[press release]
Brand New Sixth Edition Of The ArtCraft Variety Catalog Arrives!
The Comprehensive Listing of ArtCraft Covers: Their Varieties and Values (1939-2015) is the Sixth (Compendium) Edition in this mammoth project which documents all known ArtCraft covers and varieties produced by the Washington Press (Washington Stamp Exchange). The Listing references over 15,000 collectibles, spanning the company’s full 76 years of production, and has been affectionately labeled “The ArtCraft Bible” by the active community of ArtCraft collectors worldwide.
The first update since 1996, the Sixth Edition is better than ever in that it lists every U.S., UN, and foreign First Day Cover as well as miscellaneous, event, and topical covers produced by ArtCraft. Pertinent information is provided regarding color, size, shading, text, watermark, and other design varieties; fakes; printing errors; imprinted covers; etc. As with prior editions, the latest version continues the assignment of unique, trademarked alphanumeric identification numbers (SEV#s) for each variety, realistic price values (SEV$), and an integrated checklist for collectors to track their collections.
The 250-page (unillustrated) catalog is produced in a deluxe spiral-bound format. It incorporates thousands of revisions and changes, new discoveries, as well as all issues through October 2015, when ArtCraft ceased new production.
No collector or dealer should be without this gem!
For more information or to place an order, send $34.95 (plus $3.50 shipping/handling) to the following. Check, money order, or PayPal gladly accepted.
P.O. Box 762 Rockville, MD 20848-0762
PoppyGunInc@gmail.com
Be sure to include your full name and shipping address as well as your email address.
Note: The $3.50 shipping/handling is waived for the second and all subsequent copies.
(Maryland residents must include 6% sales tax)
Is there one unalterable truth for stamp collectors? If so, I would propose that it is a universal feeling that U.S. stamp design is less than spectacular, and many of us share a belief that if we were running things, we could do better. Perhaps.
While any or all of these criticisms may have merit, it is all second-guessing. And my guess is that all artists — even the great ones — had to put up with similar carping (“That’s supposed to be a smile on Mona Lisa? Looks more like she’s
In my view about 10% of U.S. issues really rank high on both subject and design scales.
subject.
I well remember when modern art first made its appearance on a U.S. stamp with the 5¢ “Fine Arts” issue of 1964 (left). One would have thought listening to the reaction of collectors that the world as we knew it had come to an end.
I personally don’t enjoy much of the poster art that has been and is used. The “Summer Harvest” issue is an example (right). And as to modern art, I think much of it is a fraud on the public when presented as works of inspiration possessed of deep and profound meaning. And yet, a portion of the public buys it and goes to see it in museums.
Other holiday-season issues:
It seems like only yesterday that Bob Lamb and Ken Lawrence drove me from APS headquarters in Patton Township (“State College”) Pa. to Bellefonte to see a derelict factory complex. On a later trip, Ken Martin took me up into the loft area of “Building 4.” We had to watch where we put our feet, because the flooring wasn’t very solid. But I saw the view out the open end of the loft and said, “Wow! This could really be something.”
It’s now 16 years later (left), and it really is something. In fact, when I went up to the second floor for the first time during the celebratory weekend, I was a little choked up.
Roger Schnell was on the Board when the vote was taken; he voted against it. His comment as soon as the results were announced was, “Congratulations. You just bought yourselves a pile of bricks.” Yet as you enter the new facility, there’s the sign shown on the right: The Roger Schnell Main Entrance. Despite his misgivings, once the decision was final, Roger became a major donor for the complex’s renovation. There’s a lesson there that some mainstream national politicians haven’t learned. 
Every local official paid tribute to Ken Martin, now the APS Chief Operating Officer as an important part of the project. I think some philatelic leaders don’t appreciate Ken enough.
w, after an ugly APS election in 2007 and the subsequent lawsuit, and his always sharp tongue — he can flay you with his pen — but Ken was a driving force behind the “Match Factory” project. APRL president Roger Brody praised Ken, while admitting that he is often “prickly.” (I think that is the word he used.) Kudoes to Roger for broaching the subject. I’m sure it wasn’t easy, nor was deciding whether to do so wasn’t easy, either.
I was surprised that more wasn’t made of Dennis Gilson’s contribution to the project when he received his Luff Award for Service to the American Philatelic Society. In reading a list of his activities before Dennis signed the Luff scroll, Ken Martin first listed all his many activities on behalf of the APS, quite a few of which are continuing. Perhaps it’s because the American Philatelic Center actually belongs to the APRL, not the APS. Dennis was the first project manager, using his engineering background to get the work started. He retired from that post after the first two phases were completed and the two organizations had moved to the Center.
I was both pleased and surprised to see how closely the finished product (right) looks like the architectural renderings (left).
Issue Date: November 11, 2016
WASHINGTON — The United States Postal Service today filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) of price changes for Mailing Services products to take effect next year, following the end of the holiday mailing season. The new prices, if approved, include a two cent increase in the price of a First-Class Mail Forever stamp, returning the price to 49 cents, the price of a Forever stamp before the Postal Service was forced to reduce prices by the PRC as part of the exigent surcharge removal.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service today filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) of price changes for Shipping Services products to take effect next year, following the end of the holiday mailing season. The filing does not include any price increase for First-Class Package International Service, Priority Mail Express International and Priority Mail International.
5137 (47¢) Jack-o’-lantern with four teeth booklet stamp
usually work hard to build up large fat reserves before they bed down, and subsist on this during their sleep. They might wake up at intervals to defecate or top up on food. Few British mammals hibernate during the winter – only the dormouse, hedgehog and the bat species.
British snakes also hibernate through the winter months. The grass snake is the UK’s largest snake, growing to 150cm in length and identifiable by its yellow or cream band behind the head and its delicate body markings. They live in a wide range of wetland habitats but also venture into gardens. Grass Snakes eat as much as possible before they go into hibernation to store up enough fat in their bodies to live off during their long winter sleep.
Number of stamps:Four
As overprinted by Post & Go machine: Brown long-eared ba
Royal Mail has issued Christmas stamps since 1966 and is therefore celebrating fifty years of Special Stamps this year.
Design: The Chase
