Updates

While every society and every philatelic gathering has been challenged over the past pandemic year, philately has undergone many changes. While a substitute allowing for some philatelic interchange and exposure, virtual meetings allow us to undertake the day-to-day business, and while internet sales have an important place in the life of many philatelists, there’s nothing so satisfying as meeting friends for those little side discussions not possible via Zoom, or fingering through a new-to-you box of covers, or the experience of browsing a newly found piece of literature. For the free and easy interchange of philatelic social life, it is far superior to have in-person gatherings. Unlike last year, when there was no physical meeting, we anticipate with pleasure joining in the annual gathering of events around the philatelic assembly of the American Philatelic Society in August. Hopefully, you will be able to join us at our author talks—always so interesting—and our social times.   

Our significant change, joining two similarly oriented groups, has renewed our strategy for a stronger future for research in philately to continue in the following years. The absorption into the American Philatelic Congress of the Postal History Society means your membership will, besides our award-winning hardcover original postal research tome, entitle you to a quality softbound journal based on worldwide postal history. We are very thankful for the generosity of many members, making it possible to keep the dues within a reasonable range. 

Our Editor, Seija-Riitta Laakso, has done wonders in preparing quality articles for the 2021 Congress Book and working with printers to produce the worthy volume you hold in your hands. Diane DeBlois and Robert Dalton Harris will continue to provide a quality softbound journal with shorter articles focusing on postal history in the APC Postal History Journal.

I look forward to seeing you at the author presentations, where we can enjoy the opportunity to actually interact with these experts. And then there is the wine and cheese gathering, generously underwritten by Schuyler Rumsey, where our literature awards will be presented—for both the 2020 and the 2021 works of note.

See you there!

Nancy B. Clark, FRPSL 

APC Grows, Welcomes Former PHS

by Nancy B. Clark, President

Welcome to 2021. We’ve all had a challenging year, but there are some changes in place now which will have impact on our future as a society. The Board held a virtual meeting where several issues were resolved, and which will lead to a stronger future for research in philately to continue in the following years. This is a history-making year!

The biggest change is the absorption into the American Philatelic Congress of the Postal History Society. This means your membership will, besides our award-winning hardcover original postal research tome, a supplemental softbound journal based on worldwide postal history and including congress news. Our dues have been raised for the first time in a long time, reflecting on the postal rate increases and the publishing costs for full color on high-quality paper. We are very thankful for the generosity of many members, making it possible to keep the dues within a reasonable range. Unfortunately, it also means that we must charge libraries to cover our mailing expenses.

Our Editor, Seija-Riitta Laakso, is hard at work shaping articles for the 2021 Congress Book, but I know she’s always looking for more high-quality original research articles. If you have something you’ve been meaning to develop into an article too large for a normal journal, contact Seiju (seijulaakso@gmail.com) to see if it would fit into her plans for the 2021 American Philatelic Congress book. Diane DeBlois (agatherin@yahoo.com) is looking for shorter articles to share which focus on postal history for the APC Postal History Journal.

We welcome a new Board member who has joined us from the Postal History Society. Yamil Kouri, the Past President of the Postal History Society, continues, joined by Douglas Clark, who has been a member of the APC longer than I have! We also welcome the Postal History Society members to our organization, and hope you enjoy your new benefits.

I’ve been paying my philatelic societies dues—way too many interests and so lots of dues. With each group, I consider the benefits of membership. For the American Philatelic Congress–Postal History Society, the most obvious benefit is a hard-bound book with color illustrations and a variety of disciplines within the hobby. And now, we have the additional benefit of a journal based on postal history. Another major benefit, when shows again become a reality to attend in person, is the author presentations, where you have the opportunity to actually interact with these experts. And then there is the wine and cheese gathering, generously underwritten by Schuyler Rumsey. We are a group of like-minded serious philatelists who value study and community within philately. This is your chance to sit with and chat up similarly inclined friends. Simple choice. Renew—and get one of your friends to join!

by Nancy B. Clark, President

You may have heard that a merger with the Postal History Society is being considered by the American Philatelic Congress leadership. This possibility is still very much in the discussion stage, and the Board has provided me with a straw vote that the action merits consideration. It’s all in the details, many of which remain open. Among them are financial (including, but not limited to cash balances, dues and website coverage), number of members (240 vs. 166), and membership options. If you have an opinion on the possibility of merging the two groups, please let one of your Board members know when you see them. This will be one of the items our Board will discuss at our meeting Friday morning.

An update in our planning will be shared at the super brief business meeting prior to the talks.

Two of our Board members, including our Secretary-Treasurer, who usually does yeoman duty at our table, will be on the Jury and unavailable for table-sitting duties. As Boston 2026 will also have a booth, I will be torn between the two booths. It’s early days yet, but if at all possible, consider volunteering at the table. A two hour time commitment can make all the difference. Please let me know your availability at the email address on the right.

In planning your time at the show, be sure you allow time for our author talks on Friday afternoon, prior to the wine and cheese gathering. It’s a good opportunity to learn more about the varied subjects explored in the articles. Arrangements are still being made as to where the gatherings will be, but check the Great American Stamp Show program to see the details, which will also be online at the American Philatelic Society website, www.stamps.org.

As you can see from the financial report later in this message, we have not raised dues for 2020, however it takes a community to make this happen. If you are able, consider donating above your regular dues level when you mail your check to Chuck.

I hope your holidays were filled with good memories and that your new year has begun well. See you in Hartford, ready to continue our explorations in philately!

Nancy

2020 DUES

Enclosed with this mailing is a dues notice for 2020. Please take the time to send your payment in the enclosed envelope. If you elect to pay by PayPal, please select the “Send Money” option to avoid PayPal fees. To follow up on Nancy’s message we have added places on the dues renewal form to record any opinions you may have on the potential merger with the Postal History Society as well as times you may be available to help at our society booth in Hartford.

2023 COUNCIL CANDIDATES SOLICITED

The responsibilities of a member of the Council include writing articles for The Congress Book, or recruiting others to do so, participating in the annual Council meeting at the APS StampShow in August, and other tasks for which you volunteer or consent to be co-opted. If you would be interested in being a candidate, please email or mail Chuck Wooster of your interest and include a brief (one paragraph) philatelic biography (email and address in the sidebar on the front page of this newsletter).

2019 CONGRESS BOOK

This past November the 2019 Congress Book was awarded a Large Gold Medal and the Reserve Grand Award at the 2019 Chicagopex show.

CONGRESS FINANCES

In 2019 for the second year in a row, we finished with a small deficit of around $200. As a result, we have decided not to raise dues for 2020. However, our successful 2019 financial performance was made possible by member contributions in the amount of $2,485 (over and above dues) and a $1,000 gift from the Schuyler-Rumsey Auction Company. Without these, we would have been forced to raise dues by $15 per person. In 2020 we will likely experience higher printing costs as well as an additional fee for our new editor. Please continue to support the efforts of the American Philatelic Congress with your gifts in 2020.

2020 CONGRESS BOOK

The 2020 Congress Book has a new editor, Dr. Seija-Riitta Laakso. As of January, she still needs several more articles to fill the book. If you have recently studied something of interest that you have not published anywhere else, please write an article for The Congress Book. If you know somebody else who might be interested in writing, don’t hesitate to ask. Should you have a good idea, or a ready article, please contact the Editor at seijulaakso (at) gmail (dot) com asap. Kindly note that the figures should be scanned in 1:1 size and 300 dpi resolution, for engravings please use 600 dpi.

2019 CONGRESS BOOK AWARDS

Each year the Congress makes a number of awards for both articles in the current Congress Book as well as for philatelic literature published elsewhere. The following awards were presented at the Congress reception in Omaha;

The Helen August Memorial Award for best postal history article 2019 Congress Book – Thomas Lera for St. Johns River Mail: Steamboats, Route Agents and Railroad Post Offices.

The Diane D. Boehret Award for best philatelic publication of 2019 – David R. Pitts, FRPSL and Arthur H. Groten, M.D., FRPSL for Bermuda, Crossroads of the Atlantic, A Postal History.

The Diane D. Boehret Award for best philatelic journal of 2019 – Rossica, The Journal of the Rossica Society of Russian Philately, Nikolai Sorokin, Editor.

The Erani R. Drossos Award for best foreign article 2019 Congress Book – Richard F. Winter for North Carolina Ship Letters Before the Civil War.

The Jere. Hess Barr Award for best author presentation – Jay M. Weiss for The First Adhesive Postage Stamp of the United States Post Office: A First Day Cover.

The Walter R. McCoy Award for best article 2019 Congress Book – Jay M. Weiss for The First Adhesive Postage Stamp of the United States Post Office: A First Day Cover.

The C. Corwith Wagner Award for best United States article 2019 Congress Book – Cheryl R. Ganz for Transcontinental Zeppelin Posts.

by Nancy B. Clark, President

We had a successful meeting in Columbus, with more attendees to the presentations than I had seen in recent years. Hopefully this will repeat itself for our upcoming meeting in Omaha, Nebraska.

Our Editor, Ken Trettin, is hard at work shaping articles for the 2019 Congress Book, but I know he’s always looking for more high-quality original research articles.

This fall, our Secretary-Treasurer Chuck Wooster took the time to make our digitized files of the past Congress Books searchable—a big advantage.

There are website updates being worked on by Henry Marquez and Chuck Wooster. We want to add a members only section to the site, and would like your input as to what you would find useful there.

2019 DUES

Enclosed with this mailing is a dues notice inside the envelope. Please take the time to send your payment in the enclosed envelope. If you elect to pay by PayPal, please select the “Send Money” option to avoid PayPal fees.

2022 COUNCIL CANDIDATES SOLICITED

The responsibilities of a member of the Council include writing articles for the Congress Book, or recruiting others to do so, participating in the annual Council meeting at the APS StampShow in August, and other tasks for which you volunteer or consent to be co-opted. If you would be interested in being a candidate, please email or mail Chuck Wooster of your interest and include a brief (one paragraph) philatelic biography (email and address in the sidebar on the front page of this newsletter).

CONGRESS FINANCES

Two years ago we switched printers and reduced the cost of printing the Congress Book by approximately 40%. This ended several years of deficits and allowed the APC to essentially breakeven these past two years. As a result we have been able to avoid raising our annual dues. However, this has also been made possible by member donations in excess of the minimum dues. In each of the last two years donations have exceeded $2,200. Please consider making an additional donation when renewing your membership this year.

by Nancy B. Clark, President

Last August, the election of officers at our annual meeting in Richmond gave me the honor of becoming President of the Congress, following the capable leadership of Dr. Daniel C. Warren. Michael Dixon has moved into the position of First Vice President and C. David Eeles moved into the Second Vice President role. The transition from our long-time Secretary-Treasurer, Ross Towle, to our current Secretary-Treasurer is about completed. We certainly thank Ross for his long-term devotion to the Congress; he will continue to serve on the Board.

Chuck Wooster, our current Secretary-Treasurer, has been a very busy fellow. He has been working to complete a series of PDF’s of all Congress Books. He has also been working with Tara Murray to prepare an index of all Congress Books in the format that the American Philatelic Research Library (APRL) would like to see.

We have tentatively agreed with the APRL to host all scanned copies of all Congress Books except the most recent 5 years and to link our scans with their search engine. We are considering doing the same with the American Philatelic Congress website.

We are also planning to offer PDF’s of all the Congress Books to APC members for a nominal price. These should be available in the new year. Henry Marquez has taken on the job of redesigning our web site. I think it is excellent and hope you do to.

Wishing our members and philatelic researchers throughout the world a very happy holiday season and a new year enriched by philatelic research.

Remember, if you would like an article considered for publication in the next American Philatelic Congress Book, be sure to let our Editor, Ken Trettin, know your plans.

by Dr. Daniel C. Warren, President

Another page on the calendar, and it’s well into 2017 already – certainly a year once thought of only in science fiction, but now here in reality. This August we will as usual meet with the American Philatelic Society at StampShow, this time in Richmond, VA. Many of our Congress members are also active in other philatelic organizations, and so we usually get a good turnout for the meeting. Our Wine and Cheese reception is also a highlight of StampShow. More information will be made available in due course.

The digitization of past Congress Books is now completed. We will need to decide whether to offer them as a DVD, and how to make them accessible on the internet. This will be an important subject for the next meeting. In keeping with our earlier decisions, the most recent five years will not be included.

Our web site has not been updated for a number of years, and we urgently need an experienced volunteer webmaster to keep us up to date here in the 21st century. If there is someone who has the interest, the time, and the knowledge to manage our web site, please let me know.

Like just about every other philatelic organization, we depend on volunteers to do the various necessary jobs, and I want to thank our new Secretary-Treasurer Chuck Wooster for taking that one on. Our previous Secretary-Treasurer Ross Towle relinquished the role last August after nearly two decades of service to the Congress, an admirable if not enviable record. As he has for a number of years, our Editor, Ken Trettin, continues to produce an outstanding volume each year in keeping with the long tradition of the Congress, and I know that Ken wants to turn the Editorship over before too very much longer. He will be hard to replace.

Have a great 2017, and I hope to see as many of you as possible at StampShow.

2017 DUES

If the address label on this mailing has a 2016 on it and there is a dues notice inside the envelope, it means that we have not received your renewal for 2017. Please take the time to send your payment in the enclosed envelope.

2020 COUNCIL CANDIDATES

The following individuals have been nominated to serve in the Council Class of 2020;

• Mrs. Nancy Clark
• Mr. David Eeles
• Dr. Yamil H. Kouri, Jr.
• Mr. Paul J. Phillips
• Mr. Charles Verge
• Mr. Steven Zwillinger

You will note that this is the same slate as the outgoing Council Class of 2017, as no one else expressed interest in serving in this capacity. If in the future, any member desires to be nominated to the next Council Class, please let one of the officers of the APC know of your desire.