Author Archives: VSC

Peace Rose (U.S. 2018)

Posted on by

The Scott catalogue number for this stamp is 5280.

From the USPS: Peace Rose celebrates one of the most popular roses of all time. The peace rose revolutionized hybrid tea roses with its unique coloring, hardiness, and disease resistance.

This stamp will be issued April 21 in Shreveport, Louisiana. The American Rose Society has its headquarters and its Gardens of the American Rose Center in that city. A first-day ceremony for the stamp is not yet on its website calendars.

Updated March 16th from the Postal Bulletin:

On April 21, 2018, in Shreveport, LA, the U.S. Postal Service® will issue the Peace Rose stamp (Forever® priced at the First-Class Mail® rate) in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive double-sided booklet of 20 stamps (Item 681800). The stamp will go on sale nationwide April 21, 2018.

The new Peace Rose stamp celebrates one of the most popular roses of all time. The stamp art features a detail from a photograph of the Peace Rose blossom and its creamy yellow petals, with a touch of pink on the edges. The rose revolutionized hybrid tea roses with its unique coloring, hardiness, and disease resistance. Art director Ethel Kessler designed the stamp with an existing photograph taken by Richard C. Baer.

Availability to Post Offices: Item 681800, Peace Rose (Forever priced at the First-Class Mail rate) Double-sided Booklet of 20 Stamps. Stamp Fulfillment Services will not make an automatic push distribution to Post Offices™.

How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark:
Customers have 120 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office, on The Postal Store® website at usps.com/shop, or by phone at 800-782-6724. They must affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

FDOI – Peace Rose Stamp
USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300
Kansas City, MO 64144-9900

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service™ will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. There is a 5-cent charge for each additional postmark over 50. All orders must be postmarked by August 21, 2018.

Philatelic products for this stamp issue are as follows:

  • 681810 Digital Color Postmark Keepsake, $11.95.
  • 681816 First-Day Cover, $0.94.
  • 681821 Digital Color Postmark, $1.65.
  • 681830 Ceremony Program, $6.95.

Technical Specifications:

Issue: Peace Rose Stamp
Item Number: 681800
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever
Format: Double-sided Booklet of 20 (1 design)
Series: N/A
Issue Date & City: April 21, 2018 Shreveport, LA 71102
Art Director: Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD
Designer: Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD
Typographer: Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD
Existing Photo: Richard C. Baer
Modeler: Joseph Sheeran
Manufacturing Process: Offset, Microprint
Printer: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd. (APU)
Printed at: Williamsville , NY
Press Type: Muller A76
Stamps per Booklet: 20
Print Quantity: 400,000,000 stamps
Paper Type: Nonphosphored Type III, Block Tag
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Processed at: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd. (APU)
Stamp Orientation: Vertical
Image Area (w x h): 0.73 x 0.84 in./18.54 x 21.34 mm
Stamp Size (w x h): 0.87 x 0.98 in./22.10 x 24.89 mm
Full Booklet Size (w x h): 5.52 x 1.96 in./140.21 x 49.78 mm
Colors: Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow
Plate Size: 1040 stamps per revolution
Plate Numbers: “P” followed by four (4) single digits
Marginal Markings: Header: “Peace Rose” Twenty First-Class Forever Stamps • Plate number in peel strip area • © 2017 USPS in peel strip area • Barcode • Promotional Information

Canadian National Institute for the Blind envelope (Canada 2018)

Posted on by

From Details magazine:

CNIB, 100th ANNIVERSARY Commemorative envelope
Issue date: March 21, 2018

It has been a century of change for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind in helping Canadians who are blind or partially sighted live full, independent lives. This commemorative envelope celebrates that achievement with photos from the organization’s past and present, including a short braille message embossed on the front of the envelope to mark the CNIB’s foundation in 1918.

Great Canadian Illustrators (Canada 2018)

Posted on by

The Scott catalogue numbers are 3092 for the souvenir sheet and individual stamps are

  • 3093 Kunz
  • 3094 Drawson
  • 3095 Hill
  • 3096 Davies
  • 3097 DuBois

Numbers subject to change.

From Details magazine:

GREAT CANADIAN ILLUSTRATORS
Issue date: April 5, 2018

Highlighting the work of five talented Canadians whose work can be found on book covers, posters, magazine, newspapers and even stamps, this issue features five of Canada’s most successful and prolific illustrators.

A proud native of Belleville, Ontario, Will Davies (1924-2016) is a legend of Canadian commercial art, with fashion layouts, story illustrations and advertising campaigns for clients as Simpson’s, Chatelaine, Reader’s Digest, Homemakers, Star Weekly, Woman’s Weekly (U.K.), and many other publications – as well as nine Canadian stamps. His stamp features one of his untitled Harlequin book covers.

Blair Drawson (Stage Fright, circa 1990) has worked as an editorial illustrator for many of North America’s most notable magazines – among them, Time, The New Yorker, Esquire, Rolling Stone and The New York Times Magazine .

France-born Gérard DuBois (It’s Not a Stream of Consciousness, 2015) chose Montréal as a place to launch his freelance career. His work has appeared in many major magazines in North America and Europe – and the 2015 Canadian Christmas stamp trio.

James Hill (1930-2004) of Hamilton had a major influence on his field. The image on this stamp is from a 1966 Redbook feature on hair fashion. Named Artist of the Year by the Guild of American Artists in 1966, he earned two gold medals from the New York-based Society of Illustrators.

Anita Kunz is one of the most iconic illustrators of our time. Her work has been published and exhibited internationally and she regularly provides cover art for The New Yorker and other influential publications. She has also illustrated more than 50 book covers. Best Friends (circa 2012) is from a series of personal work.

“The strength of the Canadian illustrators issue lies in the narrative quality of the imagery, the mastery of colour and composition, and the sense of imagination, humour, style and emotion.”
— Lara Minja, stamp designer

Updated April 6th:

[press release]
Eye-catching new stamps showcase work of five great Canadian illustrators
Issue pays homage to outstanding artists of past half century

TORONTO, April 5, 2018 /CNW/ – Canada Post pays tribute to five talented Canadians whose illustrations have appeared in books, magazines, advertisements, and galleries – and on postage stamps – over the past 50 years in this special issue featuring some of their favourite works.

Canada’s rich history in the field of commercial art and illustration is celebrated through the diversity of techniques, topics, and treatments showcased in this colourful set, which honours Will Davies, Blair Drawson, Gérard DuBois, James Hilland Anita Kunz.

Will Davies (1924-2016) was a legend in the world of Canadian commercial art. His work combined a passion for beauty and the human form with uncanny technical skill. His ability and love of his craft are captured in this glamorous lifestyle portrait from one of the many romance novels he illustrated.

Blair Drawson was an illustrator for many of North America’s most notable magazines before he decided to focus on writing and illustrating books – including nearly a dozen of his own – as well as painting and teaching courses in his craft.

Gérard DuBois has not looked back since relocating from France to Montréal to become a freelance illustrator. His expanding body of work ranges from book and magazine illustrations to commercial projects and exhibitions of his paintings.

 

James Hill (1930-2004) was one of the most sought-after illustrators in North America from the 1950s to 1970s. A prolific artist who appeared in major publications, galleries, and ad campaigns, he focused the last 25 years of his life on fine arts, wilderness landscapes and portraits.

Anita Kunz is one of the most iconic illustrators of our time, known for her bold and irreverent illustrations and provocative portraits of famous figures. Internationally acclaimed, she is a popular speaker and has been published and exhibited in many countries.

The stamps, launched today at OCAD University – where several of these illustrators trained or taught – complements past issues that feature the work of great Canadian photographers and painters. They are available for purchase on canadapost.ca and at postal outlets across Canada.

Lotus (Canada 2018)

Posted on by

The Scott catalogue numbers are Sc. 3087 for the souvenir sheet; 3087a, 3088 and 3090 for pink petals; and 3087b, 3089 and 3091 for yellow petals. 3088 and 3089 are the coil stamps, 3090 and 3091 are the booklet stamps.

from Details magazine:

LOTUS
Issue date: March 1, 2018

Dregs of winter laying your spirits low? Would the thought of colourful lotuses gently bobbing on warm breezes over the water’s surface help? Our annual flower stamp issue depicts two lotus species: the sacred lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) and the American lotus (Nelumbo lutea).

The pink and white sacred lotus is the national flower of India, and ha s religious significance for Buddhists and Hindus. It is cultivated in North America and can become wild. Our only indigenous lotus, the rare and threatened yellow American lotus grows along the warm sunny shores of lakes Erie and St. Clair in southern Ontario. Stamp designers Gary Beelik and Kristine Do of Parcel used watercolour portraits by Eunike Nugroho to depict different bloom phases in a set of connected (se-tenant) stamps. The blue background evokes a watery habitat, while a spot gloss varnish reveals a Chinese Bulbul bird, a koi fish and a dragonfly – creatures that share surroundings with lotuses.

[press release]
Canada Post heralds spring with Lotus issue
Annual flower issue a perennial favourite with gardeners and soon-to-be-weds

OTTAWA, March 1, 2018 /CNW/ – Canada Post will once again bring some colour and freshness into the lives (and mail) of winter-weary Canadians with its annual flower stamp issue. This year, the focus is on aquatic blooms, with the domestic-rate PermanentTM stamps featuring two varieties of lotus:

  • The only lotus indigenous to this continent, the American lotus (Nelumbo lutea) has a creamy yellow flower and needs warmth and sunshine. The rare and threatened species grows at its northern limit along the shores of lakes Erie and St. Clair in southern Ontario. It is also found in wetlands in most of the eastern United States and as far south as Honduras.
  • The sacred lotus (Nelumbo nucifera), bearing delicate pink and white petals, is the national flower of India and has deep religious significance for Buddhists and Hindus. Native to the tropical and warm-temperate regions of Asia and Australia, the sacred lotus is cultivated in North America and can become wild.

Because this issue is so popular for wedding invitations and stationery, the stamps are available in booklets of 10, with five of each design, or coils of 50 offering 25 of each design. A two-stamp souvenir sheet is available for collectors, along with strips of four and 10 stamps from the coil. An Official First Day Cover featuring both stamps is cancelled in Waterdown, Ontario. The stamps were designed by Parcel Design of Toronto based on watercolours by Eunike Nugroho and printed by the Lowe-Martin Group.

“Ding, Dong, the Show Is Dead:” APS Winter Show

Posted on by

by Lloyd A. de Vries
The Virtual Stamp Club

At the American Philatelic Society’s board of directors meeting, executive director Scott English told the board he was not seeking a location for an APS-sponsored winter show in 2020.

Later during AmeriStamp Expo 2018, in response to a question from a member, he confirmed that it is unlikely there will be any more APS-sponsored winter shows.

“Only 6 of the 20 [winter shows] made money,” he said, and the APS has “lost substantial sums in the past five years.”

Two of the previous APS winter shows were subsidized by a vendor.

English said the APS is now looking for another show in which to hold the single-frame and most-popular “Champion of Champions” competitions. He sees a “market opportunity” for another show to host those events, as well as a similar draw for a show to host the APS winter board of directors meeting. Interested shows held in late winter and early spring should contact him.

The name “AmeriStamp Expo” actually belongs to the American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors. In fact, one year since “ASE” became the regular APS winter show, AAPE held AmeriStamp Expo in Toronto while the APS winter show was conducted elsewhere.

When I was on the board (1997-2005), the concept for the winter show was to hold it in a warm location that would attract collectors who wanted a break from winter weather. Unfortunately, the hotel and tourism industries in such locations didn’t need the business from a relatively-small “convention” to fill their rooms, restaurants and recreation, and it was hard to find attractive cities in which to hold the show.

English said the decision is “not about the hobby, but the way we do business.” Attendance at the 2018 show was sparse; at its high point Saturday, it was only moderately busy. If it had been busier, would dealer Irv Miller in the purple shirt below be chatting at another booth?)

The last APS-sponsored AmeriStamp Expo will be held February 15-17, 2019, in Mesa (Phoenix), Arizona. “We have fantastic room rates for the ‘high season,'” said English.

But the APS “can’t bounce from a failing show like this to a state of excellence at StampShow,” he added.

Americover 2020 to be with APS StampShow 2020

Posted on by

[press release]
AMERICOVER 2020 TO BE HELD WITH APS STAMPSHOW
The Most Fun Stamp Collecting Show in North America Joins with the Country’s Biggest

The American First Day Cover Society, the world’s largest non-profit organization of FDC collectors, will hold its Americover 2020 stamp and cover show in conjunction with the American Philatelic Society’s StampShow 2020 in Hartford, Conn., August 20-23.

All the familiar features that make an Americover show special will be included: A strong emphasis on first day cover exhibits, dealers specializing in FDCs, a pre-show tour of sites and attractions in the Hartford area, a post-show dinner, the AFDCS President’s Banquet, announcement of the annual cachet contest winners, a hospitality suite, FDC auctions, and a busy program of meetings and seminars.

“The AFDCS hopes to share the fun of Americover with the larger audience that attends StampShow, while taking advantage of all that a large convention center show has to offer,” said Americover programming chair Foster Miller. “We look forward to a successful joint show in 2020.”

“I hope the AFDCS will bring a unique social experience [to StampShow] that we don’t usually get at a stamp show,” said APS executive director Scott English.

For the past decade, the Americover show has often been held the weekend before or after StampShow, allowing collectors to take a “road trip” between the two events. However, some could not afford the time or money to go to both shows. This arrangement solves that problem for 2020.

The agreement between the AFDCS and APS, announced at the APS’ General Membership Meeting at AmeriStamp Expo in Birmingham, Ala., on February 24, 2018, is only for 2020. It is similar to the one between the APS and the American Topical Association for 2018, when StampShow and National Topical Stamp Show are held jointly in Columbus, Ohio, August 9-12.

The AFDCS has been holding its own standalone show and convention continuously since 1992. The event’s name was changed to “Americover” the following year. It is held in a different part of the country each year. Americover 2018 is being held in the Atlanta area August 3-5; 2017 was near Cleveland, and 2019 will be held in Saint Louis.

The Americover exhibitions have had full World Series of Philately status since 2005, and emphasize exhibits with predominantly first day covers.

For more information on any of the Americover shows, visit the AFDCS website at afdcs.org/show, send e-mail to showinfo@afdcs.org or write the AFDCS at PO Box 16277, Tucson, AZ 85732-6277.

English: “You Won’t Recognize The APS”

Posted on by

Story updated February 26th, 8:00 pm EST

American Philatelic Society executive director Scott English says the APS must change.

“The hobby’s not dying, organized philately is,” he said in his report to the APS General Membership Meeting at AmeriStamp Expo 2018 in Birmingham, Alabama, Saturday, February 24th.

He said the organization is faced with “a choice between dying with dignity or fighting like hell. You didn’t bring me here [to be executive director] for dying with dignity.”

English is calling for the APS to invest in a three-step process:

  • Marketing, using social media and the Internet;
  • Producing a newsletter distributed to people who are not members; and
  • Changing the website to provide more content.

“We have to change the way we access the hobby,” English said. He wants the APS to “invest in platforms to bring shows and events to you.”

“I don’t want to keep doing what we’ve been doing,” he said.

Later, in response to a question from a member that not only asked how the APS was going to do this, but expressed hope that the effort would not involve Facebook, English pointed out that Facebook’s demographic is 35 to 50 years old. “That’s the demographic we need.”

He sees Facebook and social media not as a platform, but “as a way to drive traffic to us.”

And he closed by promising, “By the end of the year, you won’t recognize the APS.”

“I think right now we have a fairly one-dimensional representation of the hobby and of the APS,” English told The Virtual Stamp Club in an interview. “What we’re working on aggressively right now is building out a much more comprehensive view of the hobby and the services that the APS can provide.

“We’re going to integrate more with the technology. We’re going to have a bigger web presence, we’re going to have a bigger social media presence,” he said. “We’re going to increase the amount of content that’s coming through the APS website, because we want to be able to market to a bigger and broader audience than we’ve ever been able to.”

Yes, there are going to be online courses and videos of courses presented at shows, beginning with the “On The Road” courses being offered at PIPEX this year.

“We’re actually going to send someone with a camera and we’re going to record the session,” giving members an opportunity to see the programs on their own schedules.

Next will be the programs at Summer Seminar. “If it just doesn’t work out on your schedule, [you] shouldn’t have to miss out on the education opportunities.”

“We’ve got great equipment now [so] that we can do this, so it’s going to look professional,” he added. “They’re going to hear the instructor speaking, they’re going to see the graphics from the PowerPoint presentations on the wall, and they’ll be able to engage.

“As we continue to build out [our capacity and our ability to do it], I want to be able to do it live,” English added.

“I want to harness the power of just incredibly brilliant people who belong to the APS, and from the comfort of their own home, be able to get online and engage with collectors on a specific topic for, say, a one-hour session, at a time that works for everybody,” he added.

The 150 people who attended OTR courses last year was much higher than ever before and was even higher than the target number, but it’s only a fraction of the 30,000 members of the APS.

And only four people attended the OTR course at AmeriStamp Expo 2018 (“The Black Heritage Series, Preserving Our History”), but English says he has had many inquiries about that subject, with members asking if it will be offered again.

Why didn’t I just do it once and then I can just get them to the website as a member of the APS and say, ‘Here you go. Watch it and enjoy it. Watch again if you like it,'” he said.

Ganz Wins Single-Frame Exhibit Title

Posted on by

Cheryl R. Ganz, the former philatelic curator of the Smithsonian Postal Museum, has won the Single Frame Champion of Champions competition for her exhibit, “Zeppelin LZ-129 Hindenburg Onboard Postmarks.”

The award was presented at the AmeriStamp Expo 2018 banquet in Birmingham, Alabama, by American Philatelic Society president Mick Zais.

Ganz is the first woman to win the Single Frame Champion of Champions competition.

The Single Frame Champion of Champions competition involved the single-frame grand award winners from stamp shows in the past year. Ganz’s exhibit won at StampShow 2017.

Rick Gibson’s exhibit “The Forest Conservation Issue of 1958” won the Most Popular Champion of Champions competition. It had won the Most Popular vote at Minnesota Stamp Expo 2017. Gibson is shown with his “trophy.”

Robert Mayo won AmeriStamp Expo 2018’s Single Frame Grand for “The Straightlines of Richmond, VA, 1782-1800.” “Georgia Bicentennial” by Charles J. O’Brien, III, won the Best Multiframe award. Both exhibits received Large Gold medals as well.

The complete palmares (list of exhibit awards) should be on the APS website soon.

Janet Houser To Retire From APS

Posted on by

American Philatelic Society program coordinator Janet Houser is retiring at the end of August, after more than 30 years with the organization. Executive director Scott English says Janet made him promise to find a new youth coordinator (Houser’s main assignment) and not to make her go to Columbus for StampShow this summer.

In addition to youth activities, Janet has also been running the On The Road and other adult education programs. English says she doubled the number of students in the OTR program last year, to 150.

Janet also handles the free album pages for children (and, undoubtedly, adults) and Scott said she will continue to do that as a volunteer – to which Janet feigned surprise.

Later, she confirmed to The Virtual Stamp Club that she will be working on the album pages after retirement.

In a telephone meeting June 11, 2018, the APS board approved unanimously a resolution honoring Houser.  Executive director Scott English noted that she began at the APS in 1990, and worked in the accounting department before moving to education. He said he was “extremely grateful” for her help as he became the organization’s CEO and made changes. “Janet has been extremely supportive of the education initiatives” and “an ambassador of good will,” he said. “I’ve been grateful for having her.”

English joked that he is trying to convince her to volunteer five days a week, but that is still under negotiation.