Amin. On July 25, 1957 it became a republic with Bourguiba as the first president.

Italy operated a post office in Tunis after 1853 using Sardinian stamp until Italian stamps appeared in 1862. Italy added offices in Goulette in 1879 and Sousse in 1880. These offices were closed in 1897.

After 1881, the French opened post offices in nine towns using French stamps. In 1883, Tunisia became a French protectorate. A set of eight stamps were released for Tunisia on July 1, 1888 denominated in French currency. On November 1, 1957, Tunisia converted to dinars (1,000 millimes = 1 dinar).

Tunisia Scott 1179 192 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / FEBRUARY 2023

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