Many of you may have heard that the Philadelphia National Stamp Exhibition (PNSE) had disbanded after their 2008 show and have been wondering where our 2010 annual meeting would be held, since we were scheduled to meet at the PNSE.  I am happy to report that Steve Washburne, the new PNSE Chairman, has announced that the show is back in business at a new venue and a new date. 

The 2010 PNSE, and our Annual Meeting, will be held the weekend of April 9 through 11, 2010 at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center, 100 Station Avenue, Oaks, PA 19456.  This new location is four miles northwest of the previous venue in Valley Forge.  The show hotel is the Homewood Suites Valley Forge (www.homewoodsuitesvalleyforge.com) and sounds like a real bargain.  The room rate of $109 includes a cooked breakfast and a light supper.  The hotel also has 3200 free parking spaces.  More money for stamps! 

The new PNSE website is still under construction, but will be found at http://pnse.home.att.net.  Once active, it should have all of the information necessary to plan your trip and enter your exhibits.  I’m told that there will be 300 frames available.  Additional details about the expo center itself can be found at www.phillyexpocenter.com. 

As additional details become available, you’ll be able to find them here and in The Specialist.  For now, mark the dates of April 9th to 11th on your calendar and start putting that exhibit together.  And please let me know if you’d be willing to give a presentation at the show.  We’ve been a little light on presentations at our last few Annual Meetings and I’d really like to see the Society shine in 2010.

— Nick Lombardi
President

The Spring Mega Show was held a month later than originally planned and was also moved to its new home, the New Yorker Hotel.  Located one block north of Madison Square Garden, the venue received mixed reviews.  The most often heard complaints were that the show was divided into four adjoining rooms and that the rest rooms were located one floor above.  On the plus side, the hotel setting provided a cleaner environment and easier access to the show floor. 

The floor was occupied by only 41 dealer booths and no exhibits.  The smaller showing was due in large part to the change of dates from the originally planned March weekend to the one in April.  This apparently presented conflicts for some dealers who had made other commitments for the new dates.  The lack of exhibits was partially caused by the China 2009 World Stamp Exhibition, which was held from April 10th to the 16th.  A number of exhibitors had been accepted into this FIP international and had to withdraw from the Mega competition.  As a result, the Mega, which is a qualifying WSP show, asked for and received a bye from the APS for the 2008-2009 exhibiting season. 

The United States Stamp Society booth was staffed throughout the four days of the show and appeared to be one of the busier places along Society Row.  As you can see from the list below, quite a few members stopped by to say hello and purchase literature.  We also signed up five new members and received reinstatement requests from a number of former members. 

The highlight of the show for us was the release of Steven R. Belasco’s new book, Guide to United States Vending and Affixing Machine Perforations 1907–1927.  A very well attended release ceremony was held on Saturday afternoon as reported by Steven Rod later in this issue.  Sales of the book were strong and all who leafed through it were very impressed with both the content and format. 

The USPS did its best to attract people to the show with the issuance of the 28¢ Polar Bear stamp on the first day of the show, and the ceremony was well attended. 

Special thanks go out to Jerry Davis and Bob Rufe for helping man the booth at different times.  As always, we are deeply grateful to Tom Jacks of Mountainside for hauling all of our booth supplies to and from the show.

As mentioned earlier, our booth was a popular place for members to get together and exchange information.  Although most of those who stopped by were from the immediate area, we were pleased to meet members from as far away as Delaware and Illinois.  Those visiting the booth included:

Steven Belasco speaks about how the book was written.

Steven Belasco signs one of his books as Steve Rod looks on.

Your Society sponsored a Champagne Book Publishing Event at the April Mega Show in New York City. The guest of honor was Steven Belasco, the author of Guide to United States Vending and Affixing Machine Perforations 1907-1927, the latest USSS publication, which was formally released at this event.

Chairman Roger Brody and President Nick Lombardi talked briefly about the USSS’s commitment to philatelic education and how this new book represents the finest and most accurate research on this interesting aspect of United States stamp collecting.

Steven J. Rod, Chairman of the USSS Publications Committee, presented flowers to Fran Belasco on behalf of the USSS, acknowledging the important role she played in getting this book published.  He called upon the author, who described his passion for this material, and the process he went through to produce this wonderful book.

The ceremony concluded with stamp dealer Richard Champagne leading the assembled guests in a champagne toast to Steve and the book’s success.

The book covers more than 250 major varieties of coil stamps made by the six companies that created these perforations and discusses their history, proprietary perforations, stamps to which the perforations were applied, scarcity of these stamps on and off cover, and factors to be considered to identify the many fakes of these coils.  See our literature web page for ordering details.

Barbara Mueller, long-time member of the United States Stamp Society, has been invited to sign the prestigious Roll of Distinguished Philatelists of The Royal Philatelic Society London.  The signing ceremony will take place Friday, July 17, in Manchester Town Hall during the 2009 Philatelic Congress of Great Britain, which will be held July 16-19 at the Copthorne Hotel, Salford Quays, Manchester.  In addition to Miss Mueller, Dr. Geoffrey Kellow of Australia, and John Sussex and George Barker of the United Kingdom have been invited to sign.  

The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists (RDP), one of philately’s highest honors, was established in 1921 by the Philatelic Congress of Great Britain with the approval of King George V, its first signatory.  Some 346 philatelists from 45 countries have been invited to sign the RDP.  Previous signatories on the scroll and its side panels include eight past presidents of the APS. 

Barbara R. Mueller, through her research and writings, has had an exceptional influence on American philately.  Her first book, Common Sense Philately, published in 1956, gained her recognition on the United States national philatelic scene.  She is one of the United States Stamp Society’s most prominent members, having chaired committees including the Postal History and Markings Committee and the Essay-Proof Committee, editing The United States Specialist from 1972 through 1977 and contributing prolifically to that journal over six decades.  In 2006 Barbara was inducted to the USSS Hall of Fame.  In 2007, the USSS endowed the United States Stamp Society – Barbara R. Mueller Award for the best article published each year in the American Philatelist, the monthly journal of the APS.

Mueller was the editor of the annual American Philatelic Congress Book from 1986 to 1990, and the Essay-Proof Journal from 1963 to 1993.  For her services to philately she has received most of the major awards in U.S. philately, including the John N. Luff Award of the American Philatelic Society, the Alfred F. Lichtenstein Memorial Award of the Collectors Club (New York) and the Smithsonian Philatelic Achievement Award from the Smithsonian National Postal Museum.

On March 14, 2009, Wallace Cleland of Madison, Wisconsin was inducted into the Wisconsin Philatelic Hall of Fame, established in 1976 by the Wisconsin Federation of Stamp Clubs.  Cleland was recognized for his more than 40 years of research to advance the understanding of philately.  He is the recipient of many prestigious national awards, has published over 235 articles, lectured at national and international shows, and is an American Philatelic Society expertizer.  Cleland specializes in the field of U.S. plate numbers and markings and served as Editor of the 2008 Edition of the Durland Standard Plate Number Catalog.  He is a past-president and chairman of the Board of Governors of the United States Stamp Society.

In accordance with Article V, Section 2, of the Society By-Laws, President Nicholas Lombardi recommended to the Board of Governors that the Nominating Committee for the 2009 United States Stamp Society election consist of members Denise Stotts (Chairperson), C. David Eeles and Robert G. Rufe.

Denise is well known to everyone in the Society as our Awards Chairperson.  She is also a fixture at our booth at major stamp shows.  In addition, she is currently a Director At Large on the APS Board and a member of numerous other philatelic organizations.

David is a longtime member and is both an accomplished author and exhibitor.  He recently co-authored The Liberty Series published by the APS and was the winner of the Hopkinson Trophy in 2004 for his exhibit “Three Cent Stamps of the 1954 Liberty Series.” 

Bob is also an accomplished author and exhibitor.  He was the winner of the Hopkinson Literature Award in 2007 for his series on the Special Handling Issues and has also exhibited the issue with great success.

The Board unanimously approved the recommendation and the Committee has begun the task of assembling a slate of candidates.  Prior to August 15th, the Committee will present the complete slate to the President, who in turn, will notify the Executive Secretary so that ballots can be prepared for distribution to the membership.  The names and background information of the nominees will be published in The United States Specialist prior to the mailing of the ballots, which will be included with the annual dues mailing in the Fall.  The Executive Secretary will then tabulate the ballots and report the results to the membership.  Those elected will serve a three-year term beginning January 1, 2010.

The elective offices include the Chairman, President, Vice President and Secretary, as well as the Board of Governors.  The Treasurer, Editor and Executive Secretary are not elected but rather are paid employees of the Society appointed by the Board.

The Society is always looking for members who are willing to become active in the operations of the organization.  If you have an interest in doing so, please contact any committee member or write to USSS Nominating Committee, P.O. Box 690042, Houston, TX 77269 and let them know how you would like to contribute.

President Nick Lombardi called the meeting to order at 1 PM.  Nick welcomed everyone and then asked all to introduce themselves by stating name, where from, and collecting interests.

The minutes of the meeting held at NOJEX, May 24, 2008 were published in the July 2008 issue of The U.S. Specialist.  Wallace Cleland made a motion to accept the minutes; second, Kim Johnson.  PASSED.

More »

Here are the United States Stamp Society medal winners that have been reported from recent shows:

Show Awards Chairs, please note:
USSS AWARDS PROGRAM

The USSS Gold Statue of Freedom Medal is sent automatically to all APS World Series of Philately shows.

The USSS Silver President’s Award medal is available upon request to all local and regional shows.

For more information, or to request an award, please contact me by e-mail or write to P.O. Box 690042, Houston, TX 77269-0042.

—Denise Stotts, Awards Committee

The 2009 Annual Meeting of the United States Stamp Society was held at the St. Louis Stamp Expo during the weekend of February 27th through March 1st.  More than 40 members from across the country attended the show and a good time was had by all.

The official business of the Society was conducted at the Board of Governors Meeting on Saturday morning and the General Membership Meeting later that day.  The account of the Board meeting is reported elsewhere in this issue and the General Meeting minutes and Committee reports will be reported in next month’s issue.

The Society kicked off the weekend at 10 AM Friday morning with the release of our newest publication, United States Supplementary Mail by Specialist editor Leonard Piszkiewicz.  The first book was purchased by Chairman Roger Brody for placement in the USSS Room at the American Philatelic Center in Bellefonte, PA.  Sales were brisk during the course of the weekend, with several dealers at the show taking multiple copies for their own stock, knowing that this will become an essential reference for every postal historian.

More »

The Society’s Board of Governors held their annual meeting in conjunction with the St. Louis Stamp Expo 2009, Saturday, February 28th.  In addition to the presentation of officers’ reports, the Board engaged in discussions about ongoing projects and new proposals. 

Executive Secretary Larry Ballantyne reported that membership dropped slightly.  For the year ending 2008, membership fell 2.6% from 1777 to 1730.  His report also indicated strong membership financial support including contributions from 248 members towards the Patron, Contributor and Sustaining categories.  Donations from 14.3% of our total membership is the highest level in the Society’s history.

Board Chairman, Roger Brody reported on the highlights of the Society in 2008.  Notable were Board decisions to publish two books, United States Supplementary Mail, by Leonard Piszkiewicz, and Guide to U.S. Vending and Affixing Machine Perforations 1907–1927 by Stephen R. Belasco.  The Supplementary Mail book was successfully introduced at a book signing ceremony at the St. Louis show.  The Vending and Affixing book will be introduced in April at the New York MEGA Event.  To date, we have sold over 7000 copies of the popular Encyclopedia of United States Stamps and Stamp Collecting.  Also noted was the presentation at APS StampShow in Hartford this past August of the first annual United States Stamp Society – Barbara R. Mueller award for the best article in the American Philatelist for the year 2007.  

More »