Monthly Archives: March 2018

70 Years of Civil Aviation (Israel 2018)

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This stamp will be issued April 9th. From Israel Post:

“The history of EL AL is intertwined with that of the State of Israel, the company was officially founded in 1949, but in fact its first flight took off in September 1948, flying President Chaim Weizmann from Geneva to Israel. The Swiss would not allow military aircraft to land in their territory, thus the company quickly turned a DC-4 Skymaster into a civilian plane. This plane, which opened the era of EL AL’s civilian flights, was called “Rehovot”. The establishment of an Israeli airline was significant not only as a business endeavor but as a means of contact among the Jewish towns in Eretz Israel and their defense.:

Israel Defense Forces (Israel 2018)

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These stamps will be issued April 9th. From Israel Post:

“Over the years, the IDF has become more professionalized and developed more organizational specialties. One of the ways in which the military expresses its appreciation for this uniqueness and specialization is through different colored berets, allowing soldiers to demonstrate that they belong to a specific branch or unit. This trend, which began in the mid-1970’s, has gained momentum over the years, as the IDF has formed more and more special frameworks and we salute him in that stamp.”

Memorial Day (Israel 2018)

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This stamp will be issued April 9th. From Israel Post:

“The letter card, cover and stamp – all of which are special and unique to Memorial Day – constitute the basis of a sensitive, original and extraordinary tradition that came into being following the War of Independence.”

70th Anniversary of Independence (Israel 2018)

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This stamp will be issued April 9, 2018. From Israel Post:

“Today, as it celebrates 70 years of independence, Israel is a developed country with a strong economy and high quality of life, the life expectancy of its residents is among the highest in the world and its political standing is stronger than ever. The State of Israel looks forward with a sense of hope and security and with faith in its ability to continue to strengthen the momentum of its achievements for an even better future.”

Auctioneer David Kols Dies

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David Kols, the president of Regency-Superior Auctions, died Tuesday, March 13, 2018, after a long battle with colon cancer. He was 67.

His stamp auction firm was a major player in the market, with offices in both Saint Louis and Southern California. Kols said the company’s 125 or so auctions over nearly 25 years had sold almost $150 million worth of collectibles.

But Regency-Superior fell on hard times and closed last year. A major creditor seized Regency-Superior Auctions’ assets, including lots that had been consigned to it for sale. Many of the consignors still have not been paid or had their stamps and covers returned to them. Among the consignors was the American Philatelic Society.

Kols wrote in Linn’s Stamp News (May 22, 2017) the firm failed because “the stamp market is in the doldrums,” an assertion denied by APS executive director Scott English in an interview with The Virtual Stamp Club. http://virtualstampclub.com/radiostuff/170616.html

Before that, Regency-Superior had been the official auctioneer at APS StampShow. Kols was also a co-founder and strong supporter of Saint Louis Stamp Expo, a World Series of Philately show. He had been its executive director until last year.

You can find his obituary here.

Zwillinger Resigns As Library President

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Steve Zwillinger resigned March 2nd as president of the American Philatelic Research Library, according to Linn’s Stamp News. The APRL’s board of trustees will hold a telephone conference meeting on March 12th to elect a new president. The bylaws require that a replacement be chosen from among the current board members.

“I resigned due to pressing family issues that require my attention,” Zwillinger told The Virtual Stamp Club in e-mail. “The Library needs a President who can devote the time and attention that the position requires.”

Zwillinger, who works for the U.S. Department of Education, was elected to the board of trustees last spring, and then chosen as president by a unanimous vote of the board in August, just seven months ago. He previously served as secretary and director-at-large on the American Philatelic Society board of directors.

Update:

In a March 12th phone conference, the APRL board chose Ken Grant, a trustee and former APRL president, to replace Zwillinger, as reported by Foster Miller below. This photo of Grant, a retired college English professor, was taken in 2005.

Updated March 27th:

The April 2018 issue of American Philatelist reports that Zwillinger has been suspended because he has been “charged with a crime, pending outcome of a criminal trial.”

Updated May 29th:

The five felony charges against Zwillinger from February — one count of sexual abuse of a minor; two counts of rape in the second degree; and two counts of sexual offense in the third degree — have been dropped, but two more felony charges were filed on April 20th: assault in the second degree, and sexual assault in the fourth degree.

A local attorney talks about “fourth degree sexual offense” here. (Keep in mind this is unlikely to be an attorney involved in this case and with direct knowledge of the Zwillinger case.)

Updated August 12th:

Following his guilty plea to a reduced charge, a source tells The Virtual Stamp Club that Zwillinger was expelled from the American Philatelic Society.

According to Foster E. Miller III in The Stamp Collecting Forum on July 20, “as the result of [a] plea bargain, on July 18, defendant Zwillinger pled guilty to one count of ‘a sexual offense in the third degree.’ Sentencing is scheduled for October 9.” Click here for an explanation of what that is, as defined on USLegal.com, which says that someone convicted of a sexual offense in the third degree faces up to 10 years in prison.

The APS Bylaws, Section 3.11.5, give the Board of Vice Presidents the discretion to put on probation, suspend or expel any member convicted of a felony. Zwillinger has the right to appeal to the Appeals Tribunal, which consists of all members of the Board other than the three vice presidents, plus the executive director.

Zwillinger, 63, is married with 7 or 8 children. He works or worked for the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, and lives in Silver Spring, Md.

Updated October 21st:
According to reports in The Stamp Collecting FOrum, Zwillinger was sentenced to an 18-month suspended sentence, except for two days. Since he has already served two days in jail at the time of his arrest, there is no additional jail time.

Topicals Pioneer Jerry Husak Dies

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[ATA press release]
Jerome D. Husak, visionary founder of the American Topical Association (ATA), the second largest philatelic organization in the U.S., died on February 22. He was 86.

He is shown at right at the World Columbian Stamp Expo in 1992.

Jerry was a teenager in Milwaukee in 1949 when he envisioned a society for topical collectors. He later wrote, “There must be others like myself. Why don’t we get together and share our information through a united body of topical collectors?” Thus, the ATA was born. “Who knows,” Jerry thought, “perhaps as many as 200 topical collectors might come together.” Within five months of its founding, the ATA had 408 members. In its 68 years, it has had close to 60,000 members from more than 100 countries. It is the largest topical/thematic association in the world.

In his history of the ATA, Jerry wrote “The early days were not easy. Many people had to be convinced that topicals deserve a place in philately.” When the ATA affiliated with the American Philatelic Society in 1987, it became its largest affiliate. The Thematic Award at APS StampShow is named for Jerry.

Jerry was ATA member #1 and the first recipient of the ATA’s Distinguished Topical Philatelist award.

He worked full time for the ATA, as editor of its journal, Topical Time, until 1977, and as executive secretary until 1984. When Jerry retired from the association’s Board of Directors in 2008, he was awarded the honorary title of director emeritus. In 2012 the ATA Board designated May 25 as an “annual National Topical Stamp Collecting Day, promoting topical stamp collecting as a vital dimension of the future of philately and honoring topical philately visionary and ATA founder Jerry Husak on his birthday.”

Jerry died in Sun City West, Arizona, where he lived since moving there from Milwaukee in 1984. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Sally, who was a tremendous support in his ATA endeavors.

Contributions in memory of Jerry Husak may be made to the ATA [link to donations page].

Jams (Australia 2018)

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[press release]
Australia Post features sweet nostalgia on new stamps

Australia Post is paying tribute to one of the first locally manufactured foods in Australia, jam, in its latest stamp issue.

The new stamps will feature the artwork of Australian paper jam labels from the late-19th century until the mid-20th century, and be available in Post Offices across the country and online from 6 March 2018.

Australia Post Philatelic Manager, Michael Zsolt said: “The four colourful jam labels shown in this stamp issue represent some of the key stages, locations and players in the history of Australian jam manufacturing. The vibrant designs have a nostalgic feel that will appeal to many, especially as vintage jam labels are a highly collectable form of ephemera.”

At the beginning of the 20th century, Australia’s primary production industries expanded at a great rate, leading Australia to become a major exporter of food, including fresh fruit, tinned fruit and tinned jam.

The four domestic base-rate ($1) stamps, designed by Jo Muré of the Australia Post Design Studio, present four bright and cheerful paper labels from the follwing brands:

  • Peacock’s which is considered the first factory-scale site for commercial jam manufacturing in Australia. George Peacock (1824-1900) set up his factory in 1861, in Hobart, Tasmania, before expanding his business into Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and New Zealand. Peacock is also credited as the first commercial jam manufacturer to use tins instead of jars. His factory is where Henry Jones, the creator of the IXL brand, began work at age 12, pasting labels onto tins.
  • Kingurli which was one of many brands produced by George McEwin, a gardener and orchardist from Houghton, South Australia. McEwin founded a jam factory with this son, in 1862, to make use of excess fruit. At its peak, the factory employed more than 100 people. Other McEwin brands included Glen Ewin and Viking. The label presented shows jam made from Prince Englebert plums.
  • Melray was a grocery chain founded in 1932, in Prahran, Melbourne, and one of several grocers, buyers groups and wholesale co-operatives that sold jam under their own brand names. Melray had branches across Australia and its jam labels often included special customer reward tokens for redemption in-store.
  • Alva was one of the many smaller jam manufacturers operating in the early 20th century. The Alva brand was first established by W H Johnson’s Jams Pty Ltd of Melbourne in the 1930s, and was a well-advertised brand of the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s. Alva Jams was bought out during the 1970s – a period of industry-wide decline.

The products available with this stamp issue are a minisheet, first day cover, stamp pack, set of maxicards, booklet of 10 x $1 self-adhesive stamps, chequebook of 20 x 10 x $1 self-adhesive stamps and a booklet collection. Visit auspostcollectables.com.au for more information.