By Chip Scoppa

Stamp Insider www.nystampclubs.org January / February 2010 Smash and Grab? Or Simply Incompetence?

Journal of the Federation of New York Philatelic Societies STANDARD As many as 100 of your standard-size covers can be displayed in this popular album. The black leatherette binder has gold titling on the cover and spine … a nice finishing touch. Accommodates covers to 3 3/4 x 6 5/8". $49.50 Black dustcase — $15.60

MONARCH As stamps increase in size, so do first day cover envelopes. In recent years, the “monarch” size envelope, measur-ing approximately 4 x 7 1/2", has often been used. This Allsyte, with 100 cover capacity, was designed just for monarch size covers. ALLSYTE $55.25 JUMBO BY WHITE ACE No problem displaying your extra-long commercial size (#10) covers, for here’s an Allsyte created expressly for them. There’s room in it for 50 of PHILATELY’S these big ones, fully protected under clear plastic. Accommodates covers to 4 5/16 x 9 5/8". FIRST FAMILY $46.25

OF COVER POSTCARDS Picture postcards your specialty? ALBUMS Consider the Postcard Allsyte, made to hold as many as 100 of 3 1/2 x 5 1/2" ALLSYTE GIVES YOU A GRAND SELECTION OF ALBUMS collectibles; or the Jumbo Postcard Allsyte designed to hold up to 100 of AND SIZES TO CHOOSE FROM … the popular 4 x 6" cards. Postcard Allsyte — $49.50 Look how the Allsyte album family has grown. First there was the Jumbo Postcard — $53.75 Standard, philately’s best-selling cover album for years. Now there are eight distinctive Allsytes to meet a variety of collecting needs. And all ISRAEL of them, be assured, have the same premium qualities that hobbyists Israeli first days, special events, and first have come to expect from every White Ace product. flights have a handsome home in this Allsyte produced by White Ace, who was a pioneer in albums for Israeli stamps. For example, Allsyte clear plastic pockets eliminate mounting Its capacity is 100 covers. Accommo- prob-lems: just slide in the covers, and your job is done … with every dates covers to 4 1/8 x 71/16". cover fully visible while totally protected. What more can you ask for? $50.50 All seven Allsytes have sturdy binder assemblies covered in durable leatherette. When you open your album, it lies flat, and it closes UNITED NATIONS without bulging (even when filled to capacity) for space-saving United Nations cover collector? Then bookshelf storage. choose this “U.N. Blue” Allsyte, which will hold up to 100 of your standard-size It really makes good collecting sense to turn to Allsyte, philately’s first UN covers. The UN’s official emblem graces the cover and spine. Accommo- family of cover albums . . . by White Ace, of course. dates covers to 3 x 6 5/8". BY THE MAKERS OF FAMOUS ARTCRAFT ENGRAVINGS $49.50 Black dustcase — $15.60 Ask for Allsyte Albums at your dealer CANADA OFFICIAL or order online at: www.washpress.com Canada’s “Official” first day covers are a special size, so here’s a special ON MAIL SHIPMENTS - Visa, MasterCard, Discover & AMEX Accepted Allsyte designed just for them. It has the Please add $6.50 for shipping (foreign, by weight) same fine construction as the others; its size is distinctive. Accommodates covers to 4 9/16 x 7 5/8". THE WASHINGTON PRESS TOLL FREE: 877-966-0001 $53.50 FLORHAM PARK, NEW JERSEY 07932 FAX: 973-966-0888 January / February 2010 Contents Vol. 26 No. 3 o ion f Ne President’s Viewpoint...... 4 at w r Y e o Editor’s Perspective...... 6 d r e k F George Fekete’s Pondering Philately:

Stamp . . P . My New Year’s Resolution...... 8 h c i n la I George McGowan’s Collecting: t s, el ie Insider ic Societ Tonga Not The Only Tin Can Mail...... 10 www.nystampclubs.org Alfred Carroccia’s Seen at Auction: Bargains in Postal History...... 12 Editor A. W. Starkweather: Smash and Grab?...... 16 Albert W. Starkweather Chip Scoppa: The C25 Airlift Code...... 20 5520 Gunn Hwy. Apt. 1406, Tampa, FL 33624-2847 Conrad A. Novick: 813-962-7964; [email protected] www.starkweatherdesign.com The Time Is Now for Single Pages...... 24 William H. Bauer — 1934–2009...... 28 Associate Editor Terry Miller People & Places Quiz...... 32 Heather Sweeting Stepex 2009 Award Winners...... 34 14329 Victory St., Sterling NY 13156-3172 315-947-6761; [email protected] Outstanding Young Philatelists...... 36 David A. Kent’s Filmore the Philatelist: Contributing Editor A Philatelist Inspired by History...... 38 George T. Fekete Daniel A. Piazza: NYS@NPM: 111 Dale Road, Rochester NY 14625-2009 585-381-6233; [email protected] Overland Mail Traced to New York...... 39 Ruth L. Sabo’s Exploring Deltiology: Advertising Manager An Outside the Box Valentine...... 42 George McGowan Glenn A. Estus’ First Day Coverage: P. O. Box 482, East Schodack, NY 12063-0482 A Jumbo FDC Souvenir...... 43 518-479-4396; [email protected] Jim Hannah the Frugal Philatelist: Webmaster Machin Regionals Easy To Identify...... 44 Thomas M. Fortunato Robert Finnegan’s Youth & Philately: 28 Amberwood Place, Rochester, NY 14626-4166 Chutes and Ladders Philately...... 45 585-225-6822; [email protected] Communications Financial Why StampExpo 400 Was a Success...... 46 John J. Nunes Club Pages...... 47–72 80 Fredericks Road. Scotia, NY 12302-5727 Shows & Bourses...... 74–75 518-399-8395; [email protected] Stan Burdick: Philateli-Calamity...... 76 Subscriptions / Secretary Heather Sweeting’s The Last Words: Ronald K. Ratchford Protest Brings Out the Coconuts...... 78 1105 Union St.. Schenectady, NY 12308-2805 518-374-3776 ; [email protected] Advertiser Index...... 76 Subscriptions, Copyright, Advertising Rates, Deadlines Stamp Insider™ is published six times per year by the Federation of New York Philatelic Societies for the Federation of Central New York Philatelic Societies, Inc., a non-profit organization, at 1105 Union St., Schenectady, NY 12308-2805. Subscriptions: $12 per year; inquire of Subscriptions. Content ©2010 Federation of Central New York Philatelic Societies Inc.; Design ©2010 Albert W. Starkweather / Design on Demand. Stamp Insider and the magnifying glass logo are trademarks of the Federation. Any portion of this publication may be reproduced without prior consent, provided credit is given. Written expression or opinions of the writers are their own and not necessarily those of the Stamp Insider or Federation. Some product names and images may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation, without intent to infringe. Every effort is taken to ensure accuracy, but validity is not guaranteed. Articles by readers are encouraged. Manuscripts cannot be returned without a large SASE. Electronic submissions are preferred. Dimensions (In inches) Per Insertion Contract Per Year Save Small Business Card (2 1/5 × 1) One-Year Contract Only $ 100.00 — Super Business Card (3 × 2 1/4) One-Year Contract Only $ 190.00 — 1⁄2 Page (4 1⁄2 × 3 7⁄16) $ 75.00 $ 390.00 ($ 65.00) $60.00 Full Page (4 1⁄2 × 7 1⁄2) $100.00 $ 540.00 ($ 90.00) $60.00 Full Page Inside Front or Back Cover $110.00 $ 600.00 ($100.00) $60.00 Full Page Outside Back (4 1⁄2 × 7 1⁄2) $175.00 $ 950.00 ($158.33) $100.00 Centerfold (two full pages) $210.00 $1080.00 ($180.00) $180.00 Editorial & ad deadlines for the two months following are Feb. 1, April 1, June 1, Aug. 1, Oct. 1, Dec. 1 o ion f Ne at w r Y President’s Viewpoint e o d r e k

F John J. Nunes . . P . h c n 80 Fredericks Road i la I t s, el ie ic Societ Scotia, NY 12302-5727 John J. Nunes 518-399-8395; [email protected] Stamp Insider Finances have completed the year-end accounting and projection for the Stamp Insider’s 2010 I income and disbursements. An accurate accounting of the journal and the Federation’s finances is necessary to maintain our non-profit status. The Stamp Insider’s expenses exceeded income by a little more than .0924 cents per copy, with the deficiency paid by the Federation for the 12,000 copies which were dis- tributed. The loss primarily was due to increases of 4.5 percent in postage, 32 percent for paper and 52 pecent in remailings, drop shipment and administrative costs. These necessitate a 10 percent increase for 2010 in subscription costs to clubs, subscribers, and advertising rates, and the elimination of the drop shipment discount. Increases for Advertising and Subscriptions The revised advertising rate card is on page 3. Stamp Insider charges to clubs will be $1 per issue for either individual mailings or bulk drop shipments. Outside subscriptions increase to $12 per year. Norman Cohen, our publisher and benefactor, continued his contribution to the Federa- tion through his in-kind services of more than $11,000. This is the difference it costs us to print in color and to mail issues. Otherwise the publication’s cost would go from our current $1.62 per issue to $2.43. Advertising revenue significantly contributes to support the current lower club subscription costs. The Stamp Insider’s staff continues to contribute their time and talent and receive cost compensation and a positive sense of contributing to their hobby. Thanks to the advertisers, clubs, subscribers, our editor, publisher, editorial staff, and reporters for supporting this beneficial aspect of philately. 2009 Income 2009 Expenditures Advertising $14,166.00 Printing $11,100.00 Club Subscriptions 2,813.00 Lettershop 510.00 Other Subscribers 576.00 Envelopes 1,744.00 Federation Support 1789.00 Postage 4222.63 Website 59.88 Editor’s Expenses 1284.47 Secretary’s Expenses 178.02 President’s Expenses — Literature Competition 80.00 Freight 165.00 Total $19,344.00 Total $19,344.00

4 / Stamp Insider • January / February 2010 TWO GREAT SHOWS ! $Millions in U.S. & worldwide stamps, covers & collections from 10¢ to $Thousands filling more than 50 tables in congenial, relaxed ballrooms MetroExpo DC, Jan. 15-17 Hilton Washington at Dulles, Herndon, Va.

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MetroExpo NY, Feb. 12-14 Midtown Holiday Inn, 440 W. 57th St. between 9th & 10th Avenues Within walking distance or a quick cab ride to scores of New York attractions!

Retail hours: Fri. Noon–6, Sat. 10–6, Sun. 10–4 PLUS: Dealers-only bourse: Friday 10–Noon For Show Info or Society Booths Elaine Dunn: 800-635-3351, [email protected] www.MetroExpos.com For dealer space in New York or DC:

Dick Murphy, 508-393-9732, [email protected] John Nunes, 518-399-8395, [email protected] Editor’s Perspective Albert W. Starkweather 5520 Gunn Hwy 1406 Tampa, FL 33624-2847 813-962-7964; [email protected] Hartford Courant’s Loss Is Our Gain hen the Hartford Courant dropped its philatelic col- Wumn at the end of October 2009, it meant the loss of the last big city stamp columnist in the country. David A. Kent took over the column in 1980. It first ran in the Courant Sunday magazine, which is also only a fond memory. The column had undergone a number of place- ment and regularity changes until it was running biweekly at different locations in the daily paper. The column reportedly dated to the 1930s. Kent’s predecessor had been writing it since the 1950s. The good news for the Federation and the Stamp Insider is that the Auburn native has graciously accepted my offer to write a column on all things topical. The first installment of his “Fillmore the Filatelist” appears on page 38. The col- David A. Kent umn title is tongue-in-cheek reference to the 19th century president who inspired Kent’s interest in history. Kent is president of the Hardware City Stamp Club of New Britain, CT and new issues columnist for Mekeel’s & Stamps magazine. He joined the American Topical Association in 1955, became a life member in 1967, has served as its president, vice president, and treasurer, and is a member of its board. Kent said the features editor claimed that the latest reconfiguration of the lifestyle section left no room for his column. “I regret the loss of the ability to promote both our hobby and local clubs and stamp shows, which I listed in each column,” he said. “I know from contacts I got just for our local club that people were reading the column.” One wonders what this remarkably shortsighted editor was thinking. Notably the newspaper still has room to run daily horoscopes, which may be entertaining but do not qualify as news. Like many other daily newspapers, the Courant has drastically reduced its staff, replacing experienced writers and editors with entry level employees, and cheapened its product by cutting the number of pages and eliminating content. It is hard to believe that its management or that of its owner, Chicago-based Tribune Company, actually believe that the way to attract and keep new readers, retain long-time subscribers, attract and keep new advertisers, and retain existing advertisers is by imple- menting such measures.

6 / Stamp Insider • January / February 2010 Great Venues by John J. Nunes Stamps • Post Cards • Covers • Ephemera Supplies • Free Admission & Parking RS Stamp Show 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Sunday, January 3 NEW LOCATION! March 14, June 27, August 29, October 3, and January 2, 2011 Eagles Club #52, 1200 Buffalo Road (Rt. 33), Rochester, New York Thruway Exits 45 or 47; take I-490 to Exit 7A (Route 33 East); go 1.7 miles east to the Eagles Club on the left. Capital District Stamp Show 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Sunday, January 17 March 21, April 18, May 16, June 20, July 18, September 19, October 17, November 21, December 19, and January 16, 2011 Ramada Latham (formerly Holiday Inn Express) 946 New Loudon Road, U.S. 9, Latham, New York Northway (I-87) Exit 7; go east to Route 9; 1/4 mile north on left. Mania Shows Cover Mania 12 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Saturday, January 30, 2010 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Sunday, January 31, 2010 Clarion Hotel, 3 Watervliet Ave., Albany, New York Just off I-90 Exit 5, 4 miles east of Thruway Exit 24 Post Card Mania 10 NEW DATES! 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Saturday, August 21, 2010 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Sunday, August 22, 2010 September 17–18, 2011 NunesNook 80 Fredericks Road, Scotia, NY 12302-5727 518•399•8395 ★ E-mail [email protected] Pondering Philately George T. Fekete 111 Dale Road Rochester NY 14625-2009 585-381-6233; [email protected] My New Year’s Resolution ecades ago I concluded that my New Year’s resolutions were Dcounterproductive — or worse, so I stopped making them. I reasoned that I didn’t need to set myself up for certain dis- appointment when other forces would take care of that without my help. At the end of 2008 I revisited the issue and wondered what I would resolve to do should I be so inclined, and it occurred to me that there was one goal I could set: to be a better person. If I could do this, not only would I have the satisfaction of following through on my resolution, but also my improved character might in some small way have a beneficial halo effect. A rather appealing aspect of my resolution was that my aspiration didn’t have to be particularly specific. So it was resolved. A year later, I can report that I wasn’t a better person day in and day out, but on the whole I made some progress. Since I experienced modest success, I decided to give it another go in 2010, and reckoned that an holistic approach would make sense. It followed then, that my resolution would extend to my philatelic endeavors. I’ll begin by confessing that the photo of myself that accompanied my previous columns was taken in 2002: not a particularly egregious transgression, nor uncommon for many writers, but a good place to start nonetheless. The photo at the top of this page was taken just before the deadline for this issue. A baby step to be sure, but all journeys begin with a first step. Perhaps the only reason my editor is running this particular column is that I am publi- cally acknowledging that I really ought to do better meeting my Stamp Insider deadlines. Even though I produce enough words to fill my space each month, I know Al’s job is complicated when he doesn’t receive my copy on time. I came up short again for this issue, but the March-April issue presents me with an opportunity for redemption. Probably the most fertile area for me is buried in the mountains of philatelic material I refer to as my collection. Since I have the time, tools, and skills to sufficiently organize my material, I can only conclude that my lack of success is hereditary, a gene that most stamp collectors are endowed with. I’m sure many of you understand. I plan to start with my Black Rock, NY collection and see where that leads. Who knows, I may even end up with my first exhibit.

8 / Stamp Insider • January / February 2010 MAIL SALES TOPICAL SALE HEALTH, HAPPINESS & PROSPERITY Engravings, Varieties, FOR THE NEW YEAR Topicals, Worldwide — Animals — Antarctica Items for — Architecture — Birds Award-Winning — Chess — Concorde — Europa — Marine Life Collections — Olympics — Paintings WRITE FOR CURRENT — Personalities — Reptiles — Rotary — Spain & Colonies LISTS AND BID SHEETS — Sports — United Nations OR — Zeppelins VIEW ON OUR WEB SITE E. JOSEPH McCONNELL, INC.

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Syracuse Stamp, Coin & Collectibles Show Central New York’s largest philatelic show. Dealers to buy, sell, trade stamps, covers, postcards, paper collectibles. Celebrate St. Valentine’s Day With Us! Sunday, February 14 —10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Holiday Inn Thruway Exit 35 — Carrier Circle Show Schedule: April 11, September 12, and November 13–14 Contact Ed Bailey P. O. Box 2338, Syracuse, NY 13220-2338 • 315-452-0593

January / February 2010 • Stamp Insider / 9 Collecting George McGowan P. O. Box 482 East Schodack, NY 12063-0482 518-479-4396; [email protected]

Tonga Was Not The Only Tin Can Mail orty miles west of Scotland’s Outer Hebrides lies the archipelago of St. Kilda, the most im- Fportant seabird breeding islands in North West Europe. First settled by prehistoric Norse, the most recent residents were Scots whose isolation made them self-sufficient. During Victorian times, with improved shipping, young people were lured away to better living on the mainland and by the 1920s the population was less than 100. In August 1930 the last 36 inhabitants, at their own request, were resettled in Scotland. Today the islands are part of the National Trust For Scotland, a charity supported by hundreds of thousands of members, and will continue to be a bird sanctuary. Tin can mail for letters from St. Kilda occupies a special place in philatelic history. The first person to attempt to communicate with the mainland by casting adrift letters tied to pieces of cork was Lady Grange, a prisoner on the islands from 1734 to 1742. In 1876, John Sands was marooned on St. Kilda and sent several letters in toy boats. One reached the Orkneys in nine days and another to the mainland in 22 days, resulting in his rescue. Islanders adopted tin can mail for their own purposes. Even after a sub post office was established in 1899, tin cans continued to be used. In 1906, the GPO authorized payment of half a crown to anyone who found one. It was impossible to guarantee the mail’s destination, duration, or discovery. The fastest delivery was two days and the longest was 15!/™ months. To mark the 50th anniversary of the evacuation of the islands, a special dispatch, pictured here, was organized. The mail was numbered and addressed to persons who ordered same. The covers were unstamped and sealed in a watertight drum and cast into the Atlantic Ocean. This mail was found 3!/™ months later at Ogna, Ergersund, Norway. Once the Trust was notified, arrangements were made to have stamps affixed, cancels applied, and entry into the regular mail stream at the nearest post office. A cachet noting this can be found on the back.

10 / Stamp Insider • January / February 2010 Buy & Sell With Conﬁdence Whether you're looking to start a new collection, ﬁnd a unique specialized item for your exhibit, or just save some money on postage, you've come to the right place! Henry Gitner Philatelists offers three convenient ways to buy — mail order, online from our Web site, and at our eBay store: http://stores.ebay.com/Henry-Gitner-Philatelists.

Contact us today with your speciﬁc needs … and when it comes time to sell your collection, accumulation, or dealer stock, you can be assured we pay top dollar.

Buying United States and the World No one pays more for collections, lots, and accumulations of lots and covers! You are always welcome to visit us, but please call ﬁrst so that we can devote our time to you. We have 6,500 square feet of stamps! Henry Gitner Philatelists, Inc. Philately — The Quiet Excitement! P.O. Box 3077 / 53 Highland Ave. Middletown, New York 10940-0800 www.hgitner.com e-mail [email protected] 1–800–947–8267 845–343–5151 Fax 845–343–0068 We accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, Amex Seen at Auction Alfred Carroccia 152 Windmill Road West Seneca, NY 14218-3776 716-674-0302; [email protected]

Bargains in Postal History ome postal history lots do not exceed presale estimates, barely meeting or selling below es- Stimates. This was the case for Schuyler Rumsey Philatelic Auctions’ The Autumn Sale from November 17–20. It featured extensive postal history from all states and territories, including 10 lots of some fine looking New York stampless covers. After the dust settled only two lots sold for more than the estimate. All the lots were in the affordable range for most of us. Lot 1076, which exceeded the presale estimate, contained 35 folded letters and was described as having readable strikes in fine to very fine or better condition and had a very liberal estimate of $150–200. It sold for $220 which is less than $7 a cover. This was a bargain, as most dealers list common stampless covers at $10 or more. There may even have been a desirable cover with scarce markings or a unique usage. Lot 1069 caught my eye not so much for the postmark but because of the cover. The blue circular date stamp from The Glen, NY was described as perfect on a birch-bark cover. The address was a fancy scroll panel. The Glen CDS had a matching Paid 3 marking. E. N. Samp- son’s American Stampless Cover Catalog indicates this marking, in blue, was used in the 1850s. The edge nicks did not detract from its appearance. It was estimated to sell from $75–100. Looking at the cover I thought it would sell for double the estimate, but it sold for $45. This item would be an interesting addition to a Montgomery County postal history collection. An interesting cover that failed to sell was Lot 1077, a folded letter dated March 8, 1767 from New York to London. It was described as being carried by a private ship having a receiv- ing DOVER/SHIP LTR postmark but a scan of the cover shows a DOVER/SHIP LRE marking. {Editor’s note: After 1760 letter was abbreviated as LRE or LTR.] The estimate was $150–200. Perhaps the confusion over the marking may have deterrred potential bidders. Several lots of covers originating in London and having various bishop marks also sold for less than the estimate. The covers are poorly struck but are interesting in the rates assessed. As a group they would make excellent examples of a rate study for this period. This auction was perfect for bargain hunters. It only goes to show that there are bargains to be found.

12 / Stamp Insider • January / February 2010 Buffalo Stamp Club Presents BUFPEX 2010 Exhibition, Bourse & More 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, March 6 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday, March 7 Honoring the Centennial of the Boy Scouts of America Free Admission, Parking & Door Prizes — Lunch Available Both Days VFW Leonard Post 6251 2450 Walden Avenue, Cheektowaga, New York

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America’s (and the World’s) Largest Stamp Collecting Supply Company SHIPPING CHARGES By MAIL/UPS *: $6.50 Min. Orders over $54 ADD 12%, Over $100 ADD 10%, Over $250 ADD 8% * Some Remote Areas Carry Higher Shipping charges. PA Residents: ADD 6% Sales Tax ADD $5/$10 Per Parcel on high weight/low cost orders shipped to the 11 Western States & TX Ask for Shipping Charges to AK, HI, P.R., APO’s, FPO’s, Foreign Phone: 1-800-221-9960 Fax: 1-888-221-9960 Not Responsible For 2121 Beale Ave, Altoona PA 16601 Typographical Errors Email: [email protected] Phone: 814-946-1000 Fax: 814-946-9997 Smash and Grab? Or Simply USPS Incompetence? By Albert W. Starkweather ssociate Editor Heather Sweeting and I Ahave a long-running contest about who can pack the most into a USPS flat rate Prior- ity Mail box, swapping mostly philatelic material and seasonal goodies. The content is predominately more esoteric than valuable. Boxes moved seamlessly north and south for several years until I sent her a box on Friday, October 30, with anticipated delivery being Monday, November 2. The first sign of trouble came when the box did not arrive as anticipated, nor on Tuesday, November 3. She received the battered package, open on one end, on Wednesday, November 4, in a body bag imprinted with the USPS’ usual apology for the damage. It appeared to having been dropped — a logical conclusion since the lower right corner appeared to be the point of impact. The open end panel was unusual since I seal the ends of boxes with USPS-approved pack- ing tape. Note that the opening appears to be cut rather than split. Then came the discovery that nearly half of the contents were missing — a book, some souvenirs from StampExpo 400, and some collectible covers. The souvenirs and covers had been inside larger envelopes to prevent them from becoming dog-eared. The content that did arrive consisted of a number of philatelic publications and stamp-bearing covers from my ordinary mail. The mystery deepened on November 4 when I received an envelope slit open at the top and without contents from Glenn Estus. The cover bore no auxiliary markings and had been mailed from Plattsburgh, NY on August 3. I then recalled that this had been in the package destined for Sweeting in Sterling, NY. The following day I received an oversized envelope from John Nunes — slit open at one end and postmarked at Glenville Station on Septem- ber 29. I immediately recognized this as another item in the box because it contained a pair of $1 Airlift stamps. On Friday, November 6, I received the only item that received any notice from the USPS, albeit that it was Continued on Page 18

16 / Stamp Insider • January / February 2010 Saratoga County’s Most Interesting Collectibles Headquarters Azusa Stamps and Collectibles Visit Our Store at 3 Curry Road, P. O. Box 745 Round Lake, NY 12151-0745 (518) 899-3027 [email protected] www.azusacollectibles.com Store Hours Wednesday 11 a.m.–5 p.m. • Qualified estate appraiser Thursday 11 a.m.–8 p.m. • Philatelics Friday 11 a.m.–5 p.m. • Comic books Saturday 11 a.m.–4 p.m. Additional Hours by Appointment • Sports / Non-Sports cards *Want Lists Filled • Paper ephemera *U. S. Mint and Used Stamps, • 30+ years experience and First Day Covers, Plate Blocks, store ownership on Long Booklets and Booklet Panes, Island and in Round Lake Back-of-Book, Possessions • Insurance appraisals and Trust Territories *Canada and Provinces • Dealer Member American *Israel mint tabs *Vatican mint Philatelic Society (#94747) *United Nations 28 years Also a Selection of: • Member Ephemera Society Great Britain, including Channel Islands • Member Long Island British Colonies Postcard Club France and Colonies • Comic book seminars and Germany and Colonies appearance on TV’s Other European Asia, Central and South America Antiques Show and Sell Program Full line of stamp and cover supplies • Show promotions and An old fashioned personal service store appearances with a comfortable atmosphere and free coffee. And we’re air conditioned!

To Saratoga Springs I-87  Route 9

Exit 11 Round Lake Road / Curry Road

Azusa To Albany Smash and Grab — Continued from Page 16 handled improperly. The USPS window envelope was stamped RECEIVED WITHOUT CONTENTS. (See front cover) However, the postage on the cover consisted of a 25-cent automobile stamp and a seven-cent Andrew Jackson prexie — underpayment of the first class rate by 12 cents, meaning it should have been retuned to the sender, Nunes, or delivered with postage due. Neither of the stamps was canceled. The mail on Saturday, No- vember 7, included an invoice the AFDCS had mailed me from Phoenix, AZ on Octo- ber 17. The slit at the top was taped shut and a spray postmark from Rochester run on top to the tape. The faint overrun postmark is dated November 4 and provides a clue about where the damage — and likely the theft — took place. Since Priority Mail is flown by FedEx, it is difficult to determine whether this took place on its watch or after the package was handed over to the USPS. The final and most interesting return came on Tuesday, November 10. An oversized envelope mailed to me by Nunes in mid July and originally delivered on July 21 contained 13 other covers from the box to Sweeting. Of those, 11 bore my address, two bore no address, and two were not mine. But wait, it gets better … One of the alien covers was mailed from Corning, NY on October 30 and was destined for an addressee in Lockport. I discovered it contained a check for $163 and forwarded under cover to the intended recipient. The other was an unopened nixie sent from Ithaca, NY to Ouaquaga, NY on August 5. The top nixie label indicated it was a dead letter since both the sender and intended recipient had moved without leaving a forwarding address. The USPS does not even get a “close, but no cigar” on its handling of either of these. The story of the nixie is told in the Empire State Postal History Society column on page 55. It is quite clear that the USPS bungled this very badly at the least or that it was an extremely crude attempt to cover up a theft. I am betting on the latter, particularly since some of the missing items were from the other end of the box and others on the bottom away from the slit.

18 / Stamp Insider • January / February 2010 Escape Winter’s Humdrum Sarasota National Philatelic Exhibition ★ An APS World Series of Philately Show ★ FEBRUARY 5–7, 2010 Friday & Saturday 10 a.m.–6 p.m. • Sunday 10 a.m.–3 p.m. Sarasota Municipal Auditorium 801 North Tamiami Trail (Hwy. 41) Sarasota, Florida ★ 3,000 Pages of Exhibits ★ Approximately 40 National Dealers ★ Free Admission & Parking ★ Lippizaner Stallions Show Cover ★ U.S. Postal Service Station ★ UN First Day Coin & Flag Ceremony ★ Learning Center: Free Stamps for Beginners ★Auction Bene ting Florida Philatelic Library

Visit These Fine National Stamp Dealers & Postal Administrations Marc Achterhof Labron Harris Rasdale Stamp Company Frank Bachenheimer J & J Stamps & Supplies Earl Reeder BEJJCO of Florida Eric Jackson Roy’s Stamps Britannia Enterprises Jacksonville Stamp & Coin Robert M. Sazama Bob & Marti’s Stamps Stan Jameson Peter Schwender Browse House Patricia Kaufmann Roy Smith Christopher / Richard Covers John Kimbrough The Stamp Explorer Classic Stamps & Covers M. T. O. Stamps Stamp-Tique Collectors Exchange Mark–Lane Stamps Suncoast Stamp Company Court Street Stamp & Coin Mountainside Stamps UNPA / USPS Martin Farber New England Stamp & Coin Bob Weisz Stamps & Covers Robert H. Feldman Jr. Quality Stamps Doug Weisz U.S. Covers For Further Information Contact: Sy Bricker ★ 941-907-6604 ★ [email protected] Pocket Change The C25 Airlift Code By Chip Scoppa

or just a little bit of pocket change our story gets off the ground with the purchase Fof seven airmail stamps. These stamps helped to speed up communications between the muddy fields of Germany and the members of a soldier’s family in Brock- port, NY. They also allowed some creative thinking to blossom and grow to maturity as the C25 Airlift Code. During World War II soldiers could send letters for free if they went by surface mail, but that took too much time. Airmail was the alternative, although soldiers had to pay for this faster mode of delivery. In this case, the code needed to get home quickly. This story would not be able to be told without the love and respect for family given and taught by my grandparents, Patsy “JoJo” and Elizabeth “Lee.” They taught their eldest son what family meant and the importance of sticking together. When this eldest son was thousands of miles away in a foreign country he needed to maintain communications with his family, letting them know he was okay and where he was. A 19-year-old just days past his birthday in war-torn Europe would desperately want to let his family know where he was. This tour of duty was with Gen. George S. Patton’s 3rd U.S. Army in the Battle of the Bulge and its aftermath. Mail was heavily censored and there was little chance of a soldier divulging his location. If he could not tell directly, a hidden code might work. After all many secret mes- sages were being sent all over the world, by both sides, and there were rooms full of code breakers trying to crack each other’s codes. The best codes helped the war effort and were not easily decipherable. The only unbroken code in modern military history was used by the Navajo code talkers. Continued on Page 22

20 / Stamp Insider • January / February 2010 Date April 11, April 15, April 17, April 20, April 24, April 28, April 30, Written 1945 1945 1945 1945 1945 1945 1945 PM Date May 6 May 1 May 1 May 1 May 1 May 1 May 6 Received May 17 May 12 May 12 May 12 May 12 May 12 May 17 To First Patsy Elizabeth Lawrence Patsy Delores Richard Patsy Middle Init. Z O N L E B K To-Last Scoppa Scoppa Scoppa Scoppa Scoppa Scoppa Scoppa The C25 Airlift Code Letters

January / February 2010 • Stamp Insider / 21 The C25 Airlift Code — Continued from Page 20 Pvt. Carmen J. Scoppa needed a code that was not obvious while enroute, but easily seen on delivery. What would not raise a flag while traveling, but jump out upon arrival? If he made errors in the names of his parents and siblings they would surely stand out when they read it and they should see the code. The letters were written between April 11 and 30, 1945. Information about the seven covers containing the C25 Airlift Code sent to Brockport from somewhere in Germany is shown on page 22, along with the covers, which all had their dates of arrival noted on the reverse. The six-cent Scott No. C25 was part of a set of seven airmail stamps having a common design issued bewtween 1941 and 1944. Armed services members could use the lowest denomination for even heavy letters, meaning pocket change purchased enough postage to send seven airmail letters home. Shown is an enlargement with the cor- rect lineup of each of the names. Please note the middle initial in each name. This code spelling out KOBLENZ is not as complicated as the Enigma Box code nor is it undecipherable as that of the Na- vaho Code Talkers. It is my favorite code of World War II just because my dad was the mastermind behind it. I can hold the physical transport mechanisms in my hands and know that others in my family have also done that. Interesting Facts Women received the vowels and males received the consonants. The mailings were symmetrical, being sent to father, female, male, father, female, male, father. Family members who received the letters were caught by surprise and thought my father had flipped, was “out of his mind,” was “shell shocked.” They did not figure out the code on their own! About the Author Chip Scoppa is treasurer of the Rochester Numismatic Association (www.the-rna.com). This article is an outgrowth of a presentation he made to the RNA on October 15, 2009 and the Rochester Philatelic Association on November 12. He may be contacted at [email protected]

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$// /276 :,// %( &86720 0$'( :+(1 25'(5(' ($&+ /27 :,// %( 81,48( /276 :,// &216,67 21/< 2) 67$036 0,17 25 86(' 6(76 6,1*/(6 12 025( 7+$1 %/2&.6 2) 2) $1 ,7(06289(1,5 6+((76 &$1 %( ,1&/8'(',) <28 '(6,5( $// 67$036 $5( 6&277 /,67(' ,'(17,),('($&+ /27 :,// &217$,1 $ 683(5 6(/(&7,217+( /$5*(5 7+( /27 7+( 025( (;7(16,9( 7+( $662570(17 81,7(' 67$7(6863266(66,21681,7(' 1$7,216 127 ,1&/8'('

7HUPV3+21(0$,/)$;25(0$,/ 25'(56 3/($6(0$.(685(7263(&,)< :+,&+$5($ $1':+$7 6,=(/27 <28$5(,17(5(67(',1 6$7,6)$&7,21*8$5$17(('25021(< 5()81'('XSRQUHWXUQRIPHUFKDQGLVH:,7+,1'$<6 3$<0(17 0867 $&&203$1< 25'(59,6$0&RU'LVFRYHU$&&(37(' &5(',7 &$5'25'(560867 ,1&/8'(1$0(21&$5'(;3'$7($OO&+(&.60867 %('5$:12186%$1.6 1< 5(6,'(176$''VDOHV7$; %URQ]H6LOYHU*ROG3ODWLQXP7LWDQLXP $// 25'(56$''6+,33,1* +$1'/,1* 432 West 54th St., New York, NY 10019 Tel: (212) 489-8130 ~ Fax: (212) 581-8130 E-Mail: [email protected] STORE HOURS: Monday-Friday 10AM-4PM & Thursday 10AM-7PM shop online at: www.championstamp.com The Time Is Now for Single Pages By Conrad A. Novick ver the past few years, I Ohave found a number of collectors who would like to create an exhibit for competition, but do not feel they have the ability. In my geographic area, as is the case nationwide, many local stamp clubs have stepped forward to fill this gap by holding single page exhibit nights for members at their meetings. From reports and personal observations at local stamp club meetings, I am continu- ally amazed by the creativity and imagination used in preparing interesting, unique, and informative exhibits in an 8!/™ × 11-inch space. In keeping with my personal philosophy of using creativity to increase interest within our hobby as well as public perception, the time has come for national organizations, such as the APS and AAPE, to acknowledge and implement the concept of the single page exhibit as a viable form of exhibiting on a national level. With a new category of exhibiting, national organizations and shows would add another dimension, tapping another resource. A single page exhibit can be as simple or intricate and as valuable or inexpensive as the creator wishes. Subject focus and designs have the availability of range limited only by the creators’ own imagination. Of course, rules, guidelines and standards would have to be set and endorsed by the national organizations as to page size, content, judging criteria, etc. These will come and be amended as the category advances. On a nationally recognized level there are many advantages to single page exhibiting that could be embraced by all sides of the exhibiting spectrum — exhibitor, audience, judging, and venues. Continued on Page 26

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Contact Our Northeastern Representative Today! John J. Nunes [email protected] 518-399-8395 H S Single Page — Continued from Page 24 Advantages for Exhibitors • The single page provides first timer exhibitors an entry point into the world of competitive exhibiting. A great portion of what I call the intimidation factor is eliminated with single page exhibits as opposed to single or multiple frame exhibits. The latter deterred collectors who wanted to exhibit. This target group would be more inclined to assemble a single page rather than 16 to 160 pages (10 frames). • Lower cost to the exhibitor for two reasons: 1. Frame Fees: With fees at national shows pushing $15 to $20 per frame, up to 16 single page exhibits can be mounted in a single side of an exhibit frame, lowering the cost of an individual exhibit. 2. Postage, Handling, and Insurance: Just by sheer volume, these costs involved in shipping an exhibit to a show would drop. Advantage for Audience • In a single page exhibit, the scope of the subject matter is narrowed and more focused. The layout and presentation are also compacted and confined to space where the entire exhibit can be viewed without requiring refocusing of the view- er’s attention. Advantage for Judging • Judges need not use show time to study the exhibit. With constraints on exhibit page size, the majority of judging can take place long before the actual event. With an entry rule requiring inclusion of a full sized, color photocopy of the exhibit with the application, judging can be performed at the convenience of those on the panel. All that would be required of their presence at the show would be the physical examination of the material used and the critique. Advantage for Venues • Floor Space: Up to 16 exhibits can be placed in the single side of a 36 × 48-inch exhibit frame, provided the standard that is set is an exhibit size of up to a maximum of 9 × 12 inches). That works out to 32 exhibits with an approximate footprint of 30 × 40 inches. • At large shows, this allows inclusion of additional exhibits within a small area, as well as enticing people who would not otherwise consider exhibiting. • For smaller venues, this allows the expansion of bourses and club shows to include competitive exhibiting as a part of their presentations to the public. I am sure that those who read this can come up with more advantages, and some will arrive with disadvantages. I cannot come up with any at the moment. To me, it appears to be a win-win situation. Editor’s Note: While some might believe this concept would be dumbing down exhibiting and philately in general, most writers and editors will attest to the fact that it is far more difficult to make a presentation shorter rather than longer. The single page concept should attract more youth exhibitors. This also might provide an incentive to spur inter- club competition as an outgrowth of the single page nights.

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January / February 2010 • Stamp Insider / 27 William H. Bauer — 1934–2009 By Ken Martin illiam H. (Bill) Bauer, 75, of Unadilla, a prominent Wphilatelist within the Federation, nationally, and in- ternationally, died unexpectedly on December 2, 2009 at his home after suffering a heart attack. He was a member of the Tri-County Stamp Club in Sidney, the Empire State Postal History Society, and a founding member of the Un- adilla Historical Association and was working with a committee to commemorate the centennial of the Boy Scouts of America and Unadilla’s BSA Troop No. 1. He was born November 20, 1934 in Adams, MA. He received a bachelor’s degree in geology from Rensselaer Poly- technic Institute, Troy, in 1956 and subsequently obtained a Masters of Geological Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, in 1959. Bauer began collecting stamps around 1940. First elected to the APS board of vice presidents in 1973, he was recorder William H. Bauer until he was elected secretary in 1977. In 1981 he was elected president of the APS, serving until 1985. A founding member and charter Vooys Fellow of the American Philatelic Re- search Library, Bauer was a library trustee from 1981 to 1987 and again from 1999 to 2005. He was one of the most generous supporters of the society and library giving more than $50,000. This included the first large challenge gift to the Campaign for Philately in 2002. Part of the original group of nationally accredited judges in 1971, Bauer was chair of the APS Committee for Accreditation of National Exhibitions and Judges from 1986–1995 with primary responsibility for the third edition of the APS Manual of Philatelic Judging. He was also an experienced and highly respected FIP International Judge, accredited in postal history at the Prague International Exhibition in 1978. Most recently he served on juries at Poland 93, Norway 97, Pacific 97, China 99, and Washington 2006. He was also a Federation accredited judge and had served on the jury for Stepex 2009. Bauer’s competitive exhibits included Colorado 1858–1876 — Pre-Territorial and Ter- ritorial Periods and Otsego County, New York. The latter was awarded a gold medal and Best New York State Postal History Exhibit Earning a Vermeil or Higher from the Empire State Postal History Society at StampExpo 400. A member of the founding council of the American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors, Bauer was a generous mentor to many exhibitors and shared his knowledge by serving as an instructor for an Exhibiting and Judging Course at the APS Summer Seminar in 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, and 1999.

Continued on Page 30 Ronald K. Ratchford photo

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January / February 2010 • Stamp Insider / 29 Bauer — Continued from Page 28 Bauer served on the APS Hall of Fame Committee and APRL Space Requirements Commit- tee. In 1985 he received the Society’s Century Award for recruiting at least 100 new members and in 1987 he received the Luff Award, the highest honor given by the APS to living collectors. Bauer also was president of the APS Writers Unit 30 from 1978–1981 and wrote for philatelic publications. Since 1985 he was editor of the Colorado Postal Historian and was a contributor to many other publications including The Congress Book, The Philatelic Exhibi- tor, and the SPA Journal. With James L. Ozment and John H. (Jack) Willard, he published Colorado Post Offices 1859–1989, last updated in 1990, and was nearing completion of a massive reference work, The Colorado Postal Encyclopedia. Bauer was a Fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society of London, and a member of the Col- lectors Club of New York, the Collectors Club of Chicago, and the Collectors Club of Den- ver. He was secretary and second vice president for the United Postal Stationery Society and was a founding supporter of the Rocky Mountain Philatelic Library. Membership in other national philatelic groups included the American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors, the American Philatelic Congress, the Arizona Philatelic Rangers, the Colorado Postal History Society, the Falkland Islands Philatelic Study Group, the Ger- many Philatelic Society, the Illinois Postal History Society, the International Society for Japanese Philately, the Korea Philatelic Society, the Mobile Post Office Society, the Postal History Society, the Ryukyu Philatelic Specialty Society, the Society of Australian Special- ists - Oceania, the Society of Philatelic Americans, the Southern Philatelic Federation, the Texas Philatelic Association, the United States Cancellation Club, the United States Phila- telic Classics Society, and the Western Philatelic Society. No matter where he lived Bauer was also always active on the local level. He was president of the Sonoma (California) County Philatelic Society; the Sea Gull Stamp Club of Corpus Christi, TX; and the Crescent City Stamp Club of New Orleans. He was also general chair of several different philatelic exhibitions. Bauer was a geologist for Standard Oil which became Amoco. After living in several states upon retirement he returned to Otsego County, which he considered home. Though he spent his career with Standard Oil, he never worked in Colorado but became interested in its postal history, with emphasis on Douglas County. He began traveling to Colorado on vacation and stopping at post offices to get cancels from the postmaster or clerk. This activity soon expanded to interest in closed post offices, ghost towns, and locations where no town ever existed, as long as it had a post office. Over a 12-year period during which he made two visits to Colorado per year, Bauer visited and documented nearly all the 2,550 or so post office sites, sometimes alone and most times with Jim Ozment. He shared his interest in Colorado postal history with a presentation on Pre-Territorial and Territorial Colorado at StampExpo 400. Editor’s note: James L. Ozment, 74, was found dead in his home in Golden, CO on December 7. He was a retired Rio Grande Railroad mechanical engineer. Continued on Page 77

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January / February 2010 • Stamp Insider / 31 Terry Miller’s People & Places on U.S. Stamps Quiz 1. The wife of a president, it is said she fled Washington during the British capture with George Washington’s portrait under her arm. 2. A short Union cavalry general, his victory at Five Forks helped end the Civil War. 3. A wealthy distinguished diplomat he became the first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1789. 4. Probably Great Britain’s greatest statesman, he became prime minister in May 1940 upon the fall of France, his finest hour. 5. This Swedish born inventor’s USS Monitor saved the Union wooden fleet by defeating the CSS Virginia although it never fought again. 6. A New England sculptor, his best known work is the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. His home was not far from Norman Rockwell’s. 7. A Spanish Governor of Puerto Rico he sailed to Florida in 1513 looking for the Fountain of Youth. He did not find it and Florida is now full of old people. 8. One of my favorite authors, he lived in Cuba and Key West. Among others he wrote For Whom the Bells Tolls and The Old Man and the Sea before committing suicide in 1961. 9. The last Civil War general who became president, he was assassinated in Buffalo during the Pan American Exposition in September 1901. 10. He became the first black to play major league baseball with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. This helped to break the color barrier in sports. 11. A Danish diplomat he was the second UN Secretary General and elected for two terms. He died in a plane crash in 1961 after which the Postal Service screwed up his stamp. 12. The first Secretary of the Treasury he established our first financial system. He was killed in a duel with Aaron Burr on July 12, 1804. 13. An eccentric frontiersman he planted apple trees over much of our midwest. 14. This Catholic priest’s quest to help children led to the founding of Boys Town in 1917. 15. A photography pioneer he patented and invented many innovations. His company formed in 1889 is still in Rochester, NY. Answers on Page 73

Hollywood Legends Puzzle By James Darnell ince it began in 1995, fifteen Hollywood Spersonalpersonalities haye been honored with commemorative stamps in the ongoing Legends of Hollywood series. The names of these 15 legendary stars are hidden in the puzzle below. The names may appear forewards or backwards, across, down or diagonally. (Answers on page 73)

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STAMPS ◆ COVRS ◆ POSTCARDS ◆ SPORTS CARDS George McGowan’s Nassau Street Stamps & Collectibles R 5 W R / O B B 4151 US 20, S , NY (½ R 9 20) Store Hours: A T Tuesday & Friday noon–5 p.m., R. 4 ¡ursday 5–8 p.m. Saturday by appointment. R. 9 Please call ahead to be sure we are open. & 20 I-90 E´ 11 Mailing Address: P. O. Box 482 R 20 East Schodack, NY 12063-0482 T P [email protected]  R 9 ✪ T H (518) 479-4396 or 573-5457

January / February 2010 • Stamp Insider / 33 Fortunato’s Ceramics Exhibit Takes Stepex ’09 Best in Show homas M. Fortunato’s five-frame topical exhibit,The Diversity of Ceramics and Ceramic TMaterials, took Best in Show and Gold at Stepex 2009, the 34th consecutive annual show sponsored by the Elmira Stamp Club on October 16 and 17, 2009 at the Big Flats American Legion Post. Fortunato’s exhibit goes beyond stereotypes of the term ceramics, such as pots and vas- es, and traces the history and science of ceramics from its humble beginnings into modern times with its many technological advances. An experienced exhibitor, accredited APS judge and resident of Rochester, Fortunato is active in the Rochester Philatelic Association and is also a member of the Elmira Stamp Club. Ten gold, one silver and two bronze medals were awarded to the adult exhibits. Three silver medals and one bronze were earned by the youth exhibits. All 17 exhibits were in competition. The jury, APS accredited judges Bill Bauer of Unadilla, Bob Meegan of East Aurora, and Steve Suffet of Sunnyside had an unusually strong Stepex exhibit lineup to evaluate. Seven of the 13 adult exhibits entered by William Schultz, Raymond M. Stone, Walter Orton, Glenn Estus, Alice Johnson, Phil Poplaski, and Alan Parsons were also shown at StampExpo 400 in Albany. Top Youth Exhibit: Shannon Madigan’s single frame Eastern Asia achieved the highest point score among the youth exhibits and earned Youth Best in Show along with Youth Silver. Shannon, 13, resides in Mansfield, PA. Gold Awards: In addition to Fortunato, gold medals were awarded to William Schultz of West Chester, PA for his seven-frame Toll Gates and Houses — Their Progres- sion on Postcards; Raymond M. Stone of Rochester, for his nine-frame illustrated mail exhibit, 3¢ Handcar, Rochester’s First Transportation Coil; Ann M. Triggle of Clarence, one for her two-frame Clarence Postal History and one for her single-frame postal history exhibit, Wales in Erie County, NY. Also, to Walter Orton of Grand Island, for his three-frame postal history exhibit, Pio- neer Telegraph Companies of the North East; Glenn Estus of Westport for his six-frame postal history exhibit, Olympic Machine Cancels, 1912–2004; Alice Johnson of Rochester for her five-frame topical exhibit, A Multitude of Angels; Edward Mendlowitz of East Brunswick, NJ, for his four-frame illustrated mail exhibit, The Cachets of Don Bloom; and Alan Parsons of Elmira for his five-frame postal history exhibit, Corning, NY Postal History Including DPOs Now Served by Corning Post Office. Mendlowitz’ exhibit also received the AFDCS award for the Best First Day Cover Ex- hibit and Triggle’s Clarence Postal History received the ESPHS award for the Best New York Postal History Exhibit. Continued on Page 36

34 / Stamp Insider • January / February 2010 Are You Ready for Cover Mania? Visit Our Super Dealers! John Amberman Forever Collectables: Hy Turkin Azusa Stamps: Tom Auletta Al & Joyce Greco Tom Baron Brewster Harding & Bruce Nelson Ed Bailey Tom Harris Bare Cove Associates: Dwight Wahr Bill Hatton Bell, Book & Candle: Bunny Moses Bill Johnson Robert Borden Bruce Johnson Brittania Enterprises: Mike Mead Susan Lane Frank Buono Barry Mann Cartophilians: Jose Rodriguez George McGowan: Nassau Street Christopher/Richards Mike McMorrow Civil War Round Table Minerva Stamps: Joseph Rudnick Conquistador Stamp Co.: Guy Creiger NunesNook: Dr. John J. Nunes Cover Connection: JohnLeszak Postal Stationary.com: Phil Stevens Paul Cook Steve Resnick Lynn’s Covers: Lynn Culkowski Doug Richards Guy Dillaway Larry Sell Elywn & Anne Doubleday, Cover Crazy United States Postal Service Bruce Hazelton Doug Weisz The Excelsior Collection Richard West Gil Fitton Stafford Willis 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Jan. 30 • 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Jan. 31 Clarion Hotel, 3 Watervliet Ave., Albany, NY Just Off I-90 Exit 5, 4 Miles East of Thruway Exit 24 CONTACT JOHN J. NUNES, 80 FREDERICKS ROAD, SCOTIA, NY 12302 518•399•8395 • E-MAIL [email protected] Stepex — Continued from Page 34 Silver Award: Fortunato’s single frame topical exhibit That’s a Postage Stamp? received the only silver medal in the adult competition. Bronze Awards: Adult bronze medals went to Lawrence LeClair of Elmira for his three- frame topical exhibit, Happy Birthday, Charles Darwin; and to Philip E. Poplaski of Liverpool for his three-frame illustrated mail exhibit,”Manila” John Basilone: A History in Covers. Youth Silver Awards: In addition to Shannon Madigan, youth silvers were awarded to Lorah Wilson, 13, of Mansfield, PA, for her two-frame Creative Characters; and Ethan McQuaid, 8, of Covington, PA, for his single-frame topical exhibit, Animals of the Earth. Youth Bronze Award: Youth bronze went to Melissa Stanton, 14, Knoxville, PA, for her two-frame topical exhibit, Health Care in Time. Show Cover The show cover with a cachet depicting 19th century school buildings in Elmira and Horseheads commemo- rated 150 years of universal free public grade school education in Chemung County. It is available for $2 each plus sase from Neal Walker, 403 Herrick St., Elmira, NY 14903. Outstanding Young Philatelists Named eceipients of the 2009 Nicholas G. Carter Volunteer RRecognition Awards include two outstanding young philatelists — Alex Haimann of Bloomfield Hills, MI in the age 15–24 category and Daniel A. Piazza of Washington, DC in the 25–40 category. Haimann (left) has led the effort to initiate a Young Phila- telic Leaders Fellowship. He has worked with APS Director of Education Gretchen Moody on establishing the guidelines and has spearheaded fund-raising efforts. He is a consultant for the Arago project for the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum and represents Mystic Rare Stamps in a partnership with Don Sundman. He also serves on the American Stamp Dealers Association Board. Piazza, Assistant Curator of Philately at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum, is on the Vatican Philatelic Society board of governors and edits its journal, Vatican Notes. He is the NPM columnist for the Stamp Insider. He is a member of the Washington Stamp Collectors Club, which he serves as webmaster, the Baltimore Philatelic Society, APS, American Philatelic Research Library, American First Day Cover Society, and Writers Unit #30. He is also a board member and literature chairman for Napex.

36 / Stamp Insider • January / February 2010 Last Chance StampExpo 400 Souvenirs Get ’ em before they are gone forever!

Set of four serviced show covers • $8. One for each of the three days — Hudson, Fulton & Champlain. The fourth cover will bear the Champlain postmark.

Samuel de Champlain’s Explorations

of ion Ne at w r Y e o d r e k

. . P . h c i n l I a , te s l ie ic Societ

StampExpo400 Set of eight 4 × 6-inch deluxe postcards • $12 + $1 per set s & h Miniature poster stamp sheetlet ﬁts on standard small envelope and is die cut for easy separation. Only $1 each plus 50 cents s & h for up to 12 sheets. Make checks & money orders payable to StampExpo 400. Order Today From — Show Treasurer Ronald K. Ratchford 1105 Union St., Schenectady, NY 12308-2805 Fillmore the Filatelist David A. Kent P. O. Box 127 New Britain, CT 06050-0127 860-667-1400; [email protected]

A Philatelist Inspired by History ne element that attracted me to philately was the history it portrays. OAs a teenager living in Auburn at the north end of Owasco Lake, I became especially interested in an historical figure who was born at the other end of the lake in 1800 — Millard Fillmore. Cayuga County was virtually all farm land then, and he soon moved to the western part of the state to read law. There were few law schools then. Fillmore became involved in politics, served in the state and national legislatures. He was chosen as Zachary Taylor’s running mate in the 1848 presidential election, mostly to help carry New York State. Taylor died unexpectedly in 1850, propelling Fillmore into the White House. He was ineffective in handling the growing controversy over slavery. The Whig party refused to renominate him in 1852 and he retired to Buffalo. When his wife died in 1858, he married a wealthy widow. Believing it undignified for a former president to actually work for a living, he lived off her money for the rest of his life. Fillmore is often thought of as the ultimate example of the obscure public figure, but the folks in Buffalo loved him and his wife, who were the leaders of society in their day. Any number of streets, parks and other facilities in Buffalo are named for him; the heroic statue in front of the city hall is none other than Fillmore. Alas,Show Fillmore’s Scenes obscurity is reflected on stamps. The only two U.S. issues to feature him were omnibus sets that portrayed all of the presidents, the Presidential Series of 1938 (which The EmpireI could Statestill buy Plaza at the Concourse, Auburn post top, office when I started collecting), and the 1986Ameripex was linedsouvenir with dealerssheets. Afrom handful end toof foreignend at issues also picture him, but all are also omnibus sets StampExpo 400. Among those participating in the showpicturing were, all from American left above, presidents, Tara Sul and- he typically has to share a stamp with a couple of livan, other Hudson–Fulton–Champlain presidents. There aren’t Quadri even very- many interesting commemorative covers for Fill- centennialmore. Commission Maybe his numberexecutive in thedirector; sequence of presidents, 13, has been unlucky for him. George McGowanOne of the of Nassaupotential Street problems Stamps of any hobby, whether it be philately or gardening & Collectiblesor playing who bridge, is also is reachingStamp Insider the point where it’s hard to find anything new to keep up advertising manager, and William R. Han- son whoyour represented interest. Perhaps St. Vincent we can and use the our friend Millard, who most think of as insignificant Grenadinesbut who postal was service. celebrated Daniel in A. Buffalo, Piazza as our inspiration to find something new and inter- and Cherylesting R. —Ganz, maybe right, because greet a it’svisitor so obscureto — in stamps. Just filling spaces in an album the Smithsonianwon’t do any National more. In Postal future Museum columns I will try to suggest ideas to keep up your interest booth. in (Photos philately. by The Susan world’s Shafer, postal NYDEC, administrations are trying to attract your attention with and Ronald K. Ratchford, Federation of New Yorkall sortsPhilatelic of fascinating Societies secretary) new issues. Join me, and Millard, in looking for ideas that will make us leaders in philatelic society.

38 / Stamp Insider • January / February 2010 NYS @ NPM Daniel A. Piazza, Assistant Curator of Philately National Postal Museum, MRC 570, P. O. Box 37012, Washington, DC 20013-7012 Smithsonian 202-633-4737; [email protected] National Postal Museum Overland Mail Origins Traced to New York he overland mail traces its origins not to Sacramento, CA Tor St. Joseph, MO, but to an Albany-to-Utica stagecoach line. John Warren Butterfield, born at Berne in Albany Coun- ty in 1801, parlayed his earnings as an Albany to Utica driver into his own line, which bought up smaller competitors and eventually branched into streetcars, railroads, canal boats, and plank roads along the Mohawk River corridor. In 1850, Butterfield’s operations merged with two other upstate freight companies to form American Express. As an American Express director Butterfield stubbornly blocked its desire to expand operations into California. This led some di- rectors to spin off a new company — Wells Fargo — for that purpose in 1852. By 1857, Wells Fargo’s success caused But- terfield to reconsider. When the U.S. Post Office Department advertised for bids on the overland mail contract, he seized the opportunity to secure a piece of the California boom. In September 1857, the USPOD awarded Butterfield a $600,000 per year contract to carry the mail from Missouri to San Francisco. The contract gave him exactly one year to buy coaches, hire drivers, survey the route, and build relay stations, with service to begin in September 1858. The first Butterfield Concord mail coach rumbled into San Francisco on October 10, 1858, having departed Missouri days earlier. The line operated until 1861, when the combination of heavy operating losses and the secession from the Union of several states along the route killed it. A hostile takeover by Wells Fargo had forced Butterfield out of the operation in 1860. He retired and served as mayor of Utica from 1865 until his death in 1869. Beginning in 1957, enormous political pressure was placed on the USPOD to mark the anniversary of Butterfield’s overland mail line with a commemorative stamp. Congressional del- egations from states along the Butterfield route addressed letters of support to the postmaster general, as did a host of mayors, civic organizations, and stamp clubs. Eager to ensure that Utica’s role in the creation of the overland mail was not forgotten, Mayor John McKennan, the Federation of Central New York Philatelic Societies, and the Utica Chamber of Commerce all

Smithsonian National Postal Museum Collection got into the act, and their letters to the POD are preserved today in the NPM.

January / February 2010 • Stamp Insider / 39 BA1062 10x7.5_10x7.5 11/23/09 7:21 AM Page 1

Turn Your Stamps into Cash... Call Mystic – Get Payment “On the Spot” We’ll Come to You – And Pay More! We’re looking for the following… Mystic’s buyers are always traveling our great nation to buy N Worldwide new issues top-quality collections! Call Mystic today and N Rare/High-quality U.S. and foreign stamps and coins schedule a convenient time for us to come N U.S. collections of all qualities to you and value your collection. Our expert N Entire dealer stocks, store inventory, show dealer and buyers will give you honest advice on how to mail order dealer stocks get more for your stamps. Selling to Mystic is N Mounted foreign collections easy and you can be confident you will receive N China stamps (all Asian stamps) high market value for your collection – it may N Accumulations and mixed collections even be more than you expect! (they don’t need to be organized) Donald Sundman N British and European colonies Collector Stamp N Coin Collections and Accumulations Don Sundman President, Mystic Stamp Company N Your Stamps and Coins!

Mystic Mystic Pays More Call 800-835-3609 We Pay More For Your Stamps Copyright © 2010 by Mystic Stamp Company, Inc. BA1062 Exploring Deltiology Ruth L. Sabo 51 Island View Road Cohoes, NY 12047-4929 518-785-1330; [email protected]

An Outside the Box Valentine tores today are well supplied with beauti- Sful cards for Valentines Day on February 14. A hundred years ago, stores stocked postcards, the preferred mode of sending good wishes to those one cared about, rather than folded cards. Cards were replete with beautiful women, hearts, lace, and the ever-present cupid with his bow and arrow. They were often gilded and highly embossed. Most overflowed with romantic greetings and poems. Others offered parody and comical sentiments. Major postcard publishers early in the last century — Tuck, Paul Finkenrath, Winsch, Langsdorf, and International Art — produced dozens of designs, often in sets of four or six. Beautiful women portrayed by Samuel Schmucker on Winsch cards are particularly sought. Many collectors enjoy the charming children on numerous sets designed by prolific postcard artist Ellen Clapsaddle (1863- 1934) , who was born, raised, and educated in central New York. The postcard depicted here, however, does not fit the cupid and lace and adorable children category of cards. It is unsigned and the publisher is unknown. However, because it is an uncommon, heavily embossed and gilded card that combines a charming Valentine greeting of a black man serenading his woman, it is highly collectible and would appeal to many deltiolo- gists, especially those collecting ethnic groups, greetings, and even musical instruments. It is a good example of an anonymous card attracting a higher price than one that is signed by a well-known artist because of its rarity and appeal to a number of different collectors. It was unsigned and mailed from Lowville, NY on February 12, 1909 to a man named Frank, who also lived in Lowville. Cards in excellent condition depicting blacks on them usually sell for no less than $10 and often for 10 or 20 times that amount, depending on scarcity and of course attractiveness.

42 / Stamp Insider • January / February 2010 First Day Coverage Glenn A. Estus P. O. Box 451 FIRST DAY OF ISSUE Westport, NY 12993-0451 [email protected], 518-962-4558

A Jumbo FDC Souvenir few weeks ago when I returned home A late at night and opened my darkened screen door I promptly kicked a large picture frame left in the doorway. Since I’m president of the local historical society, I thought it was a gift. When I carried it into the house and turned on the light, I immediately knew it wasn’t for the society. When I realized what frame contained, I knew who had left it. In 1995 a local politi- cian, who was also New York Secretary of State, was invited to participate in the first day ceremony at Santa’s Workshop at near- by North Pole, NY. This year his family is moving out of the area. In clearing out material, he came across the first day item and since I’m well known in the area as a stamp collector decided that I might like it. In 1995 the USPS issued its secular holiday stamps at North Pole, home of one of the first theme parks in the U.S. The four 32-cent stamps (Scott No. 3004–3018) were issued in four different formats: water activated panes of 50, water activated booklets of 20, self adhesive booklets of 20, and self adhesive coils only available through the Philatelic Agency in Kansas City. The 18 × 30-inch frame was too large to scan, so a photograph has to suffice. Each partici- pant in the ceremony received one of this limited edition of 30. Postmaster General Marvin Runyon dedicated the stamps followed with speeches by the two local congressmen and other dignitaries. At the top of the frame is a title piece signed by Runyon. Below that is a cover with a cancel from the day that North Pole post office opened in 1953 and below that are No. 10 covers with either a single stamp or a block of four canceled on the first day. These are all professionally framed and ready for hanging on a wall. Now it’s hanging in my stamp room. Using this month’s item as a springboard, my next column will be a report on this first day ceremony and some of the unusual happenings at it.

January / February 2010 • Stamp Insider / 43 The Frugal Philatelist Jim Hannah 158 Fisher Ave. Staten Island NY 10307-1310 718-984-5378; [email protected]

Machin Regionals Easy To Identify ay back, I mentioned that the UK Machin series of issues is real happy hunting Wground for used stamp collectors. The series began with the 1/2d orange brown stamp of February 5, 1968 and have continued to shower collectors with interesting chal- lenges right up to the present. The biggest problem? The sheer number of separate collectable stamps! It can be overwhelming, but considering how cheap used Machins are it’s a great way to be bowled over. Collecting used Machins is an activity delightfully suited to today’s some- what uncertain economy. Older kiloware mixes often contain many regional Machin stamps. These can be distinguished by the small symbols which identify the four regions in which they were issued: the three legs of the Isle of Man, the hand of Northern Ireland, the Scottish lion, and the dragon of Wales and Monmouthshire. By using these along with the denomination and color, you’ll find that identifying the various stamps is quite easy. A complete collection of the Isle of Man used stamps, by the way, will include a total of just six stamps. The 2 1/2p and 3p values have two stamps each, differing only in the type of paper. There are only one each of the 5 and 7 1/2p stamps. The other regionals are far more extensive in the number of issues, with many denominations from 2 1/2p through 65p and even a 1st (class). Dig deeper into the regionals and you’ll find there are smaller differences within the individual regional denominations. These include variations in the appearance of the regional symbols (13p Northern Ireland, Scotand and Wales, perforation differences (12p emerald green Scotland and 12!/™p Wales) and phosphor printing (10p, both center band and two band Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales), among others. No UV light? Try to see the printing bands by holding the stamp at an angle to a bright light source. Hint: It’s best to try this before soaking the stamp from paper.

44 / Stamp Insider • January / February 2010 Youth & Philately Robert Finnegan 10 O’Neill Drive Oneonta, NY 13820-1154 607-432-8141; [email protected]

‘Chutes and Ladders Philately’ s a youngster I loved board games. particularly Chutes and Ladders. If you don’t re- Amember the game, it was an attempt to get to the top of the board by climbing ladders and sometimes sliding down a chute. The first to reach the top would win the game. Creating such a game utilizing stamp illustrations would be easy. All you need is some posterboard, illustrations from Google to glue to the posterboard, dice and moving pieces for the board game. I suggest you place a pile of United States definitives that you want to expose the children to, matching illustrations of the same on the posterboard. Landing on a stamp with an ⇓ means a chute and an ⇑ means a ladder. Winners can get free stamps as a prize. Robert Finnegan illustration

January / February 2010 • Stamp Insider / 45 Communications Share your opinions! Send to: Albert W. Starkweather 5520 Gunn Hwy 1406, Tampa, FL 33624–2847 [email protected]

Why StampExpo 400 Was a Success tampExpo 400 was a very different show, but that is exactly why Sit was a success. It was evident that the committee sought to experiment to expose new people to the hobby. The venue, press coverage, ceremonies, exhibits, and bourse all demonstrated this. The program is a wonderful tribute to the event. The medal is exquisite! I congratulate the committee for being creative and StampExpo400 for taking action to try out new ideas. Our hobby needs to be HUDSON • FULTON • CHAMPLAIN open to ingenuity and entrepreneurial ideas like yours. I was honored to take part in the opening ceremonies and to be a speaker. I thank the committee for all the honors bestowed on the Smithsonian National Postal Mu- seum and for giving us a booth to showcase our efforts to promote philately to new au- diences. I also enjoyed visiting Albany for the first time and seeing the setting around the reflecting pool! Cheryl R. Ganz, Ph.D., Chief Curator of Philately Smithsonian National Postal Museum Editor’s note: Ms. Ganz underplays the role the NPM played in making StampExpo 400 such a success. Much credit goes to the NPM and other national organizations whose participation in the show made it a popular destination and exposed show attendees to a broad spectrum of philately. Prefers Underlined URLs I picked up a copy of the Stamp Insider at our local show in Hamilton, ON, Canada. It’s an excellent magazine. I am really enjoying reading it. Congratulations on your award for the magazine. That is wonderful for you. Very well deserved. I hope you will get many more. Sorry to say, but I do agree with the judges though about underlining the links. I don’t actually think the caps are distracting, but they certainly break up the look of the page a lot more than the underlined links. When you want to go back to find the links, it is much easier to just scan the page and look for the underlined text, than it is to pick out small uppercase letters. They don’t really show up that well in a full page of writing. I think most people are used to seeing links underlined, and they look for them. Keep up the great work. I hope that I will get the chance to read another one of your Stamp Insiders. Suzanne May, by e-mail

46 / Stamp Insider • January / February 2010 Glens Falls, New York www.asc-stampclub.org Adirondack Stamp, Meets at 7 p.m. on the 2nd Wednesday at Moreau Community Center, 144 Main St., South Glens Falls Post Card & Joseph Kopczak, 44 Surrey Fields Dr., Queensbury, NY 12804-8708 Ephemera Club [email protected], 518-792-1659

Holiday Gathering The club held its Christmas dinner on December 4 at the Sweet Basil Restaurant in Queensbury. From left: Steve Matt, Stan Burdick, Kathy Burdick, Ernie Paquin, Marie Smith, Joe Kopczak, Ruth Kopczak (seated), Chris Lynch, Maureen Lynch, Justice Hunt, new president Thelma VanDerzee, and outgoing president Conrad Novick Club Elects New Officers t the November meeting the club elected new officers. Our new president is Thelma AVanderzee, and new treasurer Maggie McClure. Reëlected were vice president Phil Smith and secretary Joe Kopczak. Membership continues to be encouraging with a high percentage of the prior members renewing for 2010, an encouraging vote of confidence for the old and new officers. The new officers were officially welcomed at the December 4 banquet at the Sweet Basil Restaurant. Past president Conrad Novick was thanked for his leadership during our difficult reorganization period and for introducing many new procedures to the benefit of the ASC. As many of you already know, Conrad, who plans to still be active with the club, has accepted a position as a regional vice president of the Federation. We all wish him well in his new position and we are sure he will initiate some progressive ideas there as well. The November meeting included one of our stamp auctions and this always brings out the members and usually some guests for a fun program. We plan to continue to plan for the auctions at least quarterly. We ususally have 40 or more lots for sale so the auctions normally take up most of the meeting after a short business meeting. For the new year we plan to have another of our single page exhibits in January. This is one of our favorite programs. Our plans for the rest of 2010 will be flexible depending on the availability of speakers and our frequent auctions and single page exhibits.

January / February 2010 • Stamp Insider / 47 NEW YORK T H CHAPE T ER N G W I O New York, New York V R R L E D S Meets at 6 p.m. on the second Thursday, except July AmericanTopical Association and August, at The Collectors Club, 22 East 35th St.

Y F Caroline Scannell, 14 Dawn Drive, Smithtown, NY 11787-1761 L T E H T E A M L [email protected] A I No. T I C P H 3 A Philatelic New Year Suggestion appy New Year! Why not start the it off with a new topical? Something small and Hfinite, such as the stamps issued the year you were born, or covers cancelled the day you were born, or something designed by someone no longer living, or engraved stamps by Czeslaw Slania, UNESCO has lots of short topics for many of their projects; Abu Simbel (Egypt), Venice (Italy), Borobudur (Indonesia), or the year of … whatever! One subject I think would be an interesting topic is war stamps issued by a country or 50 countries during a conflict. It could be World War I, World War II, or any of the various civil wars that break out from time to time. Bring Chinese New Year Items January 26 is Chinese New Year, so everyone should bring something about the event to our next meeting. Since even the United States and Canada have issued stamps on this theme we should all have something in our collections. February for Beginners Our February 11 meeting will center on beginners. Whatever you are beginning, bring it in with your questions. Between us all we should be able to come up with something: a better way to organize it, how to store it, how to avoid buying duplicates, and how to maintain a checklist or maintaining a checklist when you have no idea what that checklist is supposed to accommodate. Guests are always welcome. See you soon! Youngblood and Sazama Join Topical Time he ATA has announced that philatelic journalist Wayne Youngblood is Tthe new editor of its journal, Topical Time, succeeding George B. Griffen- hagen who has retired after 17 years. Youngblood produced the January– February issue and will begin the journal’s conversion to full color. His experience includes positions with Linn’s Stamp News, Scott Stamp Monthly, and Krause Publications. Since 2006 he has been a partner of Youngblood Ink, a privately owned family business specializing in writing, editing, and design. He also edits the Airpost Journal of the American Air Mail Society and Posthorn of the Scandinavian Collectors Club. Youngblood A new position of advertising manager is being filled by Robert Sazama, a stamp dealer with connections in national and international philately. He has promoted topical philately and has consistently recruited ATA members from his customers and the dealer community.

48 / Stamp Insider • January / February 2010 Buffalo, New York Meets at 7:30 p.m. on the 1st & 3rd Fridays, except June, July, and August, at VFW Leonard Post, 2450 Walden Ave., Cheektowaga Alfred Carroccia, 152 Windmill Road, West Seneca, NY 14218-3776 [email protected], 716-674-0302

Fall Bourse Activities George Gates, left and Dan Sherwood helped out at the club table. The bourse attracted a good number of buyers. A Successful Autumn Stamp Festival he club hosted another successful Autumn Stamp Festival on November 21. With 13 Tdealers attending including some new ones, there was plenty of new and varied material to look through. Whether you collected new or old, singles or blocks, covers or postcards, coins or memorabilia, there was something for you. The club even managed to sign up three new members! Thanks to those that helped set up, manned the greeting table, supported the dealers, or just spread the news. Your support of the club and the event was appreciated. Don’t Forget Bufpex Don’t forget, our big, two-day event, Bufpex, is happening March 6 and 7. Start getting those exhibits ready! Niagara Air Show The club has been invited to share a table and/or exhibit during the Thunder over Ni- agara Air Show next summer. It’s an opportunity to promote the Buffalo Stamp Club at a notable event. If anyone is interested or willing to donate material or time, please let us know — especially if you might attend the event. Information can be obtained from Alan Davis at [email protected]. Name Tags We are considering Buffalo Stamp Club name tags for members. It certainly helps us remember names at club events and promotes the club at stamp events. A list will be compiled of those interested and a search will be made to find a manufacturer.

January / February 2010 • Stamp Insider / 49 Stamp Club Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Meets at 1:30 p.m. on the last Saturday of each month at the Ryerss Museum and Library, 7342 Central Ave. Stuart Geisler, 1105 Bleigh Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19111-3619 [email protected], 215-768-5735 The Burholme

Lectures, Past, Present, and Future uring our November meeting, Club President Stuart DGeisler, gave a lecture on the Postal History of Slavery. This discussion included examples of plantation letters and slave receipts, which the members saw in a PowerPoint demonstration and the actual letters in a display case. As a topical expert, Stuart also told the club about collecting Black Heritage stamps for fun, education, and investment. For our December meeting, club member Ed Stephens was to provide a lecture on identifying the various U.S. bank note Issues, complete with slideshow presentation and visual display of the actual stamps. In January, various club members will give small lectures Stuart Geisler on the joys of collecting the different cachets for first day covers. This area of philately is a wonderful place for youngsters and new collectors to start accumulating stamps. Beginners Corner In the 19th century, postal authorities put mechanical im- prints into stamp paper, leaving a pattern. This grill was to increase the surface area of a cancelled stamp, making it ab- sorb more ink when being cancelled. This made it harder for defrauders to wash out the cancels with bleach. The grill on the illustrated three-cent stamp can be seen quite clearly from the front. Others are harder to detect. Other Federation Member Clubs The Putnam Philatelic Society of Carmel and the Fulton Stamp Club of Fulton are also members of the Federation of New York Philatelic Societies. Drew A. Nicholson, 18 Valley Drive, Pawling, NY 12564-1140, [email protected], is the Putnam club contact. Meetings are on the first and third Fridays at 7 p.m. in the third floor cafeteria of Guideposts, Seminary Hill in Carmel. John A. Cali, P. O. Box 401, Fulton, NY 13069-0401, phone 315-592-4441 is the Fulton Club contact. Meetings are on the third Wednesdays except July and August at different locations.

50 / Stamp Insider • January / February 2010 Hamilton, New York Meets at 7:45 p.m. on the 1st Monday March–December at Hamilton Public Library on the Green, 13 Broad St. Braden Houston, 2063 Spring St., Hamilton, NY 13346-2259 [email protected], 315-824-2237

How Much Postage? By Robert Betz rior to World War II, mail from outside the North American continent normally went Pby ship. This called for an increased amount of postage, depending on its destination, but not always; sometimes the travel by sea was not a significant part of the total postage. The first illustration (upper left) is a stamp-free cover from Serampore, India. Of the 20#/¢ cents postage, two cents carried it from India to Rhode Island, 18#/¢ cents carried it to New York City. After the Spanish–American War, the Philippines were under American control and U.S. stamps were used. A 1904 letter (lower left) traveled from Manila to Rochester, NY, for two cents. Three days after the end of World War I, Lt. Herbert Comant sent a letter to Troy, NY. As a soldier’s letter it went from France to the U.S.A. without charge (lower right). The fourth letter (upper right) also traveled by water on part of its journey from New York City to Hamilton. The Hudson River Mail date-stamp of August 1847 indicates this. Mail traveled the Hudson River when navigable and received this mark from 1847 to 1850. After that, all mail went by rail.

January / February 2010 • Stamp Insider / 51 t C cu ov i e t r c New Haven, Connecticut e C

n l Meets at 9:30 a.m. on the 3rd Sunday

n u

b at the Super Stop and Shop, 112 Amity Road

•

Joseph Connolly, 571 Treat Lane, Orange, CT 06477-2739

o 6 0

o 0 0 [email protected], 203-795-3718 n 2

d d u e 0 nded 2 Cataldo Second Hall of Fame Honoree nthony Cataldo, the respected New AYork and Connecticut first day cover dealer, was recognized as the second Con- necticut Cover Club Hall of Fame honoree at a presentation during the New Haven Philatelic Society Fourth Sunday Collectible Show in New Haven on October 25, 2009. President Richard Hoffman, right, presented Cataldo with a framed certificate and a beautiful cake frosted with a photo cachet design that Tony quickly shared with those attending the show. Club member Andy Do- back designed the event cachet, insert, and pictorial postmark to recognize the award. A 1949 graduate of Iona College in New Rochelle, Cataldo began his career as a buyer and seller of first day covers in 1963 while still serving as a principal of a Dodge deal- ership in Mount Vernon. After retirement from the automobile business. he devoted his workday to locating first day covers that would fill the needs of the vast Mid Atlantic collecting community. Today Cataldo and his wife, Claire, live in New Rochelle. Their family includes five children and nine grandchildren. Included in his philatelic biography is membership in the Metropolitan First Day Cover Club and the American First Day Cover Society (AFDCS) as well as a series of articles on first cachets entitled “First Editions” that ran inStamp Show News. Club member and first Hall of Fame member Cliff Gilmond was on hand to welcome the new honoree to club membership.

52 / Stamp Insider • January / February 2010 Poughkeepsie, New York Meets at 7:30 p.m. on the 1st & 3rd Mondays at the Friends Meeting House, corner of Hooker Avenue & Whittier Boulevard Cliff Foley, 3 Short Court, Wappingers Falls, NY 12590-3515 [email protected], 845-297-1875

Two Midnight Rides; Two Outcomes n April 18, 1775, silversmith Paul Re- Overe (Scott No. 1048) made his famous ride to warn Samuel Adams and John Han- cock that British troops were on their way to Lexington to arrest them. In Boston, Revere had made arrangements for signal lanterns to be placed in the tower of the Old North Church should the British move out of Boston. “One if by land, two if by sea” was the message to be sent from the church. The church and message are immortalized on Scott No. 1603. Revere was captured and then released by a British patrol and never finished the ride to Concord where weapons and supplies were hidden. Left without a horse, Revere returned to Lexington and helped Adams and Hancock escape. Two years later another ride was made by a 16-year-old Dutchess County girl named Sybil Ludington. On the night of April 26, 1777, the British were attacking Danbury, CT. Col. Henry Ludington was commander of the Seventh Dutchess Militia and had received word of the attack. Sybil was the only one available to alert the members of the group. Sybil Ludington, unlike her Boston predecessor, did finish her ride. She rode 40 miles over rough mountain roads to call the militia to assemble at her father’s house. Her ride earned her the gift of the mount she rode that night. A colt named Star. Her heroic deed was pictured on Scott No. 1559 shown here on a post card produced by the Dutchess Philatelic Society in 1975. The cachet shows the statue of Sybil which stands in Carmel, New York. The stamp was part of a series of four issues commemorating lesser known heros of the American Revolution. These minutemen harassed British General William Tryon’s retreat to Long Island Sound. Colonel Ludington was a veteran of the French and Indian War. Interestingly his commander at that time was the same General Tryon whom he chased during the retreat from Danbury.

January / February 2010 • Stamp Insider / 53 Elmira, New York Meets at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6) the 3rd Tuesday at Steele Memorial Library, 101 E. Church St. Stamp Circuit Available Alan Parsons, 809 Holley Road, Elmira, NY 14905-1212 Elmira Stamp Club [email protected], 607-732-0181 Stepex Venue Pleases Many tepex 2009, the 34th edition of the club’s annual stamp show, came through with flying Scolors October 16–17 at the Big Flats American Legion. It was the show’s second time at this site and confirmed the opinion of many that it was an ideal venue forStepex . With 10 dealers, the USPS. and club table for shopping, free literature and stamps, 17 well-lighted exhibits filling all 60 frames, and a comfortable dining area adjacent to the show floor for socializing and a good lunch offered by the Legion, it was hard not to enjoy the show. Thanks to the dealers, exhibitors, Elmira Post Office, club members who volunteered their time and energy to make Stepex a success, to the Big Flats Legion for its hospitality, and to the judges, Bill Bauer, Bob Meegan, and Steve Suffet. See the palmares on page 34. Seven of the 13 adult exhibits also were shown at StampExpo 400 in Albany three weeks earlier. Six of the seven — Bill Schultz, Ray Stone, Walter Orton, Glenn Estus, Alice Johnson, and Phil Poplaski, graciously allowed the seventh — Alan Parsons — to bring their exhibits Stepex. Retiring: Les Rosen of Liverpool, a longtime FDC dealer, announced he is retiring, moving south, and will not return next year. He has been a club member for as long as he has been coming to Stepex. Thanks for many years of support, Les, and best wishes in your retirement. New Members: The club gained one new member at Stepex, James R. Roush of West Elmi- ra, who collects mainly U.S. Another new member, George Church of Avoca, joined at the November meeting. He is an APS and National Postal Museum member and collects U.S. plate blocks, JFK, Ireland and Christmas seals. Programs Jan. 19 — Auction night Feb. 16 — APS slide show: A Placid Winter: The 1932 Winter Olympics on First Day Covers Dues: Treasurer Don Dolan requests members not yet paid for 2010 send their dues ($10 adult, $5 youth, check payable Elmira Stamp Club) to him at 169 E. Second St., Corning, NY 14830 to eliminate the expense of sending reminders. Dues may also be paid at club meetings. Meeting Notes October — 18 attended. Don Dolan delivered third quarter financial report. Al Parsons led discussion on Stepex 2009 pros and cons. The meeting concluded with the APS slide program Stamps of the Trans-Mississippi Issue of 1898. November — 20 attended. Annual Super Auction of 40 lots, with 27 selling for $204. Nine club lots included in the 27 sold for $37.25. These plus commissions on the nonclub lots brought $63.35 to the club treasury. An additional $17 was raised on direct sale of tongs and perf gauges belonging to the club.

54 / Stamp Insider • January / February 2010 APS Unit 28 . P. H . . S S . EMPIRE STATE www.esphs.org E Meets twice annually FOUNDED POSTAL HISTORY Membership info: George McGowan P. O. Box 482, E. Schodack, NY 12063-0482 1 SOCIETY [email protected], 518-479-4396 9 6 7

Peeling Back The History of a Cover By Albert W. Starkweather odern examples of nixies — mail un- Mdeliverable as addressed — are scarce since they are supposed to be destroyed if the USPS nixie section cannot find a recipient. This example with three overlaid labels was undeliverable as both the sender and intended recipients had moved and left no forwarding address. The letter from Ithaca, which was postmarked in Rochester on August 05, 2009, was stamped returned for postage. The 1 mail carrier attempted to return the letter, but found the sender had moved and noted this on the envelope. The USPS then applied 2 a vac (vacant) spray (arrow), a return to sender endorsement applied to each piece in an rts (return to sender) bundle. 3 USPS attempted to return the piece on three more occasions. The first (1) received a nixie label on August 14 and endorsed akn (addressee not known) at the upper right. The main endorsement was return to sender / vacant / unable to forward. The second (2) on September 10, also marked akn received a different endorsement: return to sender / attempted – not known / unable to forward. This label was applied on top of the first. The third (3), applied on September 17 over the first two, lacks the ank marking, but is otherwise identical to the second label. A nixie clerk has written Dead letter on the left edge. All three labels include the sender’s extended ZIP code at the bottom left of the labels. This unopened cover was part of a batch of covers returned to me from a broken package I had mailed to Heather Sweeting in Sterling. (See page 16.) If USPS procedure had been followed, it would have been opened by the Rochester ASF (Auxiliary Service Facil- ity) to be to determine if it could be returned to the sender or destroyed if it could not.

January / February 2010 • Stamp Insider / 55 R L G E A N K Geneva, New York I E F S Meets at 8 p.m. on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays at the Sawdust Café, New York State Agricultural Experiment Station S James Darnell, 136 Lock St., Clyde, NY 14433-1117 T B A U M P C L [email protected], 315-923-7355

2009 Was Successful Year for Club aving just completed a very successful year – adding several new members and enjoy- Hing consistently increased attendance at our regular meetings, we are looking forward to continued success in the new year. Officers Reëlected At our last meeting of the year our 2009 officers were reëlected for 2010. They are Don Grover of Fairport, president; Dave Himes of Newark, vice president; Shirley Stowell also of Newark, treasurer and Jim Darnell of Clyde, secretary. Perfins Presentation In November, our club was visited by Al Swift of the Syracuse Stamp Club, who gave a presentation about perfins. His talk and display sparked our interest in perfins, with many of us vowing to go home and check the perfins we had laid aside over the years. Accompanying Swift, was SSC President Mike Ammann, who arranged an interesting display of pictures and other memora- bila of the long history of the Syracuse Stamp Club. Many of the items had been part of a display at the Syrapex 2009 stamp show earlier in the month. One Mystery Solved We received an answer concerning one of the philatelic mysteries our members had asked about in the November–December issue of the Stamp Insider. The question raised by Jere- my Busch about black parallel lines on definitive stamps of Great Britain was answered by Thomas M. Fortunato, who identified them as Training School stamps used in the process of training new British postal employees in post office operations. They are real stamps overprinted so that they could not be pilfered and used on regular mail. Programs Jan. 13 — APS slide show TBA Jan. 27 — Linn’s Stamp Poll and Stamp Bingo Feb. 10 — Club auction Feb. 24 — Kiloware Scramble

56 / Stamp Insider • January / February 2010 Albany, New York Incorporating Women’s Seal and Stamp Club Meets at 7:30 p.m. on the 2nd & 4th Tuesdays at Bethany Reformed Church Community Center, 760 New Scotland Ave. Maris Tirums, P. O. Box 5475, Albany NY 12205-0475 [email protected], 518-438-1657

New York Worlds Fair n October 13, Tom Auletta spoke on a subject of which he has firsthand knowl- Oedge. During the 1964-65 New York Worlds Fair, Tom worked both summers (while on break from college) at the African Pavilion selling minerals and gems. Tom presented covers, cards, stamps, menus and all related ephemera and souvenirs, of which there were many. Albany Letter Express On October 27, John Nunes spoke on the Al- bany Letter Express. During the postal strike of March, 1970, members Ken DeLisle and Robert Dalton Harris formed a private delivery company, which was legal, and delivered mail for a few days until the strike was over. John gave an informative talk to many and a nostalgic reminder to a few others. Tri Club Auction On November 10, we hosted the Tri Club Auction. The Schenectady Stamp Club, Uncle Sam Stamp Club, and Fort Orange Stamp Club got together for this annual event where the venue rotates each year. There were more than 20 active bidders and about 200 lots. Auctioneer was Dr. Joseph Y. Rudnick. Tobacco Revenue Tax Stamps Ray Major from Syracuse spoke on No- vember 24 about the revenue taxes applied to chewing tobacco. Starting during the Civil War, chewing tobacco was taxed, first by affixing a revenue stamp to the foil wrapper and then by having the tax preprinted on the wrapper. Foil was used to keep the tobacco from drying out. Ray displayed dozens of these elusive and at- tractive foils. Ray Major

January / February 2010 • Stamp Insider / 57 STANWIX Rome, New York

STAMP Incorporating Community Stamp Club Meets at 7 p.m. on the 4th Thursday, except

FORT July and August, at Rome Municipal Building, Second Floor Fort Stanwix Stamp Club, P. O. Box 734, Rome, NY 13442-0374 CLUB Patricia A. Hash, 315-339-1019

Holidays Cause Rescheduled Meetings ue to the holiday seasons, our November meeting was rescheduled for the 19th. The Dthe December venue was to be a Christmas dinner for all members at a local restaurant on the 10th . Secretary and Member Thanked Thanks to our secretary, Pat Hash, and member Phil Brown for notifying everyone of the meeting date changes. Meeting Well Attended Our November gathering was well attended. Outside the normal business of the day, members exchanged postal stories, stamps, magazines and periodicals related to postage and philatelic collecting. Several members related tales of how they came across some of their favorite stamps. It was a great meeting for all attendees. January Meeting At our January meeting, more stamp trading, selling, and show and tell are on the venue. Members will have a chance to select the this year’s APS slide show presentations of interest to collectors. This year we will try to have our meetings more interactive with fewer slide presentations, and more stamp swapping and story telling. Attendees will be asked to think about ideas for our cachet on the next Fort Stanwix Day cover. February Meeting During the February’s meeting, we will try to finalize the slide program for the year. We also hope to collect some great ideas for our next cachet. We ask members to bring in a sample page from their stamp or cover collection to share with others, and more stamps and covers for sale or trade. Did You KnowThat …? • the club had its origins in 1927 as part of the YMCA youth program; • the YMCA group organized the Copper City Stamp Club in 1932; • the club is among the most prolific cachet issuers in the Federation; • our name was changed to Fort Stanwix Stamp Club to better reflect the fort; and • the Community Stamp Club was incorporated into our club in mid 2005. Happy New Year! We wish everyone a prosperous new year, and may you all find those elusive stamps or covers you have been searching for.

58 / Stamp Insider • January / February 2010 Ithaca, New York Meets from 7:30–9:30 p.m. on the 2nd & 4th Wednesdays in Room 384, Morrison Hall at Cornell University Yoram B. Szekely, 104 Klinewoods Rd., Ithaca, NY 14850-2229 [email protected], 607-257-5346

The Varieties of German Philately — Part I By Yoram Szekely hroughout history postal services, including issuance of postage stamps, were almost Talways an official government function. A country’s stamps reflect not only its collec- tive cultural identity, but also more specifically the ups and downs of its political history. Germany is a good case in point: the great number and variety of stamp issuing entities that make up the German Area mirrors its turbulent history in modern times. By the mid 19th century, when the adhesive postage stamp was first introduced, the area that later became Germany was splintered into many separate principalities, ranging in size and importance from large kingdoms to tiny holdings of a few square miles. Several of these had their own postal services and issued stamps: the kingdoms of Prussia, Bavaria, Würt- temberg, Saxony and Hannover; the duchies of Braunschweig (Brunswick), Mecklenburg- Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Oldenburg and Schleswig-Holstein; the Free Cities of Berge- dorf, Bremen, Lübeck and Hamburg, and the British owned North Sea island of Helgoland. The remainder of the German principalities used the postal service owned and managed since the late middle ages by the noble house of Thurn & Taxis, originally by privilege granted by the Holy Roman Emperors and from the 18th century as a private business enterprise. It also issued its own stamps. The number of stamps issued varied greatly, from hundreds in the kingdoms of Bavaria and Württemberg to just five in the city of Bergedorf. In 1868 most of these postal services merged into a unified postal system called the North German Postal Confederation (NGPC) and ceased issuing stamps. The NGPC printed its own stamps which were supplanted in 1872 by those of the newly established Reichspost (Imperial Postal Service) of now unified Germany. Of the former individual states, Bavaria maintained its postal autonomy and issued stamps through mid 1920, Württemberg to early 1902, with stamps for official use through mid 1920, and Helgoland until mid 1890 when it was ceded to Germany in exchange for the island of Zanzibar. Political unification did not result in fewer stamp issuing entities. Quite the contrary, they became even more numerous than before. The German Empire, like other European powers at the time, maintained post offices in the Turkish Empire, Morocco and China and overprinted several sets of its stamps for use there. Separate stamps were issued for each of its colonies in Africa — Cameroon. East Africa, Southwest Africa, Togo — and the Pacific (New Guinea, Marshall Islands, Caroline Islands, Mariana Islands, Samoa), as well as its protectorate of Kiauchau on the Shantung peninsula in northwest China. To Be Continued

January / February 2010 • Stamp Insider / 59 Leatherstocking Stamp Cooperstown, New York Club Meets at 7:30 p.m. on the 1st Tuesday, except February and March, at the Tillapaugh home, 28 Pioneer St. Ellen Tillapaugh, 80 Beaver St., Cooperstown, NY 13326-1202 [email protected], 607-547-5646

Club Plans Holiday Gathering he club’s annual holiday party will be at the Cooperstown Fire Hall on Chestnut Street Tfrom 1–3 p.m. on January 3. Members are asked to bring a dish to pass and any material they would like to sell, auction, or trade. Winter Hiatus The club will be on winter hiatus during February and March to avoid the possibility of having to cancel a meeting because of snow. It will resume its meeting schedule on April 6. The program is to be announced. Junior Clubs Ellen Tillapaugh’s Elementary School Stamp Club meets every Thursday from 1–1:40 p.m. and her Middle School Stamp Club meets every Thursday from 3–4 p.m. She is seeking volunteers to assist in these activities. Call her at 547-5646 to become a helper. A submission by one of Tillapaugh’s club members follows. By Kids for Kids: Stamps, Stamps, Stamps! By Dylan Snyder, 13, Cooperstown School Stamp Club collect stamps because I believe that they connect us to history. They I will give the future collectors a taste of what we were interested in. Everyone should collect because it gives us a sense of accomplishment and they are just plain fun to collect! I mainly collect U.S. stamps and covers, but I also collect FDCs. The most interesting stamp that I ever received was Scott No. 158 three- cent green Washington bust on cover. It was canceled in Minerva, NY during the year 1888. It is the oldest cover that I have in my collection. But mainly, I’d like to say that stamp collecting is a lifelong hobby that is fun for all ages! Stamp clubs are a great source for advice on collecting and you get awesome new stamps to add to your collection. Dylan Snyder This is why I joined the Cooperstown School Stamp Club, a division of The Leatherstocking Stamp Club in fifth grade. I’m in seventh grade now and I’m still having fun! I also recently joined the APS’s youth stamp club. Join a stamp club near you and get involved!

60 / Stamp Insider • January / February 2010 Plattsburgh, New York Meets at 1 p.m. on the 2nd Saturday in the second floor meeting room of Plattsburgh Public Library, 19 Oak St. Glenn A. Estus, P. O. Box 451, Westport, NY 12993-0451

StampClub

[email protected], 518-962-4558 NorthCountry

New Postal Discoveries here are always new things Tto find. I recently received a piece of mail that passed through the Plattsburgh post office which had not been canceled at the originating post office in California. The large envelope with a card- board stuffer could not go through the regular machines. Take a look at the Plattsburgh postmark. Most cancelers today have an outside circle around the information. This canceler does not. It is fairly uncommon to see such a modern day cancel as this. However, even my home post office of Westport had such a cancel a few years ago. When I inquired at the post office about the cancel, the postmaster said it was sent by mistake, had been returned to the manufacturer, and replaced by the same kind of cancel we see from most post offices today.

To Win a Big Bet Eli Smith (1855–1948) made an 8,000-mile-long dog sled journey from Nome to Wash- ington, DC to win a $10,000 wager. The Alaskan mail carrier and part-time prospector left Nome by dog team on November 14, 1905, mushed to Valdez, Alaska on the coast where in early 1906 he booked boat passage for himself and his dogs to Seattle. From there he continued overland to Washington, DC, arriving there on February 20, 1907. He met President Theodore Roosevelt before later mushing back to the west coast. He

Alaska State Library — Historical Collections, right fitted his dog sled with wheels to navigate snowless areas.

January / February 2010 • Stamp Insider / 61 EAN A L R Olean, New York O E

A Meets at 7:30 p.m. on the 2nd Monday

S at Bethany Lutheran Church, 6 Leo Moss Drive T

B Jack Searles, 733 Front St., Olean, NY 14760-2851

U P

C [email protected], 716-372-1070

Club Elects Officers for 2010 t its November meeting the Olean Area Stamp Club has reëlected President Steve A Brainard, Vice President Ron Yeager, and Secretary Jack Searles for 2010. Steve Teachman was elected treasurer. Iraqi Stamp Presentation Adil Al-Humadi, a recent member of the Olean club, presented History of the Iraqi Stamps, Coins, and Notes at the club’s meeting on October 12. Dr. Al-Humadi recently became a member of the Olean club in and was asked to make this presentation. He has collected stamps, coins and notes since he lived in Baghdad, Iraq in the mid 1960s. He has maintained an extensive collection ever since coming to the United States in 1968 and added to it every time he visited the old country. Most of his collection started with the Adil Al-Humadi Postal Service of Iraq that originated with the British mandate granted by the League of Nations in the 1920s. At that time, Iraq was called Mesopotamia and Baghdad was under British occupation. The first stamps of Iraq were a definitive series that appeared in 1923 depicting ancient history and contemporary images. At that time they were denominated in annas and ru- pees and inscribed with Iraq and postage & revenue. The first stamp depicting King Faisal I of Iraq was a 1 rupee issued in 1927. Independence in 1932 brought a new currency which is fils and dinar. Then came King Ghazi and a new stamp in 1934 and King Faisal II’s 1953 coronation. The first Iraqi commemorative stamp was issued in 1949 to mark the 75th anniversary of the Universal Postal Union. Thereafter, General Qassim’s period was noted and many others until Saddam Hus- sein’s era with a souvenir sheet of 1976. The invasion of Iraq by the U.S. in 2003 brought the stamp program to a sudden halt. The last Saddam era issue was the Saddam Univer- sity stamp on February 5, 2003. The Coalition Provisional Authority approved the printing of the transportation stamps that were issued on January 29, 2004.

62 / Stamp Insider • January / February 2010 Oswego, New York Meets at 6 p.m. on the 4th Monday, except July and August, at Faith United Church, 12 Mark Fitzgibbons Drive Leigh LeClair, 212 Murray St., Oswego, NY 13126-4032 [email protected], 315-342-5653

Syracuse Club Shares Its History n November our club had guests from the Syracuse Stamp Club attend its meeting — Pres- Iident Michael Amman and Secretary Allen Swift. They brought the Syracuse club’s histor- ic exhibit celebrating the 90th anniversary of their club, which was on display at Syrapex in November 2009. The display took up several tables and contained numerous photographs, ephemera, covers, and more. One unique item was the original APS certificate for chartering the club as Chapter 50. The display at Syrapex is shown above. After the display, a swapping session occurred with several members finding some items for their collections. An interesting discussion also took place regarding the best manner to get a stamp expertised and or appraised. How does one compare different ex- pertising services? Which one is most qualified to expertise certain items, do the exper- tising services have experts in stamps of all countries or do they specialize in a particular one? What are the differences in costs from these various firms etc.? The holiday party was planned for December 14 with the hopes that the weather would be cooperative. The party was scheduled to take place at Canales Restaurant in Oswego with fine Italian food and some stamp related games and gifts planned for the night, before the snowbirds head south for the winter.

January / February 2010 • Stamp Insider / 63 Rochester, New York www.rpastamps.org Meets at 7 p.m. on the 2nd & 4th Thursdays except July and August at Twelve Corners Presbyterian Church, 1200 S. Winton Road Thomas M. Fortunato, 28 Amberwood Place, Rochester, NY 14626-4166 [email protected], 585-225-6822

Ropex 2010 Plans Underway opex 2010 takes place May 14–16 at the ESL Sports Centre in the city’s southern sub- Rurb of Henrietta. A maximum of 240 frames are available at a rate of $10 per multi- exhibit frame or $20 per single frame. Exhibit at a Discount This year 100 frames are being set aside specifically for exhibits with eight, nine or 10 frames. These may be reserved on a first-come basis at half price for multiple frames — only $5 per frame. “Shows around the country continue to have difficulty in filling frames,” says Ropex exhibits chairman Thomas M. Fortunato. “We wanted to try a new incentive to help fill our frames earlier than usual while giving more mature exhibits a price break. “We hope it will dust off some exhibits that haven’t been seen in a while and reward regulars on the show circuit for their continued patronage of American Philatelic So- ciety World Series of Philately events. Of course, we’d like all exhibitors to attend if possible,” Fortunato said. Prospectus and Application An exhibitor prospectus and application are available online for download or immediate submission. Exhibitors with discount-qualifying exhibits will be notified whether enough frames remain, and if not, be given the opportunity to exhibit at full price. Regional Meetings Ropex will host several regional meetings, including the Art Cover Exchange, American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors, Empire State Postal History Society, and Federation of New York Philatelic Societies. The show’s theme is scouting. The Boy Scouts of America are celebrating their centennial this year. Dealer Inquiries Dealer inquires are welcome. Table prices start at $250 for the three-day show, with even lower prices for dealers with dollar tables. Contact bourse chairman David Robinson by e-mail at [email protected] or download an application from the web site. A limited number of tables remain. New issues, postcard and coin dealers are especially encouraged to apply. For More Information See complete details on the show’s web site at www.rpastamps.org/ropex.html. Inquiries may be e-mailed to [email protected], or by writing to Ropex 2010, P. O. Box 10206 Brighton Station, Rochester, NY 14610-0206.

64 / Stamp Insider • January / February 2010 DY S TA TA C M Schenectady, New York E P

N C E L

H U Meets at 7:30 p.m. on the 1st Monday, except January–February SCHAU-NAUGH-TA-DA

C B

and July–August, at Union Presbyterian Church, 1068 Park Ave. S Ronald K. Ratchford, 1105 Union St., Schenectady, NY 12308-2805

[email protected], 518-374-3776 O 0 RG 93 ANIZED 1

Scotia Post Office Branch Saving the Scotia Post Office Branch illage of Scotia residents expressed great concern about the possible action by the USPS Vto close its post office branch on Mohawk Avenue that has served this community for about seven decades. The branch was created as a part of President Franklin Delano Roos- evelt’s New Deal. The 1939 cornerstone was inscribed during the administration of Post- master General James A. Farley. The USPS took Scotia off of the list of potential nationwide closures after a public out- cry. “I think of all the area branches on that list, Scotia has the best cause because it is a walking town,” Scotia Mayor Kris Kastberg said. Scotia was among three other area branches being considered for closing — Pine, Patroon, and Delaware stations in Albany. No decisions have been made on these. The Glen family, early settlers of Scotia, were spared the fate of others at the Sche- nectady Stockade massacre of February 1690. This is represented by the mural on the east wall of that lobby that dates to 1941. An able-bodied person could walk the approximately 1.7 miles from the branch to the Sche- nectady Main Post Office although during much of the winter the lack of a shoveled sidewalk

Ronald K. Ratchford photos on the bridge crossing the Mohawk River would make the trip a bit more hazardous.

January / February 2010 • Stamp Insider / 65 Elkland, Pennsylvania www.stampcampusa.org Conducts youth-oriented activities and adult leader workshops throughout the United States and Canada Cheryl B. Edgcomb, 117 Court St., Suite A, Elkland, PA 16920-1447 [email protected], 814-258-5601

Reflecting on a Successful Year s Stamp Camp USA reflects back on Athis 2009 year, we become amazed at the changes that can occur in a given year. In April, we were able to place an Expe- rience Works employee for staffing assis- tance in our headquarters office, followed by a second staff person in August. These two fine women work two days a week, and help us keep up with administrative operations, and preparations for the many camps we provide. In addition to this staff, we have had almost 2,000 volunteer community service Head Start Project hours extended this year. These fine people, Cheryl B. Edgcomb works with some Head both young and old, help us prepare prize Start children during a visitation on the preschool curriculum project. packets, camper auction lots, information packets, and various activities as our schedule and project work warrants. Where would we be without them? This year, we provided presentations to more than 1, 360 adults and 1, 500 youngsters. Registered campers included 27 newly trained adult leaders, and we had 199 registered kids throughout this 2009 camp season. This is just a small sampling of what happens at Stamp Camp. As you may have seen in a recent Linn’s Stamp News article, Stamp Camp USA and the APS are working jointly on a pre-school curriculum titled Children Learn Through Postage Stamps. We are now in our second season for this venture, and we have added another 20 plus teachers to the pilot work. We anticipate a finished product to be released shortly. Think of the base this activity alone will help create for stamp collecting! A special thanks to all of our readers and supporters who have helped us along the way this year … and there are many of you! We do appreciate it and cannot be successful at our work without you. As the Christmas season approached, we anticipated some quiet mo- ments with family and friends. Knowing that this time of year is when miracles happen perhaps Stamp Camp USA was hoping to find one under its Christmas tree! Warm wishes for a blessed New Year!

66 / Stamp Insider • January / February 2010 Staten Island, New York Meets at 7:30 p.m. on the 1st & 3rd Monday, except July and August, at the Rev. Paul Kroon Center of Messiah Lutheran Staten Island Church, 195 Jefferson Blvd., Annadale, Staten Island Philatelic Society Charles R. Carlson, 30 Hopping Ave., Staten Island, NY 10307-1219 [email protected], 718-984-7880

Potential Members Fail To Show nce we had all recovered from our summer hiatus and had returned to our philatelic Ospecialties, it was already time to prepare for the holidays. We have been inundated with requests to look into our club, and join, but of the close to a dozen emails I have received and followed up on, not a single new face is at our meetings. Very disappointing. I’ve even sent a letter to a new APS member from Staten Island, with no reponse to the invitation to come out on a Monday night to a meeting. I guess some people just don’t want to share their interests with others. The pastor of the church where we meet was even given a box of stamps — albums and covers— for the club, but he either forgot when we were meeting or he was off on a family or congregational crisis, but such is the life of a clergyman. He will be forgiven, as long as we have the box by our next meeting. The speculation by the members is that the box was full of zepps and U.S. 1847s, even though we all know the chance of that. Avarice is contagious, even in this season. I have a U.S. 1847 five cent, but no 10 cent or zepps. It sure would be nice. Of the four or five requests we had last season for the club to examine and evaluate an inher- ited, or refound collection, only one showed up. It was a pretty good one, which the inheritor really wanted just to get rid of since it was the ex-second wife’s first husband’s collection that had been abandoned years ago. A bit of folding money changed hands, and it was ours. Three of us vultures split the holding, and just passed it around until we had all taken whatever interested us. It was fun, and even a bit rewarding for my collection. But I guess that’s what we do at SIPS — have fun, and maybe improve our collections. Mostly just have fun.

Saved! Staten Island’s postmark might have disappeared if the U.S. Postal Service had not backed off on its cost- cutting proposals in late 2009. All mail from the bor- ough would have been re- routed over the Verrazano- Narrows Bridge to Brooklyn for processing. Staten Island Advance

January / February 2010 • Stamp Insider / 67 Syracuse, New York www.syracusestampclub.org Meets at 8 p.m. the 1st & 3rd Fridays at the Reformed Church of Syracuse, 1228 Teall Ave.

Organized 1919 Allen Swift, P. O. Box 593, East Syracuse, NY 13057-0593 APS Chapter 50 [email protected], 315-457-3201

Show Presentation Cover designer Vince Juchimek presents Mystic Stamp Company with a Syrapex souvenir at the show banquet. He was joined by SSC President Mike Ammann and John Davis, 95, who was a guest of honor.

SYRAPEX 2009 Deemed Highly Successful YRAPEX 2009 was a rousing success by nearly all accounts. The buyers were there; the ex- Shibits were enjoyed by all, and the banquet was highly touted with a wonderful speaker— Donald Sundman, Mystic Stamp Company president. The show cover, a decorative cake, and a three frame exhibit of club memorabilia celebrated the club’s 90th birthday. The club exhibit is shown on page 63 in the Oswego Stamp Club’s report about President Mike Ammann and Secretary Allen Swift visiting that club to present a SSC history talk. Member Passes: Paul Berruti, 69, died on October 22. He was a member for 15 years. He was predeceased by his wife, Ida, on September 9. His laughter and quick humor will be missed. 2010 Plans: The program schedule for 2010 has been tentatively set. We will again feature stamp auctions on a monthly basis, as well as miniauctions of club material every meeting night. We will also continue to purchase collections and large auction lots which will then be divided into small lots for sale at club meetings. Programs Jan. 1 — Holiday — no meeting Jan 15 — Swap & Shop with pizza and soda Jan. 29 — Auction Feb. 5 — Stampo Feb 19 — Auction March 5 — My Favorite Page

68 / Stamp Insider • January / February 2010 Sidney, New York Meets at 7 p.m. on the 3rd Mondays, except July and August, at Sidney Civic Center, 21 Liberty St. Robert Finnegan, 10 O’Neill Drive, Oneonta, NY 13820-1154 [email protected], 607-432-8141

Club Welcomes Two New Members he Tri-County Stamp Club welcomes its two newest members, Stephen Johnson and TSteve McCarthy, both of Oneonta. At the November meeting Steve McCarthy followed up on the club’s October meeting and put together a nice listing of philatelic web sites worth exploring. Kudos to Steve! The club’s November meeting was one in which the annual Penny Sale took place and all proceeds of sales went to the club’s treasury. A Great Loss To the Club The unexpected death of the club’s secretary and long-time member, William H. Bauer, on December 2, 2009 is being mourned by our members. An obituary begins on page 28. Linn’s Stamp Poll The January meeting of the club will be devoted to the Linn’s Stamp Poll for the 2009 philatelic year and its stamp and philatelic items. The year was marked by some fine issues of note and the voting will be interesting. Members will also be asked to bring an interesting item from their accumulations and collections in a show and tell format. This always is interesting because of the discussion generated on items shown. Early Postal Stationery For those members who cannot make the January meeting, the February meeting will be one devoted to Early Postal Stationery and the program will be presented by club Presi- dent Spike Paranya. Club members are asked to bring any item of early vintage from their collections that might be of interest to members in attendance that evening. Elementary School Stamp Club This is the month that the local elementary school stamp club begins its introduction to our great hobby. Bob Finnegan, the club’s advisor, plans on 25–30 members among the youth and hopes once again to have the Tri-County Stamp Club host the youngsters at its May meeting this year. E-mail Notification Members are reminded that with bad weather more often during the winter months, they need to check their e-mail on the days of meetings. Bad weather may mean a cancellation of a meeting and you will be notified via your e-mail. What Programs Do You Want? Members are encouraged to begin thinking to what topics or programming they would like the club to entertain in the coming year as well. If you have a particular interest, let Spike Paranya know.

January / February 2010 • Stamp Insider / 69 M STA A M S P Troy, New York E C

L Meets at 7 p.m. on the 1st & 3rd Wednesdays, except June, July, L

U and August, at M.J.’s on the Avenue, 499 2nd Ave., North Troy

U Terrill S. Miller, P. O. Box 335, Troy, NY 12181-0335 T R . [email protected], 518-869-6872 OY, N.Y The Tragedy of Lidice t our October 7 meeting, John J. Nunes presented an historical philatelic program on AThe Tragedy of Lidice. On June 10, 1942 the small Czechoslovak village was destroyed by the Nazis in retaliation for the assassination of that country’s military overseer. John displayed postcards, covers, Cinderellas, stamps, souvenir sheets, newspapers, cigarette cards, and related ephemera. Single Page Night October 21 brought one of the clubs most popular programs, Single Page Night. Each member presented one page or one item from their collection and said a few words on the subject. It is always interesting to see the what and the why people collect. Terry Miller Quiz The annual Terry Miller’s Quiz was con- ducted on November 4. If it is true that it’s healthy to keep your mind active and working, then this brain challenge certainly kept our minds churning. Some of us older members requested the questions in a multiple choice format, to no avail. Another installment of Miller’s Quiz is on page 32. Chewing Tobacco Revenue Tax Ray Major from the Syracuse area gave a great talk on the Chewing Tobacco Revenue Tax on November 18. During the Civil War a tax was assessed on chewing tobacco along with many other items. To prevent tobacco from harden- Terry Miller ing and drying out, it was sold in individual foil wrappers. At first a revenue stamp was affixed to each package, but soon after a preprinted foil was available from a select group of printers and included the normal company data, plus the revenue collected. Ray displayed numerous foils of beautiful artwork which until his presentation had not been seen by any of the audience. Programs Jan. 6 — Air Labels by Wayne Hillison Jan. 20 — The Red Cross by Joseph Y. Rudnick Feb. 3 — Joe Stalin, the Worlds Greatest Criminal by John J. Nunes

Feb. 17 — Members auction George McGowan photo

70 / Stamp Insider • January / February 2010 ER U Utica, New York AT T I E C Meets at 7 p.m. on the 1st Tuesday, except January and February, at R A

New Hartford Town Library, 2 Library Lane; stamp circuits available G Jerome F. Wagner, 160 Proctor Blvd., Utica, NY 13501-6119 S 315-732-0219 T B A U M P C L

Christmas Social Attracts 20 he annual Christmas Social, held December 1, 2009 at the Casa Too Mucha restaurant Tin New Hartford was attended by 20 members and their spouses. The club is now on winter hiatus. The next meeting will be March 2. Presentations Jerome F. Wagner talked about the stamps of Bolivia at the Novemer meeting. Bolivia was formerly known as Upper Peru and until 1776 under the Viceroyalty of Peru. British stamps were used from 1865–1878 at the port of Cobija, an important port town that no longer exists. Bill Arthur gave a sampling of all the types of stamps that have been issued by Chile at the October meeting. Of particular interest was examples of the 1948 block of 25 different stamps commemorating the centenary of the publication of the first volume of Claudio Gay’s Natural History of Chile. It is extremely challenging to collect each stamp used to reconstruct the complete block. Ken Updegraft also displayed some of his recent acquisi- tions he bought at the postal facilities on his last trip to Greece and Bulgaria. Club Thanked The club received a thank you directed to all its members who donated material to the Rotary Club-sponsored Stamps of the Wounded program. APS Members To Be Invited The meeting in April has been decided at which time to have an open invitation to APS members. It was felt that the weather would be more conducive at this time. 1817 Stampless FLS This 1817 stampless folded letter sheet, with a red Utica cds and a manuscript 6 rate, was written by Peter Smith and has a dateline inside of Peterboro, a town he named after himself and located west–southwest of Utica. Smith was a long-time partner with John Jacob Astor, the richest man in America at one time. Smith, who had vast property holdings, is probably best known now as the father of Gerrit Smith, a key figure in the temperance and aboli- tion movements. Gerrit’s estate was a meeting place for abolitionists including John Brown and Frederick Douglass. The letter is addressed to Moses Mather, Fairfield, Her- kimer County. The subject is Peter Smith’s willingness to sell a lot for $7 or $8 an acre. The cover sold for $10.50 on eBay.

January / February 2010 • Stamp Insider / 71 W M P S Spencerport, New York ORGANIZED FEB. 7, 1961 APS 560-44599 http://westernmonroephilatelicsociety.blogspot.com Meets from 6:30–9 p.m. on the 2nd Tuesdays, except July and August, at Ogden Farmers’ Library, 269 Ogden Center Road Gary Musante, 107 Sherwood Drive, Brockport, NY 14420-1451 585-637-9091, [email protected]

Club To Return To Library he club has been meeting in members’ homes for the past few months due to construc- Ttion at the library at which we normally gather. We have been able to have all our normal club activities but in a more intimate setting. Due to the hospitality of our hosts we were able to have refreshments that are normally restricted at the library. The club plans to return to our library meeting room beginning with the January 12 meeting. Member Moving The club learned that long-time member James LaPointe will be moving to Virginia. The club will miss him and wishes him well. October and November Events In October we viewed a CD presentation on doctors on stamps and viewed various internet sites of a philatelic nature. In November we had a selection of APS circuits and Show, Tell and Learn items from club members. Among the items shown was a nice collection of exposition covers and post cards and a selection of interesting stamps that were part of a recent auction lot purchase. As with all our meetings we had silent auctions and members swapping stamps. New Web Site With the loss of the free AOL and now Geocities hosted web sites, the club has a new web site: http://westernmonroephilatelicsociety.blogspot.com. The free web site, really a web blog, is provided by Google. For more information check out the Google web site: https://www.blogger.com/start. Please check the club web site for updated meeting information and expanded stamp articles similar to those appearing in the Stamp Insider. Currrently featured is an expanded article by Gary Musante on Theatre Covers. Promintly displayed on the site are meeting dates and programs, as well as links to philatelic organizations. Programs Jan. 12 — Show, Tell and Learn, silent auction Feb. 9 — APS circuit, silent auction March 9 — Show, Tell and Learn, silent auction April 6 — APS circuit, silent auction May — Club banquet; date TBA June 8 — APS circuit, silent auction

72 / Stamp Insider • January / February 2010 Buffalo, New York Western New York Meets informally in the homes of members. For meeting information e-mail [email protected] John L. Leszak, P. O. Box 173, Niagara Square Station, Buffalo, NY 14201-0173, [email protected], 716-854-0222 Philatelic Study Group

Three Legendary Masons verett M. Dirksen (Scott No. 1874) was a 33rd Degree Scottish Rite Mason. He Ewas a member of Pekin Lodge No. 29 in his home state of Illinois from 1950 through 1968. In 1954 he served as the Grand Orator of the Grand Lodge of Illinois. Richard B. Russell (Scott No. 1853) was a member of Winder Lodge Number 333 in Winder, GA. He had the distinction of serving first as a Congressman, then as Governor of Georgia and finally as a Senator from that state. The nuclear submarine USS Richard B. Russell (SSN-687) is named in his honor. George M. Cohan (Scott No. 1756) was a member of Pacific Lodge Number 233 in New York City. He was life member of the Scottish Rite in New Jersey and a member of Mecca Shrine Temple in New York City. He’s best known for his musical compositions, especially the ever popular Yankee Doodle Dandy immortalized by Jimmy Cagney. However, he is credited as the man who introduced new energy into Broadway show musicals during the 1920s and 1930s. Darnell Puzzle Solution & Miller Quiz Answers 1. Dolley Madison, 2. Phil Sheridan, 3. John Jay, 4. Winston Churchill, 5. John Erick- son, 6. Daniel Chester French, 7. Ponce De Leon, 8. Ernest Miller Hemingway, 9. Wil- liam McKinley, 10. Jackie Robinson, 11. Dag Hammarskjold, 12. Alexander Hamilton, 13. John Chapman, 14. Father Edward Jo- seph Flanagan, 15. George Eastman

January / February 2010 • Stamp Insider / 73 Stamp, Coin, Postcard Shows & Collectibles Show & Bourses SUNDAY Hours 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. January January 24, FEbruary 28, March 28, 3 — Rochester april 25, May 23, June 27, RS Stamp Show, Eagles Club #52, 1200 Buffalo Road, September 26 & October 24 1956 Lyell Ave. 9–5.Bourse. John J. Nunes, 518-399-8395, Free Admission & Parking! [email protected]. Harvey D. Morin VFW Post 2940 10 — Meriden, CT 965 Center Road, West Seneca, NY Second Sunday Stamp & Coin Show, Sheraton Four Contact: Victor Drajem • phone: 716-656-8080 Points, 275 Reseach Park- way. Stamps, covers, lots, postcards. Sunday 9–3:30. creative illustrations by Harry Tong, 603-978-3459, [email protected]. 15–17 — Washington, DC Metropolitan Stamp Expo, Hilton Washington Dulles Airport, 13869 Park Write To Us At: Center Rd., Herndon, VA. [email protected] Friday and Saturday 10–6, [email protected] Sunday 10–4. John J. See us online At: Nunes, 518-399-8395, [email protected]. WWW.GeorgeWildman.com 17 — Latham Single Sketch Designs — Capital District Stamp Multiple Themes For Your First Day Covers! Show, Ramada Latham, 946 New Loudon Rd. 10–4. Bourse. John J. Nunes, 518-399-8395,. [email protected]. Douglas Weisz U.S. Covers 19 — Northampton, MA Third Tuesday Stamp & FDCs, Flights, Events, Coin Show, World War II Veterans Association, 50 Postal History & Stationery Conz St.,Stamps, covers, lots, postcards. 10:30–8. P.O. Box 1458 Harry Tong, 603-978-3459, McMurray, PA 15317-4458 [email protected]. 24 — West Seneca 773-914-4332 Stamp, Coin, Postcard & www.douglasweisz.com Collectibles Show, Harvey [email protected] D. Morin VFW Post 2940, 965 Center Rd. 10–4. Bourse. Vic- tor Drajem, 716-656-8080.

74 / Stamp Insider • January / February 2010 30–31 — Albany Cover Mania 11, Clarion NOW BUYING: U.S. & THE WORLD! Hotel, 3 Watervliet Ave. Saturday 10–6, Sunday 10–4. Bourse. John J. McCloud Nunes, 518-399-8395, Stamps & Covers [email protected]. Coins & Sports Memorabilia February • Estate Appraisals • Liquidations 12–14 — New York City • Large & Small Collections Metropolitan Stamp Expo, • Stamp & Coin Supplies Midtown Holiday Inn, 440 CALL for an APPOINTMENT or W. 57th St.. Friday noon–6, WE’LL TRAVEL TO YOU! Saturday 10–6, Sunday 10–4. Call Today! 585.507.3533 John J. Nunes, 518-399-8395, Rochester, New York [email protected]. 14 — Syracuse Syracuse Stamp, Coin & Collectibles Show, Holiday Suburban Stamps, Coins Inn, Carrier Circle, Thruway exit 35. Saturday 9–5:30, & Collectibles Sunday 10–5. Bourse. Ed Always Buying Bailey, 315-452-0593. 14 — Meriden, CT 315•452•0593 Second Sunday Stamp & Open: Tuesday–Friday 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Coin Show, Sheraton Four Saturday 9 a.m.–1 p.m. Points, 275 Reseach Park- way. Stamps, covers, lots, 120 Kreischer Road postcards. Sunday 9–3:30. North Syracuse, NY 13212-3251 Harry Tong, 603-978-3459, Just off Taft Road 1⁄2 mile east of Rt. 81 [email protected] 16 — Northampton, MA Mark Szuba • Edward Bailey Third Tuesday Stamp & Coin Show, World War II Veterans Association, 50 Conz St.,Stamps, covers, Lincoln Coin and Stamp Co., Inc. lots, postcards. 10:30–8. Complete Line of Coin Harry Tong, 603-978-3459, & Stamp Supplies [email protected]. We Buy Stamps, Coins, Picture Post Cards, 28 — West Seneca Old Envelopes, Stamp, Coin, Postcard & Pan American Expo Material Collectibles Show, Harvey Come In and Look D. Morin VFW Post 2940, 965 Around Center Rd. 10–4. Bourse. Vic- Free Parking tor Drajem, 716-656-8080. 33 West Tupper St. at Pearl Street Add Your Listing Buffalo, NY 14202-1710 Send calendar listings to: Phone 716-856-1884 [email protected]

Advertiser Index American First Day Cover Society...... 77 Park Cities Stamps...... 29 American Topical Association...... 77 R. J. Associates...... 29 Art Cover Exchange...... 77 Schmitt Investors, Ltd...... 31 ASDA...... 13 StampExpo 400 Souvenirs...... 37 Azusa Stamps and Collectibles...... 17 Stamp Insider...... 76, Back Cover B. Trading Co...... 29 Stuart’s Stamps...... 29 Frank Bachenheimer...... 27 Subway Stamp Shop, Inc...... 14–15 Bejjco of Florida, Inc...... 27 Suburban Stamps, Coins & Collectibles...... 75 Buffalo Stamp Club...... 13 Syracuse Stamps, Coins & Collectibles...... 9 Champion Stamp Co...... 23 Sarasota Nat’l. Philatelic Exhibition...... 19 Norman Cohen...... 77 Harry Tong...... 33 Cover Mania...... 35 Vidiforms Company...... Back Cover Design on Demand...... 29 Virtual Stamp Club...... 29 Elwyn Doubleday...... 29 Washington Press...... Inside Front Cover Henry Gitner Philatelists, Inc...... 11 Douglas Weisz U.S. Covers...... 74 Harmer–Schau, Inc...... 25 West Seneca Shows...... 74 Heritage Auctions...... Inside Back Cover George Wildman...... 74 Journal of Antiques & Collectibles...... 77 Say You Saw It in the Insider! Lincoln Coin and Stamp Co...... 75 Steve Malack Stamps...... 31 Potential Advertisers: Did you know? McCloud Stamps & Covers...... 75 The Stamp Insider has 3,000 readers. Print distribution of E. Joseph McConnell, Inc...... 9 2,000 includes 28 Federation afﬁliates, advertisers, local and regional shows and bourses. More than 900 more Metropolitan Expositions...... 5 readers per issue access the Stamp Insider online. Mystic Stamp Company...... 40–41 It makes dollars and sense to advertise with us! Nassau Street Stamps & Collectibles...... 33 Contact Advertising Manager George McGowan at Ness Stamp Expositions...... 74. 518-479-4396 or [email protected]

76 / Stamp Insider • January / February 2010 Bauer — Continued from Page 30 Do you like to draw or paint and He was a founding member of the Un- meet people from all over? The Art Cover Exchange may adilla Historical Association and was an be for you! Write to Joe Doles Eagle Scout and senior member of Unadilla 105 Lawson Rd., Rochester, NY Boy Scout Troop No. 1. 14616-1444 or go to our Web site: www.artcoverexchange.org Donations may be made in Bauer’s name to the American Philatelic Society, 100 Match Factory Place, Bellefonte, PA Join the American First Day Cover Society 16823-1367; the Rocky Mountain Philatelic • Get a unique perspective on stamp collecting Library, 2038 South Pontiac Way, Denver, • Learn about first day cover collecting • Enjoy FIRST DAYS magazine CO 80224; or the Unadilla Historical Asso- • Contact us today! ciation, P. O. Box 808, Unadilla, NY 13849. AFDCS, P.O. Box 16277, Tucson, AZ 85732-6277 — With input from Albert W. Starkweather Phone 520-321-0880 • Website www.afdcs.org

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January / February 2010 • Stamp Insider / 77 The Last Words Heather Sweeting, Associate Editor 14329 Victory St. Sterling NY 13156-3172 315-947-6761; [email protected]

Protest Brings Out the Coconuts ith USPS’ recent financial woes many ideas have been Wproposed to save money, including raising stamp prices, cutting back to five day delivery, and the closure of many smaller branch and local offices. Several of these pro- posed closures have led to letter writing campaigns, peti- tions, rallies, picketing, and more. These local efforts often fall on deaf ears, when the of- ficials making the decisions are hundreds or thousands of miles away. Originally 3,600 offices were considered for closure this year. Locally the North Syracuse and Elmwood Post offices are on the closure list. When faced with the adversity of losing a post office and their postal services, some lo- calities decided to think outside the box. Lantana, FL is one such town. Their anger and displeasure over possible closure led them to go nuts, literally. The town decided to take make their voices known, specifically to Postmaster General John E. Potter. With the next closest post office seven miles away, Lantana residents were very unhappy at the thought of travelling to pick up and mail packages. They decided to make their voices heard, not only in Lantana, but in Washington where the decisions were being made. How did they do it? Since Lantana is a coconut rich community, they went nuts — with 2,000 coconuts! Town Manager Michael Bornstein urged residents, the mayor, the Palm Beach County commissioner, and students to mail coconuts to Washington, Potter in particular. Born- stein used the project to encourage students and schools to participate and be active in local government. Community members used their own funds to mail hundreds of coconuts to Washington. Eventually the USPS donated them to a homeless resource center, but their message was heard loud and clear. The city continued to urge lawmakers and the postal service to keep their office open. When a revised closure list was released in November, Lantana was not on it. At last count 241 offices are still slated for closure, including 11 in New York. Kudos to Lantana for thinking outside the box, creating some cool postal history and having their voices heard at the highest levels. It’s a shame most of the postal history of eaten. Will this work for all communities? Probably not, if your community lacks coconuts. I can see some amusing applications: Have a lame duck candidate in a state election, or a real turkey? Does the post office allow mailing of frozen poultry? Could chicken Alaska mail live baby chicks? What outside the box ideas do you or your club use to attract members and media attention? A campaign with a good cause might

just be a way to encourage some new folks to attend your meetings! Palm Beach Post photo

78 / Stamp Insider • January / February 2010 RaRe Stamp auctionS

TO ALL OF OUR FELLOW PHILATELISTS HERITAGE/BENNETT WISHES YOU A

From all of us in the stamp division of Heritage/Bennett Auctions- we would like to thank our friends at Stamp Insider for helping to make this a most satisfying first year for our stamp auctions. We now look forward to bringing you the best of stamps and postal history in 2010.

Have a healthy, peaceful, & prosperous New Year!

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Essential Information for Philatelists! Stamp Insider Seeing Is Believing! Bimonthly $12.00 per year. To subscribe or for a sample copy: Federation of New York Philatelic Societies 1105 Union St., Schenectady, NY 12308-2805 80 / Stamp Insider www.nystampclubs.org• January / February 2010