2023-06 American Philatelist

JUNE 2023 $6.95

TO

BASICS

BACK

MONTHLY JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN PHILATELIC SOCIETY

E AST

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ASIA Back to Basics

WWW.STAMPS.ORG

Mystic Reflects on 100 Years of Stamp Buying CAMDEN, N.Y. For nearly a century, Mystic, America’s leading stamp dealer, has been diligently serving its family of collectors. A lot has changed since it President of Mystic opened its doors, but Donald Sundman two things remain is a lifetime stamp collector with over the same – Mystic’s four decades in the small-town values stamp business. and its commitment to being the most active buyer of stamps in the US. It’s obvious that old-fashioned values and big business can go handin-hand when we look back at Mystic’s history. Let’s step back in time – to the Roaring Twenties when Warren Harding was president, Prohibition was raging and Mystic opened its doors...

Humble Beginnings Lawrence K. Shaver founded Mystic in 1923 in the tiny central New York village of Camden. Shaver sold his own collection of US 3¢ 1851s for two hundred dollars, using the funds to buy stamps for resale. He began his business in a one-room office over the Camden Post Office.

Today, Mystic operates out of a 50,000-square-foot headquarters, employs 150 colleagues and reports it has spent tens of millions of dollars on stamps and coins over the last five years.

Purchased by the Sundman Family In 1974, Maynard Sundman bought Mystic. Sundman, a pioneer in the stamp and coin approval business, put his youngest son, Don, in charge.

Mystic grew quickly under Don Sundman’s leadership, earning a solid reputation for paying collectors and dealers more for stamps. The motto “Mystic Pays More For Your Stamps” became the company’s tag line in ads in stamp publications.

Major Acquisitions 1998 saw Mystic setting a record for

highest price ever paid for a US stamp.

For just under one million dollars, Mystic became the owner of the 1868 1¢ Z Grill, America’s rarest stamp.

Since then, Mystic has made several headlines acquiring rare stamps.

In 2005, Sundman traded the 1¢ Z Grill for the unique 1918 Jenny Inverted Error Plate Block. This transaction – called the “$6 million dollar trade” – was featured by news outlets worldwide.

When the National Postal Museum held two auctions to sell deaccessioned US Revenue stamps, Mystic was the main buyer. The company spent over $3 million on the Revenue stamps and paid over 60% of the prices realized.

In recent years, Mystic has also focused on buying worldwide stamps.

The company bought the rare China #64 stamp (less than 10 are known to exist) for over $85,000 – over three times the stamp’s Scott Catalogue value at the time. Mystic was also the highest bidder at a private sale for the rare “Levante Italiano” 1874 5 centesimi without overprint. This stamp is believed to be unique.

Mystic paid $84,232 for the stamp, winning it in a highly competitive auction. Likewise, in 2012, Mystic purchased the unique 1918 Black Honduras for $165,000.

Mystic Buys All Kinds of Stamps – And Pays More to Get Them The majority of the firm’s purchases are made from individual collectors and small dealers. However, Mystic also purchased Fleetwood, America’s

premier First Day Cover producer and moved the entire operation from Wyoming to central New York.

Asked how he and his buyers manage to be so active in a competitive business, Sundman says there’s no secret to Mystic’s success. “People want a high market price for their stamps – and we pay it.”

Sundman also emphasizes the professionalism of the company’s stamp buyers. “I receive hundreds of letters from collectors and dealers describing how pleased they are with the honesty and professionalism of our stamp buyers and the stress-free convenience of our service.”

What the Future Holds Mystic serves thousands of collectors each week. So its need to buy both US and worldwide stamps continues. Although Mystic buys all kinds of stamps, of particular interest are British Colonies and other European Colonies. The stamps of Asia, specifically China and Japan, are of special interest.

Mystic is looking to purchase stamps and coins from private collectors, plus entire store inventory and dealer stocks.

The company’s buyers are prepared to travel and pay high market prices for high-value collections. When they make an offer, they pay with a check “on the spot” and remove the stamps, leaving only a satisfied client.

Call 1-800-835-3609

Mystic’s stamp buyers are anxious to speak with prospective sellers.

They can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-835-3609. They’ll guide you, helping you to make a smart decision about the sale of your stamps and enjoy peace of mind after the transaction.

Mystic Stamp Company Attention: Buying Department 9700 Mill Street Camden, NY 13316-9111 StampBuyer@MysticStamp.com MysticBuysStamps.com BA2493

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 O I C S E R N S FO R TI O C I PL A

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

June 2023

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514

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JAPAN PRIMER

Table of Contents

VOLUME 137 • NO. 6 • WHOLE NO. 1,469

504

BY KEN BRYSON From early designs featuring dragons and cherry blossoms to Baroque-inspired stamps and an intriguing blue hat, stamps from Japan before World War II present a delightful mix inspired by changes in leadership, artistry and Western influence.

CORRESPONDENCE FROM KOREA

BY ROBERT FINDER Two Christian missionaries – a pastor and a doctor who both happened to be stamp collectors – leave a trail of philatelic items during the early 20th century in Japaneseoccupied Korea. Items attributed to them include covers, letters and charity stamps.

PAGE

520

WHICH KOREA DOES THIS STAMP COME FROM?

BY YONG SOK YI, ROBERT FINDER, AND ANTHONY BARD The stamps of Korea come from four major issuing entities, including the situation since 1950 of a divided Korea. Symbols and calligraphy can be confusing to those of us not familiar with their meanings and use.

The authors offer a guide to help identify Korean stamps.

PAGE

532

AIR LETTER SHEETS FROM CHINA: EXPERIMENT AND POLITICAL STATEMENT

BY HUGH LAWRENCE The chaotic and difficult times in postWorld War II China led to the somewhat complex creation of what was supposed to be a simple conduit for correspondence.

From currency and design changes to political unrest, our author sorts it all out.

KOREAN WAR POW MAIL

PAGE 526

A CURIOUS SPOT

PAGE 543

NEW COLUMN: THE MARKETPLACE

PAGE 551

BY ANTHONY BARD Correspondence between captured American soldiers and their loved ones took more than eight agonizing months to begin. Mail to and from American POWs was closely monitored and regulated. Postal and printed markings, or lack thereof, help tell the story.

BY NOEL L. VAUGHN When a rail strike in 1894 disrupted mail delivery in California, a bicycle enthusiast created a short-lived mail business using locally produced stamps, some of which show an unexpected spot. The spot leads the author to revise the long-reported date sequence of the stamps’ printings.

BY MATT LIEBSON Our columnist will help members navigate the sometimes sticky, overwhelming, chaotic, busy marketplace, which involves everything from private dealers to bourses to the ever-present online market.

THE LETTER OPENER PAGE 555

BY CHARLES EPTING Private transatlantic shipping companies in the 1830s sometimes carried mail outside the regular postal service shipping routes.

A private ship fee was collected by a local postmaster for transmission to the shipping company. Certain markings help ID covers of this kind.

ON OUR COVER

Designed by Chad Cowder. “Cherry Tree and Pheasant,” a color woodblock print by Japanese artist Komatsuya Hyakki circa 1765. Image courtesy of Art Institute of Chicago. Stamps shown from top are Korea Scott 1; China Scott 240; and Japan Scott 100.

Other Features 559 558 569 496 572

Adventures in Expertizing Books & Catalogs Classified Ads Editing Philately Index of Advertisers

490 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

499 563 579 582 494

Letters to the Editor Membership Report New U.S. Issues New World Issues Our Story

561 493 573 557 584

Philatelic Happenings President’s Column Show Time World Class Worldwide in a Nutshell

The Stamp Marketplace

better selection. better prices.

7 Million US & Worldwide Stamps from Over 1,000 Sellers

hipstamp.com/better Interested in Selling on HipStamp? 100,000 Buyers are Waiting...

As an APS Member, join today and get a 3 months free store subscription: hipstamp.com/aps3free

AMERICAN PHILATELIST THE

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, ext. 221 • 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 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. 209 stampshow@stamps.org

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. 492 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

The Spectrum Eagle stamps have a little space between them so they could be automatically affixed to envelopes.

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An early morning battle at the start of the American Revolution woke sleeping eagles at their nearby nests. The eagles began circling the field and squawking. The patriots believed “They [were] shrieking for freedom.”

As the war raged on, the Americans sought a national symbol. In 1782, one man submitted a drawing of an eagle, describing it as a symbol of “supreme power and authority.” By the end of the year, the eagle was part of the national seal. It was another five years before the eagle was officially adopted as the emblem of the United States.

Colorful and Patriotic Stamps with a Special Purpose The 2012 Spectrum Eagle stamps were issued for presorted first-class mail. They were sold in large coils for use by commercial mailers. These mailers get special permits to send presorted first-class mail, which is grouped by ZIP code, at a lower cost. Because of this, there is a little bit of space between each of the stamps on the strip to allow their machines to automatically affix the stamps.

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Exp. Date: ____ / ____ Please send to: Mystic Stamp Company Dept. VH115, 9700 Mill St., Camden, NY 13316-9111

President’s Column

BY Cheryl Ganz President cherylganz@yahoo.com

Collect Like a Crime Scene Investigator ave you ever watched the “CSI” (Crime Scene Investigation) shows, the law enforcement programs on television? The detectives search for clues, and forensic scientists help them uncover information that is crucial to solving the crime.

Imagine that you are in the leading role of CSI Philately and you have a puzzling stamp or cover. While there could be forging or faking, most of your detective work will be to figure out what stamp it is or where and how the mail traveled, including postage rates.

For stamps, you must examine the engraving or printing, paper, watermark, ink, cancel, and/or overprint. Having a good stamp catalog is essential for tips of what to look for on the stamp. In some cases, you might use special equipment such as watermark fluid or high-power magnification. Some philatelists even use advanced forensic technology to determine composition of inks.

When a complicated stamp leaves you unsure, you could submit the example for stamp authentication. APS offers an expertizing service, APEX, with more than 160 specialists to provide guaranteed opinions: stamps.org/ services/stamp-authentication.

With mailed cards and covers, there is much to examine.

Are the stamps original to the piece and is it the correct rate? What is the location and date of the postmark?

In some countries, the day, month, year, and time are not positioned in the same order as they are in the U.S. Are there transit and receiving markings? And what do they reveal about the mode of transportation and time traveled?

Be aware that some city names have changed as political changes occurred. So, you must study maps from the correct time era. Registered mail makes tracking the route easier because there are more markings as evidence.

Next it is time to study auxiliary markings and manuscript markings. Postcards will have messages visible, and some covers might still have the letters inside. Handwriting can complicate interpretation! Foreign languages need translation. Google Translate gives a sense of meaning but would probably not have all postal terminology correct.

Also, it is easier to type in our native languages than with a different keyboard and unfamiliar characters.

Recently, I typed a German fraktur font document into Microsoft Word so that I could take this transcription and then translate it via Google. I still needed to get help for

the words that did not translate to match the philatelic meaning. The APS has a translation service that can help with many languages found on philatelic-related material.

Bobby Liao leads the translation committee to aid members, which you can access at stamps.org/services/translations.See our Fabulous United States website www.MALACK.com Finally, you can study the addressee and sender names and addresses. With online genealogy sites, it is amazing what you can learn about people, time, and place to enhance your cover’s story.

RW1 F/VF OG NH, CERTCSI RW1 VF/XFPhilately JUMBO, no RW1 XF-SUPmight OG LH, RW2 F/VF OG VLH, solve RW2 VF/XF, crimes, Used, RW3 VF/XF it OG NH,will While not $499 gum! $195 Select! $350 nice! $275 Choice! $199 fresh $525 help you have fun examining the evidence and solving the mysteries! Maybe you will even write about the item for a society journal and take it to show and tell at your local club.

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FEDERAL DUCKS DUCKS FEDERAL

See our Fabulous United States website www.MALACK.com

See our Fabulous United States website www.MALACK.com

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

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fresh $525

RW3 VF/XF, Used, SUPER! RW3 VF/XF,$110 Used,

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

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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

RW12 VF/XF OG NH, Select! $105

RW16 SUPERB OG NH, BRIGHT! $125

RW18 SUPERB OG NH, RICH! $135

RW23 XF OG NH,

RW25 SUPERB OG NH,

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RICH! $135

Select! $125

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RW29 SUPERB OG NH, PERFECT! $120

RW30 VF/XF OG NH, Awesome! $125

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

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RW27 SUPERB OG NH, RW28 XF OG NH, Rich Select! $135 Color! $150 RW12 VF/XF OG NH, Select! $105

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VF/XF$125 OG NH, RW31Fresh!

SUPERB$175OG NH, RW32Choice!

SUPERB$104OG NH, RW33Select!

VF/XF$135 OG NH, RW35Color!

SUPERB$150OG NH, PERFECT! $120 Awesome! $125 Lovel y ! $110 GEM! $135 CHOI C E! $135 SUPER! RW18 SUPERB OG NH, RW23 XF OG NH, RW25 SUPERB OG NH, RW26 VF OG NH, RW27 SUPERB OG NH, RW28 XF OG$155 NH, Rich

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STEVE MALACK Terms: Payment with order (Check, MO, VISA, MC or DIS). P&H add ASK USRW2ABOUT OUR NORW2 INTEREST $1.50.

10-day SASE for OG complete U.S.RW3 pricelist!

F/VF OGGuarantee!

NH, VF/XF NH, PAYMENT F/VFPLAN! OG LH, RW6 F/VF OGP.O. NH, BoxRW65628, F-VF OGEndicott, NH, Great NY RW12 XF-SUPERB OG 13763

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Fresh! $488 GEM! MO, $1,095 niceP&H $149add WE Payment BUY /withSELL STAMPS COINS Terms: order (Check, VISA,and MC or DIS). $1.50.

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STEVE MALACK Choice! $175 Color! $180 NH, GEM! $175 607-862-9441 (Ph/Fax) • STEVE@MALACK.COM

P.O. Box 5628, Endicott, NY 13763 STEVE MALACK 607-862-9441 (Ph/Fax) • STEVE@MALACK.COM P.O. Box 5628, Endicott, NY 13763 607-862-9441 (Ph/Fax) • STEVE@MALACK.COM

JUNE 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 493

Our Story

BY Scott English Executive Director scott@stamps.org

News from the APRL APRL Board changes approved In the May issue, we reported on leadership changes on the APS Board of Directors. One of those changes included Greg Galletti being appointed vice president and resigning as vice president of the American Philatelic Research Library Board of Trustees.

In April, the APRL Board of Trustees convened and elected Tom Bieniosek to serve as vice president through the remainder of the 2022-2025 term. Tom was elected to the Board of Trustees in 2019. He is active in the local philatelic community, serving as president of the Medina County Stamp Tom Bieniosek Club and past president of the Collectors Club of Akron. His collecting interests include Poland, Bolivia, Argentina, and German Colonies. Tom serves on the APS Expert Committee and has been a regular instructor at the annual APS Summer Seminar. We also welcome Tom and his wife, Laurie, to Volunteer Work Week annually. Please join me in thanking Tom for all his contributions to the APS and APRL, and congratulations on his new role as Vice President of the APRL Board of Trustees.

Joining the APRL Board is Dr. Jean Wang, who will fill Galletti’s unexpired term through 2025 as a Trustee. Jean lives in Toronto, Ontario, and is our first Canadian resident to serve on the APRL Board.

She is an active thematic collector Jean Wang and exhibitor, most notably of a five-frame grand award-winning exhibit on blood. Jean has written extensively on medical philately, publishing articles in The Canadian Philatelist and Topical Time.

Jean’s philatelic activities include being membership secretary, now membership director of the Philatelic Specialists Society of Canada, and serving as editor of the annual journal. She is the Royal Philatelic Society Canada delegate to the 494 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

Fédération Internationale de Philatélie’s Thematic Commission and a member of the board of directors of the Vincent Graves Greene Philatelic Research Foundation. Since 2018, Jean has been a member of Canada Post’s Stamp Advisory Committee. The APS recognized Jean with the Nicholas G. Carter Volunteer Award in 2022, and will present it to her at the Great American Stamp Show in Cleveland.

A legacy for Ken Grant Last month, we shared the news that former APRL President and APS Secretary Ken Grant passed after a battle with cancer. During Ken’s tenures with the APRL and APS, he advocated for the library’s financial stability through operations and fundraising. At the last APRL meeting that Ken presided over as president, the APRL Board approved merging all the foundation funds to build a Ken Grant more robust fundraising campaign.

The proposal brought together those who participated in the legacy Founders and Patrons funds with the newer Vooys Fellows program, started in 2008, to honor Daniel Vooys. In the past three years, we’ve increased the number of Vooys Fellows, nearly doubling the number contributing to the APRL Fund to provide annual funding to the library.

To build on that legacy, the APRL Board will create a third tier for those to encourage higher donations to the APRL Fund while honoring Ken’s legacy. Today, donors can make a $1,000 donation to become a Patron and a $5,000 donation to become a Vooys Fellow. Ken was on his way to completing his Vooys pledge before passing in March.

Though the APRL voted to recognize Ken as a Vooys Fellow, APRL Trustee Richard Drews contributed the remaining $2,500 on Ken’s pledge to make it whole. Rich and APS member Michael Turrini are the inaugural donors to the fund honoring Ken Grant. I will present a final proposal to the APRL Board in August. We’ll begin promoting this opportunity to honor Ken and his vision for a sustainable library fund. For those interested, you can contact me directly at scott@stamps.org to join the effort.

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

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Editing Philately

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

Leaves, Trees, Forests – Details Matter

T

his issue is all about East Asia philately. We learned back in September 2022 with the British Empire issue that readers enjoy this kind of theme; I later received requests to cover Germany and and its colonial empire, the Middle East, British North America, and others with a similar treatment. With that in mind we planned the East Asia issue.

We relied on our affiliates, Korea Stamp Society, International Society for Japanese Philately, and China Stamp Society. Thank you to Tony Bard, Bob Finder, Yong Sok Yi, and Ivo Spanjersberg (KSS); Ken Bryson (ISJP); and Hugh Lawrence and Jim Maxwell (CSS) for their assistance in this issue. We had many fruitful back-and-forths during the editing process.

East Asia is a geographical classification (unlike the British Empire issue, which was a geopolitical grouping). For the purposes of this issue, we considered East Asia to include North Korea, South Korea, Japan, People’s Republic of China, and Republic of China (Taiwan). Yet, as you’ll see, there’s no simple, cut-and-dry boundary that separates the history (and therefore philately) of one country within the East Asia grouping from another.

Take for example Robert Finder’s article on the Korea missionaries, which takes place in Korea during the Japanese occupation era, 1905 to 1945. Or, take Hugh Lawrence’s article on China air letter sheets, which takes place during and after China’s third civil war, when the Republic of China was established on Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China on the mainland. Years of wars, changing boundaries, expanding and contracting empires, are happening in the backdrop of the articles in this issue.

Sometimes these conflicts take center stage in the authors’ narrative, and we see exactly how a policy, or a military decision, directly affects the philately. Sometimes the authors touch on the background, enough to understand that important things are happening that shaped the stamps and postal history that we collect.

The balance of context to philately is a challenge for me. I sometimes think, how could you write an article and leave out the complex historical context? Do philatelists too often ignore the forest for the trees? But the articles in this issue are very aware of the forest, and enjoy the trees as well.

I hope you enjoy these tastes of East Asia philately. I look forward to your feedback at editor@stamps.org.

Also featuring

Speaking of forests and trees, this issue features an article that was a long time in the works: Noel Vaughn’s “The Case of the Curious Ink Spot.” Noel is the great-grandson of Eugene Donze, who during the rail strike of 1894 developed local post stamps for use in a temporary bicycle relay system to deliver the mail. Noel found an unusual ink spot on some of these stamps (right), and after some detective work, used the spots to rethink prior published conclusions about the printing 496 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

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dates of the stamps. Yes – the ink spot is small. This is what some would call “fly specking” (and what I have in the past called “not seeing the forest for the leaves”). But it’s fascinating to see the deductive process unfold, and realize that some really small evidence can turn a settled conclusion all the way around.

I’m excited to announce another brand new monthly column, “The Marketplace.” We’ve learned from surveys and feedback that readers are hungry for discussions about acquiring and disposing of stamps, whether it’s advice about the online marketplace, auction talk, how to navigate mail order sales, or any other means of collection. Our columnist, Matthew Liebson, will draw upon his experience as a collector, author, exhibitor, accredited judge, and dealer – and he welcomes discussion ideas and questions from readers for future columns, which can be addressed to editor@stamps. org, subject line “Marketplace.”

We also welcome Charles Epting’s second monthly column, “The Letter Opener,” on a difficult topic, freight money letters. Charles’ goal is to take complicated postal history concepts and make them accessible and understandable.

This month’s column is handy for understanding those tricky transatlantic ship letters.

demic’s earliest days, and I was feeling lost without easy access to the library or my colleagues. Lawrence came through for me. He and I talked for hours, working through this problem and that. Again, these were the earliest days in my career here – I’d only talked to authors through email before, and still felt nervous about my place in the wider philatelic world – and he was so kind. That experience strongly affected how I felt about working here at the APS. He was a wonderful friend of the AP.

And finally

The American Philatelist relies on its advertisers. The folks whose ads you see in our pages are APS members, dealers, and societies, held to our high ethical standards. Take some time to read through the ads this month, visit some websites, and most importantly – tell them you saw their ad in the AP!

A sad loss

I was very saddened to learn of Lawrence Mead’s death in April. Lawrence was one of the first authors I ever worked with when I became assistant editor. I remember it vividly, as we had just starting working from home during the pan-

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.

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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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JUNE 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 497

Letters to the Editor LetterToTheEditor@stamps.org

Digital updates present challenges

Educator had no middle name

I belatedly read Scott’s “The Digitization Question: To Replace or Complement Printed Items” in American Philately (December 2022) with great interest. I believe the answer to the title question is that library materials fall upon a spectrum and each format comes with issues.

At one end are intrinsically digital items such as recordings of Zoom lectures. A full resolution digital copy is authoritative. Digital media, however, are prone to deterioration and obsolescence. They require ongoing backups and migration to current technologies, a massive undertaking.

My digital computer media from 1982 are inaccessible and unreadable today. 40 years is nothing in the scheme of philatelic history, even the “universal” compact disks (CDs) require external adapters to read on modern computers and the media life is finite. Finally, many of us heavily depend upon the Internet and the World Wide Web. We need to be careful. Today’s invaluable free website may be gone tomorrow or hidden behind a paywall. Software upgrades to my SmartPhone suddenly rendered an essential IntelligentMailBarcode reading APP unusable; there is no replacement. The popular RetroReveal imaging website recently shutdown.

Citations to digital documents and resources are unstable.

Some websites are gone by the time a research paper is published. The Internet Archive Wayback Machine https://web. archive.org preserves most web pages but few readers use it to access broken links. An entire library can be stored in a small space – but a small failure can erase it.

At the other end are philatelic artifacts such as original stamps, forgeries, old stamp albums owned by famous people, unique copies of significant documents, and first editions of rare books. Such items have scientific and research value in the original form. No digital copy of a forged stamp can capture every possible feature of the item for future research. Tomorrow a new spectral technique may be developed which will require an original paper stamp and forgery for analysis. While paper is bulky and can deteriorate with age, even a 5,000-year-old Egyptian papyrus can still be read directly by a scholar. Preservation requires special conditions, but the user interface remains unchanged.

The gray area is in the middle. Today’s journal articles are created digitally. Are paper journals just artifacts for collectors to hoard while the online digital copies are read worldwide (until access is lost)? How are we to know which artifacts from today will be priceless tomorrow and which can be discarded when a digital version is available? I hope someone keeps a paper copy.

Douglas B. Quine, PhD Bethel, Connecticut

Unfortunately, there’s a correction to the correction published on page 302 of the April issue of The American Philatelist. Former president of Indiana University Herman Wells did not have a middle name. He only had a middle initial and, as I was taught in my journalism class back in the late 1960s, his name was Herman B (no period) Wells.

Marc A. Kaplan Detroit, Michigan

498 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

Philately filled with feelings of comfy nostalgia I so enjoy the journal, one of my favorites is the letters department. I enjoy reading the comments and can relate to so many. As a young boy so many adults helped me with the hobby. I learned later some took advantage of the “kid.”

Over the years many things have changed in my life and my collecting interests.

I do worry that the young people today may be overcome by social media. In a way, I think social media has hurt the hobby, but I’m of a different generation. I so loved the ladies that would take me to Boston for the big stamp show and a shopping trip to Jordan Marsh. The store had a stamp department, Minkus I’m sure. Am I dating myself?

I find one of the best things about the hobby is you can have an interest and then concentrate on collecting philatelic material related to that interest. I also remember working hard as a little fella, shoveling snow, etc., and then taking my earnings to the local stamp shop where I paid full [prices] for common 3-cent commemoratives to a point where a stamp over $1,000 seems like chicken feed.

Enjoy the hobby and enjoy the APS. Kristine Brown Cedar Hill, Texas

Clarifying early British history Bob Lamb’s column “Worldwide in a Nutshell” is always interesting. However, the one on Great Britain (April, page 384) had a few significant errors in it.

Mr. Lamb states, “When Julius Caesar invaded Britain in 55 BC, he brought the sophisticated Roman postal system with him. Within a century, Roman engineers had united its province of Britannia with an extensive network of post roads and way stations reaching . . . northward beyond Hadrian’s Wall.”

Caesar landed in Britain two years in a row, and both times he stayed for only a short period of time before returning to Gaul. After this, there was no Roman involvement in Britain for almost a century. It was the Emperor Claudius who began the conquest of Britain in 43 AD. It was in 122

“Thanks for coming to Phoenix to evaluate the collection I had put together over a lifetime.

As a past president of the American Philatelic Society, I had known many dealers, but decided to call just yourself. You were very friendly and professional and dealing with you was an excellent experience. I would recommend you to all APS members.”

F. Burton “Bud” Sellers Sun City West, Arizona

Author’s Inquiry If you are a philatelic author seeking assistance with your research, drop us an email (LetterToTheEditor@ stamps.org). Include “Author’s Inquiry” in the subject line. Please keep your message to under 100 words.

These will be published on a space-available basis and at the discretion of the editorial department.

Ink Stamp Identity Can any reader tell me the meaning of the ink stamp shown here that I have on the back of several first day covers in the U.S. Famous Americans (1940) series?

Saul Zalesch, szalesch@gmail.com Ruston, Louisiana

AD that the Emperor Hadrian visited Britain, and his wall was begun at that time – 177 years after Caesar’s first landing in Britain.

So, “within a century” of Julius Caesar’s landing in Britain, the Roman conquest was just getting under way, and the building of Hadrian’s Wall was still at least 75 years in the future. Needless to say, there was no network of Roman roads in Britain within a century of Caesar’s landing.

Mr. Lamb also states, “In the late ninth century, Alfred the Great united the English tribes to fight the Danes.”

The “English tribes” were actually several small

The U.S. block of Sea Creatures (Scott 2508-2511) issued in 1990 and a U.S. cover mailed in 2006 franked with a Soviet stamp.

500 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

kingdoms. The Danes picked them off one by one until Alfred’s kingdom of Wessex was the only one left. He defeated the Danes in 878 at the Battle of Edington, but just barely. It was Alfred’s sons and grandsons who gradually won back the territory occupied by the Danes and began the process of uniting England into one kingdom.

R Van Someren Whidbey Island, Washington

A later illegal use of 1990 Sea Creatures joint issue In 1990, the United States and the Soviet Union released a joint issue about Sea Creatures. In each country, the four stamps show a whale, a sea lion, an otter, and a dolphin.

In 2006 I received a cover from California with four stamps: a 1-cent American Kestrel, a 3-cent Idaho 50th Anniversary, a 10-cent airmail stamp, and a Dolphin stamp of the mentioned set. However, the Dolphin stamp is not from the U.S. set but from the Soviet set with a 25-kopeck face value.

The postmark is mechanical; the cover was passed an automatic canceling machine. The sender was an eBay seller.

He probably made a mistake and had stamps from both countries and he inadvertently plucked the Soviet stamp, which has a similar design to the U.S. stamp.

Enrique Setaro Miami, Florida

Philatelic material displayed in local historic site I was pleased to see Scott Zimmer’s letter to the editor in the April edition about opportunities to expand philatelic appeal through museum exhibits. Stamp and cover collecting should have broad public appeal in terms of its contribution to artistic expression, graphic design, and history.

I recently became active in the Edinboro Area Historical Society in northwest Pennsylvania. Among its services to the community, the society hosts free tours of a historic mansion

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in Edinboro, the Doucette House, which has rotating exhibits.

This year, running through November, we have an exhibit of advertising covers/postal history from late 19th and early 20th century businesses from the region. Many of these covers feature impressive engravings of the business products or buildings as well as other postal markings and stamps from the era. Accompanying each is a brief written history of the business, its products and people. This exhibit will highlight the historic contributions of these businesses, but also introduce visitors to stamp and cover collecting.

For those interested in this exhibit, the A Reed Hotel cover is part of the exhibit at the Doucette House in Edinboro, Pennsylvania.

Doucette House is located at 126 Water St. in Edinboro, and is open on Tuesday and Saturday mornings.

I imagine that there may be similar exhibits at historical societies and other museums across the country. I encourage the APS to assist in perhaps creating an electronic venue through which people can share information about such exhibits. I also encourage APS members to work with local historical societies and museums to create philatelic exhibits of interest to museum visitors.

Many of these organizations are run fully by volunteers and would be happy to have exhibit ideas proposed.

Michael Hannan Edinboro, Pennsylvania LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

1847–1945

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502 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

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.

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here do I begin?

This question kept running through my mind as I contemplated the challenge of authoring an article about Japanese philately. What does one say that can’t already be found in a Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue? It seems to me that philately comes alive from learning about the countries that produce the stamps – artifacts that speak eloquently of a country’s history, arts, culture, and people.

Japanese history, for purposes of philately, is often divided roughly in half by the Second World War. I will focus in this article on the first half, roughly between 1871 and 1937, as seen through its postage stamps with an emphasis on the formative years – what some call the Classic period, up to the end of the 19th century. Illustrations, unless otherwise noted, are from my own collection.

504 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

"Ono Falls on the Kisokaidō Road" by Katsushika Hokusai (c. 1828-1838). Courtesy of Art Institute of Chicago.

JAPAN

1871-1876: Dragons and Cherry Blossoms It is 1870. The feudal shogunate regime, which had ruled Japan since 1603, had collapsed less than three years earlier. A new government took its place under the authority of the young emperor Mutsuhito, whose reign is known as the Meiji era (1868-1912).

Dedicated to modernizing the country in the face of Western cultural and military inroads in the Far East, the new Meiji government sent students, technicians, and diplomats abroad to learn and bring back knowledge that would give Japan the means to not only emulate, but eventually rival the advanced nations of Europe and America. One of the goals of this ambitious program was to create from scratch a modern postal system to replace the privately operated hikyaku (literally “flying legs”) courier companies that were then the only commercial means of postal delivery throughout the country.

Maejima (or Maeshima) Hisoka (Figure 1), the newly appointed director of posts, had a full agenda. He had to establish post offices, recruit and train postal personnel, and create operating procedures for collecting, transporting, and delivering mail by modern methods.

During his trips abroad, Hisoka learned that postage stamps were the most common means for showing prepayment of postage on mail articles. He wished to incorporate this concept into the new postal system, but he had an obstacle. Japan at that time did not have the modern equipment or the expertise to print the enormous numbers of stamps that would be required on the first day of operation.

Casting around for solutions, he called on Matsuda Atsutomo, a printer who had designed and produced banknotes for the new government the year before. When shown a European postage stamp, however, Matsuda threw up his hands and said that he could never hope to produce anything that complex; he would, however, print the stamps if he could use a motif with which he was very familiar: the dragons, based on traditional Japanese art, that graced those early banknotes (Figure 2).

Those notes had been printed by the process of etching, laboriously drawing the design of each subject separately on a treated copper plate with a needle and then “biting” the copper in acid to produce an intaglio printing plate.

The stamps that Matsuda agreed to print for the new government were produced in the same way, and they are thus now known as the Dragon stamps (Figure 3). The Dragon stamps were first issued on April 20, 1871 (March 1 by the lunisolar calendar then in use in Japan), and that date is commemorated every year as Japan Post Memorial Day. The Dragon stamps were printed in two colors, 40 subjects to a plate, requiring two passes through a primitive hand press. One result of this process was the occurrence of the greatest rarity among Japanese stamps: the 500-mon inverted center Dragon, the only known example of which was found in the 1950s in the United States. Later identified as genuine by the International Society for Japanese Philat-

Figure 1. A modern stamp with Maejima Hisoka and Dragon stamp (Scott 2402 and Scott 1).

Figure 2. Early banknote printed by Matsuda.

Figure 3. Examples of Dragon stamps (Scott 2, 3).

Figure 4. Inverted center Dragon stamp (From JSCA 1871-1876 Japanese-English Catalogue) (Scott 4h).

ely (ISJP), it was sold at a U.S. auction in 1973 for $75,000.

This stamp (Figure 4) has come up again at auction and is expected to hammer for more than $1 million. The auction,

by Feldman, is scheduled to take place on June 3.

It did not take long for the government to realize that bicolor stamp production would not keep up with demand, and in 1872 a series of single-color stamps in new designs replaced the Dragons.

This new series, with various changes and additions in color, denomination and design but still hand-etched and hand-printed 40 subjects to a plate, continued to be issued JUNE 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 505

Figure 5. Representative Cherry Blossom stamps (Scott 10, 37).

Figure 6. The Bird stamps (Scott 46, 47, 50).

Figure 7. Edoardo Chiossone and Koban stamp (Scott 2408 and Scott 64).

506 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

Figure 8. Gold Koban coin (facsimile).

until 1876. Because almost all of the stamps in this series include stylized cherry blossoms in their design, they are known to Japanese philatelists as Cherry Blossom stamps (Figure 5).

This new series of stamps included in their design the cherry blossom motif as well as newly added value indications in the Roman alphabet and Arabic numerals, attesting to the growing importance of international communication in Japan. Significant also was the inclusion of the kikumon, the chrysanthemum flower emblem symbolizing the emperor’s authority, which appeared on every subsequent Japanese stamp until it was discontinued in 1947 with the advent of a new constitution that removed the emperor as the source of governmental authority.

A notable group within the Cherry Blossom series are the three Bird stamps (Figure 6) that were issued in 1875 to meet the foreign mail rates that became effective after conclusion of a postal treaty between Japan and the United States.

The Cherry Blossom stamps are marked by not only a diversity of paper and perforations, but also an extensive number of plate varieties and other features that take many of the individual values into a wide collecting range in themselves. A major example is the blue 1-sen stamp (Scott 10 in Figure 5). This stamp was printed from a total of 26 plates, some in more than one printing, resulting in more than 1,000 distinguishable design variations before considering paper types or perforations.

Valuations vary widely among these varieties in specialized Japanese catalogs, but most of these varieties so far have not been familiar to the great majority of foreign collectors because there have been few accessible reference materials in Western languages. A welcome recent development in this regard promises to make some of this specialized information available to a much wider audience.

The Japan Philatelic Society, one of several groups that publish catalogs in Japanese, has recently begun issuing a series of specialized catalogs in Japanese and English, with full-color illustrations. This first-time development offers English-reading collectors an opportunity for greater understanding of stamp characteristics and varieties as well as guidance on market valuations, which will be especially helpful with the early issues. The first two volumes now in print cover the hand-etched issues from 1871 to 1876, and the typographed definitive issues from 1876 to 1908.

Familiarity with the characteristics of genuine stamps is essential for collectors of this beautiful and often expensive genre. The Dragon and Cherry Blossom stamps were extensively forged, both in Japan and abroad, primarily as souvenirs and curiosities. Most can be easily detected once their characteristics are known, and collectors will also find some of International Society for Japanese Philately’s publications useful in this respect.

1876-1908: Kobans and Kikus By 1876, the government was determined to replace the “primitive” etched stamps with those of a modern design,

printed by methods better suited to the demands of mass production.

Experiments in producing plates by electrotype reproduction had already been going on during the etched stamps period under the tutelage of Edoardo Chiossone (Figure 7), an Italian artist and technical expert hired by the government to train native technicians in the design and production of stamps, currency and Figure 9. Representative Koban stamps (Scott 63, 64, 74). other security documents.

The product of this program was a series of typographed definitive stamps, which are known as the Koban series because of the resemblance of their oval motif to pre-modern Japanese gold coins by that name (Figure 8). In keeping with the further momentum of Westernization, as well as a growing national consciousness, the stamps of this new series included the words “Japanese Empire” or “Imperial Japanese Post” in their design.

Japanese collectors divide this issue into three catFigure 10. Commemorative stamps of 1894 and 1896 (Scott 85, 90). egories based on issue period and color differences: Old Kobans, issued between 1876 and 1879; U Kobans, issued in 1883, three values so called because their colors were changed to match the UPU standards for international mail types; and New Kobans, issued between 1886 and 1892 to reflect changes and additions to postal rates.

An interesting feature of the Koban stamps (Figure 9) is the subtle variety of their designs, which have small differences in detail from one face value to another. An unusual example is the 12-sen Old Koban, which includes depictions of passenger balloons in the four corners surrounding the central oval motif. These are perhaps among the earliest deFigure 11. Examples of Kiku stamps (Scott 96, 100). pictions of such balloons on officially issued postage stamps.

Collecting the Koban issues opens up a wide range of In 1897, the government again made a major change in possibilities, as this series is by and large much more accesthe design of definitive stamps. sible than the etched stamps. Specialized collections can be These designs are characterized by a very large kikumon formed with the help of the new bilingual catalogs, focusin the center, hence the name Kiku (chrysanthemum) series. ing on such characteristics as color variations, perforations, One of the reasons for the new series, according to governand a wide variety of domestic and foreign-mail postmark ment sources, was to depart from the “outdated” Koban setypes. Caution is still warranted as some values of the Old ries and adopt a more secure design, using engine-turned Koban stamps were extensively forged, as was the case with backgrounds to thwart counterfeiting. It cannot be ruled the etched stamps, but this ceases to be a concern with the out that this move was driven at least in part by the great issues that follow. number of Koban stamp forgeries that were being produced, Japan also issued its first commemorative stamps duralthough no actual postal use of Koban forgeries is known ing this period, for the emperor’s 25th wedding anniversary (ironically, it was the new Kiku stamps that were actually in 1894 and in 1896 for the country’s victory in the Sinolater counterfeited and used in the mail).

Japanese War of 1894-1895 (Figure 10).

In general, the Kiku stamp designs (Figure 11) tend to be The 1896 issue, in particular, displayed the skills of Japsomewhat monotonous and lack the hand-crafted charm of anese stamp engravers to be the equal of any in the West. the etched issues or the thematic variety of the Kobans. As From then up to the end of World War II, commemorative with the Kobans, collectors can explore postmark varieties stamps were issued for a limited range of subjects, primarily as well as interesting usages on cover, especially foreign mail. connected with the imperial family and events of national Specialists will find that color and perforation varieties also importance. offer a wide field of study.

JUNE 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 507

Figure 12. Examples of Tazawa stamps (Scott 144, 255).

Figure 13. Taishō enthronement stamps, 1915 (Scott 148, 151).

Another salient feature of the Kiku stamps is the absence of any foreign language inscriptions, except for the value abbreviations; this change from the Koban designs was explicitly ordered by the government, as “inscriptions in a foreign language are inconsistent with the dignity of an independent country” – perhaps an allusion to imperial China, which at that time was under the heavy influence of foreign powers and whose stamps were inscribed “Chinese Imperial Post.”

This direction presages the further development of a militant nationalism which was to increasingly affect Japanese society and international relations, a mindset that was further stimulated by Japan’s victory in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905.

1913 to 1937: Tazawa, Fuji-Deer, and Scenic series stamps After the Meiji Emperor died in 1912, the government decided to introduce a new definitive stamp series to recognize the accession of the new Emperor Yoshihito, who took the reign title of Taishō. For the first time a competition was held for the new stamp designs, and the result is known as the Tazawa series after the name of the winning designer.

The Tazawa series (Figure 12) departed from the severe, rather monotonous patterns of the Kiku series with more ornamental, Baroque-inspired motifs, and for the first time included bicolored designs in the higher denominations. The Tazawa series, with various changes in die sizes, papers, watermarks, border frames and colors in some cases, remained the principal definitive stamps until the introduction of the

Figure 14. Heir apparent investiture stamps, 1916 (Scott 152, 154).

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First Shōwa series in 1937 and can be the basis of a broad specialized study collection for a reasonable investment of time and outlay.

The early years of the Tazawa series saw a further flowering of classically designed commemorative issues, such as those for the enthronement of the Taishō emperor in 1915 (Figure 13) and the investiture of Prince Hirohito as heir apparent in 1916.

A well-known example from this period is the so-called Blue Hat stamp (Figure 14), the 10-sen value of the Hirohito investiture set, which was issued in very limited quantities and is thus a key item with a high catalog value.

Another significant event, commemorated with two overprinted definitive stamps, was the first experimental flight of mail-carrying aircraft between Tokyo and Osaka in 1919. As these stamps (Figure 15) are also high priced, the overprints have been extensively forged. Collectors will want to obtain a certificate before considering the purchase of these as well as the Blue Hat. Japan entered World War I on the side of the Allied powers, largely in order to enhance its political and military presence in Asia and the Pacific through occupation of territories that had been German colonies or leaseholds since the 19th century. No stamps were issued in connection with this action, but Japan did issue a set of stamps in 1919 (Figure 16) commemorating the advent of peace after the war ended.

The 50th anniversary of the modern postal system in Japan in April 1921 saw the issuance of a set of four stamps.

Two values depicted the national flag flanked by the original and current postal service flags, while the other two featured the Communications Department’s building in Tokyo. The government also issued a set of colorful commemorative postcards for the occasion, one of which depicted the original postal administration building of 1871 along with a post rider and mail box from that period (Figure 17).

Figure 15. Experimental airmail stamp, 1919 (Scott C2).

In 1922, a change in postal rates made it necessary to issue a set of international mail stamps in UPU colors to replace those of the Tazawa series that had been in use, a new set being preferable to changing the colors of the entire Tazawa series. These stamps, called the Fuji-Deer series (Figure 18), also went through a number of die size, paper, and color changes until 1937 in response to changes in postal rates and usage requirements. While most of these are common, the 8-sen “Old Die Changed Color” stamp of 1929 was very short-lived and is thus a key item. Careful examination Figure 16. Stamp from set of the design details is needed to distinguish this stamp from commemorating peace after World War I, 1919 (Scott 155,158). the common new die variety.

On September 1, 1923, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake off the Japanese coast shook the area centering on Tokyo and Yokohama (the Kantō region) causing enormous damage to infrastructure and buildings. A firestorm that followed the earthquake caused further devastation, and more than 100,000 lives were lost.

The Communications Department’s administrative, storage, and production facilities were destroyed, and the distribution of new postal supplies to the entire country was cut off.

The government immediately contracted with private printers in Osaka and Tokyo to produce a series of emergency stamps and postal stationery, offset printed in simple designs on a coarse paper stock (Figure 19). The imperforate, Figure 17. Postcard with stamps for the 50th anniversary of the postal system, 1921 ungummed Earthquake stamps, although unpopular, performed their stopgap function until (Scott 163, 164). being taken off sale after the government printing facilities were restored the following year. Specialists distinguish between the Osaka and Tokyo printings through small design detail differences, but in general the stamps of this issue are readily obtained in both used and mint condition.

The Great Kantō Earthquake had another impact on Japanese philately, as a set of stamps that had been prepared to celebrate the Crown Prince’s marriage November 1923 Figure 18. Fuji-Deer stamp (Scott 171a). ended up not issued because all stocks in the Communications Department’s storage facilities had been destroyed.

Only a small quantity survived, those that had been sent in advance to the Japanese mandated territories in the Pacific; these were recalled, and most of them were affixed to commemorative postcards for presentation to members of the court and government officials.

A further change in postal rates resulted in the issue of a new set of stamps in UPU colors in July 1926, replacing the Fuji-Deer stamps for international mail. This set, known as the Scenery Series, consisted of three designs that for the first time showed scenic subjects on a definitive issue: Mt. Fuji on the 2 sen, the Yōmei Gate of the Nikkō Shrine on the 6 sen, and Nagoya Castle on the 10 sen (Figure 20). These were also the first definitive stamps printed in horizontal format. With another change in color and paper, this series Figure 19. Examples of Earthquake Emergency stamps (Scott 185, 187) also remained in use until 1937.

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Figure 20. Scenic series stamps (Scott 194, 197).

Figure 21. Communications Day airmail souvenir sheet, 1934 (Scott C8).

The first official airmail stamps were issued in 1929, consisting of a total of four values from 8½ sen to 33 sen, supplemented by a 9½-sen stamp in 1934. While these are easily collected, a souvenir sheet featuring four of these values issued in 1934 to commemorate the establishment of Communications Day is quite scarce (Figure 21). Facsimiles appear on the market from time to time, but can generally be identified by the absence of the wavy line watermark that is found on the genuine sheets.

The Shōwa era: Gathering Clouds

dency grew even more pronounced after the marked increase in Japanese intervention on the Asian mainland, which had been growing steadily since the annexation of Korea in 1910.

In 1932, the Japanese military succeeded in wresting a large portion of Northeast China from Chinese government control, establishing a puppet state called “Manchoukuo,” headed by Pu-Yi, who had been as a child the last emperor of Qing Dynasty China. Japan issued a set of stamps in 1935 commemorating his visit, featuring the warship on which he traveled and the Akasaka Detached Palace in Tokyo, where he was lodged during the visit (Figure 22).

On December 1, 1935, Japan issued the first in a longrunning series of special stamps for use on New Year’s greeting cards (Figure 23). After further issues in 1936 and 1937, the series was suspended until 1948 due to government austerity policies associated with the outbreak of war with China.

The death of the Taishō Emperor in December 1926 ushered in the Shōwa era of the new Emperor Hirohito, but there was no dramatic change in the definitive stamp program and the definitive issues of the 1920s with their restrained palettes and simple designs remained in use. This may partly have been due to an economic crisis which struck Japan in 1927 and was aggravated by the worldwide depression that came not long after.

The number of commemorative stamp issues also was limited and subdued in impact, compared to many other countries during this period that saw the rapid growth of stamp-issuing programs as expressions of geopolitical importance and tools of nationalistic propaganda. Most commemorative issues continued to focus on events related to the imperial household, postal history, or peaceful relationships with the international community, even as the government itself was falling further under the influence of the military Figure 22. Visit of Manchoukuo emperor and society was becoming more regimented. This ten- to Japan, 1935 (Scott 219, 220).

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The year 1936 also saw the introduction of photogravure, a process used thereafter only on special-purpose and commemorative issues until after World War II, on a series of stamps and souvenir sheets publicizing the national parks of mainland Japan and Taiwan (Figure 24). In 1941 this series was also suspended, being resumed in 1949.

1937: Turning point year

Figure 23. New Year stamps, 1935-1937 (Scott 222, 234, 256).

Eventually, Japan’s military adventurism on the continent led to an armed clash on July 7, 1937, between Japanese and Chinese forces, sparking a full-scale war between the two countries that lasted for the next eight years. The Japanese government, now fully under the control of military leaders, determined that year to remake the stamp program in a nationalistic mold in keeping with all other aspects of society.

This led to the creation of the First Shōwa Series stamps (Figure 25), the first complete definitive series with fully representational designs, combining subjects such as art, architecture, technology, and landscape with portraits of General Nogi and Admiral Togo, heroes of the Russo-Japanese War. Scenes from Taiwan and Korea appear on the 6-sen and 7-sen values, respectively, demonstrating Japan’s control over those territories. Particular emphasis on depictions of Shintō shrines can be seen, a bow to the cult of the emperor’s legendary divine origins. Although the new stamp program was initiated in 1937, it actually took until 1940 for the series to be completed as the designs were reviewed and approved incrementally.

This series is characterized by high production standards, reflecting the government’s goal of projecting national pride by quality of design and stamp manufacture: intaglio printing and dual-color typography are used on a majority of values. Collectors have sometimes been puzzled by what appears to be an airplane without a cockpit canopy on the 12-sen value. This stamp actually depicts an experimental aircraft, with a retractable canopy for minimum wind resistance, which set a record for nonstop flight in 1938.

Figure 24. 1938 National Parks souvenir sheet (Scott 283a).

Figure 25. Selection of First Shōwa definitive series stamps, 1937-1940 (Scott 257, 268, 267, 269, 271).

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The year 1937 also saw the issue of the first Japanese semipostal stamps, a set of three values to raise funds for a national association to promote commercial aviation (Figure 26).

Having walked out of the League of Nations in 1933 over the issue of Manchoukuo, Japan became increasingly isolated from the international community toward the end of the Figure 26. Patriotic Aviation 1930s by its military and semipostal stamp, 1937 (Scott B2). political interventions on the Asian continent. Meanwhile, Germany had plunged Europe into a major war in 1939.

In 1940, Japanese forces occupied parts of French IndoChina after France capitulated to the Germans. Economic sanctions imposed by the United States in response to these actions added to the stresses of fighting the war in China, in particular jeopardizing Japan’s access to strategic raw materials in Southeast Asia.

A frustrated Japan stuck out against the United States in the early hours of December 7, 1941. What followed was the Pacific War and eventual defeat, a descent into disaster that can be traced by philatelists through the stamps of the Second and Third Shōwa series.

A second article yet to come will follow Japan through the post-WWII era, representing a significant shift in its philately, and a growth in philatelists’ interest in this country’s issues.

ISJP Monograph 2: A Guide to the Cherry Blossom Series (1969) ISJP Monograph 4: Forgeries and Imitations of the Dragon Stamps of Japan (1971) ISJP Monograph 6: The Wada Cherry Blossom Forgeries (1974) ISJP Monograph 8: The Koban Forgeries of Japan (1979) “Japan – Etched Stamps 1871-1876, Yigal Nathaniel Collection,” Japan Philatelic Association (2003) “Japanese Postage Stamps in the Manufacture,” Insatsukyoku Chōyōkai Foundation (1975) Japanese Stamp Specialized Catalogue 1871-1876, Japan Philatelic Society (March 2023) Japanese Stamp Specialized Catalogue 1871-1908, Japan Philatelic Society (October 2021) Sakura Catalogue of Japanese Stamps (2020-2023) Woodward, A.M. Tracy. The Postage Stamps of Japan and Dependencies (1928)

In Japanese

Encyclopedia Japanese Philately (Japan Philatelic Association, 1974) Ichida, S. Ao-Ichi (1-sen Blue stamps) (1970) Ichida, S. Sakura Kitte (Cherry Blossom stamps) (1965) Japanese Stamp Specialized Catalogue, Volume 1 1871-1946 (October 2010); Volume 2, 1946- (October 2009).

Nihon Kitte Meikan (Treasury of Japanese Stamps), Volume 1 (postal history), Volume 2 (etched stamps), Volume 3 (Koban stamps), Volume 4 (Kiku stamps) (Japan Philatelic Association) Sawa, M. Koban Kitte (Koban stamps) (1974)

Resources In English or Japanese/English

Forgeries of the Dragon, Cherry Blossom and Koban Postage Stamps of Japan (1997) Ichida, S. The Dragon Stamps of Japan 1871-1872 (1959) Ichida, S. The Cherry Blossom Issues of Japan 1872-1876, S (1965)

T

For Further LEARNING

Recommendations from the APRL research staff: Peplow, F.J. Plates of the stamps of Japan 1871-6 (London: F.J. Peplow, 1910.). [G7961 .P718 P422p 1910 RARE BOOKS] Japan, Communications Association. Postal Services in Japan (Toyko: Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, 1966.). [G7961 .P859 J35pj] Clark, Kenneth G. The History & Postal History of Japan's

512 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

HE AUTHOR

Kenneth J. Bryson (Ken) is the editor and librarian of the International Society for Japanese Philately. His lifelong interest in collecting Japanese stamps dates from his elementary school days in Japan, where his parents were stationed in the 1950s. Holding a top-level qualification in Japanese language from the Ministry of Education and Science, he has had English translations published in books and articles on Japanese philately as well as works of general literature over the past 20 years. Ken lives with his wife Terri, a textile artist and retired nurse, in Decatur, Georgia.

Wars (Farnham Common, Buckinghamshire, England: Japan Philatelic Group Ltd., 2009). [G7801 .M644 C593h] Swenson, Charles A.L. “The Large Commemorative Datestamps of Japan 1902.06.20-1944.04.24” (Haddonfield, NJ: International Society for Japanese Philately, Inc., 2014). [JOURNAL Japanese Philately] Woodward, Alphonse Marie Tracey. The Postage Stamps of Japan and Dependencies (Lawrence, MA: Quarterman Publications, 1976). [G7960 .W899p 1928 [Reprint] 1976]

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Japanese-occupied Korea, 1905-1945 The postal activities of two Methodist missionaries ROBERT FINDER

M

any philatelists interested in Korea are disappointed to find that no Korean stamps were issued from 1905 to 1945, due to the Japanese occupation of Korea. However, there is much collectible philatelic material from this era, largely due to resident Western missionaries, who corresponded from the 1880s and produced charity seals from the 1930s.

In the 1880s, the Choson Dynasty became more open to foreign religions. From 1885, the Methodist Church sent many resident missionaries to Korea, less than a year after the Presbyterian Church established its first resident mission. The Protestant missionaries came mostly from the United States, Canada and Australia. These missionaries’ efforts resulted in South Korea having the second largest Christian congregation in Asia.

This article presents some interesting examples of the postal history and related philatelic material generated by two prominent Methodist missionaries, with emphasis on the commemorative seals for the 50th anniversary of Methodists in Korea in 1934-1935.

Both of these missionaries, American Rev. Charles A. Sauer (18911972), and his Canadian friend, Dr. Sherwood Hall (1893-1991), were also keen philatelists (Figure 1).

Hall had numerous correspondences with fellow stamp collectors and also sold accumulated covers and stamps from the mission’s mail to dealers to raise funds for his fight against tuberculosis (TB). These missions stamp mixtures, or “missions,” were popular with collectors through the 1970s.

The Methodist missions, besides their evangelism efforts, concentrated their activities in two areas, education, particularly of Korean women, and in health, especially in treating and fighting the prevention of tuberculosis, a very prevalent disease in Korea at the time.

Sauer was a well-known American Methodist missionary who spent most of his adult life in Korea and was known for his contributions to the improvement of education for girls and women. After his discharge from the U.S. Army following his service in World War I, Sauer married Marguerite Suttles (1896-1981) in 1920. They arrived in Korea in 1921.

With the onset of World War II in 1941, they were expelled by the Japanese, but returned to Korea at the war’s end in 1946.

Most historians believe Hall was the first Western child to be born in Korea, approximately two years after his parents, Rosetta Sherwood Hall (1865-1951) and William James Hall (1860-1894), both medical doctors and Methodist missionaries, arrived in the country in 1891.

Sherwood Hall spent his formative years in Korea, and after finishing his last few high school years in the U.S., obtained his medical degree in 1923 from the University of Toronto. Hall and his wife, Marian, also a physician, volunteered to go to Korea as Methodist missionaries.

They arrived in 1925 in Pusan (now Busan, South Korea). Sherwood 514 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

Figure 1a. The Rev. Charles and Marguerite Sauer wearing traditional Korean robes. (Image courtesy of the General Commission on Archives and History of The United Methodist Church, Madison, New Jersey.)

Figure 1b. Drs. Sherwood and Marian Hall were featured in the 1980s in a Canadian newspaper story, which detailed their mission work in Korea.

founded the first TB sanatorium in Haiju (now Haeju, North to her from the president of the United States. He showed Korea) in 1928, and in 1932 started the Korean program of her the president’s name, “Franklin D. Roosevelt.” The child issuing Christmas and New Year seals to raise money for his asked Hall to write a letter thanking the president. anti-TB campaign. In 1940, the Halls were accused of spying A bit to the doctor’s surprise, the child’s health greatly for the Canadians and British and were expelled from Korea. improved. Hall then sent a letter to Roosevelt telling him the During their time in Korea, the Halls and the Sauers bestory of the child. Hall’s son, William, told his father that he came good friends. had read that FDR collected stamps and they should enclose The author has many covers and letters from Sauer and some Korean stamps and Korean Christmas seals. A letter Hall spanning their careers in Korea, and some of these was sent to President Roosevelt in May 1934. This was after items, dating from 1928 to 1940, are described here. (For Hall’s letter in Figure 3 had been sent to Krumlaw in March ease of reading, references to “Hall” from here will refer to Dr. Sherwood Hall, unless noted.)

The earliest cover shown (Figure 2), a Methodist Episcopal Mission envelope, was sent by Hall from Haiju on August 6, 1928, to his wife, Marian, at Wonsan Beach, where he had a holiday home.

The next item (Figure 3) is a cover containing a letter concerning Hall’s stamp collecting, and the trading and selling of Christmas seals.

It was sent March 28, 1934, to Willis Krumlaw, of the Square Deal Stamp Co. in Ashland, Ohio. Hall again used Methodist Episcopal Mission stationery, but this time the envelope is inscribed “Twenty Fifth Anniversary” on the flap.

This likely refers to the period as Dr. Arthur H. Figure 2. August 6, 1928, from Haiju, prepaid at the 6-sen domestic rate with a pair of 3-sen Japanese stamps (probably Scott 131b), issued in 1928.

Norton started a dispensary in Haiju around 1908. The cover bears a strip of three of the 1933 Christmas and New Year/TB seals on the reverse.

The enclosed letter (Figure 4) is on the combined letterhead of three organizations with which Hall was associated: the Haiju Christian Boy’s School, the North Memorial Hospital, and the School of Hygiene for the Tuberculosis. He thanks Krumlaw for the stamps sent to his son, William. Hall continues the letter by promoting the Korea 1933 Christmas seals for trade or sale, marginally noting that unlimited quantities were available.

At the top of the back side, Hall mentions that President Roosevelt was collecting Christmas seals. Back in the 1930s, there was a custom for people to send Christmas cards to the president. The White House had thousands of these Christmas cards and envelopes, which would be forwarded to missions around the world in order for those missions to gain some value from them and also for to use for therapy for patients. Hall’s mission received such cards from the White House.

In one notable case, in order to cheer up one of his child patient’s spirits who was very ill with Figure 3. Postage of 16 sen in Japanese definitives (a 6-sen, Scott 134, and a 10tuberculosis, Hall gave a bunch of these cards to sen, Scott 196), with a strip of three 1933 Christmas seals (Korean Postage Stamp her, and told her that they had come all the way Catalogue on the reverse.)

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Figure 4. Sherwood Hall’s letter to Willis Krumlaw, on headed stationery. The second page mentions that President Roosevelt was collecting Christmas seals. The date of the letter was before Hall received a letter from FDR that thanked Hall’s son for sending Korean Christmas seals.

On the second page, Hall notes how he is enclosing Christmas seal booklets with hopes the stamp dealer will send U.S. and Canadian stamps in exchange.

Figure 5. The front and reverse of a cover with four Japanese stamps totaling 10 sen sent from the Rev. Charles Sauer on May 28, 1935, from Kongju, Korea to a friend in Pennsylvania. The back flap shows that Sauer used the nickname “Charlee” with his friend, Edward Joslyn.

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of 1934. Hall received a letter, dated June 18, 1934, from President Roosevelt asking to give his best wishes to the little girl and to thank his son, William, for sending the stamps and Korean Christmas seals, and that they were now in the president’s collection. The story of the letter from President Roosevelt was circulated to the staff and it turned out to be a “real shot in the arm,” according to Hall, for the Korean Christmas Seal Campaign. The author presumes that Hall must have written about this letter from FDR in his next letter to Krumlaw.

The next cover shown (Figure 5) is from Sauer in Kongju (now Gongju, South Korea) to a friend in the tiny town of Carnesville, Pennsylvania. It was sent May 28, 1935. The cover bears postage of Japanese 3- and 7-sen commemorative stamps, which honor the visit of the Emperor of Manchukuo, Kang Teh, to Tokyo in 1935.

The enclosed letter (Figure 6) indicates that Sauer was exchanging stamps with his friend.

On October 27, 1935, Hall sent a Christmas Seal Committee of Korea envelope from Haiju

Figure 6. A letter inside the envelope from the Rev. Charles Sauer to Edward Joslyn shown in Figure 5. Sauer tells his friend that he was enclosing some stamps from Japan and Manchukuo, as well as telling him about raising chickens and rabbits. He also notes a visit to the U.S. and in the p.s. states he also enclosed some Danish stamps.

to the Hickory Grove Tuberculosis Sanatorium in West de Pere, Wisconsin (Figure 7).

With one Japanese 10-sen (Scott 217) stamp on the cover, it also bears a commemorative cachet, as well as the regular Haiju postmark. Hall affixed a 50th Anniversary Korean Methodism seal to the reverse, instead of one of his Christmas issues. He may have been sending information about the 1935 Christmas and New Year/TB seal that was due to be launched in December of that year.

The 50th anniversary of the Methodist Church in Korea was celebrated in 19341935. June 24, 1934, was selected as the anniversary date because the superintendent of the Methodist Mission in Japan arrived in Seoul on that date 50 years earlier to negotiate and make arrangements for the purchase of sites for the Methodist missions that would arrive in 1885.

Because of Hall’s success in fundraising with his Christmas/TB seals, the Methodist anniversary committee asked him to design a seal for them, and have it printed in Korea.

The final design (Figure 8) depicts a map of Korea showing the approximate locations of Methodist missions and a symbol of the building of their churches, schools and hospitals.

Figure 7. Dr. Sherwood Hall used a Korean Christmas Seal Committee envelope and pasted a 50th Anniversary Korean Methodism seal on the reverse.

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Figure 8. A booklet pane of 10 50th Anniversary, Korean Methodism, 1884-1934 seals.

The Korean script translates as “Methodist 50th Anniversary Commemorative.”

Figure 9. The front and reverse of a complete booklet of 50 seals commemorating the 50th anniversary of Methodism in Korea.

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The 1934 Methodist seal is eagerly sought after by philatelists, especially on cover. It was issued in sheets of 25 and in booklets (Figure 9) of 50 seals in five panes of 10. The author only knows of one complete sheet and very few complete booklets.

I acquired a completely different set of four seals (Figure 10) commemorating the 50th anniversary of Methodism in Korea. At present no details are known as to who commissioned them, who their designer was, where they were printed or even when they were issued. Only two other sets of this type of seal have been recorded, and none have been seen used on cover. If any reader can provide information about these mystery seals, it would be greatly appreciated.

The last dated item from Sherwood Hall in my collection was sent November 21, 1939 (Figure 11) to Pennsylvania. Hall was most likely soliciting donations for the 1939-1940 Christmas seal program from the addressee, a member of the family that owned the Beistle Company, the oldest manufacturer of decorations and party goods in the U.S. An example of Hall’s 1939 letter promoting the seals is shown in Figure 12.

The front of the envelope inscribed “November 1, 1939, Official First Day Cover” illustrates a pair of the 1939 seals showing “Girl on a Swing,” which cel-

Figure 10. The “mystery” set of four seals commemorating the 50th anniversary of Korean Methodism. Little is known about these seals’ origins.

ebrates the Korean traditional holiday, Dano.

The envelopes were used over a long period of time, and most examples offered for sale were not actually used on the first day. While there would be one more issue of Christmas/ TB seals in 1940 before Hall was expelled, the 1939 envelope was the last seasonal-themed stationery printed by the Christmas Seal Committee of Korea.

While Hall left Korea in 1940 and also established the first Christmas and Tuberculosis Seal program for India and only returned for visits, the Rev. Sauer returned to Korea after WWII, and except for a brief evacuation during the Korea War, lived there until 1962 when he retired and returned to the United States. The author has a number of covers sent

by Sauer during the post-WWII era.

The collecting of covers generated by missionaries in Korea from the early 1900s through the 1960s is a rich area for philatelists to explore. Many of these covers were generated by the use of Methodist anniversary seals and Christmas/TB seals designed

by Sherwood Hall. There is good demand for these covers by Korean history enthusiasts on a number of online stamp auction websites, as well as when specific items/collections are offered by auction houses.

Much of the information in this article was gained from reading Hall’s book, With Stethoscope in Asia: Korea. It was first printed in 1979

by MCL Associates. The book was reprinted in 1981. The book can be found online through various bookshops and is must-have reading for anyone interested in the history and missionaries’ lives during the Japanese occupation of Korea.

Acknowledgement: The author wishes to thank Anthony Bard, editor of the Korea Stamp Society’s Korean Philately magazine, Professor James Huntley Grayson, a director of the Korea Stamp Society, and Ivo Spanjersberg, publisher for the Korea Stamp Society, for their contributions to generate this article.

Figure 11. A 1939 Christmas seal envelope with a 1937 4-sen definitive stamp (Scott 261).

Figure 12. An example of the promotional letter on behalf of the Christmas Seal Committee of Korea, produced for the 1939 Christmas seal campaign.

T

he Author

A life member of the American Philatelic Society, Robert Finder is a retired biotech executive with a chemical engineering degree. Robert and his wife, Sheryl, moved to Australia 20 years ago from the New York area, where he worked for Australia’s largest pharmaceutical company at the time. What was supposed to be a business stay of three years turned into the decision to remain in Australia and eventually retire on the beachfront near Adelaide, South Australia. Robert specializes in collecting stamps of the Netherlands and colonies and Bhutan. He also specializes in Korean stamps, including Korean TB/Christmas and New Year Seals. He is a member of the American Society for Netherlands Philately, Netherlands Philatelic Circle (UK), Korean Stamp Society and the Nepal and Tibet Philatelic Study Circle. Robert has written a number of articles for the Korean Stamp Society and the American Society for Netherlands Philately.

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Tips to help determine which Korea your stamp comes from

YONG SOK YI, ROBERT FINDER, AND ANTHONY BARD

hether a philatelist is an experienced or beginner stamp collector, it can be sometimes be a challenge to identify Korean stamps, especially in the early Korea eras, which include the Chosun Dynasty and Korea Empire in the 1884-1905 time periods. And later, after the liberation of Korea from the Japanese Occupation in 1945, it can be even more difficult to determine if a stamp is from North Korea or South, especially from 1946-1950.

This article gives some simple guidelines that will help the collector determine if a stamp is from Korea, and also help tell apart the North Korean and South Korean stamps with the use of images of these stamps.

A good place to start is with the very first stamps issued by the Korea Chosun Dynasty in 1884 (Figure 1). Two stamps were issued: the 5-mun and 10-mun values (Scott 1 and 2; the Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalog incorrectly refers to these values as “mon.”) There also were three higher-value stamps produced at that time, but never released.

Scott mentions these higher value stamps, but does not give these three higher values numbers.

It’s easy to tell that the 10 mun and three higher values are from Korea because they have the word “Corean” written on the stamps. However, the 5-mun does not have “Corean” written on the stamp.

Those unfamiliar with Asian written languages could easily believe Korea Scott 1 could be from another Asian country, like China or Japan. But the stamp can be distinguished from other countries’ stamps as it uses the stylized Ying/Yang, or Korean monad symbol in the center, as do the others in the series. We see many versions of the Korean monad over the years; it is still used by South Korea.

520 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

Figure 1. The Korea Chosun Dynasty issued its first stamps on November 18, 1884. The 5- and 10mun (Scott 1-2), were issued when the first postal service was created.

The 25-, 50- and 100-mun stamps were never issued. The values of the stamps are in mun (문, Mn) and Korea is written as “Corean” in English.

Figure 2. The second Korea issue by the Chosun Dynasty (Scott 6-9) in 1895 has values in poon, features the word “Korea” and a monad symbol in the center.

Figure 3. The use of the Korean monad symbol is found on many issues of the Korean Empire era.

[Editor’s note: A brief explanation of Chinese, Korean and Japanese characters appears in September 2020 The American Philatelist, page 809.]

For the rest of the Korean Empire stamps issued from 1895 to 1903 (Figure 2) all of these stamps have “Korea,” “Korean Post,” or “Coree” printed on the stamp. Another feature to look for is another version of the Korean monad symbol (Figure 3).

Beginning in 1900 and through 1903, the Korean Empire issued new two definitive series and one commemorative stamp.

In addition, the older second series (Scott 6-9) were overprinted starting in 1897 with various surcharges. The so-called Plum Blossom set of 1900-1901 (Figure 4) all have a plum blossom image and the Korean monad printed on the stamps, and the words “Imperial Korean Post” in English on the stamps.

The first and only commemorative stamp issued by Korea from 1884 to 1905 was the 1902 Emperor’s Crown (Figure 5).

When this stamp was being designed, a French postal expert, J.V.E. Clemencet1, was advising the Korean government on its postal system and how the Universal Postal Union (UPU) operated, as Korea had just joined the UPU. As a result, the Western language used on the stamp is French, and “Posts de Coree” is used for the name of Korea on the stamp. The imperforated version of the stamp was reprinted by Japan in 1906 and used in presentation books.

The last stamp series issued by Korea before the Japanese occupation was the Falcon (Eagle) definitive set of 13 values (Figure 6).

As Clemencet was still advising the Korean government, he insisted that these stamps be printed in France. The Western language used on the stamps is again French and “Postes Imperiales de Coree” is printed on the stamps.

Japan occupied Korea from 1905 until the end of the WWII, and in addition to using Japanese stamps during that time for use in Korea, Japan issued “Offices in Korea” stamps that had overprints in red or black colors on 14 definitives (Figure 7) and one commemo-

Figure 4. The third series of regular postage stamps from Korea (Scott 18-33) was issued by the Korea Empire in 190001. Called the Plum Blossom series, values were 2 re, 1 to 50 cheun (ch) and 1 to 2 won (won). Scott 20B and 32 are shown.

Figure 5. In 1902 the Korean Empire issued Korea’s first commemorative stamp, a 3-cheun value showing the Emperor’s Crown (Scott 34), in imperforated form.

Figure 6. The last set of stamps issued by the Korean Empire was in 1903, the Falcon (Eagle) series (Scott 39-51). They were printed in France and the words “Postes Imperiales de Coree” appear on the stamps. Shown are Scott 39 and 49.

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Figure 7. These characters were printed in red and black on the definitive Japanese stamps, Japan Offices in Korea (Scott 1-14) and a commemorative (Scott 15). The Japan Offices in Korea stamps are overprints of regularly issued Japanese stamps (Scott 91-109) with red or black characters that were used in Korea during the Japanese occupation of Korea. Shown are Japan Offices in Korea Scott 8, 11 and 15.

Figure 8. Shown is Scott 1, the first 1946 North Korean stamp issued under Soviet occupation.

Figure 9. North Korea Scott 11; this is a reprint or imitation of the original issued between 1955-57. While postally valid, most were created for collectors. Reprints of Scott 11 are slightly smaller and known with multiple types of perforations.

Figure 10. North Korea Scott 33, issued July 10, 1950, marking the capture of Seoul.

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rative Japanese stamp. These stamps have the overprint 朝 鮮 (Chosun). The overprint is written in the Kanji language.

Kanji script is the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script, and is used in Japanese writing.

After the country’s liberation in 1945, the country was broken into North Korea and South Korea, as the Soviet Union and the United States agreed to “temporarily” divide the country between the 38th parallel with the Soviets administrating the North and the USA administrating the South. During the first few years, the North Korea postal administration was run by the Soviet Union and the South Korean postal system was administered with the help of the U.S. military. It is during this time that it is the most difficult to distinguish some North Korean stamps from South Korean stamps.

North Korea After WWII, the Soviet-occupied area north of the 38th parallel was quickly engineered to become a satellite of the USSR. The new administration was based on a network of regional People’s Committees. Land reform legislation quickly followed under a government composed mainly of Soviet Korean communists. Kim II-sung was installed as the Chairman of the Provisional People’s Committee for North Korea.

From Korea’s liberation in August 1945 until March 12, 1946, only Japanese stamps were available for use. North Korean stamps were introduced one day before the first of 165 mail exchanges with the South took place. Before this, no mail crossed the 38th Parallel and the only international postal route was via the USSR. With the advent of the NorthSouth exchanges, letters and postcards could be exchanged with Japan and the West (although the volume of such mail was never significant). The first two stamps issued were the 50-chon, (Scott 2), representing the minimum letter and postcard rate, and 20-chon (Figure 8). The latter was issued specifically to uprate remaining stocks of 3-sen Japanese postcards to the new postcard rate. Once these stocks had been exhausted, the 20-chon ceased to be of relevance to any postal rate and stamps of this value was never issued again.

Prior to the establishment of the DPRK, only a few stamps were issued, primarily to celebrate Liberation and anniversaries of significant legislation. One example is the Second Anniversary of the Labor Law issue of June 5, 1948 (Figure 9), which was the first to show the new name of the country.

One later innovation was the issue of a 6-won value in 1949 (Scott 16) prepaying a basic rate registered letter (5 won registry fee plus 1 won postage).

During the period of Soviet Union administration, stamps show the country’s name, Choson,2 written from right to left (표우선죠). The currency, chon, is written as 죠. Early North Korea stamps had no Western words.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) was established on September 19, 1948. Red Army troops were withdrawn from North Korea at the end of 1948, but Soviet administrators and ‘specialists’ remained for many years.

After the establishment of the DPRK, the country’s name is written left to right (조선우표). The currency, won, is written as 원. North Korean stamps did not have any English written on them until 1976, when some had English words and a combination of English “DPRK” and “Korea.” Never is “Korea” written in English alone.

The outbreak of the Korean War on June 25, 1950, Figure 11. Shown are the 1958 National ended North-South exchanges. The rapid invasion of Congress of Innovators commemorative, South Korean territory initially led to the issue of the right (Scott 152); and the 1976 Montreal Olympics commemorative (Scott 1469), Liberation of Seoul commemorative (Figure 10), for above. use in occupied territory only, and subsequent overprints on South Korean definitives and stationery. The reversal of the North Korean army’s fortunes in the last quarter of 1950 led to a halt in new issues. After the UN advance was pushed back, any stamps in the hands of the public were required to be validated before being accepted for postal use, due to the removal of stamp stocks by UN forces from damaged post offices. These validation marks are only listed as Scott 21c. Unfortunately, the illustration in the catalog is of a faked example! Other values, unlisted

by Scott, were similarly dealt with before use on mail. Postal rates were increased 10-fold in November 1951.

Beginning in 1958, many North Korea stamps have included an image of the Chollima, a mythical flying horse in some Asian cultures (Figure 11); the Chollima is now a symbol of North Korea, and wouldn’t be found on South Korea stamps. From the beginning, North Korea stamps are known to have many different propaganda scenes (Figure 12).

Figure 12. A 2015 North Korea propaganda stamp. The text at top reads: “6.25 - 7.27 together against the US struggle month.”

6.25 indicates June 25, the starting date of the Korean War; 7.27 is July 27; and “struggle months” are periods in which all North Koreans have to do something specifically to get something done, like working in the fields or creating buildings or roads in cities. Below, the text reads: “Sweep away the American imperialist intruders forever!”

South Korea After the surrender of the Japanese after WWII, General Douglas McArthur was placed in charge of overall administration of South Korea’s government from 1945-1948. The initial South Korean administration was composed of South Koreans, many of whom had worked for the Japanese and were considered Japanese collaborators. Initially, the U.S. also kept some Japanese officials as advisors and employed some in the police force. These appointments were very unpopular with many South Koreans, who looked upon the U.S. as “occupiers.” Syngman Rhee, who headed the Provisional Government of Korea in exile during Korea’s occupation by the Japanese from 1905-1945, came back to South Korea in late 1945 and was made the provisional leader of South Korea.

While strongly anti-communist, Rhee often clashed with the U.S. military administration of South Korea.

The period of American administration was characterized by various tensions: poverty, inflation, agitation by the Communist Party, strikes and riots, such as the Autumn Uprising. When the U.S. turned over the complete administration of the South Korea government in 1948, Rhee was elected the first president of the Republic of Korea (ROK).

The U.S. Armed Forces overprinted Japanese stamps for use in South Korea on February 1, 1946 (Figure 13). These

Figure 13. Six Japanese stamps were overprinted by the U.S. military in 1946 for use in South Korea (Scott 55-60). Shown are Scott 57 and 59.

Figure 14. The first official stamps of South Korea, a set of six commemorating the “Liberation from Japan” were issued by the U.S. Military Rule on May 1, 1946. Shown are Scott 62 and 66.

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six stamps do not have any English written on them, but have very similar overprints, with only the values changing. These overprinted Japanese stamps were in use for only a short time, as on May 1, 1946, the U.S. Armed Forces issued the first six stamps for South Korea, the “Liberation from Japan” commemoratives, values from 3-ch to 1-wn (Figure 14). Ironically, these first official stamps of South Korea were printed in Japan, but gummed and perforated in South Korea.

Most South Korean stamps (as well as North Korean stamps) were crudely produced from 1946 until well into the 1950s; there are many errors and perforations varieties of the early South Korean stamps. During the Korean War, many different South Korean stamps’ paper waste “escaped” from the printers and were sold to collectors; many are still available to collectors today.

From 1946 to June 1948, South Korea stamps identify the country name on the stamps (조선우표) written from left to right or top to bottom (as did North Korea). However, in contrast to North Korea stamps, the abbreviations for the currency are written in English just as was seen in earlier stamps from Chosun Dynasty (Figure 15).

As previously mentioned, in 1948, the U.S. military turned over the administration of South Korea to the Koreans. From May 10, 1948 to the present, South Korea has identified itself as the Republic of Korea (대한민국) (Figure 16). Since this date, most South Korean stamps show “Korea” and/or the value abbreviation written in English. After late 1953, all South Korean stamps show the Korean monad (Figure 17).

In 1957 South Korea started to issue souvenir sheets that were available to collectors and were very popular with collectors overseas in countries like the USA and the UK, a tradition that continues to this day (Figure 18).

Figure 15. The 1946 South Korea 50-ch definitive (Scott 69) and the 1946 South Korea 50-ch Korean alphabet commemorative (Scott 74).

In summary The following are key points to identify the different eras of Korea, North Korea and South Korea on their stamps.

Chosun Dynasty. Korean is written as Corean. Currency values (mun and poon) are written in English.

Korea Empire, 1900-1905. “Imperial Korean Post” is written in English. Currency values are written as re (2 re = 1 poon), ch (short for cheun) and Wn (won).

North Korea, 1946 to 1947. The country’s name is written from right to left (표우선죠) with currency, chon, written as 죠. No English is used until 1976.

North Korea, 1948 to present. The country’s name is written left to right (조선우표) with currency, won, written as 원. North Korea is written as DPRK on some of its stamps.

South Korea, 1946 to June 1948. South Korea stamps write the country name from left to right or top to bottom, ( 조선우표). Most early South Korea stamps also include “Korea” written in English. Currency is written in the English alphabet, excepting the first issues, which were overprints on Japanese stamps.

South Korea, July 1948 to present. The country name is written as Republic of Korea, Korea or 대한민국. Some currencies are written in English. All South Korean stamps after late 1953 depict the monad (and many depict it before that period) (Figure 19). This cannot be found on North Korean stamps.

Figure 16. Modern South Korean stamps (top left to right): the 1948 South Korea 10-won Olympics commemorative (Scott 86); the 1954 South Korea 10-won U.S.-Korea Mutual Defense Treaty stamp (Scott 206); and the 2019 South Korea strip of three Aviation commemoratives (Scott 2543).

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Acknowledgement: The authors would like to thank Ivo Spanjersberg for his contributions in producing most of the images for this article.

References Kerr, James W. Korean Kingdom and Empire Philatelic Catalog and Handbook, Second Edition (David Phillips, 1990).

Kim, Jae-Seung. The Facts of Korean Classic Stamps (Inje University Press, 1998).

Meiso, Mizuhara. Korean Postal History 1884-1905, English Version (Japan Philatelic Publications, 1998).

Figure 17. The Korea monad appears on most South Korea stamps. It is on all stamps after late 1953 to the present time.

Endnotes

1 Clemencet heavily influenced the design of these stamps, but likely did not directly design them himself. Meiso observes that the Falcon issue lacks many characteristics of Korean stamps: “Each value was printed in a different color. That was the way of producing colonial postage stamps for France around that time. The falcon symbolizing the sovereignty of the emperor is drawn in the central circle holding a baton (or a sword) and a globe. On the underside of each wing are four yin-yang (taegek smbols). The name of the nation is shown by Chinese characters in the upper panel, by hankul letters and French in the central circle. The face value is indicated by hankul in a small panel and by Arabic numerals in a circle at the bottom. The currency units are written as re, c (for cheon) and $ (for won). This was the first and last time for Korean postage stamps to use the “$” symbol. The background design make[s] much use of the plum which was the national flower of Imperial Korea.” Kerr observes that Korea had a coin set with the same falcon, struck by Yongsan Mint in 1901, called the “Russian Issue”: “Russian ascendancy in Korea at the turn of the century sugFigure 18. The first South Korean souvenir sheet made available to gest that the resemblance to the Russian Imperial eagle was more the general public in 1957, Scott 264a, shows Scott 263 and 264 than coincidence.” and celebrates the treaty of friendship between Korea and the U.S. 2 Is Korea Choson, Chosŏn, Chosen or Chosun? The appropriate orthography for the name of Korea in Romanized form has varied over time and is subject to contextual factors. The term "Chosun" emerged as a Romanized spelling of the name in the late 19th century. During the period of Japanese occupation, the Romanization "Chosen" was adopted for international use due to its proximity to the Japanese pronunciation of the term. Subsequently, in 1939, the McCune–Reischauer system introduced the spelling "Chosŏn," incorporating a diacritic mark on the second "o." This system was adopted as the official standard in South Korea until 2002, when a new romanization system was implemented by the South Korean government, resulting in "Joseon" as the preferred spelling. However, in North Korea, either "Chosun" or "Chosŏn" may be employed, following a distinct orthographic trajectory.

For Further LEARNING

Recommendations from the APRL research staff:

Seo, Gug Seong. Korea Revenue Stamps Catalog (Namdaegu, Daegu, Republic of Korea: The Collecting Club, 1996). [G7901 .R451 C797k]

Korea Stamp Corporation. Catalogue Korean Stamps (Pyongyang, D.P.R.K.: Korea Stamp Corporation, 1979). [G7905 .A1 C357]

Kerr, James W. Korean Kingdom and Empire Philatelic Catalog and Handbook (Miami, FL: David G. Phillips, 1990). [G7900 .K41k 1990]

Brady, Lynn R. Handbook of Philatelic Forgeries, Korean Empire (Seattle, WA: Conk-Singleton Co., 1962.).

[G7900 .K41k CLOSED STACKS 1]

Korea Stamp Corporation. Korean Stamp Catalogue, 1946-2006 (Pyongyang, DPR Korea: Korea Stamp Corporation, 2007). [G7905 .A1 C357 2007]

Many Graded Stamps from 80–100

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Korean War POW Mail 70 Years Since the Armistice TONY BARD

T

he Korean War provides opportunities to study the philately of 18 nations’ military mail (16 fighting with the United Nations Command against North Korea and China) plus the five medical units involved in the conflict. A number of the founders of the Korea Stamp Society were serving or had served in the conflict.

Within weeks of the outbreak of war on June 25, 1950, the International Red Cross tried to establish communications channels with prisoners or war in North Korea. Attempts to persuade the People’s Republic of China and the Soviet Union to use their influence on the North Koreans were unsuccessful. The North Koreans made no arrangements for mail to be sent by their captives, nor were formal preparations of any kind established to handle UN prisoners of war, until after the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army joined the conflict in October 1950.

a broadcast from China on January 20: Dear mother, just a few lines to let you know everything’s O.K. I’m held as prisoner of war. I’m being treated O.K. I like (sic) for you to send some candy and cookies soon as you can. Tell everyone I said hello. I hope to see you all soon. That is all for now, love always, Joseph.

Radio Peking announced on March 13, 1951, that the first “batch” of letters had been posted to the families of prisoners of war. Apart from the items referred to above, other mail reported from U.S. POWs in March consisted of bundles of letters stuffed into large envelopes (batches). It is

The first letters arrive in the U.S. On March 1, 1951 – more than eight months after the start of the conflict – the sudden arrival of the first letter from a POW (on February 27) appeared in the U.S. press. Two more were reported in March.

All three envelopes were described with “Prisoner of War Camp, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, c/o Committee of Chinese Congress of the Defenders of World Peace, Peking, China” the return address and bearing the statement “that the Committee would endeavour to forward one letter a month from next of kin.”

This information was actually contained in a cachet, and to date, only one example of this handstamp on a cover to the United States has been found (Figure 1). It was sent by Pfc. Joseph Szalakiewicz, prepaid 13,000 yuan in Chinese stamps (despite having the word “free” written on the address side) and canceled in Peking (Beijing) on February 14, 1951. Although the letter inside is not present, its text was included in 526 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

Figure 1. The only incoming POW cover to the United States recorded to date showing the Chinese “Return Address” cachet.

unknown how these arrived in the U.S. or who forwarded them to relatives of POWs. The practice soon stopped, as did incoming mail.

Peace talks began July 9, 1951, in the North Korean occupied border city of Kaesong. Two days later the first organized dispatch of mail from the U.S. to POWs took place, addressed to the Chinese People’s Committee. An example, sent on August 14, 1951, is shown (Figure 2) and was received on October 16 by POW First Lieutenant Millard J. Butler.

A few POW covers addressed to the U.S., backstamped Canton, are recorded in late June to early July 1951. Most were written in January or February of that year, but not mailed at the time. One example (Figure 3) is from Captain William “Moose” McClain, written on January 7, 1951, at Camp 2, but not received at Canton until July 14, 179 days later.

McClain was classed as a “reactionary” (he tried to escape several times), which may have resulted in his letter being delayed by the Chinese.

The envelope containing McClain’s letter shows both handstamps used on POW mail from late June 1951. The Chinese began using a red cachet reading “c/o The Chinese People’s Committee for World Peace and against American Aggression, Peking, China,” to circumvent prisoners’ refusal

to write the phrase “and against American Aggression” in the return address. Another handstamp reading “Service des prisonniers de guerre” (POW service) was used, and two sizes of this cachet are known. These two different handstamps were used until the end of December 1951.

POW mail exchanges begin at Panmunjom No agreement was reached at the initial peace negotiations in Kaesong. On October 25, 1951, the parties reconvened near the village of Panmunjom. At the end of the

Figure 2. A very early example of incoming mail, using the POW address first publicized in July 1951.

Figure 3. The Chinese handstamps used on the cover containing “Moose” McClain’s muchdelayed first letter home of January 16, 1951.

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morning session on December 24, 1951, North Korean General Lee Sang Jo surprised the UN side with an announcement: Here is a letter I want to deliver to you. This is a letter from Major General Dean to his family. I hope you will deliver it. We expect that your prisoners of war held by us will write letters to their families on the occasion of your big holiday and we will deliver the letters to you. If there are any letters written by our prisoners of war, please hand them over to us – the letters to their families.

Figure 4. Ambrose Nugent’s cover to the press at Panmunjom, showing all the POW mail related postal markings in use at the time, including the “inter-office” exchange in Yokohama between APO 100 and 7 BPO.

Figure 5. Nugent’s letter was reproduced in newspapers like the Long Beach Press Telegraph of March 28, the day of its receipt at APO 100.

528 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

This set in motion the first organized mail exchanges, commencing on December 27, and led to the establishment of APO 100. This address-only APO was established at 7 BPO in Yokohama, Japan, to accept mail to POWs from the U.S., replacing the previous advice that relatives send letters care of the Chinese People’s Committee for World Peace.

POW mail collected at Panmunjom was first sent to APO 72 at Munsan-ni, north of Seoul (it was later moved to APO 301 at Seoul). There it was sorted into destination by state and shipped to GHQ Security Division, POW Mail Unit, Tokyo for inspection. The letters were never censored, but they were read and copied to gain information about men still listed as “MIA” (missing in action), and to detect any successes of the Chinese indoctrination program in the camps.

After inspection, mail was sent to APO 100 and dispatched by 7 BPO to the U.S. All POW mail from North Korea now bore strikes of a circular Korean-language cachet reading ”Korea / Military Mail / People’s Army.” Two cancels were introduced at APO 100: a duplex used on POW mail addressed to the United States, and a large circular datestamp for mail received from the U.S. for exchange at Panmunjom.

One unusual example, with all of these postal markings, is from Captain Ambrose Nugent (Figure 4). It also shows the “FREE / VIA AIR MAIL / (P. L. 609)” applied by an Addressograph machine and in accordance with Public Law 609, which gave free postage to all U.S. forces operating in the Korean Theater. This mark was used until mid-May 1952.

The cover is also unusual because it was addressed to the press at Panmunjom. Nugent was trying to contact his wife, from whom he had not received any mail.

Nugent’s letter, written on February 17, 1952, worked. Its contents were syndicated to U.S. newspapers almost immediately on arrival on March 28 at APO 100 (Figure 5), and his wife was eventually located. Nugent, who was captured in early July 1950, was pressured into making propaganda broadcasts and signing anti-U.S. leaflets. In 1955, he was court martialled and charged with collabora-

tion, but he was cleared of the charges and promoted.

POW postal stationery In mid-1952, China issued the first of three lettersheets, all incorporating the Chinese peace symbol based on Picasso’s “Dove of Peace.”

The first, known as the “Large Dove,” appears to have been issued to POWs in late June 1952, and remained in circulation for six months. The example shown here (Figure 6) was sent from Camp 4 by Master Sergeant Roy T. Gordon to his wife in Washington state.

By mid-December, a new lettersheet appeared, this time with a smaller symbol known as the “Small Dove.” Shown (Figure 7) is a cover written on December 2, 1952,

by Pfc. Alexander Kreizer, who had escaped from Hungary after WWII and was not yet a U.S. citizen. He kept this from the Chinese, fearing that they might ship him back to Communist Hungary.

Major General William Dean, commanding the 24th Infantry Division, was captured in August 1950, and North Korea’s most prized POW. After the delivery of his letter to his wife at Panmunjom on Christmas Eve 1951, subsequent mail exchanges enabled him to write and receive mail regularly. Dean was kept in solitary confinement at different locations (many simply isolated houses) and was never provided with the Chinese-produced Dove letter sheets. Shown (Figure 8) is a U.S. 2-cent postcard sent by Dean, which may be the only example of U.S. postal stationery used abroad in North Korea. The Korean military cachet cancelling the indicium (Figure 9) is the second type to be used, this being a very early date (December 18, 1952).

The penultimate POW stationery item was a postcard (Figure 10) inscribed “P.O.W. / Mail” in place of an indicium, with the Picasso dove above a scroll reading “World Peace,” with Korean and Chinese translations underneath. This card exists in blue and green, but only the latter is known used. Five examples have been recorded, written between April 22 and May 2, 1953.

The final issue of POW stationery was another lettersheet (Figure 11), which incorporated a redrawn central dove motif

Figure 6. The Large Dove lettersheet sent from Camp 4.

Figure 7. A Small Dove lettersheet, sent by Pfc. Alexander Kreizer, a refugee Hungarian national. The red cachet is a contraction of Korean words meaning “prisoner mail censor.”

Figure 8. A 2-cent U.S. postcard from Major General Willian Dean at Camp 17.

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with “Peoples of the world unite / and demand PEACE!” on the reverse. It was sent by Corporal Hayanari Mizoguchi in Camp 5 to Los Angeles, via APO 100, clearing on June 27, 1953, one month before the Armistice agreement was signed. Unusually, it is canceled on arrival “Passed Free / D / U.S. Customs / Los Angeles Cal.” Only one example has been recorded to date.

On July 27, 1953, the firing stopped. The Armistice led to the release from North Korea of 12,760 UN and South Korean prisoners of war; 75,801 North Korean and Chinese POWs were freed by the UN.

Figure 9. The two types of North Korean People’s Army cachets used on POW mail. Type 1 (left) was used from February 1951 to midDecember 1952. Type 2 (right) was used from mid-December 1952 to May 1953.

Figure 10. One of the five recorded used POW postcards.

POWs held in China after the Armistice Rumors of POWs being transferred to prison camps in China were prevalent during the latter stages and aftermath of the Korean War. Outright confirmation of these transfers was never forthcoming, but suspicions remain, given the number of POWs who never passed through Freedom’s Gate at Panmunjom after the Armistice.

In 1954, the whereabouts of 22 American prisoners were revealed. These men had been captured from various planes shot down over North Korea or China. They were all tried and convicted of various espionage offenses, and released during 1955. Two, however, were members of a covert CIA mission to recover an agent that turned out to be a trap set by the Chinese. They were agents Richard Fecteau and John T. “Jack” Downey, who were captured on November 29, 1952, and held until 1971 and 1973, respectively.

Mail from these men started to reach their families in 1954 (Figure 12).

Early examples bear strikes of the “Service des prisonniers de guerre” cachet previously used in 1951, but this was replaced by December 1954 by a handstamp reading “Via / The Red Cross Society / Of China, Peking” struck in blue, and occasionally in red. Mail received after the POWs were released (Figure 13) was stamped “Retour” or endorsed “Expulsé” (Expelled) and returned to sender through the Chinese Red Cross Society.

The postal history of U.S. POWs in the Korean War only tells a very small part of the story.

More POWs died in captivity in Korea than in any previous conflict. In the first year of the war, prisoners were routinely kept on starvation rations, deprived of warm clothing and adequate bedding or hygiene facilities, and medical care was at best primitive or non-existent. Naturally, nothing remotely sounding like a complaint about their treatment could ever find its way into a POW’s letter home if they wanted the letter to have any chance of reaching their loved ones.

It appears that the handling of all mail to and from POWs was the same in all camps. All let-

Figure 11. The only recorded example of the third POW lettersheet produced by the Chinese.

530 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

ters were censored by the Chinese before being considered suitable for possible mailing. Incoming mail was similarly inspected and delayed at will from reaching the addressees.

In general, “progressive” prisoners (those who either actively or proactively engaged with their captors’ process of indoctrination) were more likely to receive mail. “Reactionaries,” who resisted the attempts to convert them to Communism, or who actively disrupted self-criticism or anti-American propaganda meetings, were liable to corporal punishment and the withdrawal of mail privileges.

What these postal items do represent is hope, in that this was the only way the POWs could keep up some kind of contact with their families. Incoming letters were the equivalent of treasure to these prisoners.

Figure 12. A 1955 cover from CIA agent Richard Fecteau to his twin daughters. He had last seen them when they were 2 years old. They would be 22 before he saw them again.

References This article is based primarily on items in the author’s collection, together with information sourced from archives in Washington DC, San Diego CA, Seoul, South Korea and elsewhere. The few published sources which provide more than a general survey of Korean War POW mail are as follows: Army Security Centre (1954). US Prisoners of War in the Korean Operation, A Study of their Treatment and Handling by the North Korean Army and the Chinese Communist Forces, Fort George G. Meade, MD, pp472–510.

Toop, E. R. (1994). “Prisoner of War Mail: The Korean War 1950–1953”, The Canadian Philatelist, Vol. 45.

No. 6, Whole No. 265, [November-December], pp437–454.

Li-qun, Dai (2000). 'Story of the P.O.W. Mails in the Korean War', China Postal History, 12, pp8–9. In Chinese.

Collins, Bob (2017). ‘Bob Collins’ Korean War Postal History Exhibit’, militaryphs.org/exhibits/korea/ (See frames 7 and 8.). Accessed 7 June 2020.

Figure 13. A cover addressed to Lt. Roland Parks via the Chinese Red Cross Society. It arrived a few days after Parks was expelled to Hong Kong, and was returned to sender with a label stating that the addressee had been deported.

T

he Author

Based in the United Kingdom, Tony Bard is vice president of the Korea Stamp Society, and editor of its journal, Korean Philately. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society London and has edited The London Philatelist since January 2020. In 2015 he won the Society’s Tapling Medal for the best article published in the journal for his study of North Korean wartime philately, the first on this subject to appear in that publication. Recently, Tony was appointed chair of the Sussex Postal History Society and has also become editor of the Scandinavian Collectors Club’s magazine, The Posthorn. He has exhibited nationally and internationally over the years, winning Golds for his exhibits of Jammu & Kashmir postal history in the distant past! He would be delighted to hear from any collectors who might have more information on all aspects of Korean War postal history and can be contacted at editor.koreanphilately@gmail.com.

JUNE 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 531

The Non-denominated Domestic Air Letter Sheets of China (1948-1956) An Experiment, a Political Statement, and an Unintended Gift HUGH LAWRENCE

T

he late 1940s and early 1950s were tumultuous times in China. From the end of World War II1 in September 1945, China was experiencing an intensifying inflation that, by late 1948, had transformed into a hyperinflation. The civil war between the Nationalists under Chiang Kai-shek and the Communists under Mao Tse-tung resumed in early 1946 when the “United Front” between the two dissolved as the threat from the Japanese ended. By early 1949, Communist forces were soon to capture Tianjin and Peiping in the north and, by late April and late May 1949, respectively, both Nanking, the Nationalist capital, and Shanghai, China’s economic center, had come under Communist control. By this time, the Nationalist evacuation to Taiwan had begun. Even after The People’s Republic of China (PRC) was established on October 1, 1949, the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan maintained,

Map 1

532 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

and continued to maintain for many years, that it was and continued to be the sole legitimate government of all of China.

In the midst of this turmoil, the first of a small group of nondenominated domestic air letter sheets was released by the Directorate General of Posts (DGP) of the ROC in August 1948.2 In an effort to stem the post-World War II inflation, the Nationalist government opted to phase out the Chinese National Currency (CNC) then in use and replace it with a new Gold Yuan Currency (GY) at an exchange rate of CNC $3,000,000 to GY $1.00. However, because the Nationalist government failed to back the new currency with precious metal or foreign currency, it was doomed from the outset.

Figure 1. The first print sheet (front), and a close-up of indicia.

The experiment While victory in World War II was almost three years in the past, Nationalist forces under Chiang Kai-shek and Communist forces under Mao Tse-tung were still actively engaged in the Third Civil War (Map 1).3 Over these three years, inflation had increased massively. For example, at the end of WWII, a 20 gram domestic airmail letter was Chinese National Currency (CNC) $26. By July 21, 1948, the cost was $85,000, an increase of not quite 327,000 percent.

As part of the anti-inflationary effort, the Directorate General of Posts of the ROC, on August 1, 1948, issued a non-denominated domestic air letter sheet (Figures 1) as an experiment.

Once purchased at the then-current price, the sheet could be used without payment of additional postage through July 31, 1949, regardless of subsequent increases in postage rates for a domestic airmail letter. This was intended as a convenience and benefit for the DGP’s patrons.

Although it was non-denominated, the sheet was certainly not without cost. At its inception, the charge for the sheet was CNC $120,000 which included 15,000 domestic postage, 70,000 domestic airmail surcharge, and 35,000 for the cost of the stationery. On April 27, 1949, the last day of the domestic Gold Yuan rate,4 the charge for the sheet was GY $5,000, including a domestic surface rate of 1,500, an air surcharge of 3,000, and a 500 cost for stationery. Considering the CNC $3,000,000 to GY $1.00 exchange rate, the equivalent cost would have been CNC $15,000,000,000. When domestic Silver Yuan Currency (SY) rates were introduced on April 28, the GY to SY exchange rate started at GY $1,000,000 to SY $1.00 and, within a month, rose to GY $30,000,000 to SY $1.00 and more. By July 31, 1949, the last day a previously purchased sheet could be used without additional payment under the initial rules, the cost of SY 15¢ would have been at least GY $4,500,000. The CNC equivalent would have been in the quintillions.5 The DGP made clear that this domestic air letter sheet was experimental by initially authorizing only the Shanghai and Nanking post offices to distribute these sheets and by limiting patrons to only 10 sheets at any given time. The first line of text in the indicia reads “Chinese Postal Administration,” the next line below the indicia reads “Air Letter Sheet,” and the bottom line reads “Domestic Air Postage Paid.” The etiquette to the right reads “Air Mail” in Chinese and French.

The text on the reverse (Figure 2) lays out the conditions applicable to the sheet. The single row at the top of the reverse reads “If anything is included in this air letter sheet, it will be sent by water or land routes.” This is particularly interesting because the charge for the sheet is based on the charge for an ordinary airmail letter not to exceed 20 grams, which would have permitted enclosures. The three lines of text at the bottom of the reverse read “The sales price and duration of sale of these letter sheets shall be in accordance with postal regulations,” “Within one year of issuance, no additional postage will be collected even if postal rates rise,” and “(Imitation not permitted).”

Figure 2. The first print sheet (reverse). Close-up of top line of text; Close-up of bottom three lines of text.

Figure 3. April 30, 1949, air letter sheet from Shanghai to Hong Kong.

JUNE 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 533

Table 1. Domestic Air Letter Sheet Rates from August 1, 1948, through late 1949.

DATE

8/1/48

8/9/48

11/7/48

12/15/48

1/3/49

1/17/49

2/4/49

2/7/49

2/18/49

RATE

CNC 120K

150K

150K

2.00

3.50

6.00

12.00

15.00

60.00

DATE

2/21/49

3/3/49

3/11/49

3/18/49

4/1/49

4/3/49

4/17/49

4/28/49

7/27/49

RATE

80.00

125.00

150.00

250.00

300.00

700.00

5,000.00

SY 0.10

0.15

The experimental phase of the non-denominated domestic air letter sheets ended on January 1, 1949, when the DGP concluded that the experiment was a success. At this time the DGP authorized distribution of the sheets throughout all areas of mainland China then under Nationalist control. A summary of the rates charged for these sheets from their inception through the latter part of 1949 when Nationalist airmail service on the mainland became unavailable is shown in Table 1.

Figure 3 shows a domestic air letter sheet sent from Shanghai to Hong Kong on April 30, 1949. The rate for air letter sheets was then SY 10 cents, the charge for domestic mail and the airmail Figure 4. Close-up of overprint. surcharge being SY 4 cents and SY 6 cents, respectively. It is also worthy of note that while the DGP operated on the mainland, mail to Hong Kong (as well as Macau) was assessed domestic rates for the basic surface mail charge and the airmail surcharge, while charges for ancillary services such as registration and express were assessed at international rates.

With the expansion of the use of non-denominated domestic air letter sheets, it became necessary to create a sheet for use in Taiwan Province.

Taiwan had been under Japanese control from 1895 through fall 1945.

During the post-war period, it used a different currency than those used on the mainland, the Taiwan Dollar (TD)6 and, starting in mid-1949, the New Taiwan Dollar (NT).7 Accordingly, the DGP authorized the handoverprinting of a portion of the extant sheets with characters reading “Restricted for sale and use in Taiwan” (Figure 4). There appears to be no record of the number of original sheets printed and, similarly, no record of the number of sheets that were overprinted for Taiwan. Double strikes of the hand-overprint are known (Figures 5) but the number is unclear.

They appear to be quite rare.

The Taiwan domestic air letter sheet rates are as shown in Table 2.8 Following the Nationalist retreat to Taiwan in late 1949 and early 1950, Nationalist forces retained footholds on several islands near the mainland (see Map 2). These included the Chusan Islands, Matsu and Quemoy, and Hainan lying southwest of Hong Kong. Hainan was lost to the Communists on May 1, 1950. The Chusan Islands fell to Communist forces on May 17, 1950, owing primarily to Nationalist logistical problems resulting from their distance from Taiwan.

Map 2

Table 2. Taiwan Domestic Air Letter Sheet Rates from February 8, 1949, through the late 1950s DATE

2/8/49

2/19/49

4/3/49

4/17/49

4/28/49

RATE

TD 1,000

1,500

1,800

3,500

5,600

DATE

6/15/49

7/15/49

8/27/49

RATE

NT 0.23

0.25

0.50

534 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

10/22/49 12/27/49 0.60

0.70

5/6/50 1.00

Figure 5. Double overprint with close up.

Figure 6. March 29, 1950, air letter sheet from Taipei to Tinghai.

The sheet shown in Figure 6 was sent by a well-known Taipei stamp dealer, Wang Chien, from Taipei to Tinghai, the capital of the Chusan Islands, on March 29, 1950. The rate for air letter sheets was then NT 70 cents. As most of the population of the islands were actively engaged military personnel, correspondence to or from the islands is scarce.

Figure 7 shows a domestic air letter sheet sent from Taipei to Hong Kong on April 3, 1951. Although the rate for air letter sheets was then NT $1.00, the ROC on Taiwan no longer considered Hong Kong to be domestic. As a result, it became necessary to affix additional postage in the amount of NT $2.50 (which includes 10¢ affixed on the reverse) to cover the extra $1.00 needed to pay for an international air letter sheet and the $1.50 cost for international registration. The purple cancel is a commemorative cancel for a 1951 “Free China” art exhibition in Taipei; the four large characters in the cancel read (from right to left) “Oppose Communism, Resist Russia.”

Matsu and Quemoy remain under Nationalist control to this day. In the 1950s, they were of strategic importance as they blocked egress from Foochow and Amoy, respectively, the two most likely cities from which it was thought Communist forces might launch an attack on Taiwan.

Given the success of the first print domestic air letter sheet, the DGP in late April 1949 contracted for the preparation of a second print sheet (Figure 8). This second print sheet is similar to the first print sheet with the exceptions that (i) the background lines on the second print sheet are diagonal and

Figure 7. April 3, 1951, air letter sheet from Taipei to Hong Kong.

Figure 8. The second print sheet – front.

JUNE 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 535

straight rather than wavy and horizontal (Figure 9); and (ii) the top line of text on the reverse of the first print sheet has been moved to the bottom of the front of the second print sheet.

The second print sheets were warehoused in Shanghai, which proved unfortunate. On May 27, 1949, Shanghai was taken by Communist forces and the Communists thereupon seized almost all of the second print sheets. It was not until 1984, 35 years after the second print sheets were prepared, that one mint and one used copy (mailed on May 6, 1949, from Shanghai to Hong Kong) were reported. 9 No other fully intact copies, either mint or used, have since been reported.

Most of the seized copies were shortened, hole-punched, and/or printed on the inside for use as inventory forms, receipts, and the like, or were overprinted to obliterate all indicia and text and then used as unfranked postal stationery.

The second print sheet shown in Figure 8 is unusual in that although it was printed on the inside as shown in Figure 10, it is otherwise intact.

The political statement

Figure 9. Close-ups of background design.

After the Nationalist retreat to Taiwan, postal matters may not have been the Nationalists’ highest priority. They already had the Taiwan provincial stamps and, over the ensuing year and a half, issued two sets of surcharges of Nationalist stamps issued on the mainland (Scott 1007-11, 1037-41) and two new sets of stamps (Scott 1012-24, 1025-36). None of these, it should be noted, bore any indication that their use was restricted to Taiwan (Figure 11).

It was not until May 1951 that the Taiwan District Head Office contracted with the Hoping Printing Factory in Taipei to prepare two new non-denominated domestic air letter sheets, one a sheet “[f]or sale and use in the Taiwan Postal District” (Figure 12) and one not so restricted (Figure 13).

Figure 11. One example from each of the listed sets. Clockwise from top left, Scott 1007 block of four; Scott 1024; Scott 1035; and Scott 1037.

Figure 10. Form printed on inside of Figure 8 second print sheet.

536 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

Except for the bottom line of text below the indicia on the front (the restricting text), both sheets were similar. Both were also quite similar to the first print sheet except that what had been the second line of text below the indicia on the first print (“Domestic Air Postage Paid”) became the second line of text in the indicia. In addition, the second line of text at the bottom of the reverse (“[w]ithin one year of issuance, no additional postage will be collected even if postal rates rise”) was deleted. It no longer applied.

The 10,100 sheets restricted to Taiwan and a much smaller, but unknown, number of the unrestricted sheets were issued on May 31, 1951. Currently, only between 10 to 15 mint copies of the unrestricted sheets are estimated to exist. Specimens of both Hoping sheets are known (Figures 14 and 15) and the Hoping sheets appear to be the only sheets known with “Specimen” overprints.10 Specimens of the restricted sheet are scarce; as for specimens of the unrestricted sheet only the copy in the Chunghua [China] Postal Museum in Taipei and the copy in the author’s collection shown below are known.

The restricted sheet was distributed among the post offices in Taiwan while the unrestricted sheet was originally distributed to the offshore islands then under Nationalist control. The used copy of the restricted sheet shown in Figure 16 was almost certainly not sent by airmail as the distance between Keelung and Taipei is only 24 km. The used copy of the unrestricted sheet (Figure 17) was mailed after remainders of the sheets had been returned from the offshore islands on May 15, 1953, and authorized for use from Taiwan. Only around five used copies of the unrestricted sheets are known, none from the offshore islands.

This leads to an important question. Why was it necessary to restrict one of the Hoping sheets “[f]or sale and use in the Taiwan Postal District[?]” It is certainly not the reason the overprinted first print sheet was so restricted. At that time the currencies used on the mainland and in Taiwan were different. By 1953, however, Chinese National Currency, Gold Yuan and Silver Yuan were not the currencies in use anywhere in Taiwan, the offshore islands controlled by Taiwan, or for that matter the PRC. In fact, unless some form of military scrip was being used on the offshore islands, the only currency that would have been in circulation on these islands would have been New Taiwan Dollars.

In the 1950s, especially, and into the 1960s and 1970s, the ROC on Taiwan maintained that it was the sole rightful government of all of China. Its legislature, known as the Legislative Yuan, seated legislators ostensibly representing not only Taiwan but also every province on the mainland. A frequently seen and often heard slogan on Taiwan was “Kuangfu Talu” – “Return Light to the Mainland.”

Figure 12. Hoping print – restricted.

Figure 13. Hoping print – not restricted.

Figure 14. Specimen of restricted sheet.

JUNE 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 537

By 1953, Quemoy and Matsu, physically located within the boundaries of Fukien Province, as well as the Tachen Islands and the Ichiangshan Islands, both physically located within the boundaries of Chekiang Province but later lost to Communist forces, constituted the only portions of the Chinese “mainland” then under the control of the ROC on Taiwan. Therefore, at the least, the phrase “[f]or sale and use in the Taiwan Postal District” could be considered an affirmation that there were portions of the ROC on Taiwan that were not physically located within Taiwan Province.

It could also be argued, given the small number of the unrestricted sheets that were issued, that these sheets were truly just for the offshore islands. This is somewhat belied, however, by the fact that these sheets were no more or less restricted than any other ROC on Taiwan postage stamps and postal stationery (other than the restricted sheets).

A third possibility is that the sheets as a group, both restricted and unrestricted, constituted a somewhat subtle statement by the ROC on Taiwan that it was and continued to be the sole legitimate government of all of China. That claim had been made both verbally and in writing and, although the ROC had been driven from the mainland, it still had substantial support from the western powers, especially the United States. The U.S. 7th Fleet was then in the Taiwan Strait in large part to dissuade the PRC from invading Taiwan,11 the ROC still held the Chinese seat in the United Nations and was a permanent member of the Security Council,12 and the enmity between Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Tse-tung was and continued to be extreme.

The last of the ROC on Taiwan’s non-denominated domestic air letter sheets was printed by the Central Engraving & Printing Works (CEPW) and was issued on February 25, 1952, a release of 20,000 sheets (Figure 18). These sheets, also restricted for use in Taiwan, were similar to the Hoping print sheets except the indicia is somewhat smaller and the

Figure 15. Specimen of unrestricted sheet.

538 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

line of text at the top of the reverse measures 67.5 mm rather than 71.5 mm as on the Hoping sheets.

The used copy of the CEPW sheet shown in Figure 19 was mailed on May 20, 1953, from Taipei to Quemoy, also by the stamp dealer, Wang Chien. Domestic air letter sheets sent to the offshore islands are relatively uncommon. The CEPW sheet shown in Figure 20 is a little more complicated.

Because Hong Kong was no longer considered “domestic,” the added NT 40 cent stamp would have increased the NT $1.00 franking value of the sheet to NT $1.40, then the surface rate from Taiwan to Hong Kong. It is unlikely that this sheet was carried by air.

Between 1954 and 1956, the ROC on Taiwan issued several additional domestic air letter sheets. These sheets, however, were all denominated NT $1.00 and none were restricted for sale and use in Taiwan. When a Prompt Delivery service was instituted in Taiwan in 1956, the use of domestic air letter sheets was discontinued.

The unintended gift As noted above, almost the entire production of second print non-denominated air letter sheets was seized by Communist forces when they captured Shanghai in late May 1949. The second print sheets, however, were not the only sheets to which the Communists had access. Beginning in January 1949, the DGP had distributed a substantial number of first print sheets throughout those areas of the mainland then under Nationalist control. By late May, however, the Nationalists had lost most of China north of the Yangtze. Some of the post offices in these areas still had stocks of the first print sheets and some of these were simply appropriated for use as letter writing paper. Figure 21 shows a very early Communist use of a first print sheet sent as an April 19, 1949, surface rate letter from Peiping (which fell

Figure 16. February 5, 1952, air letter sheet from Keelung to Taipei.

to Communist forces on January 31, 1949) to Chelsea, Massachusetts. The People’s Currency (RMB) $18 franking was the then-current rate for an international surface rate letter. There may not yet have been any Communist regulations regarding these letter sheets, as the ROC indicia is neither covered nor obliterated.

Figure 22 shows a much later first print use, this time on a March 25, 1951, international surface rate letter from Huach’i, Kweichow, to Angeles, Pennsylvania. The then-current international surface rate had increased to RMB $2,500 and the ROC indicia was now covered, although it is not certain if this was or was not required by regulation.

Regarding the second print sheets, aside from those used as accounting forms and the like, a significant number were overprinted by the PRC to obliterate all text that appeared on the sheets. As shown in Figure 23, wavy lines covered all of the text and four large characters reading (from top to bottom, left to right) “Place to put stamp” were printed over the indicia.

These sheets were intended by the PRC to be used as postal stationery but, as shown by the Figure 24 cover, were no longer necessarily airmail stationery. In addition, despite the letter sheet format, use of these sheets did not offer any discount on standard postage rates. The Figure 24 cover was mailed on April 8, 1955, from Chiui, Hunan, to the Tungyang County Court. The RMB $800 franking paid the then-current domestic ordinary mail rate.

Figure 17. December 18, 1953, air letter sheet from Kangtung to Taipei.

Figure 18. CEPW sheet – restricted.

Figure 19. May 20, 1953, air letter sheet from Taipei to Quemoy.

Figure 20. January 2, 1952 [sic: 1953], air letter sheet from Taipei to Hong Kong.

JUNE 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 539

About the China Stamp Society

F

BY CSS PRESIDENT JIM MAXWELL

ounded in 1936, the China Stamp Society was formed to promote interest in Chinese philately, including Hong Kong, Macau, Manchukuo, Tibet, Shanghai and the Treaty Ports, Foreign Offices in China and the Japanese Occupation of China. It is the largest English-speaking Chinese philatelic organization in the world and the oldest affiliate of the American Philatelic Society. The Society is now celebrating its 87th anniversary.

Among its many activities, the Society underwrites philatelic research projects, publishes philatelic books, puts on seminars at major stamp shows, and scans out-of-print philatelic publications to offer to collectors on DVDs and eBooks. Annual membership is $21 for U.S. residents, $24 for Canadian residents, and $27 for all others.

The CSS has two international chapters; one in Taipei Taiwan and one in Qingdao, China. Its U.S. chapters are in Los Angeles, CA (Chia Nan Chapter), San Jose, CA (Jiu Jin Shan Chapter), and Seattle, WA (Chang Qing LongChapter).

Since 2012 the CSS has published the China Stamp Society Specialized Catalog of China to 1949. The current edition was published in 2021. The catalog covers the issues of Imperial China, the Republic of China and it provinces through 1949, the Japanese Occupation of China, and special sections on the Official Postal Seals of that period and the Chinese postal savings stamps.

The China Clipper is the bi-monthly magazine of the CSS. It has been published continuously since 1936 and features articles of interest to collectors of all areas of Chinese philately. With each issue spanning 40 pages, it provides research articles on Chinese philately, news about the Society, new issue listings and many other items of interest.

CSS sponsors various literature awards, including: The Ellery Dennison Philatelic Literature Award for significant contributions to philatelic literature on Chi-

nese philately.

The Paul Ke-shing Chang Postal History Research Award to recognize those that have made a significant contribution to the study of the postal history of China, including rates, cancellations, postal markings and routing of mail, both domestic and foreign.

The James B. Whang Philatelic Research Award for original philatelic research over a period of time that is on such a level that it adds significantly to the knowledge of an area of Chinese philately.

The College Scholarship Program is for young collectors, sixteen to twenty-one years of age, to encourage their philatelic writing. The Society will award a $1,000 college scholarship, in the form of paid college fees, textbooks, etc., to any member who writes an article of three or more pages in length, excluding illustrations, that is accepted for publication in the China Clipper.

The CSS offers a translation service for Chinese characters and postmarks on stamps or covers.

The CSS web site, www.ChinaStampSociety.org, contains a free periodical database to find articles for various publications; free printable album pages for various eras of Chinese philately; a gallery of stamp forgeries; downloadable Chinese exhibits; aids to those interested in learning how to exhibit; articles of Chinese philately; numerous rate tables; maps; and sales of print books, magazines, periodicals, and out-of-print stamp and auction catalogs.

CSS also has an online store, Stamp & Cover Sales, with over 8,000 items for sale and semi-annual auctions are held every May and November. The auctions run for the entire month and contain a wide variety of material with something for every level of collector.

Each year the China Stamp Society hosts our annual meeting of members and the annual meeting of directors.

It is a great opportunity to learn about the CSS and how we are contributing to the study of Chinese philately. Our next Annual Meeting of members will be held at the Great American Stamp Show, August 10-13, 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio. We welcome anyone to attend.

540 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

It also turns out that the PRC had access to an additional number of first print sheets in a quantity sufficient to warrant overprinting. It was, however, only in 2019, 71 years after the first print sheet was issued, that the author discovered the PRC obliteration on the first print sheet shown in Figure 25. To date it is the only reported sheet. No used copies are known.

Conclusion An experiment, a political statement, an unintended gift, and a window into one of the world’s political and military hot spots, then and now. Not bad for an unprepossessing group of domestic air letter sheets issued some 70 years ago.

Figure 21. April 19, 1949, Communist use of first print letter sheet from Peiping to Chelsea, Massachusetts.

Figure 22. March 25, 1951, Communist use of first print letter sheet from Huach’i, Kweichow, to Angel, Pennsylvania.

Figure 23. Obliterated second print sheet, front and below, an excerpt of the obliterated reverse.

Figure 24.

April 8, 1955, ordinary mail letter sheet from Chiui, Hunan, to Tungyang County Court.

JUNE 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 541

Bibliography Alexander, Donald R. Postal Stationery of Taiwan, Republic of China (Bettendorf, IA: The China Stamp Society, Inc., 1993): 166-70.

Elleman, Bruce A., “Taiwan’s Offshore Islands, Pathway or Barrier?” Newport Papers (2019): 44. https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/usnwc-newportpapers/44 Fladung, Edward G., ed. Priced Catalogue of Postal Stationery of the World.

Section 3, Cameroons to Czechoslovakia. 2nd ed. (Pasadena, CA: Higgins & Gage, Incorporated, 1974) China Section: 14.

Han Ho-Yun. Han’s Illustrated Catalogue of Imperial & Republic of China Postal Stationery (English Version). 2nd ed. (Taipei: Wan Lin Philatelic Research Club, 1984): 265-69.

Han Ho-Yun. Chungkuo Pien Feng Chien Mulu (“Catalogue of Postal Stationery”). 3rd ed. (Taibei: Wanlin Yuhsueh Yenchiushe, 1985): 261-66.

Kessler, F. W., ed. Catalogue of Aerograms. Volume I. (New York: Aerogram Catalogue Publishing Co., Inc., 1961) China Section: 1-3.

Sieh Pingwen, and Blackburn, J. Lewis. Postage Rates of China 1867-1980 (Taipei: Directorate General of Posts, 1981): 28.

T

he Author

Hugh Lawrence began collecting Chinese stamps in the mid-1970s as an avocational way to maintain a longheld interest in Chinese history and language. Since the late 1980s he has shown Chinese material from the period of World War II and the subsequent Chinese Civil War at APS World Series shows. His exhibits have won gold/ large gold awards. He served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the American Philatelic Research Library from 2016-2022.

Endnotes 1 Referred to as the “War of Resistance against Japan” by the Chinese.

2 These sheets are separate and distinct from the formular international aerograms that were issued earlier in 1948 that provided discounted rates for international air mail but were unfranked.

3 The “First” was the 1911 Revolution that overthrew the Qing dynasty; the “Second,” the war between the Nationalists and the Communists in the late 1920s and early 1930s that paused following the Japanese invasion of China.

4 The last day of the international GY rate was April 28, 1949.

5 In order not to stoke fears of a return of this late 1940’s inflation, it was not until the mid-1970s that the ROC on Taiwan issued currency with a face value of New Taiwan Dollars (NT) greater than NT $100 (then equivalent to U. S. $2.50).

6 A similar situation existed in the Northeast but most of the Northeast was under Communist control by January 1, 1949, and both Tianjin and Peiping were to fall to the Communists within the month.

7 The exchange rate between TD and NT was TD $40,000 to NT $1.00.

8 The NT $1.00 domestic air letter sheet rate that came into effect on May 6, 1950, did not again change through the ultimate phase-out of domestic air letter sheets in the late 1950’s.

9 It is likely that these two sheets were acquired by a postal official as there is no evidence that the second print sheets were ever officially issued or released.

10 Although the Kessler catalog lists specimens for all three domestic air letter sheets printed on Taiwan, only specimens of the two sheets printed by the Hoping Printing Company have otherwise been reported in the literature.

11 And possibly to dissuade Taiwan from invading the PRC. 12 Through 1971 when the seat was transferred to the PRC and the ROC on Taiwan was expelled.

For Further LEARNING

Recommendations from the APRL research staff: Anon. “Argentine Lettersheets and Greeting Cards 19001902,” Nature's Wonders, March 1996 McNamee, David. “Australian Pictorial Lettersheets,” Informer, September 2001.

Philip P. Edwards. “The First Lettersheet of Japan,” Postal Stationery, January-February 1977.

542 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

Figure 25. Obliterated first print sheet, front, and close-up excerpts of reverse.

O'Keefe, Donna. “Sardinia's Scarce Cavallini Lettersheets,” Linn's Stamp News, December 14, 1987.

Choy, A. “U.S. Army Lettersheet Used in Korea,” The American Philatelist, November 1985.

Lara, Robert E. “Venetian Letter Sheets Lasted 189 Years,” Linn's Stamp News, February 11, 1991.

Perry, Thomas D. “Why Collect Stamped Envelopes?: Lettersheet Envelopes,” Stamp & Cover Collecting, January 1936.

us

o

In k Spo t

ri

h T

a se C e

of th e

u

C

And, Solving the Printing Date Sequence of the 1894 Fresno and San Francisco Bicycle Mail Route Stamp NOEL L. VAUGHN

Introduction

D

uring the summer of 1894 a boycott of Pullman railcars resulting from an American Railway Union strike seriously disrupted the Illinois Central and those rail lines west of Chicago and into California. The strike paralyzed rail traffic along the lines of the Southern Pacific in California and significantly interrupted mail delivery services between Fresno and San Francisco. A local Fresno businessman, bicycle shop owner and enthusiast, Arthur C. Banta, conceived and operated an emergency bicycle relay postal service. The service route ran 210 miles and was comprised of eight relay segments over the mountainous terrain between Fresno and San Francisco (Figure 1). The post operated only 12 days beginning July 7, 1894, and was discontinued on July 18, 1894. Approximately 380 covers were carried during the post’s short-lived operation.

Eugene Donze, an engraver, Fresno businessman and my great grandfather, engraved a copper die and had stamps and postal stationery printed for Banta for his use in the post. Eugene Donze’s contributions to Banta’s enterprise were limited to only stamps and printed envelopes.

He was not involved with the daily operation of the post.

Printing services were provided by O.J. Treat of the Commercial Printing Company in Fresno.

The post and its operation are not the subject of this article. Rather, it is the presentation of my study and research of the stamps printed for the post and specifically into a curious feature, an unusual ink spot, found on some stamps printed and used for the postal services provided.

The history of the stamp itself includes an engrav-

ing error made by Donze, spelling San Francisco as San Fransisco on the original die (Die I). This error was present on the first 816 stamps printed on July 7, 1894 (Figure 2).

Some of the stamps with the spelling error were actually used on a few of the first covers carried over the post. Upon discovering his error, Donze immediately reworked the die (Die I-R), correcting the spelling error and retouching the die with some additional changes1 (Figure 3). A second printing of 1,000 stamps and some printed envelopes was then performed on July 9, 10, and 11, using the reworked

Figure 1. The Fresno and San Francisco Bicycle Mail Route of 1894. Source – Bicycle Mail Collection of Earl A. Donze.

JUNE 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 543

S changed to C Curious spot location

Donze initials added

Rocks added Dash removed

Circle removed Figure 2. July 7, 1894, printing from original die (Die I). Note incorrect spelling of San Francisco. A circle spot and dash line under the word “STRIKE” at the bottom corner are also highlighted. Source – Vaughn Collection.

die. And finally, on or after July 16 a third printing produced an additional (estimated) 2,000 stamps.

The original story in 1894 deepened with the discovery of a second engraved “mystery” die (Die II) which was used to print only a few postal stationery items. This was followed by the intrigue surrounding a third “counterfeit” die (Die III) and its deceptive destruction. And finally the physical, certified, witnessed and notarized destruction by Donze of the original engraved die (Die I-R) itself.

However, in the past 40-plus years since the publication of Lowell B. Cooper’s 1982 book, The Fresno and San Francisco Bicycle Mail of 1894, no new research has been presented about the stamp itself. This article will reveal, I believe for the first time ever, the existence of a curious and repetitive feature that was printed on some stamp images. The feature is a small round ink spot visible with the unaided eye.

Evidence presented in this article suggests that the spot occurred during the second printing of stamps which was done on July 9, 10 and 11. Also presented are examples of the ink spot seen on stamps and postal materials from other collectors. The significance of my findings establishes a challenge to the previously published date-sequence of stamps printed 129 years ago for the Fresno and San Francisco Bicycle Post.

544 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

Figure 3. Printing from re-worked die (Die I-R). Changes made are highlighted in black. Location of curious spot is highlighted in red.

Source – Vaughn Collection.

1

2

3

62.5mm

4

5

6

Figure 4. Full sheet of six stamps printed July 9, 10 and 11 from the original – corrected die (Die 1-R). Relative stamp position numbers have been added and ink spots are highlighted within the red circles. Sheet is rouletted and measures 62.5 mm high. Source – Vaughn Collection.

1

2

3

62.5mm

4

5

6

Figure 5. Example of a reconstructed sheet of 6 stamps assembled from top and bottom lateral blocks of 3. Correct image placement is confirmed by no rouletting at top edge of the top block, no rouletting at bottom edge of the bottom block and rouletting along the middle between the two blocks. Ink spots are highlighted in the red circles. Source – Vaughn Collection.

The curious ink spot The first stamps printed from the original engraved die (Die I) were made one image impression at a time. Sheets of six images each were configured in a 3-by-2 arrangement, three in the top row and three on the bottom row, on pre-cut light ivory pre-gummed paper. Stamp separation was achieved by rouletting, gauged approximately 9.5. Stamps are known to have been printed on three sizes of paper. The first printing was done on sheets 65.0 millimeters high and subsequent printings on sheets 62 – 63 mm and 67 – 68 mm in height.

While reviewing my collection I noticed, for the first time, an intriguing Figure 6. Enlarged view of the original cut, corrected and defaced engraved die (Die 1-R-D) with relative location of ink spot feature highlighted. Highlighted view of die shows no ink spot feature visible on some stamp evidence of a physical feature causing this spot. Source – Vaughn Collection. images within certain sheets of stamps that were printed from the re-touched The Case of the Mysterious Woodcut die (Die I-R) (Figure 4). The ink spots can be seen within the red circles at the relaAs a side story, early philatelic articles of the period suggested that a tive stamp positions 3, 4, 5 and 6. I am not woodcut and electrotypes had been made to facilitate the printing of 2 aware that this feature has been previously sheets of stamps. Confirmation of this can be found in Eugene Donze’s seen, studied or documented. And, unlike daily diary for August 1, 1894, which is after the bicycle mail services the first printings, this sheet is 62.5 mm in ended. In this entry he records of his learning from the printer, O.J. Treat, that a woodcut had been made and six electroplates prepared at Banheight. ta’s request (the operator of the mail delivery post) but were “refused.”

My first impression was that these Figure A is a copy of the August 1 entry. It is unclear from the diary and spots were just a printing oddity on just other literature if the woodcut and electroplates were in fact ever made, this one sheet. However, they are also viswho would have made them, if any stamps were ever actually printed ible on a second 62.5 mm full sheet from by or for Banta and whatever happened to the woodcut and electromy collection. plates. I question the use of the word “refused” in the last sentence as I examined several lateral blocks of being a reference to the woodcut and electroplates. My interpretation three stamps from my collection where the is a subject for a future discussion. ink spots were also visible. Each block was oriented and aligned (top over bottom) to reconstruct full sheets and to preserve the relative stamp positions 1 through 6 (Figure 5). All reconstructed sheets when assembled measured 62.5 mm and every reconstructed sheet examined confirmed the presence of the spot only at stamp positions 3, 4, 5 and 6. Clearly, the ink spots were present on more than just one sheet.

Even more curious was that the spot never appears in stamp positions 1 and 2.

My research continued to determine how this spot could have been made, and to explore the questions of who may have created it and for what purpose.

Figure A. Eugene Donze’s August 1, 1894, diary entry recording his First, I examined the original engraved, first learning from “Treat” (a reference to the printer O.J. Treat) that corrected and defaced copper die (Die I-Ra woodcut and six electroplates had been made for Banta. Source – D). The original die is authentic and is the Vaughn Collection. centerpiece of my collection. Figure 6 is JUNE 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 545

a magnified view of the die area 1 2 3 where this ink spot feature would have originated. Ink transfer from the die to the paper would not occur from within the channel groove without something creating a solid bridge between the die surfaces on either side. I found no 65.0 mm visible evidence of copper deformation in or around that area that would suggest something may have been, or was, pushed or inserted into the channel groove to facilitate formation of this ink 4 5 6 spot.

Figure 7. First-print sheet with spelling error. Reconstructed from a top and bottom pair, a As stated earlier the first stamps top single and a bottom single. Source – Vaughn Collection. printed were produced on sheets that were 65.0 mm in height. First print sheets are extremely rare and those examples found in the literature, whether whole or reconstructed, do not show this ink spot. My own collection includes only one reconstructed 65.0 mm sheet from the original printing and it too does not show the spots (Figure 7). Similarly, none of the 67 – 68 mm sheets I have examined have the spots. They have only been seen on sheets 62.5 mm in height.

At this point, my conclusions were: 1) the spot did not occur with the first Figure 8. Magnified view of ink spot within the un-inked straight stamp printings of July 7; and 2) the “channel” edge above and in line with the long axis of the “O” in San spot was not created by any mateFrancisco (highlighted by dashed white line). Spots are round and measure 0.5 mm (0.002”) in diameter. Each spot is located precisely rial or physical object placed in or on 10.5 mm (0.413”) from the outside border edge as measured from the the original and re-touched die (Die corner containing the abbreviation “Cts.” Source – Vaughn Collection.

I-R) which was then used for stamps 1 2 3 printed after July 7.

Second, Donze maintained a daily handwritten diary during 1894 including the period before and after the Bicycle Post. After a thorough review of that diary, I found no entry to suggest or explain the creation or presence of this ink spot or that he even knew of its existence. Similarly, a Bicycle Stamp collection exhibit prepared by his son Earl Donze (my grandfather) and showcased at several California stamp shows in the 1960s, makes no mention of the ink spots and suggests 4 5 6 Figure 9. Full sheet of six stamps printed from original corrected die (Die I-R). Location of to me that he too did not see or know ink spots highlighted in red circles. (Courtesy of Leonard H. Hartmann. Captioned “July of their existence.

16, 1894 Printing, Sheets measure 61.75 to 63 mm in height.”). Bold emphasis added.

Third, is the observation of the precise location and repetitive occurrence of the ink spots where they 546 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

occur on the stamp images. Figure 8 is an enlarged view of the spot, its size and precise placement on each stamp image where it is observed. The repetition supports the theory, which I believe is correct, that replicas were likely made from the original cut and corrected die and that sheets of six images were then printed from a plate or block of those replicas. The ink spot was possibly a unique feature formed during replication of the original image.

Why the spot appears only on stamps in positions 3, 4, 5 and 6 is not known.

Although one could envision that each replica may have been made one after Figure 10. Authentic cover while service was operating but not carried over the Bicycle Route. Location of ink spot is highlighted in red circle. (Courtesy of Leonard H. another from the original die. It would Hartmann. Captioned “July 12, 4:30 PM, Fresno CDS, July 11. Bicycle Backstamp.”) then be plausible that one replica contained the spot, was itself used to produce three more replicas and a block of six then assembled. It may have been by pure chance that the replicas were assembled such that only stamp positions 3, 4, 5 and 6 contained the spot.

However, the precise and repetitive nature of the ink spots does support that replicas were made sometime between the first printing on July 7 and the second printing which began July 9. The replicas were then assembled and arranged into a block of six images and used for the second printing of stamps on July 9, 10 and 11.

Additionally, it is not known if the spots were intentional. If they were, what Figure 11. Authentic cover while service was operating but not carried over the purpose would be served and why the Bicycle Route. Location of ink spot is highlighted is highlighted in red circle. (Courtesy of Leonard H. Hartmann. Captioned “July 12, 8:30 PM, Fresno CDS, July 12, Bicycle unusual placement on specific stamps? I Backstamp.”) have no answer to these questions and can only speculate the ink spots 1 2 3 could be just artifacts of the replication process. Or, more mysteriously perhaps, they were a marker or identification code for some purpose only known to the originator.

Finally, who could have produced replicas? Eugene Donze, O.J. Treat or someone else? Except while being used by O.J. Treat to print stamps, Eugene Donze maintained possession and control of the die. Although Donze, 4 5 6 an engraver and electroplater, Figure 12. Full sheet of six stamps printed from original corrected die (Die I-R). Ink spots are highlighted would have had the ability, in red circles. (Courtesy of George W. Bowman. Captioned “Example lacks vertical rouletting.” Sheet height of 63 mm was included by Bowman.) Bold emphasis added. capability and opportunity JUNE 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 547

to make replicas there is no evidence that he did. I am left to speculate that it seems most likely that O.J. Treat or someone else at the Commercial Printing Company may have made the image replicas and assembled them into a block of six images to facilitate their printing of sheets. Yet again, there is no evidence to support this speculation either.

Date sequence of stamp printings The discovery of the ink spot changed everything I thought I knew about the printing dates. As previously stated, what is Figure 13. Authentic cover while service was operating but not carried over the known is that stamps were printed on three Bicycle Route. Location of ink spot is highlighted in red circle. (Courtesy of George sizes of paper. The initial July 7 printings with W. Bowman. Captioned “Banta stamp [spelling error corrected] cancelled by 2-bar device and Fresno duplex dated July 10th”). Bold emphasis added. the spelling error were printed only on sheets 65.0 mm high. Later printings from the corrected die (Die I-R) were printed on sheets 62 – 63 mm high and also on sheets 67 – 68 mm high.

Cooper, in his 1982 book, concluded that any 67 – 68 mm sheets were likely from the second printing on July 7, 9 and/or 10 and that they represented the first printings made from the corrected die. He also concluded that sheets 62 – 63 mm high were likely printed on or after July 16. This has been the accepted printing sequence ever since. I do not agree.

I presented evidence earlier that the ink spots have been found only on stamps printed on sheets 62.5 mm in height. Confirmation of my finding can also be seen in examples from other collectors, shown in the following images. Table 1 summarizes the examples studied and my findings.

An un-rouletted full sheet of stamps from Figure 14. Cover similar to Figure 13 but with a July 12 Fresno CDS. Location of ink spot is highlighted in red circle. (Courtesy of George W. Bowman. Captioned “Similar the Leonard Hartmann presentation exhibit posted on the Richard C. Frajola, Inc. Philat- to top cover, but with Fresno duplex dated July 12th.”) Bold emphasis added. elist’s Site is shown in Figure 9. The example spots are clearly visible on stamps 3, 4, 5 and 6. His presenis identified as “July 16, 1894 Printing, Sheets Measure 61.75 tation also included two cover examples, both with affixed to 63 mm in height,” and “Printed after the last Bicycle Post stamps and both stamps with the ink spot. See Figures 13 run departed for San Francisco, 2:30 PM, July 16, 1894.” Red and 14. The covers have Fresno postmark dates of July 10, circles highlight the ink spots that are visible on this sheet.

1894, 4:30 P.M. and July 12, 1894, 8:30 P.M. respectively.

Reproductions of two authentic covers were examined from The Hartmann and Bowman sheet examples referenced the Leonard Hartmann collection exhibit, neither one carabove supports my finding that ink spots are present on ried over the Bicycle Route. An ink spot is visible (Figure sheets measuring 62 – 63 mm in height. Additionally, the 10) on the 2¢ Plimpton 1890 issue stamped envelope with a stamped envelope and cover examples from their presentaFresno postmark of July 12, 1894, 4:30 P.M. The ink spot is tions, each clearly with visible ink spots on them, together also visible (Figure 11) on the bicycle stamp that is affixed with Fresno postmarks of July 10 and July 12 confirms to a second cover with a Fresno postmark of July 12, 1894, my belief the 62 – 63 mm sheets had to have been printed but at 8:30 P.M. sometime on July 9, 10 and 11. That being said, the 67 – 68 Figure 12 is an example of a 63 mm high sheet from a collection presentation by George W. Bowman. The ink mm high sheets were more likely printed on or after July 16.

548 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

Printing Sequence Dates

Sheet Height (mm)

First Printing, July 7, 1894

65

Second Printing, July 9, 10, and 11

Third Printing, July 16 and after

62-63

67-68

Formats Examined

Cover Postmark Dates

Source of Examples

Visible Ink Spots (on stamps or covers)

Reconstructed Sheet

n/a

Vaughn Collection

no

Reconstructed Sheet (scanned image)

n/a

Hartmann Exhibit

no

Full Sheet Image

n/a

Cooper Book

no

Full Sheets

n/a

Vaughn Collection

yes

Reconstructed Sheets (from top & bottom lateral blocks of 3 stamps)

n/a

Vaughn Collection

yes

Full Sheet Scanned Image

n/a

Hartmann Exhibit

yes

Full Sheet Scanned Image

n/a

Bowman Exhibit

yes

Cover, Stamp Affixed

July 12

Hartmann Exhibit

yes

Printed Cover

July 12

Hartmann Exhibit

yes

Cover, Stamp Affixed

July 10

Bowman Exhibit

yes

Cover, Stamp Affixed

July 12

Bowman Exhibit

yes

Full Sheets

n/a

Vaughn Collection

no

Full Sheet (scanned image)

n/a

Hartmann Exhibit

no

Full Sheet (scanned image)

n/a

Bowman Exhibit

no

Table 1. A catalog of the revised sequencing of printing dates with evidence.

And, as previously noted the ink spots have not been seen on any sheet that measures 67 – 68 mm in height.

Conclusion Evidence has been presented of the existence of a unique repetitive ink spot found on certain stamp images on sheets of six stamps printed for the Fresno and San Francisco Bicycle Mail service in 1894. Examples studied were taken from my collection as well as those from other collectors.

The repetitive nature of this feature suggests also that stereotype or electroplate replicas may have been made to facilitate printing of sheets. The ink spots were found to occur only on sheets 62 – 63 mm in height. Also presented are examples of stamps, with ink spots, affixed to covers used during the mail service. Their July 10 and 12 Fresno postmark dates establishes that the 62 – 63 mm high sheets containing stamps with the ink spots had to have been printed sometime on July 10, 11 and 12 and were NOT printed after July 16 as previously thought.

Two final thoughts. The first comes from my own research of the 67 – 68 mm high sheets. Curious is the uniformity of image placement on these sheets. For example; image separation, offset and rotation appear to be identical from sheet to sheet. The consistency of those parameters suggest that they were also likely printed from a block or plate of replicated images. And too, it would make sense

T

HE AUTHOR

Noel L. Vaughn is a retired metallurgical engineer, APS member and great grandson of Eugene Donze. He maintains the family collection of the 1894 Bicycle Mail Stamp as well as many other topical collection items including Boy Scouts, Olympics, United Nations and United States. The author can be reached by email: nlcdvaughn@ gmail.com.

that these larger sheets were produced after the Bicycle Post ended and when philatelic interests took over. This is a good subject for a future presentation. And second, it is my hope that this article stimulates more interest to further investigate this stamp and its story.

Acknowledgement I would like to express sincere thanks to Leonard H. Hartmann for his comments, guidance and expertise during my extensive year-long work effort to update the presentation format and content of my family collection album on the 1894 Bicycle Stamp. Leonard’s input gave me additional support and encouragement to keep exploring the many unanswered questions surrounding the stamp, its printing and story intrigue.

References Bowman, George W. Presentation exhibit: Arthur Banta’s Bicycle Post of 1894 and His Memorial Rerun of 1935.

Cooper, Lowell B. Fresno and San Francisco Bicycle Mail of 1894 (Leonard H. Hartmann, 1982).

Donze, Eugene. Personal daily diary, handwritten. February 18 through October 20, 1894.

Hartmann, Leonard. Presentation exhibit: Fresno And San Francisco Bicycle Mail of 1894. See “Changes in Die 1 to make it Die 1-R,” “Philatelic Die 1-R Afternoon Post First Day Use,” “Philatelic Die I-R Evening Post,” and “July 16, 1894 Printing, Sheets measure 61.75 to 63 mm in height.” All available on Richard C. Frajola, Inc. Philatelist’s Site.

Endnotes 1 As described in the presentation exhibit, “Fresno And San Francisco Bicycle Mail of 1894,” “Changes in Die 1 to make it Die 1-R,” Leonard Hartmann Collection, posted on Richard C. Frajola, Inc. Philatelist’s Site.

2 See Appendix II, “Phillips Article,” in Fresno and San Francisco Bicycle Mail of 1894.

JUNE 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 549

THE

MARKETPLACE

BY MATT LIEBSON

Into the Philatelic Marketplace

W

elcome. This is the first in a series of columns that will address various aspects of the philatelic marketplace.

As a brief introduction, I’ve been a member of the American Philatelic Society since 1992. I’ve had some involvement in most aspects of our hobby: as a collector, an author and presenter, a leader in various clubs and organizations, an exhibitor (and since 2019 an accredited philatelic judge), and as a dealer.

I started my philatelic “wheeling and dealing” while still in college, through a classified ad in Linn’s Stamp News, selling extra United Nations Flag Series panes. In the fall of 1996, I became a relatively early user of what was then called Auctionweb – better known to most of us today as eBay. Today, I am an accredited APS dealer member (since 2018), though my dealing is part time and in addition to my “day job” as an attorney. While I have done some local stamp shows around home in northeast Ohio, my focus has always on the internet “platform” market, and I maintain an active sales presence on both eBay and HipStamp.

As much as I like to joke that stamp collecting is the only hobby I know where a uniformed government employee brings you the material for your collection at no charge, the fact of the matter is that most of us are regular participants in the stamp market: trading, buying, and sometimes selling, material for and from our collections.

There are a wide variety of ways to acquire and dispose of material that fit within our market – straight-up trading (for example, at a club), stamp shows, mail order from dealers; internet retail, internet auctions, public auctions, and more.

This column will address all of these diverse formats over time.

As different as they all are, all of these different methods of buying and selling have at least one element in common: a degree of trust. As consumers, we all know that there is some risk in making purchases. A buyer exchanges money for a stamp or cover, or a collection. How does the buyer know that the material is genuine, is properly described, and 550 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

Editor's Note This is the first in a monthly series by Matt Liebson called "The Marketplace." Follow along for conversations about buying and selling in the philatelic world. that it will be delivered? Will the seller stand behind their descriptions and representations, and does the buyer have any recourse if something goes wrong?

Less often considered is that the seller faces risk, too.

Will a buyer claim that an item was misdescribed or never arrived? Will the buyer substitute inferior stamps for better stamps in a collection, circuit book, or exchange? Will the buyer’s check be returned for insufficient funds, or will the

buyer make a claim to eBay or PayPal for a refund?

There are endless ways to discuss and address these sorts of questions, but I think it is not a stretch to say that philately is among the safer and more trustworthy of hobbies. For every horror story there are multiple examples of buyers and sellers doing the right thing. This is especially true when buyers and sellers have repeat business and come to know one another, such as through many visits at stamp show tables over a course of years.

Still, especially given what is often the solitary nature of purchases and sales, transactions (especially in the mail and online) can be a bit scary. Luckily, the hobby has a welldeveloped ethics backbone. While there may be no better resource than a dealer you know and trust, and can deal with face to face, the hobby has evolved to include many market mechanisms, as well as tools to enable the participants in those mechanisms to work together safely.

APS membership continues to convey trust and safety in philately. The APS Code of Ethics is a well-known and time-honored tool for buyers and sellers. Stamp dealers place trust in APS members, who historically were subject to reference checks, and who are bound by the code to pay for purchases.

Buyers can place trust in APS member dealers, since the Code of Ethics conveys certain obligations to them and provides disciplinary recourse, overseen by the APS board of Vice Presidents, if a member (including a dealer)

violates them. The 18 points of the Code of Ethics are highly recommended reading, and a useful guide for philatelic conduct. The code can be found at https://stamps.org/ business-finance/rules-and-regulations.

Less-well known but also important are two related documents: the APS also has an Internet Code of Ethics and an eBay Code of Conduct. The Internet Code of Ethics expands the Code of Ethics to internet transactions and notes that “the Code calls for ethical conduct in all transactions.” The eBay Code of Conduct is more granular and has requirements relating to, among other things, the sale of altered and fake material, false and misleading claims, material of questionable ownership, and the use of refunds. Both of these codes can be found on the same web page as the Code of Ethics. These codes may be subject to review and update by the APS in the near future.

The APS is not, of course, the only source of guidance. Dealer organizations (including the American Stamp Dealers Association, the National Stamp Dealers Association, and the Internet Philatelic Dealers Association) also frequently have their own codes of ethics and disciplinary processes. Internet platforms also have rules, regulations, claims and disciplinary process; these are generally weighted toward the buyer and provide significant protections.

I look forward to hearing from APS members about their questions, concerns, and subjects for future philatelic marketplace topics.

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2023

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August 9, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. (lunch on your own) Instructor: Gary Wayne Loew Postal cancellations are central to the understanding of the postal artifacts that we collect. This course is designed to provide you with a very thorough background about cancellations. Collectors of every country and every specialization will want to attend this in-depth course. Worldwide examples will broaden your understanding of philately from every continent. You will return home with a robust package of course materials to give you a firm foundation for additional personal research.

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Grand Awards, Luff, Peterson, Distinguished Topical Philatelist, AFDCS Distinguished Service Award, etc.) Ticket required. Dinner Includes: Salad, bread, coffee, iced tea and flourless chocolate cake.

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BY CHARLES EPTING

WE

What are Freight Money Letters?

will begin this installment of “The Letter Opener” with a concept that eluded philatelists for more than a century and remains relatively obscure in the annals of postal history.

“Freight money” is a term that is far from self-explanatory and the underlying details are arcane to all but the most dedicated researchers. But the purpose here is to break down such complexities, and so we will do our best to figure out just what “freight money” means.

Throughout the early part of the 18th century, transatlantic sailings were sporadic and unreliable. It was not until the SS Great Western set off on April 8, 1838 for her maiden voyage from Bristol, England, to New York City that the modern era of transatlantic travel was inaugurated.

Figure 1. The SS Great Western departs Bristol for New York on her maiden The Great Western was the first ship built for the ex- voyage April 8, 1838. press purpose of transatlantic voyages between America and Europe (Figure 1). Eastbound trips totook, on average, Even after the advent of the transatlantic steamship, sailabout 16 days, while westbound trips to England were slighting vessels continued to make the journey between North ly shorter at around 13 days.

America and England. These sailing ships were generally The success and viability of the Great Western paved the way slower and less reliable, and as such they charged a lower for the British & American Steam Navigation Company, whose fee to carry mail: 12½ cents, or half the amount charged by SS British Queen made her maiden voyage just 15 months later steamships. on July 12, 1839. The British Queen was considerably larger and What makes freight money letters particularly interestmore comfortable than the Great Western and set a new highing is that certain United States and Canadian postmasters water mark for transatlantic travel. were authorized to collect the private ship fees. EnglandBy mid-1838 private companies such as the British & bound letters were then bundled along with the freight American Steam Navigation Company (SS Sirius), Great money fees and a waybill and sent to the postmaster of New Western Steamship Company (SS Great Western), and the York City, where they were handed over to their respective Transatlantic Steam Ship Company (SS Royal William and shipping companies. This effectively turned the post office SS Liverpool) began charging 25 cents per sheet for letters into a collection agency, although postmasters were paid a carried across the Atlantic Ocean on their ships. These letsmall commission in exchange for their work. ters are what collectors now refer to as “freight money.”

So how can you identify a freight money letter?

But why the name “freight money?” The term comes from Identifying these letters is made more difficult by the fact circulars distributed to postmasters by the British & Amerithat the Cunard Line began carrying mail under contract can Steam Navigation Company in the late 1830s explaining with the British government in mid-1840, meaning there the procedures for handling mail bound for England by way were simultaneously multiple ways of getting mail across the of their steamships. The term was then adopted in official CaAtlantic. Contract mail such as this is an entirely separate nadian post office communications, and when the subject was category from freight money letters and will be discussed explored by postal historians (namely Frank Staff and Charless in future columns. All freight money letters were carried Hahn) over a century later, the naming convention remained.

554 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

aboard non-contract vessels. For now, we are only concerned cult to discern, but the dedicated postal historian can quickwith letters sent by private sailing ship or steamship where ly learn to recognize which pieces of mail were carried in this the private ship fee was collected by a local postmaster for way. With the advent of contract steamship service in 1840, transmission to the shipping company. freight money quickly fell out of favor and was completely In some instances, the domestic postage within the Unitextinct by the end of the decade. ed States and the freight money fee were listed separately by The new volume by Richard Winter and John Barwis, North the postmaster. The cover in Figure 2 originated on FebruAtlantic Non-Contract Steamship Sailings 1838-1875 is a helpary 21, 1839, in Baltimore, Maryland. It first traveled to New ful resource for ship records. The first volume of the American York, where it boarded the SS Great Western for London. At Stampless Cover Catalogue is also a useful reference. the top right, the postage is broken down into two lines: “Ship 25” and “18¾.” Twenty-five cents represents the freight money fee, and 18¾ cents is the domestic rate for a letter traveling between Baltimore and New York City.

Earlier, we learned that the 25-cent freight money fee was for letters carried via steamship, and that letters carried on a sailing vessel were only charged 12½ cents. The cover in Figure 3 comes from the same correspondence as the previous example, only this time the freight money fee was assessed as 12½ cents (the 18¾ cent postage remains the same). This tells us that the cover was carried to London on a sailing vessel and not a steamship.

In Philadelphia, identifying freight money letters is Figure 2. February 21, 1839 folded letter from Baltimore to London with more difficult as the postmaster combined both the inthe 25-cent steamship freight money fee indicated at upper right. land postage and ship fee into one rate. Take the letter in Figure 4 for example, which was sent from Philadelphia to New York on June 12, 1839, and placed on the SS Great Western for carriage to London.

For a single sheet, the rate from Philadelphia to New York was 12½ cents, and the freight money fee for a steamship was 25 cents. Therefore the 37½ cents postage assessed represents a combination of both rates, although without a knowledge of then-current rates there is no way of knowing that one-third of that money was retained by the post office and two-thirds were paid to a private shipping company.

With the spread of contract transatlantic mail service over the course of the 1840s, freight money Figure 3. December 22, 1838 folded letter from Baltimore to London shows letters are only usually found in a very short window the 12½-cent freight money rate for letters carried on sailing ships. between 1838 and 1840 (although examples are reported as late as 1848). With the volume of mail increasing rapidly, the model of having local postmasters collect private ship fees for transmission to New York City was tenuous at best and was quickly superseded by a more reliable and affordable system.

To summarize freight money, then: For a brief time in the late 1830s and early 1840s, private shipping companies carried mail from the United States and Canada to England at a rate of 25 cents per sheet for steamships and 12½ cents per sheet for sailing ships. The letters and payment were collected by the post office, bundled, and sent to New York City, where they were placed aboard Figure 4. June 12, 1839 folded letter from Philadelphia to London. The the England-bound ship. combined rate of 37½ cents represents 12½-cent domestic postage and These freight money charges are sometimes diffithe 25-cent freight money steamship rate.

JUNE 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 555

WORLD CLASS

By Barry White

WHAT’S THERE, NOT WHAT’S NOT

A

wise philatelic philosopher friend of mine – let’s call him Art – said to me one time, “Look at what is there, not at what is missing.” This was in reference to an auction lot we were perusing together at a stamp club meet.

Art likes to tell the story of a mint U.S. collection he once had for sale. He had already removed the “key” items, which he planned to sell individually, and offered the remainder at a reasonable $500. The collection was on mounts, so it was easy to spot the missing stamps. A friend of his – let’s call him George – was quick to point that out.

“You want $500, but it’s missing the key stamps!”

George exclaimed.

“Would you like me to put them back?” Art offered.

“Yes indeed!” George said eagerly.

“Not a problem,” said Art, “and when you write me a check, make it out for $5,000. That’s what the price will be with the key stamps back in it.”

Serenity now! The lesson here is pretty obvious. Art had priced the collection for what was there, and George had looked at the collection for what was missing. We all look for key stamps in an offering, but if we do so at the expense of what is actually being offered, and at what price, we can easily overlook a good deal.

A case in point that worked in my favor occurred

556 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

during a recent club auction, where a collection of New Zealand dependencies was up for grabs. It was in a Scott specialty album, with a reserve of $35.

The thing is, the seller had included spare pages ... a lot of spare pages! When you flicked through the album it had the appearance of being rather empty. I tried to ignore this, focusing instead on the stamps I saw. And what I saw, I liked. Bidding was slow, and I got the album for $45, which was way less than what I was prepared to pay.

To be fair, the seller thought he was doing the right thing by including the empty pages, since album pages themselves have value, particularly in Scott specialty albums. What he probably should have done is separate them, putting the empty pages behind those containing stamps, or in another binder behind the main one.

From that collection, I pulled out stamps with a catalog value of $566. I sold the rest for $19. This lowered my purchase price from $45 to $26, and I valued the Scott album binder, which I kept, at $10. In other words, the stamps themselves cost me $16, and I calculated that I paid a tad less than 3 percent catalog value for my purchase.

Not too shabby!

U.S. Zeppelin and Airship Mail Flights

90000>

Cheryl R. Ganz

ISBN 978-0-578-90937-0

U.S. Zeppelin and Airship Mail Flights

Cheryl R. Ganz

9 780578 909370

Philatelic Publications Check out the latest releases as well as the 100+ book titles in the APS publication shop.

North Atlantic Non-Contract Steamship Sailings 1838-1875 by Richard Winter and John Barwis.

336 pages. Member price $55 plus shipping.

http://stamps.org/publications

A sequel to Winter's North Atlantic Mail Sailings 1840-1875, this reference work is essential for postal history research. Containing details of sailing schedules of 54 steamship companies, with illustrations and historical context.

Restocked due to demand.

Books & Catalogs

BY Alan Warren Guest Contributor

New York City Auxiliary Markings, 1798-2022 by Anthony S. Wawrukiewicz and Thomas C. Breske. 216 pages, 8 ¾ by 11 ¼ inches, American Philatelic Society, Bellefonte PA, 2022. ISBN 9780-933580-85-5, $49 ($44 for APS members) plus shipping from American Philatelic Society, 100 Match Factory Place, Bellefonte PA 16823, or www.stamps. org.

Tony Wawrukiewicz was editor of the newsletter of the Auxiliary Markings Club for 18 years and writes a postal history column in Linn’s Stamp News. Co-author Tom Breske is a director of the Auxiliary Markings Club and a deltiologist and postal historian. His collection of New York City auxiliary markings forms the basis for this book.

Some chapters include other co-authors because of their specialized knowledge or contributions.

Auxiliary markings often cause delays in the delivery of mail and the reasons they do so are expounded by the subject of each chapter. Up until 1941, letters that were unclaimed were advertised by the delivery post office, usually in a newspaper, for a fee of 2 cents – 1 cent for the newspaper ad and 1 for the addressee. Many advertised markings are illustrated including straightline, oval, single and double circle marks.

Forwarding markings were handstamped at the intended delivery post office, and the new address handwritten on the envelope. Missent items were so marked and forwarded when the proper address was known or were marked for return to the sender. Thus, a cover could bear both a missent and a forwarded marking. More than 50 different missent, misdirected or return marks are shown. Return marks include the famous pointing finger which comes in many varieties itself.

The chapter on held for postage marks includes a wide variety of examples as does the chapter on registered mail 558 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

markings. Undeliverable handstamps show a plethora of reasons for returns such as unclaimed, do not post again in this envelope or wrapper, address incomplete, attempted – not known, deceased, and many others.

The chapter on customs duties and customs clearance and delivery fees is complex due to the wide variety of markings known. Examples of some of the required post office and customs forms are illustrated as well. A separate chapter is devoted to international postage due markings applied in New York City. Miscellaneous markings are thrown together for special reasons like found in package box collection, general delivery, advise correspondents and publishers of your correct address, mail found in supposedly empty equipment, and fraudulent.

Deficiency marks and many others indicating directory assistance for readdressing misdirected mail require a chapter of their own, as do items that were damaged or received in bad condition or unsealed. Another chapter is devoted to special delivery and related marks. Final chapters cover postage that is removed or detached, and short-paid airmail which is then sent by surface mail.

In many cases references in the text indicate the pertinent postal laws and regulations that support the markings. A bibliography and detailed index conclude this informative handbook. This study excludes military and censorship markings, metered mail slogans, and New York’s United Nations mail. The two-column format works well for layout and many of the markings are reproduced in actual size.

The book suggests that collectors might specialize in one or more of these categories, expanding it to another city, or state, or the entire country.

Adventures in Expertizing

BY Ken Martin APS Director of Expertizing kpmartin@stamps.org

Answers to Members’ Expertizing Questions

IN

February, an “Ask Me Anything” session about expertizing via Zoom was offered to APS members. While we were delighted with attendance by more than 130 members, some of their questions are ones we receive often. Here are the most common.

My stamp has no gum and has ink marks on the front, why was it not certified as used? What does “favor cancel” mean?

Nearly all postage stamps are worth more unused than used, but there are cases when the used stamp is worth more.

Two of the most common examples are the Germany inflation issues of the 1920s (Figure 1) and stamps of early Italy.

Unfortunately, this provides an incentive for less scrupulous individuals to put a mark on the stamp, likely soak the gum off and offer the stamp as used.

In a few cases it may be pretty clear that the cancel is not genuine. Laser printers did not exist in the 1920s, nor were cancels done by process color in which the “black” ink included dots of yellow, magenta and cyan. However, most fake cancels are not so blatant.

In cases where the used value is greater than the unused value, “innocent until proven guilty” is flipped and the presumption is that the stamp was not actually used. To get a good certificate there will need to be an identifiable postmark or cancel, known to have been used during the period the stamp was for sale. In many cases this will require a readable city and date. A stray ink or pen mark generally won’t be sufficient, even if the stamp is on an envelope.

Postal employees will generally cancel any stamp

Figure 1. Experts from APEX determined this stamp from 1920 Germany stamp (Scott 117) is genuine, but there is not enough of cancel present to certify it as genuinely used. The stamp has a Scott catalog value of $8.75 mint; $200 used. (APEX certificate archive, No. 182469)

Figure 2. This cancel on an Italy stamp of 1923 (Scott 165) is assumed to be fake or favor as the cancel is insufficiently legible to determine a proper location or date of use. The catalog value of a mint version is $22; $180 for a used version. (APEX certificate archive, No. 234647).

whether or not it is on an envelope or item being sent through the mail. It is a basic of “revenue protection.” Often it is not hard to get a cancel on a stamp even if it was issued years earlier. Sometimes, backdated cancels may even be available.

Such are often referred to as “favor” cancels (Figure 2).

Note as well that when a stamp has a higher value used than unused, the higher value assumes that the stamp was used as intended during the period it was for sale. A number of “modern” U.S. postal stationery items, especially those issued for the overseas surface rate, are more valuable than the mint item. Because the unused items may have little or no value beyond the postage value, they are often used years after issue, sometimes with additional postage added.

How do I tell if my stamp has been regummed?

Gum appearance and characteristics such as gum breakers may be indicators, but most important for distinguishing regummed stamps is that stamps are almost always gummed before being perforated and certainly the gum is applied prior to separation from the stamps around them.

When stamps are separated (by hand, not by scissors), there are normally small paper fibers that extend beyond each perforation that are visible under magnification. These fibers should not be gummed but likely will have gum if the gum was applied by a spray method. When gum is brushed on to a stamp, gum tends to pool around perforation pits. Also, sometimes the gum won’t go quite to the end of the perforations as the regummer tries not to get any gum on the paper fibers.

Still, don’t forget common sense. You should expect the gum on a 150-year-old stamp to have some cracking (FigJUNE 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 559

Figure 3. An aged block of four that shows cracked gum.

ure 3). If it looks pristine or the gum is over a thin (possibly caused by a hinge), that’s a big fat warning sign. An uneven thickness of the gum may also be an indicator but this may also be a result of “sweating” the gum and trying to spread it out to cover up a hinge mark rather than regumming.

How do you know if a stamp has been reperforated?

The easiest indication is if a stamp perforation “gauge” does not measure correctly. For this you need more than a cheap perforation gauge. As I have explained in previous columns, there are three different perforation 10 and 11 gauges just for U.S. stamps.

A Kiusalas United States Specialist Gauge will help but comparison to a similarly perforated inexpensive stamp may be just as useful. Another indicator is if the width or height of the stamp is smaller than it should be. While there may be some variation, especially for stamps printed in both booklet and sheet formats, minimum sizes are expected to avoid the presumption of guilt.

You also need to understand why a stamp may be reper-

forated. Would the only reason be to make a straight edge copy more desirable, or would it be to make an imperforate stamp appear to be a more valuable coil (or sheet stamp) or a coil a more valuable sheet stamp.

Again, knowledge of stamp production is also very important.

The methods of stamp printing and perforating and whether a stamp was printed by flat plate (and perforated) one sheet at a time or by rotary press as a long roll (web) of paper makes a big difference. Perforations of stamps using a bullseye method should have perfect corner perforations.

If a stamp is perforated going through a printing press the holes are likely to be oval and not perfectly circular. They will probably be clean on one edge and rough on the opposite edge and there may be small ridges form when the perforations are punched out.

I inherited a stamp collection that was assembled years ago. How could it include counterfeits or forgeries?

Forgeries are not new to the hobby. The first edition of Album Weeds by R.B. Earee was published in 1892. Many of the most famous forgers, such as Jean de Sperati, Francois Fournier and the Spiro brothers, were active in the late 19th and early 20th century. Not all of their work was intended to deceive collectors. From around 1864 to about 1880 the Spiro brothers produced around 500 different lithographed reproductions of postage stamps. However, once produced, reproductions were offered by less scrupulous individuals as genuine stamps.

Even today it is not hard to find reproductions of stamps sold to help collectors fill holes in their albums for which they have no legitimate chance of ever acquiring the genuine stamp (Figure 4).

Why can’t I get a single certificate for a set of stamps?

Every stamp is individually examined and a photo certificate provided stating our findings. It is very possible that one stamp out of a set may be a forgery or have condition issues while the others are genuine and fault free.

Do you have expertizing questions? Email Ken Martin (kpmartin@stamps.org) with potential questions for future columns.

Figure 4. A genuine rare Inverted Jenny, Position 65, alongside a fake of the rarity (APEX certificate No. 214032) that might have been used by a collector as a space filler in an album. There is no record of a legitimately used Inverted Jenny of 1918.

560 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

Philatelic Happenings

BY Ken Martin APS Director of Expertizing kpmartin@stamps.org

News from WESTPEX; Sad Losses for the Hobby

W

ESTPEX 2023 was held April 28 to 30 at the San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront hotel with the Polonus Polish Philatelic Society, the Scandinavian Collectors Club and the United States Philatelic Classics Society as guest societies. The show included 70 dealers, more than 250 frames of exhibits and many meetings and seminars.

Mark Schwartz received both the multiframe and single frame grand awards. “The New York Postmaster Provisional” exhibit qualified for the Champions of Champions competition at the Greater American Stamp Show in Cleveland this August and his exhibit “The Use of Boston’s ‘PAID in Grid’ Cancels 1851-1859” will receive an invitation to the Single Frame Champion of Champions Mark Schwartz competition.

The Collectors Club of San Francisco Multiframe Reserve Grand Award was won by Wieslaw Kostka for his “Kingdom of Poland – Study of Rates for Stampless Mail 1815-1871.” The American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors Youth Grand went to Adhyatman Agarwala for “Coffee! Early Cancellations and Slogans in Latin America and the Caribbean.”

A special shout out to Jim Dempsey of A&D Stamps who ended his career as a show dealer. An APS member of more than 60 years, Jim is a past APS dealer representative and a longtime friend of the society. While he has certainly earned retirement, I understand he will still serve customers via mail, he will simply stop hauling his thousands of pounds of stock from show to show.

Jim Dempsey The 53rd Plymouth Show sponsored by the West Suburban Stamp Club ran from April 29 through April 30 at the Hellenic Cultural Center in Westland (suburban Detroit), Michigan. It featured 25 dealers, the U.S. Postal Service and United Nations Postal Administration and meetings of the American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors, Peninsular State Philatelic Society and Ukrainian Philatelic and Numismatic Society.

Nick Lombardi’s exhibit, “The Two Cent Washington 562 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

Shield Issue” received the multiframe grand. Cary Johnson took home the multiframe reserve grand for his exhibit, “Evolution of Territorial Michigan 1792-1837.” The single frame grand went to Tim Wait for “Adhesive Stamps Used to Pay the 2¢ Tax on U.S. Bank Checks 1862-1883.”

Nick Lombardi APS Expert Committee member Lawrence R. Mead passed away in April. Upon returning from the Korean War, his uncle Jack brought him a box of Chinese, Japanese and Indo-China stamps. German stamps from the lady across the street came next. His deepest interest was the postage stamps of a small rock rising out of the North Lawrence R. Mead Sea called Helgoland.

Through decades of collecting and research, Mead formed an exhibit on Helgoland philately that won a large vermeil at World Stamp Show New York 2016. Mead published more than 70 articles on Helgoland and Old German States philately for specialized and general philatelic publications alike, Bill McAllister including several for The American Philatelist. Professionally, Mead spent many years as a physics professor at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Our hobby also lost APS member and Linn’s Stamp News Washington correspondent Bill McAllister. While still in his teens, McAllister began as a freelancer for local newspapers before attending the University of North Carolina. After graduation he had a career of more than 30 years working for newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post.

His work for the Post included a long running weekly column on stamps and coins. He joined Linn’s in 1996 as its Washington correspondent reporting on behind-the-scenes activities of the U.S. Postal Service. McAllister was introduced to stamp collecting by his aunt at age 10 when she gave him a Minkus album and he began collecting first day programs after covering a first day ceremony for the 1987 22-cent Girl Scouts stamp.

Membership Report No. 4, April 2023 The following applications were received during April 2023. If no objections are received by the Executive Director (814-933-3803) prior to June 30, 2023 these applicants will be admitted to membership and notice to this effect will appear in the August 2023 issue.

Adams, Howland K. III (236600) Malta, NY Mint Sheets-Plate Blocks-Philatelic Labels; 65; Retired Allen, Maureen (236594) Prairie Farm, WI Booklets/Panes; 48 Augustine, Wayne L. (236589) Chicago, IL US; Retired Bates, Joseph P. (236546) West Olive, MI US-Confederate States-Postage Dues-Air Mails-Duck/Hunting/Fishing Stamps-Special Deliveries; 70; PCB Designer Behana, Dirk (236620) Perryopolis, PA Confederate States; 66; RN Berry, Brian (236588) Pilesgrove, NJ Classics-Cut Squares-Covers-Errors, Freaks, Oddities-US Postal History-British Empire; 63 Bethune, Laura E. (236614) Milledgeville, TN Lighthouses-Butterflies-Wildlife-EaglesNative Americans-National Parks; 57 Bhat, Siddartha S. (236616) Briarwood, NY Commemoratives-Commemorative PanelsFirst Day Covers; 42 Biane, Karen (236606) Granite Bay, CA US-20th Century-Commemoratives; Retired Bolla, David (236585) White Lake, MI; 80; Retired Architect Bolle, Stanton G. (236619) Tucson, AZ; 83; Retired Borschel, Sue (236661) Springfield, VA Bowers, Matthew (236645) Texarkana, TX Mint US-Covers (US & Worldwide)-Worldwide Miniature Sheets; 39; Letter Carrier

564 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

Brier, Donald (236610) Evergreen, CO 19th Century-20th Century Browning, Scott M. (236580) Holladay, UT 19th Century Brozenec, Gregory (236581) Port Charlotte, FL 19th Century; 75; Retired Teacher Bryson, Kenneth J. (236550) Decatur, GA JapanJapanese Occupations-Hawaii-Korea-ClassicsCovers; 74; Retired Buchanan, James W. (236574) Anderson, IN Mint Commemoratives; 82; Retired Buck, Marie-Louise (236573) Maynard, MA Advertising Covers-Flight Covers (US & Foreign)-Stampless Covers-Joint Issues (US & Foreign)-US Postal History; 67; Retired RN Burk, Jackie (236663) Richardson, TX ArkansasClassics-Postal Markings-Used US-EphemeraLots & Collections; 52 Campbell, Paul (236668) Westlake Village, CA Air Mails-US-Classics-Latin America; 75; Owner Carbone, John (236554) East Meadow, NY Covers-US; 74 Carlson, Hans (236569) Frederick, MD USSweden-Back Of The Book; 59; Software Developer Carnahan, Christine (236669) Cleveland Heights, OH US-North Borneo/LabuanBritish Commonwealth; 43; Kitchen and Bath Designer Champoux, Edward (236553) Ithaca, NY Match & Medicine-Naval Covers (US & Foreign)Japan-Space Covers Chayer St-Louis, Samuel (236598) Mont-Laurier, QC Canada; 38 Coppersmith, Eva J. (236638) Westminster, MD First Day Covers-Sheets/Small Panes-Air Mails-Duck/Hunting/Fishing Stamps-ClassicsCommemoratives

NEW MEMBERS Applications 236237-236370 (less 236367) as previously published have been accepted for membership by the Board of Vice Presidents.

SUMMARY Total Membership, March 31, 2023....................26,579 New Members 133 Reinstated 69 Deceased 27 Resignations 7 Club Disbanded 1 Dropped for Non-payment 2,325 Total Membership, April 30, 2023 24,421 (Total Membership, April 30, 2022 was 25,397 a difference of -976).

Crandell, Ed (236586) Grand Junction, CO Mint US; 64; Retired Davis, Clay (236621) Clemmons, NC Dixon, David (236582) Dallas, TX Europe-US To 1965-Russia; 61; Teacher/Writer Donahue, Christopher I. (236659) Arlington, VA Revenues/Tax Paids (State/Local/Federal)Philatelic Literature-Maritime MarkingsChess-Stock Certificates; 65 Duncan, William L. (236665) Greenville, SC USScouts; 67 Dussold, Anne (236642) Union, MO Aden; 35 Eagan, Daniel (236632) San Francisco, CA US; 60; Financial Advisor Forstner, Katherine A. (236651) Salt Lake City, UT French, Grayson (236637) Tucson, AZ UkraineBooklets/Panes-US-Blocks/Guideline BlocksPalestine; 41

APS-7.qxp_APS 06.05.20 14:30 Seite 1

Galvan, Emilio J. (236611) Van Nuys, CA; 43 Gay, William S. (236666) Cortland, NY; 94; Retired Gerlach, Charles (236607) Houston, TX; 80 Gill-Delacruz, Shanna L. (236555) Rome, NY Errors, Freaks, Oddities-19th CenturyPhilippines-Air Mails-First Day Covers-GuamHolocaust-Holograms-Military; 48 Green, Zachary (236644) Washington, DC; 30 Greenwood, Bob (236654) Wooster, OH 19th Century-20th Century-Air Mails-Back Of The Book; Retired Hamilton, Nanci L. (236630) Meadville, PA 20th Century-19th Century-First Day CoversCommemoratives-Commemorative Panels Hanson, Larry (236670) Shreveport, LA Sheets/ Small Panes-19th Century-20th CenturyBlocks/Guideline Blocks-Coil Line Pairs-Errors, Freaks, Oddities; 71 Heather, James E. (236662) Vulcan, AB Canada 19th Century-20th Century-Australia; 73 Horne, Valerie (236622) Warrensburg, MO US; 66; Retired Hunter, Bryson J. (236557) Roanoke, VA Civil War Covers-US-Plate Blocks-CommemorativesRussia/USSR/Independent RepublicsChristmas; Attorney Jacobs, Skipper S. (236655) Wakarusa, KS Confederate States-Kansas-Dogs-MadonnasBirds; 41 Jochens, Bernadette (236567) Manhattan, IL; 52 Johnson, Sigrid (236596) Sweetwater, TN USCanadian Provinces; 60 Kafalas, Timothy (236601) Saint Cloud, FL Worldwide-US; 65; Software Engineer Kanaan, Adel E. (236623) Southport, CT Lebanon-Ottoman-Palestine; 71; Retired Katz, Leonid (236634) Walnut Creek, CA RussiaUkraine-Judaica-Israel; 51; Physician Kimbrough, James J. (236612) Stow, MA Used US-China; 75; Retired Kunz, David (236656) Murrells Inlet, SC US; 81 Larro, Daniel (236646) Las Vegas, NV US; 69 Leguizamo, Jorge (236595) Suwanee, GA 19th Century-20th Century-Great Britain-Great Britain Machins-Mexico; 55; Physician Leonard, Saul (236652) Beverly Hills, CA US; 89; Retired Levy, Barry E. (236578) Chicago, IL Stamp Design/Designers-Classics-Commemorative Panels-Commemoratives-History-Foreign Classics; 72; Retired Lewis, Edward J. (236657) Seattle, WA USWorldwide-First Day Covers-Philatelic Literature; 61; Lot Associate/Home Depot Lindberg, Kermit (236635) Mankato, MN Liner, Darin (236647) Clyde, NC; 55

Loar, Donald F. (236615) Warrensburg, MO Coil Line Pairs-Air Mails-Confederate StatesClassics-Canada-Rotary International; 71 Loeffler, Thomas R. (236545) Sale, United Kingdom Netherlands-Germany-AustraliaAustria; 75; Retired Longhi, Robert A. (236587) Plainfield, NJ USItalian Colonies-Vatican City; 85; Retired Judge/Lawyer Luansing, Renato L. (236552) San Diego, CA Space Covers-Air Mails-Locals & Carriers-Covers-Naval Covers-California; 52; Unit Clerk Medical Marois, Paul G. (236590) Peachland, BC Canada US-Canada; 58; Stamp Dealer Matthews, Elaine (236624) Grand Rapids, MI; 91; Retired McKinney, Mack (236608) Lorain, OH US; 87; Retired Montgomery, Tim (236625) Mobile, AL USBritish Empire; 60; Mechanical Engineer Moody, Jack A. (236559) Rio Vista, CA 19th Century-Civil War Covers-Confederate StatesGreat Britain; 69 Murphy, Jeanette (236568) Waldoboro, ME 19th Century-20th Century-Air MailsCommemoratives-Duck/Hunting/Fishing Stamps-US; 48 Nacrelli, Daniel A. (236562) Elizabeth City, NC US (Mint & Used)-Italy (Mint & Used); 64; Civil Service Natola, Charles W. (236626) Brook Park, OH; 86; Retired O’Brien, Thomas R. (236572) Langhorne, PA 19th Century-Possessions-Triangles; 65; Arborist Oblath, Robert W. (236563) Hidden Hills, CA US Single Mint; 76; Retired Physician Ordover, S. Roberta (236592) Sun City, AZ US Page, Kathleen (236599) Las Cruces, NM Luminescent/Tagged-Booklets/Panes-CoilsCut Squares; 65 Paschen, Erick R. (236648) Brillion, WI USGermany-Switzerland; 76; Retired Patti, Jonathan (236641) Amityville, NY ClassicsNumber Ones Of The World-Used US-USPhilatelic/Numismatic Covers-Specimens; 44; President of Sales Pecoraro, John (236640) Chesapeake, VA US-Air Mails-German Third Reich; 75; Retired Pierce, Hyma L. (236551) Newark, DE Used USGreat Britain; 83 Portuondo, Jose F. (236667) Waban, MA CubaUnited Kingdom-Australia-New Zealand; 70; Retired Powers, Richard W. (236671) Des Peres, MO Great Britain-First Day Covers-CanadaAustralia-Ireland; Retired

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Prince, Michael (236558) Alameda, CA US-19th Century-Errors, Freaks, Oddities-Air Mails20th Century; 62 Proctor, John B. (236591) Millis, MA US, Commemoratives & Air Mails Prior To 1970; 72; Retired Quin, Robert J. (236564) Hidden Valley, PA US; 74; Retired Quintana, Teresa (236548) Centerfield, UT Commemoratives-Souvenir Sheets-DisneyRussia/USSR/Independent Republics; 34 Reed, Laura A. (236603) Beaumont, CA California-Iowa-Commemoratives-First Day Covers-US Postal History-Animals-US State & National Parks; 70 Repanich, Suzy (236583) Paradise, CA Duck/ Hunting/Fishing Stamps-Covers-Souvenir Sheets Reul, Nathaniel (236577) Selkirk, NY; 35; Budget Examiner Reynolds, Edward (236575) Winder, GA Commemoratives-Prexies-Air Mails-US-Plate Blocks-Definitives; 65 Roddy, Ray (236643) Burnsville, NC PaintingsFormer/Dead Countries; 73 Roehrich, Ronald S. (236602) Bismarck, ND; 71 Rothenberg, Stephanie L. (236579) Boca Raton, FL Maximum Cards-Lots & CollectionsMedicine/Drugs/Health-Former/Dead Countries-Science/Scientists-Holocaust; 32; Medical Student Rutledge, Brian (236629) Las Vegas, NV; Retired Saltzman, Dannie T. Jr. (236549) Steedman, MO Stamp Design Errors-Used Worldwide; 45 Schattle, Bill (236565) Boulder, CO Ryukyu Islands-Air Mails-Plate Blocks-Colorado Postal History; 75; Retired

Serval, Irene (236660) Waltham, MA Sharp, Terry (236605) Taylorsville, UT 19th Century-Air Mails-Blocks/Guideline BlocksCommemoratives-US; 52 Sinitsky, Dennis (236560) Austin, TX Mathematics-Science/Scientists-China-IndiaVietnam-Russia/USSR/Independent Republics Smith, Charles A. (236570) Moorpark, CA US; 70; Pharmacist Smith, Edward R. (236664) Warrington, PA First Day Covers (US & Foreign)-Former/Dead Countries-Propaganda Stamps/Covers-French Colonies-German 3rd Reich; 33 Smith, Larry (236547) Minneapolis, MN Sowell, Russell D. (236593) Mount Vernon, WA; 67 Strong, St Clair G. Jr. (236627) Longmont, CO British Colonies-France-French ColoniesPortuguese Colonies; 71; Retired Lawyer Swinney, Zeb (236604) Rome, NY 19th Century20th Century-Barbados-Used Worldwide Szot, Keith (236617) Redmond, WA Essays & Proofs-19th Century; 57 Telang, Ninad A. (236636) Laguna Niguel, CA India-Air Mails-US; 41; Engineer Thompson, Lehman Jr. (236618) San Antonio, TX Covers-Advertising Covers-Booklets/PanesCommemoratives-Christmas Seals-Art; 72 Thuemling, Tim (236584) Rhinelander, WI 19th Century-Confederate States-Ireland-Sweden; 65 Vergelli, John (236633) Columbia, SC CancelsFlag Cancels-North Dakota-Precancels (Bureau & City)-Slogan Cancels; 62 Vincenti, Thomas A. (236613) Havre De Grace, MD Railroads-Military-Queen Elizabeth II; 71; Retired Walker, Ric (236576) Sahuarita, AZ US-CanadaFrench Antarctic Territories-Israel-Channel Islands-Cuba; 65

HAVE YOU LOST YOUR FAVORITE DEALER RECENTLY? We would like to apply for that ‘favorite dealer’ position. Our qualifications are:

Warren, Paul Lipton (236571) Chicago, IL US; 77; Artist Watkins, Ken (236653) Baltimore, MD US; 75; Retired Weber, Steven (236649) Bluffton, SC US Mint; 71; Retired Weiskopf, Jim (236556) Glen Ellyn, IL MapsPlate Blocks-Used Worldwide; 65; IT Geek West, Alfred L. (236658) Virginia Beach, VA USVatican City-Hungary; 75 Willett, Charles (236609) Youngstown, OH USCanada; 83 Willett, Robert (236566) Holtsville, NY USCanada; Sales Winkler, Barry M. (236561) Rittman, OH ClassicsCommemoratives-Air Mails-First Day CoversFancy Cancels-Blocks/Guideline Blocks; 58 Yeaton, Alan H. (236631) Goffstown, NH Perfins19th Century-20th Century-Christmas SealsCoils-Used US; 77; Retired Zerull, Lesley M. (236628) Corvallis, OR US; 83; Retired Zesch, James (236597) Santa Cruz, CA Worldwide Pre-1960 Zinn, Ethan (236650) Amberley, OH RailroadsOlympics-Fish/Marine Life-Australia; 40

DECEASED Alsis, Stanley J. (108691), Longmeadow, MA Berg, Warren C. (10410-072374), Sarasota, FL Braisted, Gary M. (148073), Boynton Beach, FL Chow, Monroe (10478-074508), Montebello, CA Craig, Wallace A. (6150-053030), Fullerton, CA Dalphin, John F. (11117-068537), Owls Head, NY

The Gold Standard in

ericjackson.com

a) We offer up to 5,000 world sets, singles, in every price range every week. b) You can choose with regular mail (for U.S.) or e-mail delivery of catalogs. c) We’ve never had a minimum order. d) We ship 99.9% of orders the next mail day. e) We’re a family owned firm in business since 1980.

We’d love to send you a trial series of our ‘applications’ for the next 12 weeks by e-mail or 4 weeks by mail to US addresses.

KAP Stamps Helping collectors build collections since 1980

566 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

P.O. BOX 68364 SCHAUMBURG IL 60168-0364

847-524-1392 • FAX 847-301-7320 CATALOG@KAPSTAMPS.COM

Online Auctions

Every three weeks we offer more than 200 lots of U.S. Revenues, Taxpaids, State Revenues, Canada Revenues, World Revenues, Telegraph Stamps, Cinderellas, U.S. Postage stamps on occasion and much more. Take a look and bid!

Bidding ends Tuesdays at 11 p.m. EST

See Us at the Great American Stamp Show!

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

A Few Nice Items From Our Inventory As of this date, all items shown below are available in our Ebay and Hipstamp stores.

s s r Ebay: www.ebay.com/str/southweststamps r e e l l l l e e S S Doesthis thissound soundlike likeyou? you?

Does FoFror Hipstamp : www.hipstamp.com/store/southwest-stamps Fair offers accepted on any item listed. Layaway available You’re ready your collection. ** ** You’re ready to to sellsell your collection.

You’re considering selling auction order maximize return. ** ** You’re considering selling at at auction in in order to to maximize return.

You have some nice stamps but many them wouldn’t reach $100 - $200 ** ** You have some nice stamps but many of of them wouldn’t reach thethe $100 - $200 minimum required many auction houses. collection would offered minimum required byby many auction houses.

So,So, thethe collection would bebe offered a larger where it would less than you’d like. as as a larger lotlot where it would sellsell forfor farfar less than you’d like.

Well, is where come of the Sellers Ebay have buyers who ready, willing Well, thisthis is where wewe come in. in.

As As oneone of the TopTop Sellers on on Ebay wewe have thethe buyers who areare ready, willing andand able to offer great prices for your stamps.

And, the best part is that you don’t have to have a collection full able to offer great prices for your stamps. And, the best part is that you don’t have to have a collection full of of XF-SUPERB gems. have buyers XF’s, Fine’s even stamps with a small defect.

If it’s thing have XF-SUPERB gems.

WeWe have buyers forfor XF’s, Fine’s andand even stamps with a small defect.

If it’s oneone thing wewe have discovered in over years in the philatelic business is that there a buyer about anything. discovered in over 40 40 years in the philatelic business is that there is aisbuyer forfor justjust about anything. references testimonials check out 95,000 comments from buyers dealt with As As forfor references andand testimonials check out thethe over 95,000 from buyers wewe have dealt with on on #349 Mint NH Line Pairjust w/just #388 XFover Used w/comments Cert #459 Mint NHhave Line Pair Ebay since 1996.

Ebay since 1996.

Cert - Price 1,395 Price $5,000 w/ Cert - Price $1,795

break your collection down a much finer degree that major auction houses.

WeWe cancan break your collection down forfor salesale to atomuch finer degree that thethe major auction houses.

To To seesee thethe fullfull details consigning your collection to us, please head over to our website at southweststamps.com.

There details forfor consigning your collection to us, please head on on over to our website at southweststamps.com.

There also direct contact information if you have questions. contact phone, email youyou willwill also findfind direct contact information if you have anyany questions.

Or Or youyou cancan contact us us by by phone, email or or direct mail using information below. direct mail using thethe information below.

If the auction route is not you, also collections directly. handle collections from virtually If the auction route is not forfor you, wewe also buybuy collections directly.

WeWe cancan handle collections from virtually anyany country in the world. country in the world.

Let’s talk!

Let’s talk! ( Please wenot do not travel.

All collections would have toshipped be shipped to us ( Please notenote thatthat we do travel.

All collections would have to be to us insured to cover collection shipped to )us. ) We We are are fullyfully insured to cover anyany sizesize collection shipped to us.

#454 Mint NH Superb GEM w/ cert - Price $1,700

#356 Mint o.g. Pair W/ Cert Price $7,250

FoFroBr Bu uyeyresrs

#355 Mint NH Line Pair w/ Cert - Price $2,895

Didyou youknow knowthat thatweweoffer offer200-300 200-300lots lotsofof Did U.S.and andForeign Foreignstamps stampsPER PERWEEK WEEKininour ourEbay Ebayauctions? auctions?

U.S. also maintain a nice selection of better singles in our Ebay Store which WeWe also maintain a nice selection of better singles andand setssets in our Ebay Store which areare available immediate purchase.

Here a few of the items currently available. available forfor immediate purchase.

Here areare justjust a few of the items currently available. head over to our Store inventory listing JustJust head on on over to our Store forfor thethe fullfull inventory listing at at

www.ebay.com/str/southweststamps www.ebay.com/str/southweststamps

#238 Mint NH RARE Plate Block Price $12,500

#489 Mint NH Superb GEM Pair - Price $650

Thinking of selling and the auction route is not for you? We accept consignments of better U.S. and Foreign stamps for inclusion in our Ebay and Hipstamp offerings - and YOU get to set your price. You can contact us either by phone or by sending us a message from either our website at southweststamps.com or the email address below.

UNIQUE Sheet - with The The UNIQUE C23cC23c Sheet - with certcert

SouthwestStamps Stamps Southwest

Where QualityMatters Matters Where Quality

2310 SE Delaware Ave., G, #278 • Ankeny, IA 50021 2310 SE Delaware Ave., Ste.Ste. G, #278 • Ankeny, IA 50021

515-963-8099 515-963-8099 email: info@southweststamps.com email: info@southweststamps.com Serving collectors since 1977 Serving collectors since 1977

Desbonnet, Patrick M. (132769), Brooklyn Park, MN Frank, Maurice J. (194331), Evanston, IL Gerlach, Steven C. (102112), Sparta, IL Grant, Kenneth B. (123058), Baraboo, WI Jarnick, Jerome C. (6785-028445), Troy, MI Jordan, Virginia E. (5217-034872), Skowhegan, ME Lang, Ross C. (8295-057675), Estes Park, CO Mattos, John (172161), Martinez, CA McDowell, R. S. (159226), Kirkland, WA Mooz, William E. (9317-064586), Santa Monica, CA Mosiondz, Peter (7725-054226), Laurel Springs, NJ Perri, Louis C. (12387-075240), Kenosha, WI Rathert, Dan E. (147025), Gettysburg, PA Rocco, Robert A. (10223-073679), Orange, CT Rogal, Joseph W. (8165-047946), Hastings, PA Russell, Andrew T. (11924-054276), Los Angeles, CA Sayer, Shannon L. (224363), Rochester, MN Serval, Stanley S. (210360), Waltham, MA Shaevitz, Howard (11291-069670), Brockton, MA

Wilson, Henry H. (10837-075667), Stone Mountain, GA Wohlfrom, Arthur F. (10179-066723), Columbus, OH

CHAPTER DISBANDED

Guatemala Stamp Chats NEW DEALER LISTINGS 2.25” x 5”

JOIN THE I.S.G.C.

Only $15 For Online Membership includes:

Tiffin Stamp Club, Tiffin, OH (059698)

The following have been approved for classification as stamp dealer according to qualifications established by the Board of Vice Presidents. All dealer listings are located online at www.stamps.org/Dealers.

H.R. Harmer GPN Inc., Charles Epting (222480), New York, NY, www.hrharmer.com Riverbank Treasures LLC, Jerry Wessler (205180), New Lisbon, WI, riverbanktreasures. com Shields Stamps and Coins, Tony Shields (234796), Melbourne, Australia

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Confederate States Collectors Trust Trish TrishKaufmann.com The First Lady of Confederate Philately offers her clients the expert experience of over 50 years in one of philately’s most specialized concentrations.

• Buy and Sell with confidence • Explore Trish’s online inventory • Enrich your knowledge

Patricia A. Kaufmann 10194 N. Old State Road Lincoln, DE 19960-3644 Call: 302.422.2656 Email: trishkauf@comcast.net Online at: www.TrishKaufmann.com

568 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

22 AP 1-6th Page Vertical.indd 1

3/9/22 12:34 PM

Classified Ads

www.stamps.org/Classified-Ads

UNITED STATES

BRITISH COMMONWEALTH

BALTICS

BARNEY’S STAMPS has Mint & Used Commemoratives, Airmails, 19th Century, Ducks and much more.

Please visit at www.barneysstamps. com (1469)

LIKE APPROVALS? Try APS Circuit Books for British Commonwealth!

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

www.StampsOfEasternEurope. com WANT LISTS FILLED. New issues. Year sets avail. HSE, POB 4028 Vineyard Haven, MA 02568 Phone - (888) 868-8293 (1481)

WANTED - US Scott RS307, 1¢ Franklin with large overprint IR and Dr K in black. Send price quote to flsmithmd@msn.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) 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 (1473) 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) ebay.com/str/littlearttreasures (1476) stampsforseriouscollectors.com (1476)

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CANADA

CANAL ZONE

CLASSIC CANADA ON APPROVAL. See it before you buy it. Philatelic Friends, PO Box 187, Carlisle, PA 17013 (1473) ebay.com/str/littlearttreasures (1476)

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

ARMENIA www.StampsOfEasternEurope. com WANT LISTS FILLED. New Issues. Year Sets available. HSE POB 4028, Vineyard Haven, MA. 02568.

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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 (1481)

YEAR SETS 1957-2022 NH, also mint, used issues. A. Hafiz, 112B Ammar Bin Yasser St., Heliopolis, Cairo 11351, Egypt.

Email:adhafez1311@gmail.com (1473)

FRANCE LIKE APPROVALS? Try APS Circuit Books for France! We can build your collection. Email CircuitBooks@ stamps.org (1471) FrenchPhilately.com (1479) www.StampsFrance.com (1480)

CHINA

GERMANY

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

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

BUY STAMPS at www.

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GERMAN AREA ON APPROVAL. See it before you buy it. Philatelic Friends, PO Box 187, Carlisle, PA 17013 (1473)

CHINESE STAMP BUYER Pays top $ jon@chinesestampbuyer.com www.chinesestampbuyer.com (1478)

COLOMBIA JOIN: www.COPAPHIL.org (1471)

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BALKANS

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HUNGARY www.HungarianStamps.com WANT LISTS FILLED. New issues.

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IRELAND Ireland, Used. Hi Denoms, 194687; @20-30% CV. Peterkff@gmail. com (1470)

ITALY LIKE APPROVALS? Try APS Circuit Books for Italy! We can build your collection. Email CircuitBooks@ stamps.org (1471) www.StampsItaly.com (1480)

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).

Payment in advance. No change of copy.

No refunds.

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

6 months $ 21.28 $ 42.55 $ 63.83 $ 85.10 $ 106.38 $ 127.66 $ 148.93 $ 170.21 $ 191.48 $ 212.76 $ 234.04

12 months $ 37.82 $ 75.65 $ 113.47 $ 151.30 $ 189.12 $ 226.94 $ 264.77 $ 302.59 $ 340.42 $ 378.24 $ 416.06

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 (1468) appears after your ad, it expires after this issue. Deadline for the July 2023 issue is May 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 JUNE 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 569

JAPAN

SCANDINAVIA

www.Stamps-Japan.com (1480)

OTTOMAN AND TURKEY OTTOMAN & TURKEY: Extensive stamp & philatelic material collection for sale. 20 albums including 7 SAFE SKAI albums.

Maryland, USA. Request info at tugra1863@outlook.com (1471)

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

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

PANAMA JOIN: www.COPAPHIL.org (1471)

POLAND POLAND SPECIALIZED: Classics to New Issues, Year Sets, Back of Book. Lubelski Philatelic LLC 111 Helen Drive, Rossford, Ohio 43460 Ph: 419-410-9115, Web: www.

Lubelskistamps.com Email: Dan@ Lubelskistamps.com (1479) www.StampsOfEasternEurope. com WANT LISTS FILLED. New issues. Year sets avail. HSE, POB 4028 Vineyard Haven, MA 02568 Phone - (888) 868-8293 (1481)

PORTUGAL www.StampsPortugal.com (1480)

ROMANIA www.StampsOfEasternEurope. com WANT LISTS FILLED. New issues. Year sets avail. HSE, POB 4028 Vineyard Haven, MA 02568 Phone - (888) 868-8293 (1481)

RUSSIA RussianPhilately.com (1479) www.StampsRussia.com (1480) www.StampsOfEasternEurope. com WANT LISTS FILLED. New issues. Year sets avail. HSE, POB 4028 Vineyard Haven, MA 02568 Phone - (888) 868-8293 (1481)

stampsforseriouscollectors.com (1476)

COVERS www.dickkeiser.com (1473)

ALBUMS

www.StampsOfEasternEurope. com WANT LISTS FILLED. New issues. Year sets avail. HSE, POB 4028 Vineyard Haven, MA 02568 Phone - (888) 868-8293 (1481)

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

UNITED NATIONS

APPRAISALS

U.N. PRICE LIST, Wm. Henry Stamps, POB 150010, Kew Gardens, NY 11415 www.allunstamps.com (1477)

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 (1481)

WORLDWIDE PRE 1955 SETS, SINGLES, NH/H/@ 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) LIKE APPROVALS? Try APS Circuit Books for Worldwide! We can build your collection. Email CircuitBooks@stamps.org (1471) 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)

Steve Crippe 214.980.2116

steve@stevencrippe.com 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

570 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

SELLER ID 534232: US, Polynesia (1475)

MAIL AUCTIONS with a difference.

US & foreign stamps, covers, revenues, documents, ephemera, contact us for next catalog; HJW Daugherty, Box 1146, Eastham MA, 02642, 508-255-7488 or online; hjwdonline.com, hjwdonline@ gmail.com (1471)

UKRAINE

Texas Stamp Buyer

APS Dealer, ATA, MSDA

AUCTIONS

YOU WILL LOVE MY PRICES AND SERVICE! Worldwide sets singles souv sheets mint/used approvals or from want list. Linehan P.O. Box 846, Neosho MO 64850 KJLinehan03@yahoo.com (1472)

APPROVALS

www.autographs.onilne (1478)

WORLDWIDE. GREAT PRICES BEGINNER TO ADVANCED. Sets and Singles. State interest. Larry Serenari, 766 Nestle Quarry Rd., Falling Waters, WV 25419 (1472)

EXCHANGE Trade better worldwide stamps in booklets. Pete 4470 Chippewa Boulder CO 80303 peterbialick@ comcast.net (1470)

LOOK OVER OUR APPROVALS in your home before you buy. Send inquires to D.D. Doyen & Sons P.O. Box 580 Brick, NJ 08723 (1473) US AND WORLDWIDE. See it before you buy it. Philatelic Friends, PO Box 187, Carlisle, PA 17013 (1473) WORLDWIDE APPROVALS DISCOUNT 66 2/3% from Current Scott. Send APS# to Robert Ducharme, C.P. 592, St. Jerome, QC J7Z 5V3, Canada (1475)

#5343a, Coil Pair, Die Cutting Omitted. $49.95

Suburban Stamp Inc.

P.O. Box 425, East Longmeadow, MA 01028 413-785-5348 E-mail: suburbanstamp@verizon.net

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

Used ”SCOTT TWO POST” Album Covers Clean and undamaged 8 Standard size-Spine numbered I through VIII 7 Wide size XI - XIV - XV + 4 not numbered Standard $25.00 ea. + Economy shipping Wide $29.00 ea + Economy shipping Buy 3 or more assorted & pay $15.00 shipping Returns Accepted-Buyer pays postage.

NOT A DEALER - CHECKS ONLY PLEASE Please contact: MARTIN LACKNER Marlac2016@comcast.net (1473)

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

Joe Thatcher, P.O. Box 38, Ironton, MN 56455 (1472)

INTERNET www.dickkeiser.com (1473)

LITERATURE www.pbbooks.com Leonard H. Hartmann (1477)

ALL

HAWAII

Vogt Stamps 1301 Broadway • Burlingame, CA 94010 650-344-3401 Full website www.vogtstamps.com

Rocky Mountain Philatelic Library Stamp and Cover Auctions http://www.rmplauctions.org Next auction closes October 26t at noon, MST

No Buyer’s Premium

MAIL BID SALES

www.forpostalhistory.com British Commonwealth and Worldwide Postal Incidents (1479)

FREE CATALOG. US, British, Europe, W/W. Many Starter Collections.

Various Sized Lots. No Buyers Fee. Jarema, 4247 NW 87th Ln, Gainesville, FL 32653 (1474)

REVENUES www.dickkeiser.com (1473)

NEW ISSUES FOREIGN NEW ISSUES. Becker, 4449 SW Wood Pkwy, Portland, OR 97219 (1472)

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

STAMP SHOPS

WANT LISTS

POSTAL HISTORY

US PRECANCELS, UNITED NATIONS, EUROPE Send your want list via curtstam@aol.com Quality Stamps, 33% catalog, prompt service (1469)

www.dickkeiser.com (1473)

FOREIGN POSTAL STATIONERY. I can use almost anything in foreign postal stationery. Steve Schumann stephen.schumann@att.net, 510785-4794 (1473)

CKstamps U.S. & Worldwide

US FIRST DAY COVERS

WORLDWIDE REVENUES LIQUIDATION of collections, sets and singles. Everywhere from A-Z. also documents. Gordon Brooks. email Bizzia@sympatico.ca (1489)

www.dickkeiser.com (1473)

We Sell & Buy Stamps

PHILATELIC SUPPLIES All major brands. B and G Sales $50+ order gets free U.S. shipping. www. bandgstamps.com or call 317-6275242 (1478)

SUPPLIES www.dickkeiser.com (1473) from $0.01 on eBay

ck stamps LLC

APS #216955

For One of the World's Most Complete U.S. Inventories, visit — www.millerstamps.com

including HUNTING & WILDLIFE CONSERVATION STAMPS

THE CANADIAN REVENUE STAMP CATALOGUE

P.O. Box 1011, Niantic CT 06357-7011 860-908-6200 • E-mail: stamps@millerstamps.com

AUCTION GALLERIES, INC. PH 212-753-6421 SIEGELAUCTIONS.COM 21 WEST 38TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10036

NEW - 2022 Canadian Revenue Stamp Catalogue by ESJ van Dam

217 1-inch pages, color photos 2019 Miller Celebrating 50 years ad.1300 1indd.indd 10/7/2019 1 1:56:12 PM

by Air Mail to USA-US$35, Overseas-US$45 expected shipping at end of January 2022 by E. S. J. van Dam

2022

E.S.J. van Dam Ltd

P.O. box 300-P, Bridgenorth, ON, Canada K0L 1H0 toll free phone 1-866-382-6326

www.canadarevenuestamps.com

CHINESE STAMP BUYER Pays top $ jon@chinesestampbuyer.com www.chinesestampbuyer.com (1478)

Used 1960–1969 $85.00 1970–1970 $150.00 1980–1989 $325.00 1990 $42.50

www.DonSCal.com

DARN! I should have bought my stamps from

MILLER'S STAMP CO.

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)

Mint NH 1960–1969 $60.00 1970–1979 $175.00 1980–1989 $260.00 1990 $32.00

42-14 Union St. #2A Flushing, NY 11355 ckstampsLLC@yahoo.com

— A name you can trust • Celebrating 50 years —

COLLECTOR WISHES TO PURCUSES REVENUE MATCH & MEDICINE STAMPS/COLLECTIONS Muriel Rowan 17160 Kinzie St. Northridge, CA 91325 merkrow@aol. com (1471)

BERLIN YEAR SETS

Stamps Auctions

www.CKstamps.com

WANTED

INDIA

AUCTION . RETAIL . PRIVATE TREATY

www.stampbay.com PO Box 50848, Palo Alto, CA 94303

Ph: (650) 387-3885 Email: info@stampbay.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

Free Illustrated Pricelists Custom Printed to Your Requirements What list may I send?

Stamps or Postal History

Stamps Plus PO Box 94822 Las Vegas, NV 89193

800-594-3837

Remember the APS and APRL in your Will Call (814) 933-3803 for info on estate planning Year 2022 2021

VATICAN CITY YEAR SETS Mint $93.00 $99.00

Year 2020 2019

Mint $90.00 $100.00

Entire Vatican catalog is stock; 1929 to today Please add 3% postage & shipping minimum $1.00 FREE price list.

PENNY BLACK STAMP COMPANY P.O. Box 78, Dexter MI 48130-0078 Phone: (734) 424-3043

www.pennyblackstamp.com

Mexico Call: 707-852-4022

New and Lower Prices www.greggnelsonstamps.com

D & P Stamps

Specializing in France & Colonies, Portugal & Cols, Italy & Cols, Spain & Cols, British Cols & Latin, Central & South America.

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

Please check out our new website where you can now shop at our online store!!

www.dpstamps.com

7132 North University Drive Tamarac, FL 33321

2220 Otay Lakes Rd Suite 502-411 Chula Vista, CA 91915 619-987-1019 • Pat@dpstamps.com

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

JUNE 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 571

Index of Advertisers Amos Media — www.linns.com

Gary Posner, Inc.

— www.amosadvantage.com

577

APS Estate Advice

— www.garyposnerinc.com

571

APS Great American Stamp Show 552-553

APS Publications — www.stamps.org/publications

557

Argyll Etkin Limited — www.argyll-etkin.com

570

— www.greggnelsonstamps.com — www.hbphilatelics.com

571

Colonial Stamp Company

497

HipStamp — www.hipstamp.com

491

571

Cornerstamp, Inc., Paradise Valley Stamp Company — www.stamp-one.com

502

Cuban Philatelic Society — www.cubapsa.com

576

D&P Stamps — www.dpstamps.com

571

Daniel F. Kelleher Auctions C4

Davidson’s Stamp Service 571

David Torre Co. 571

Downeast Stamps — www.destamps.com 497 Dr. Robert Friedman & Sons 499

Dutch Country Auctions 551

E.S.J. van Dam, Ltd. — www.canadarevenuestamps.com

— www.hughwood.com

573

571

581

Intl. Society of Guatemala Collectors — www. guatemalastamps.com

568

J.R. Mowbray, Ltd. — www.mowbrays.co.nz

571

K.A.P. Stamps — www.kapstamps.com

566

Kelleher & Rogers, Ltd.

— www.randyschollstampcompany.com/ have-tongs-will-travel.asp 495 Rasdale Stamp Company — www.rasdalestamps.com

— http://rmplauctions.org

— www.ebay.com/str/southweststamps — www.sparks-auctions.com

C3

Stampbay, Inc. — www.stampbay.com

571

Stamplister — www.stamplister.com

578

— stamps-plus.com/pse.html

571

Miller’s Stamp Company — www.millerstamps.com

571

Mountainside Stamps, Coins & Currency 502

Mystic Stamp Company C2, 492

Nieser Stamp and Coin 525

Eric Jackson — www.ericjackson.com

566

— www.paloalbums.com

571

Sterling Stamps

— www.michaeleastick.com

Palo Albums Inc.

567

Sparks Auctions

513

561

571

Southwest Stamps

Markest Stamps — www.markest.com

— www.easternauctions.com

570, 578

— www.shaulisstamps.com

Stamps Plus

— www.mysticstamp.com

571

Scott A. Shaulis

C4

— www.mountainsidestamps.com

565

— www.siegelauctions.com

— www.kelleherasia.com

— www.kennieser.com

Eastern Auctions

Randy Scholl Stamp Co. Have Tongs Will Travel

Rocky Mountain Philatelic Library

Michael Eastick & Associates Pty. Ltd.

— https://waterfowlstampsandmore.com/ 501

Philasearch.com — www.philasearch.com 565

Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Inc.

— www.isjp.org

— www.colonialstamps.com

— www.DutchCountryAuctions.com

571

— www.hgitner.com

International Society for Japanese Philately

— www.drbobfriedmanstamps.com

571

Henry Gitner Philatelists, Inc.

CK Stamps — www.CKstamps.com

Don S. Cal — www.DonSCal.com

568

525

Auktionshaus Christoph Gärtner GmbH & Co. KG — www.auktionen-gaertner.de 503

— www.newstampissues.com

— www.trishkaufmann.com Penny Black Stamp Company — www.pennyblackstamp.com

HB Philatelics

Hugh Wood Inc. Insurance

— www.kelleherauctions.com

575

Gregg Nelson Stamps

— www.stamps.org/Estate-Advice — www.stamps.org/GASS

Patricia A. Kaufmann

563

— auctions.sterlingstamps.com

570

Steve Crippe

570

Steve Malack Stamps — www.malack.com

493

Suburban Stamp Inc.

570

Tropical Stamps, Inc. — www.tropicalstamps.com

571

Universal Philatelic Auctions — upastampauctions.co.uk

489

Vance Auctions Ltd — www.vanceauctions.com

568

Vogt Stamps — www.vogtstamps.com

570

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.

572 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

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.

Show Time

stampshow@stamps.org

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/Show-Calendar 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.

Pennsylvania

Virginia

KPS Summer Stamp Bourse, Kent Philatelic Society, American Legion Post #179, 2327 Wilson Ave., SW, Walker. *B* Contact: William Sobotka Email: billsobotka@prodigy.net

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: www.merchantvillestampclub.org/

Alabama

June 3-4

HUNTSPEX 2023, Huntsville Philatelic Club, Jaycee Community Building, 2180 Airport Road, SW, Huntsville.

Contact: Mike OReilly Email: mcoreilly@yahoo.com Website: http://www.sefsc.org/huntspex.html

Michigan

June 9-10

Dearborn Stamp Show, Dearborn Stamp Club, Sokol Cultural Center, 23600 W. Warren Road, Dearborn. *B* Contact: Sue Cousino Email: debster0551@gmail.com

Ohio

June 9-10

Colopex 2023 - Cancelled, Columbus Philatelic Club, SHOW HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR 2023, Columbus. *WSP* Contact: Guy Purington Email: gpurington@homesteadcos.com Website: https://www.colopex.com/

Oregon

June 9-10

SOPEX 2023, Southern Oregon Philatelic Society, United Methodist Church Hall, 607 W. Main, Medford.

Contact: Nancy Swan Email: fnswan@mac.com Website: https://classic.stamps.org/SOPS 574 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

June 10-11

SCOPEX 2023, Mount Nittany Philatelic Society, American Philatelic Center, 100 Match Factory Place, Bellefonte.

Contact: Don Heller Email: dheller5720@yahoo.com

Email: briangaydos1971@gmail.com Website: http://aps-lv-stamps.org/

Wisconsin

July 8-9

Pennsylvania

Summer Seminar 2023, American Philatelic Center, 100 Match Factory Place, Bellefonte. *APS* Contact: Eric Spielvogel Email: eric@stamps.org

June 12-16

MSDA Waukesha Expo 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/

Kentucky

June 16-17

Colorado

LOUIPEX 2023, Metro Louisville Stamp Society, Lyndon Elks Lodge #2052, 904 Ormsby Lane, Louisville.

Contact: German Dillon Email: germandillon35@gmail.com Website: www.louisvillestampsociety.org

Michigan

June 17

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/

Iowa

June 18

Cedar Rapids Stamp Club Summer Bourse, CRSC Chapter #106, Hiawatha Community Center, 101 Emmons Street, Hiawatha. *B* Contact: Stephen Kossayian Email: skossayian@msn.com Website: http://crsc.mysite.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

Ohio

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/

Montrose Stamp Bourse, Lincolnway Stamps, Holiday Inn, 4073 Medina Road, Akron. *B* Contact: Dave Pool Email: lincolnway@sssnet.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

July 14-15

First Mile High Stamp Show, Denver Stamp Club, VFW, 15625 W. 10th Avenue, Golden. *B* Contact: Ken Luke Email: safetyluke@hotmail.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/

New York

July 15-16

Northeast Postal History & Ephemera Show, Capital District Philatelic Associates, Polish Community Center, 225 Washington Ave. Ext., Albany.

Contact: Thomas Auletta Email: azusacollectibles@yahoo.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, Lake Minnetonka Stamp Club, Maplewood Stamp Club and MN Stamp Dealers Association, Crystal Community Ctr., 4800 Douglas Dr., N., Minneapolis. *WSP* Contact: Randy A. Smith Email: rasmary4@frontiernet.net Website: https://www.mnstampexpo.org/

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/

Wish Central

“Making Buying & Selling Wishes a Reality!”

Gary Posner

#315. 5¢ Blue Imperforate Top Sheet Margin Single, Mint Never Hinged, Brilliant color, Perfect Centering, a Superb Gem with PSE Certificate #1166794 Grading It Superb 98 OG NH. SMQ $1,000 Our List Price Will Be $1,250 Ad Price $1050

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 !

#261. 1894 $1 Type I, Mint, Lightly Hinged Original Gum, Fine-Very Fine Centering for a Tight Issue, Full Perfs All Around, with PF Certificate #33092.

Scott $1,000 Our List Price $700 Ad Price $595

#313. 1903 $5.00, Wide Margins, Barest Trace of Hinging, Deep Rich Color, Detailed Impression, Near Perfect Centering, a Stunning Superb Gem with PSE Certificate #1404015 Grading It Superb 98 OG PH. SMQ $6,250 Our List Price Will Be $7,350 Ad Price $6,350

#526. 1926 2¢ Carmine Type #70a. 1862 24¢ Brown #306. 1902 8¢, Mint Never IV, Mint Never Hinged, Jum- Lilac, Used, Red Light Hinged, Intense Shade on bo Margins, Full Perfs All Cancel, Sharp Impres- Fresh Paper, Outstanding Around, Sharp Impression, sion on Fresh, Bright Centering In Wide, Balan Offset Printing Condition Paper with PF Certificate anced Margins, a Beautiful Rarity with a PSE Certificate #389513.

Gem Example, It is Graded #1255200 Grading It XFSuperb 98 OG NH by PSE Our List Price $800 Superb 95J OG NH. Certificate #1316328.

Ad Price $680 SMQ $800 Our List Price SMQ $2,500 Our List $1,100 Price Will Be $3,000 Ad Price $935 Ad Price $2,550

#459. 1914 2¢ Carmine Pair, Fresh, Bright Color, Extremely Fine Centering in Ample Margins with PSE Certificate #1338941 Grading It XF 90 OG NH. SMQ $1,000 Our List Price $1,100 Ad Price $935

#524. 1918 $5 Top Margin Plate # Single, Mint Never Hinged, Perfect Centering, Wide Margins, Bright Color, a Stunning, Superb NH Gem with PF Certificate #294429.

Our List Price $1,000 Ad Price $850

#C18. 1933 50¢ Chicago Zeppelin, Mint Previously Hinged, Enormous Jumbo Margins, Mathematically Perfect Centering, Bright Color on Post-Office Fresh Paper, a Perfect Superb Gem Stamp in Every Respect and Possibly the Finest Lightly Hinged Scott C18 Known, with PSE Certificate #1356395 Grading it Gem 100 Jumbo OG PH, Population of Only This 1!

SMQ $1,000 Our List Price Will Be $1,195 Ad Price $950

Have Similar?

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

Bob Prager

#423. 1912 $1 Mint, Lightly Hinged Gem, Deep Color, Sharp Impression, Wide Margins, a Superb Beauty with PF Certificate #294972.

Our List Price $2,000 Ad Price $1,700

#571. 1923 $1.00, Mint Never Hinged, Deep Rich Color on Bright Paper, Wide and Balanced Margins, a Superb Gem, with PSE Certificate #1300319 Grading It Superb 98 OG NH. SMQ $775 Our List Price Will Be $775 Ad Price $650

#C14. 1930 $1.30 Graf Zeppelin, Mint Never Hinged with Plate # In Selvage, Intense Color, Sharp Proof-Like Impression, Amazing Centering In Wide Margins, a Spectacular Gem Plate Number Example with PF Certificate #478427 Grading it Superb 98 OG NH. SMQ $2,750 Our List Price Will Be $3,250 Ad Price $2,750

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

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

Ohio

July 30

Montrose Stamp Bourse, Lincolnway Stamps, Holiday Inn, 4073 Medina Road, Akron. *B* Contact: Dave Pool Email: lincolnway@sssnet.com

Ohio

August 4-5

CINPEX 2023, Greater Cincinnati Philatelic Society, United Methodist Church, 3682 West Fork Road, Cincinnati. *B* Contact: Michael Coates Email: coatesmk1948@gmail.com

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

Contact: James Natale Email: jnatale3307@comcast.net Website: www.merchantvillestampclub.org/

Pennsylvania

August 5

Washington

August 5

New York

August 6

The Big Erie Stamp Show 2023, Erie Stamp Club, New Hope Presbyterian Church, 5440 Washington Ave, Erie. *B* Contact: Gary Diley Email: hingerem@gmail.com

Strait Stamp Show, Strait Stamp Society, Guy Cole Event Center, 202 N. Blake Ave., Sequim.

Contact: Cathie Osborne Email: rickcath@wavecable.com Website: https://straitstamp.org/

Hilton Stamp/Coin Show and Philatelic Open House, Western Monroe Philatelic Society, Hilton Exempts Club, 137 South Ave, Hilton. *B* Contact: Dave Bombard Email: dbombar1@rochester.rr.com

Ohio

August 10-13

Allen Park Stamp Show, Sokol Cultural Center, 23600 W. Warren, Dearborn Heights. *B* Contact: Debra Detloff Email: debster0551@gmail.com

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

New Jersey

Wyoming

Michigan

August 5

August 5

MSC Monthly Bourse, Merchantville Stamp Club, Martin Luther Chapel School Gym, 4100 Terrace Ave, Pennsauken. *B*

576 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

August 12-13

WYPEX 2023, Cheyenne Philatelic Society, Red Lion Hotel, 204 W. Fox Farm Road, Cheyenne.

Contact: Marc Anderson

Email: wyostampguy@gmail.com

South Carolina

August 19-20

Columbia Summer 2023 Stamp and Postcard Show, Spring Valley High School, 120 Sparkleberry Lane, Columbia. *B* Contact: Mark Postmus Email: columbiastamppostcardshow@yahoo. com

New York

August 19

End of Summer Show, Buffalo Stamp Club, The Knights Hall, 2735 Union Road, Cheektowaga. *B* Contact: Alan Davis Email: ddavis504@roadrunner.com Website: https://buffalostampclub.org/

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

Ohio

August 25-26

AIRPEX 2023, Dayton Stamp Club, IBEW Union Hall, 6550 Poe Ave. (at Space Dr), Dayton. *B* Contact: Mike Komiensky Email: daytonstampclub@gmail.com Website: http://daytonstampclub.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/

Arriving Soon!

Pre-Order and Save Pre-Order by May 1, 2023 to ensure your copy!

2024 Scott Catalogue Volume 3 (Countries G-I) Item No. C243

Pre-Order:

$99.99 Pre-Order by May 1, 2023

Plus FREE Shipping!* AA: $114.99 Retail: $149.99 *Orders totaling $75+ ship FREE!

• Two-book volumes improve user experience • Thousands of value changes keep pace with market fluctuations • Hundreds of new stamp listings • Editorial enhancements throughout include added stamp images, expanded footnotes and much more

AmosAdvantage.com | 1-800-572-6885 Ordering infOrmatiOn: *AA prices apply to paid subscribers of Amos Media titles, or for orders placed online. Prices, terms and product availability subject to change.

Shipping & handling: U.S.: Orders total $0-$10.00 charged $4.99 shipping. U.S. Order total $10.01-$74.99 charged $9.99 shipping. Orders totaling $75+ will ship FREE! Taxes will apply in CA, OH, & IL. Canada: 20% of order total. Minimum charge $19.99 Maximum charge $200.00. Foreign orders are shipped via FedEx Intl. or USPS and billed actual freight.

Ohio

August 27

Montrose Stamp Bourse, Lincolnway Stamps, Holiday Inn, 4073 Medina Road, Akron. *B* Contact: Dave Pool Email: lincolnway@sssnet.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

Texas

Ohio

Wisconsin

Connecticut

Colorado

September 15-16

September 30

Capitol City Stamp Bourse, Capitol City Philatelic Society, Lower Swatara Firehouse, 1350 Fulling Mill Road, Middletown. *B* Contact: Mike Marino Email: mikelmarino923@gmail.com Website: HTTPS://lcps-stamps.org/capital-cityphilatelic-society

October 6-8

WINEPEX, Redwood Empire Collectors Club, Best Western Plus, 215 Alameda del Prado, Novato. *B* Contact: Kurt Schau Email: kurtschau@comcast.net Website: http://www. redwoodempirecollectorsclub.org/

Indiana

October 6-8

INDYPEX ‘23, Indiana Stamp Club, Hamilton County 4-H Fairgrounds & Exhibition Center, 2003 Pleasant Street, Noblesville. *WSP* Contact: Kurt Streepy Email: ksstreepy@gmail.com Website: https://indianastampclub.org/

StampLister Saving you time by listing your stamps and postal history. www.StampLister.com

971-275-4568 | StampLister@comcast.net 578 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

September 29-30

Cherrelyn Stamp Show & Rocky Mountain Post Card Show, Cherrelyn Stamp Club, VFW, 15625 W. 10th Avenue, Golden. *B* Contact: Ken Luke Email: safetyluke@hotmail.com

California

Birmpex, Birmingham Stamp Club, Sokol Cultural Center, 23600 W. Warren Ave, Dearborn Heights. *B* Contact: Fred Como Email: karate1dad@netscape.net Website: Birminghamstampclub.com

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/

Illinois

Michigan

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/

Pennsylvania

September 9-10

September 16

TUSCOPEX 2023, Tuscora Stamp Club, Tuscora Park Pavilion, 161 Tuscora Avenue NW, New Philadelphia.

Contact: Steven Worsham Email: slworsham@frontier.com

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/ MSDA College of DuPage Stamp Show, 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

September 15-17

Greater Houston Stamp Show, GHSS Foundation and Houston Philatelic Society, Humble Civic Center, 8233 Will Clayton Parkway, Humble.

Contact: Ron Strawser Email: ghss@earthlink.net Website: https://houstonstampclub.org/

New Jersey

October 6-8

NOJEX/ ASDA, North Jersey Federated Stamp Clubs, Inc. and ASDA, Hilton Meadowlands Hotel, 2 Meadowlands Plaza, East Rutherford. *WSP* Contact: Robert G. Rose Email: robertrose25@comcast.net Website: http://www.nojex.org

Alabama

October 7

Montgomery Area Stamp, Coin and Collectables Show, Montgomery Area Stamp Club, Doster Community Center, 424 S. Northington Street, Prattville. *B* Contact: Russell Gunton Email: russtoo@netzero.netArizona

October 7

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

Missouri

October 7

Joplin Stamp Club Show, Joplin Stamp Club, Granny Shaffer’s Banquet Center, 2728 N. Rangeline Rd., Joplin. *B* Contact: John Olson Email: john13stamp@hotmail.com Website: https://www.thejoplinstampclub.com/

New Jersey

October 7

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/

Michigan

October 13-14

MOTOPEX 2023, Motor City Stamp and Cover Club, Sokol Cultural Center, 23600 W. Warren Avenue, Dearborn Heights.

Contact: Sue Cousino & Diane Gorney Email: scousino41@gmail.com Website: www.motorcitystampandcover.com/

Pennsylvania

October 20-21

UNEXPO 2023, American Philatelic Center, 100 Match Factory Place, Bellefonte.

Contact: Greg Galletti Email: unstampz1@gmail.com Website: http://www.unpi.com/

Washington

October 21

Roundup Stamp and Coin Show, Olympia Philatelic Society, Columbian Hall, 6794 Martin Way E, Lacey.

Contact: Dennis Gelvin Email: dnjgelvin@comcast.net

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New U.S. Issues

BY Jeff Stage

Flowers, the flag and works from pop artist grace new stamps

S

ixteen new face-different first-class domestic Forever stamps – plus some varieties due to printing in various formats (panes, booklets, coils) – were issued in April in three releases from the U.S. Postal Service.

An international award-winning photographer’s work appears on 10 flowers stamps; works from an iconic modern artist at the forefront of the 20th-century Pop Art movement and a bold new version of the U.S. Flag underscored by a vital inherent right are featured on the self-stick stamps.

All were issued at the postage rate of 63 cents. Before we look at the new stamps, though, there is this bad news for those who collect modern issues:

Get ready for new rates The cost of postage is almost certain to rise for the second time this year in early July, according to a release from the U.S. Postal Service.

The USPS filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) of mailing services price changes to take effect July 9. The new rates include a three-cent increase in the price of a first-class Forever stamp from 63 cents to 66 cents.

The price changes have been approved by the Governors of the U.S. Postal Service.

U.S. postal rates have increased steadily the past few years. The cost to mail a first-class domestic letter 1 ounce or less was raised to 55 cents in January 2019. That has been followed by increases to 58 cents (August 2021) and to 60 cents (July 2022) before hitting 63 cents in January.

The increases should be no surprise to those paying attention.

“Postmaster General Louis DeJoy expects the Postal Service will need to keep raising prices on its monopoly mail products for the foreseeable future, as part of a 10-year reform plan to improve its long-term financial health,” reported the Federal News Network in May 2022. “DeJoy said … the mailing industry needs to be prepared for USPS to raise prices on its market-dominant products ‘at an uncomfortable rate,’ until it reaches a point where the agency is on track to be self-sustaining in the long term.”

The price for 1-ounce metered mail will increase to 63 cents, and the price to send a domestic postcard will increase from 48

Purchase details and more information about the new Tulips Blossoms stamps are available from https://aps.buzz/Tulips23.

cents to 51 cents. A 1-ounce letter mailed to another country would increase from $1.45 to $1.50. There will be no change to the single-piece letter and flat additional-ounce price, which remains at 24 cents.

Right now, the first two postal items that will fall under the new rate structure will be a Northern Cardinal stamped envelope to be issued on July 9 and the John Lewis commemorative, set for a July 21 release in Atlanta.

Tulips Blossoms Spring bloomed across the U.S. mails in luscious shades of pink, lavender, peach, orange and other colors with a set of 10 Tulips Blossoms stamps. Each stamp features a closeup showing petals of a single tulip as the flower begins to open.

The stamps, featuring existing photography by nature and wildlife photographer Denise Ippolito, are simply beautiful. Art director Greg Breeding designed the stamps, which are being sold in booklets (double-sided panes) of 20 and coils of 3,000 and 10,000. They were formally released April 5 at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival in Woodburn, Oregon.

Banknote Corporation of America printed the stamps via offset process using four colors on the Alprinta 74 press.

The size of the booklet and coil stamps differ slightly, according to details from the U.S. Postal Service. The image area of the booklet stamps is .77 of an inch wide and 1.05 inches high while the coil stamps are 0.73 by 0.84 inches.

The booklet stamp size is .91 of an inch wide by 1.19 inches high. The coils are 0.87 by 0.98 inches. A plate number appears on every 27th stamp in the coils.

Collectors can easily cut off a strip of the 10 different Tulip Blossoms stamps. But, in regards to collecting plate number coils for this issue, there are challenges, according to an April 17 article in Linn’s Stamp News. One challenge, for example, is that to obtain a strip that contains all 10 stamps with a plate block number in the center, the strip will actually have to be 17 stamps long.

Ippolito is an award-winning professional photographer, workshop leader, artist and photography JUNE 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 579

judge living in New Jersey, who might be more well-known for her landscape, nature and animal fine art photography taken from around the world than her close-ups of flora.

“I won’t rest until I believe that you are with me in each image; feeling the air, smelling the flowers, walking in the soft sand, hearing the birds,” the artist writes about her craft on her website. “I can’t stop until l have infused my projects with beauty and emotion and a little bit of me.”

More of her work can be seen at https://www.deniseippolito.com/ (Please look! You won’t be sorry.)

The tulip is a member of the lily family and has about 75 species. Cultivation of the tulip is thought to have begun in the 10th century in the area that is modern day Iran, eventually spread throughout the Ottoman Empire before finding their way to Europe in the 1500s.

The flowers were especially embraced by the Germans, French, Flemish and Dutch. Holland in the 1600s became particularly frenzied by the climate-friendly flower and today remains a mainstay in tulip growth and production.

The flower is thought to have come to the United States in the mid-1800s and today remains a popular garden flower throughout the U.S. and Canada.

If you really like these stamps (who wouldn’t?) there’s good news. According to the Ippolito’s website, “a second ten images are an assortment of close-up flower shots that will be featured as another Forever stamp collection.”

U.S. Flag The newest U.S. Flag stamp – a formidable rendition of the Stars and Stripes – was issued April 10 in a bold production of 4.74 billion stamps from two printers.

No first day of issue ceremony was held for the stamp, which carries a formal first day location (it’s not a city) of Freedom, Maine, a locale certainly holding a name very worthy for a first day of issue.

The stamp art bears a straightforward graphic design of the red, white, and blue. This stamp displays the banner in its full glory, seven red and six white bars straight and true, with 50 white stars sharply defined on a blue field. Providing

a solid foundation for the flag are the words (all in capital letters) of “Freedom” in gray and, below it, “Forever / USA.” Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamp with existing art by Hong Li. The stamps come in five formats: pane of 20, doublesided booklet of 20, coil of 100, coil of 3,000, and coil of 10,000. The size of the images and stamps is the same in all formats. One difference in the coils is that the plate number falls on every 31st stamp in the coils of 100; every 27th stamp in the larger coils. Customers can obtain strips of 25 with plate number from both the coils of 3,000 (Item 751303) and 10,000 (761403) by contacting the Stamp Fulfillment Center online (www.usps.com/shop) or by phone (844-737-7826).

The pane and coils of 3,000 and 10,000 were printed on the Alprinta 74 press by Banknote Corporation of America. The booklets and coils of 100 were printed by Banknote AND the Muller A76 press of Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd. (APU).

Roy Lichtenstein Five first-class domestic stamps featuring eye-catching artworks by prominent American pop artist Roy Lichtenstein were formally honored in a ceremony April 24, the stamps’ first day of issue, at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City.

The museum holds 444 of Lichtenstein’s works in its collection, according to the museum’s website. Lichtenstein’s studio in Greenwich Village was donated to the museum, and is being refurbished. He worked there from 1988 to 1997.

The featured works on the stamps are (as shown, from left): “Standing Explosion (Red)” (1965), porcelain enamel on steel sculpture, part of the collection of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas; “Modern Painting I” (1966), oil and magna on canvas, part of the collection of the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation in Los Angeles; “Still Life with Crystal Bowl” (1972), oil and magna on canvas,

Purchase details and more information about the new U.S. Flag stamp are available from https://aps.buzz/FreedomFlag. The letter P in booklet plate number indicates printing by Ashton Potter (USA); the B in the plate block number indicates the stamp was printed by American Banknote Corp.

580 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

Purchase details and more information about the new Roy Lichtenstein art stamps are available from https://aps.buzz/Lichtenstein.

part of the collection of the Whitney Museum; “Still Life with Goldfish” (1972), oil and magna on canvas, owned by a private collector; and “Portrait of a Woman” (1979), oil and magna on linen, owned by a private collector.

Derry Noyes served as art director and designer. The selvage features a photograph of Lichtenstein by Bob Adelman with the artist’s face framed by a model of his sculpture, “Brushstrokes in Flight” (1984). The actual 26-foot high work is on exhibit at the John Glenn International Airport in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally installed outdoors but is now within the main terminal.

“Altogether, [Lichtenstein] created more than 5,000 paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures, murals and other objects that continue to be celebrated for their wit and invention,” Thomas Marshall, general counsel and executive vice president of the Postal Service remarked at the first day ceremony. “Roy Lichtenstein certainly deserves this recognition because of the remarkable creativity and innovation he demonstrated throughout his career.”

“I have always been a fan of the Post Office. I think it’s an amazing organization. It gets mail to everywhere, not just in this country, but around the world,” said Dorothy Lichtenstein, the artist’s widow, and president of the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation. “I think it’s an honor and more people will find out about Roy. I think he would have really loved it,” she said, referring to the new stamps.

Further details about new U.S. issues are published exclusively on stamps.org/news. Go online to read more.

International Society for Japanese Philately Whether your philatelic interest in Japan and related areas is recent, long standing, general or specialized, you will find membership in the ISJP beneficial and enjoyable.

It is one of the world’s largest specialist societies, with a huge breadth of knowledge, generously shared among its members for over 75 years.

Some of our many member benefits: • Award-winning, full color journal Japanese Philately, is published at least 4 times a year, 8½ x 11-inch format, profusely illustrated.

A free sample is available on request.

The journal’s comprehensive index is provided on our website. Copies of anything we have published are readily available.

• Highly respected expertization service.

• Extensive book loan library.

• Comprehensive, informative website (isjp.org), including members-only section.

Annual membership fee: US$16. Join on our website Postal address: PO Box 1283, Haddonfield NJ 08033 USA Email: publisher@isjp.org

www.isjp.org JUNE 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 581

New World Issues

BY William Silvester

ÅLAND – Parrot Crossbill

Living primarily in the pine forests of northern and northeastern Europe, the parrot crossbill is a specialist feeder of the conifer cones of Scots pine. The unusual shape of their bills aids them in extracting seeds from the cone by snapping up the pineal scales. The males and females are easily distinguishable with the males tending to be red or orange and the females yellow or green, though there is often variation. The stamp was designed by Bo Lundwall and Johanna Finne, showing a pair of parrot crossbills perched in a pine tree, printed four-color offset by Cartor Security Printers for release on March 15. The stamp is available from https://aps.buzz/Alandparrot.

BELGIUM – 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaims “Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.” Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948, its 75th anniversary was commemorated by Belgium’s bpost on March 20. Designed by Geert Eille, the center of the sheetlet shows a fingerprint concealing a face, symbolic of the theme of identity. The 10 gummed stamps show a neutral face that shines through hands held in front of the face. The sheet can be ordered from https://aps.buzz/BelgHumRights.

CROATIA – Bridges and Viaducts

Two magnificent structures, the third Gardijske Brigade Kune bridge and the Mirna Viaduct, are commemorated on the pair of 1,14€ souvenir sheets designed by Dean Roksandić based on photographs by Tomislav Veić, a photographer from Zagreb, and Mario Romulić and Dražen Stojčić, photographers from Osijek. Issued March 20, the stamps depict Viaduct Mirna Autocesta A9 that connects the city of Pula and famous tourist centers on the west coast of Istriaand and the Kune bridge, which links the southern Adriatic coast, including Dubrovnik, with the rest of the country. The stamps are available from https://aps.buzz/CroatiaBridges.

GREAT BRITAIN – Flowers

Royal Mail released a set of 10 stamps celebrating some of the flowers that can be found in gardens around Britain. The stamps also mark a milestone as the first set to feature the silhouette of King Charles III. Issued on March 23 and designed by Charlie Smith Design, the 10 1st Class stamps reflect Britain’s love of flowers from herbaceous borders to flower shows.

The se-tenant strips feature the flowers against a white background and include sweet pea, iris, lily, sunflower, fuchsia, tulip, peony, nasturtium, rose and dahlia. The stamps are available in strips, presentation packs, post cards and first day covers from https://aps.buzz/BritFlowers23.

GUERNSEY – 150th Anniversary of Kennel Club

Six pedigree pooches are featured on Guernsey Post’s commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the formation of the Kennel Club, “the UK’s largest organisation devoted to dog health, welfare and training” and the world’s first national kennel club. Issued on April 4 in sheets of 10, designed by Jake Coates, the canines depicted are border terrier (56p), primarily a working dog; beagle (79p), a pack hound bred to hunt hare; miniature schnauzer (87p), officially recorded in 1888; border collie (£1.21), an intelligent herding specialist; labrador retriever (£1.39), the most popular pedigree breed; and doberman (£1.50), named for Louis Doberman, a German tax collector who wanted a fierce looking dog for protection. The stamps and products are available from https://aps.buzz/GuernseyDogs23.

582 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

KYRGYZSTAN – International Year of Sustainable Mountain Development

The Kyrgyz Republic on January 30 issued what it termed the world’s “longest stamp” (184 millimeters wide). Designed by Daria Maier based on photographs by Vladislav Ushakov of a wide swath of the Chaar-Tash Range, Toguz-Toro Tract and Kazarman village, it commemorates the International Year of Sustainable Mountain Development declared by the United Nations in 2022. The record for longest stamp was previously held by Thailand’s 70th Anniversary of King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s accession to the throne (170mm) in 2017 (Scott 2946). The new stamp is available from https://aps.buzz/KrygMountain.

MONACO – 100th Anniversary of Scouting in Monaco

Firefighter Jean Bus founded the Scouts of Monaco in 1923, 16 years after the movement was created

by Lord Baden-Powell in Great Britain. A single round €1,16 stamp, designed by Association des Guides et Scouts de Monaco, was printed in heliogravure and issued on March 22. The plain design features a red and white Scout scarf on a gray background. Monaco has one of the world’s smallest national Scouting and Guiding organizations with less than 100 members. Guiding was established in 1929 and the Scouts and Guides merged to form the association in 1992. The stamp was printed in sheets of 10 and is available from https://aps.buzz/MonacoScouts100.

NETHERLANDS – Spyker HP 60

Netherlands Post began a new series of what will be four silver stamps depicting legendary historic Dutch car brands.

Issued on March 24. the first in the series features the Spyker HP 60. Manufactured in 1903, it was “the world’s first car with all-wheel drive, all-wheel brakes and a six-cylinder engine” capable of 110 kilometers an hour. The silver stamp was designed by Frank Janse and is delivered to customers packed in a luxury passe-partout cover from https://aps.buzz/ DutchSilvercar1.

SLOVAKIA – Viktor Kubal

Viktor Kubal was the founder of Slovak animated film whose career started as a young lad: “The biggest shock I ever experienced was, probably, when I first saw a drawing come alive in the cinema.” From that moment he wanted to be an animator and attended schools, including the School of Arts and Crafts in Bratislava and the Slovak University of Technology, to master his drawing skills. Kubal went to work for Školfilm, where he made his first animated film, Kidnap (Únos, 1942).

Over time, Kubal shot 214 animated films screened in more than 70 countries and received awards at home and abroad. He often served as art designer and animator, as well as creator, scriptwriter and director. He died at 74 in Bratislava in April 1997. The stamp is available from https://aps.buzz/ SlovakiaKubal.

UNITED NATIONS – Endangered Species

The United Nations Postal Administration continued its Endangered Species stamp series with 12 new stamps issued March 3 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The designs on the latest of more than 25 years worth of CITES stamps feature four from each of the three UN entities. From New York, denominated at $1.45, are the bighorn sheep, Morelet’s crocodile, bald eagle and cape aloe; from Geneva are Przewalski’s horse, green turtle, California condor and a plant, dalbergia saxatilis; and from Vienna are the humpback whale, Saiga antelope, Iberian lynx and snowdrop. The stamps were designed by Rion Wang, who also created the 2019 endangered species series. The stamps are available in sheets of 16 with four of each stamp and a decorative border from https://aps.buzz/UNEndangered23.

• • • • • 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.

JUNE 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 583

Worldwide in a Nutshell

BY BOB LAMB • AP Columnist

BHUTAN Status: Constitutional Monarchy Population: 876,181 (2023 est.)

Area: 92,044 sq. miles Currency: 100 chetrum = 1 Ngultrum Exchange Rate: 1 Ngultrum = US$0.12 (2023)

B

hutan is a small landlocked buffer state located between India and Tibet on the southern reaches of the Himalayas. According to Bhutanese records, Tibetan invaders drove out the previous occupants in the 2nd century. Bhutan became a separate state in the early 1600s when the local lamas took control of both the religious and administrative matters.

Bhutan Scott 54 During the 19th century, the British, while expanding into northern Bengal and Assam, had frequent conflicts with the Bhutanese.

As the result of an 1865 peace treaty with British India, the Bhutanese agreed to end its conflicts with the British in exchange for an annual stipend of 50,000 rupees.

Scott 42, overprint in memory of Winston During this period, Bhutanese leadership was divided between two supreme authorities, the ChoChurchill gyal (also Zhabdrung, or Dharmaraja), the spiritual head who was deemed to be the reincarnation of Ngawang Namgyal, and the Druk Desi (or, Deb Raja), the temporal head, who ruled with a permanent council of ministers. In the 1880s, Ugyen Wangchuk, the influential Druk Desi, consolidated his power amidst civil war and strife. In 1907, Wangchuk, unrivaled, was elected as Druk Gyalpo, or Hereditary Dragon King, a position his family retains.

Wangchuk brought Bhutan into a closer relationship with the British. In 1910, he agreed to be guided by the British in external affairs in exchange for which his annual allowance from the British was doubled. This agreement also enabled the British to inform China that it no longer had a feudatory claim over Bhutan.

In 1949, a treaty transferred the British “special relationship” with Bhutan in matters of foreign affairs, defense, and international trade to the newly independent India.

In 1951, after a visit to England, the king instructed his ministers to explore issuing postage stamps for the kingdom and the procedure for joining the Universal Postal Union. At this time, Bhutan had no postal service. Any mail to or from the kingdom went through the Indian post Scott 94A office in Yatung Tibet, where it was collected by a messenger twice a week. The king was interested in the project as a fund-raising scheme.

The king was encouraged in this endeavor by his friend, Burt Todd, a colorful American businessman, who was honeymooning in Bhutan – a demonstration of his exceptional affection for the Hermit Kingdom as well as his new wife. Todd approached Harrison & Sons in London about printing the stamps and explored the question of UPU membership.

Actually, Bhutan issued its first adhesive stamps while these discussions were ongoing. In 1954, it placed four revenue stamps on sale which in 1955 became valid for postage at several Scott 114A government facilities.

India was hesitant about UPU membership, but ultimately supported the project. In 1958, Indian President Jawaharlal Nehru agreed to provide technical assistance. Bhutan opened its first post office and issued its first stamps on October 10, 1962. Since that time, Bhutan has issued hundreds of new stamps and souvenir sheets, aimed at collectors, including novelties such as gold foil stamps and phonograph records that play the national anthem.

(The Journal of the Nepal Tibet Study Circle, an APS affiliate, has excellent material for Scott 128R further study of Bhutan.)

584 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / JUNE 2023

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