March 24, 2016
For Immediate Release
Gems Abound in WSS-NY 2016
World Stamp Show-NY 2016 is pleased to announce that it has finalized arrangements to display an unprecedented array of priceless philatelic material in the exhibition’s Court of Honor and Invited Exhibits. Many can be viewed online here: http://www.ny2016.org/SubMenu/Rarities_on_Display.aspx?id=484.
The world’s most valuable stamp will be there, the unique British Guiana one cent magenta, which was sold at auction June 17, 2014 for $9.48 million dollars to fashion shoe designer Stuart Weitzman. Its celebrated story of being found in 1873 by a 12 year old schoolboy is legendary. The stamp is on a three-year loan to the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum and will be in a special display case at their booth through Friday of the show.
The world’s first two postage stamps will be represented by truly remarkable items courtesy of The Postal Museum of Great Britain and their National Archives. Two specially designed frames will feature two sheets: the very first printed registration sheet of the Penny Black, plate 1 before hardening, dated April 15, 1840; and the earliest known example of the two penny blue, a sheet from plate 3 from January 1841. Both sheets, 
originally of 240 examples, are nearly intact with just a couple dozen of each removed. The 1d sheet has never been shown outside of the United Kingdom, while the 2d sheet has never been on public display anywhere. A presentation about them, “Postal Reform & the Penny Black,” will be given at 10:30 AM on Tuesday, May 31 by Douglas N. Muir, Senior Curator, Philately, The Postal Museum.
The earliest known example of the Penny Black postage stamp from the collection of Alan Holyoake will also be on display. It was recently discovered in the personal archive of Robert Wallace, the leading postal reformer of the time, who created an archive of items 
dealing with Great Britain’s penny postage program of 1840. The stamp, lettered A I, comes from the first row of the sheet printed from the first printing plate 1a completed on April 8, 1840. The stamp is attached on a sheet of stout paper together with a proof of a Mulready, as presented by Rowland Hill to the Council of Academicians on April 10 for approval of the proposed design, which was enthusiastically given. At the top of this sheet Wallace inscribed in his own hand, “1st Proof of Penny Postage Stamp Cover, presented to Mr. Wallace by the Right Honable. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Francis Thornhill Baring, April 10th, 1840.” and endorsed beneath the stamp, “Universal Penny Postage Fly or Loose Stamp, presented to me Mr Wallace as above” and noted “ These come into public use on the 6th of May 1840”.
The postal history of the small Indian Ocean island of Mauritius is forever entwined with the story behind its first issue of 1847. Lady Gomm, wife of the governor, was planning a lavish ball and decorated the invitation envelopes with new-fangled postage stamps hastily produced by a local watch maker. Each was to have been inscribed “Post Paid,” but shortly after being released were found to bear “Post Office” instead. It is believed fourteen 1d orange red and twelve 2d deep blue stamps have survived, along with only three Ball covers. The only such cover in public hands will be on display, from the collection of Vikramm Chand.
All of these rarities and many more await visitors to World Stamp Show-NY 2016. The 8 day exhibition takes place May 28 through June 4 at the Javits Center in New York City. Discover more online at http://www.ny2016.org. Check out our Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest sites.
New York City Subway
Central Park Zoo
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Number of stamps: 20
The New York Collector’s Strip – GB Version
Rates – 1st up to 100g, 1st Large up to 100g, Euro 20g/World 10g, Europe 100g, Worldwide up to 20g, Worldwide up to 100g. This product will feature the ‘World Stamp Show NY2016’ overprint and only be available from Tallents House by mail order. Price: £7.75 per strip Code: ZS044
On April 28, 2016, in Dulles, VA, the U.S. Postal Service® will issue the USA nondenominated, nonprofit organization stamp (5-cent value), in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) coil of 10,000 (Item 777500).
On April 28, 2016, in Dulles, VA, the U.S. Postal Service will issue the USA nondenominated, nonprofit organization stamp (5-cent value), in one design in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) coil of 10,000 (Item 777500).
The Bridge of Strings in Jerusalem was designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava so this makes for a most fitting visual image to express the bridge of friendship developed over 30 years between Israel and Spain.
Our stamp for Spring stands out in this collection with its stunning red wildflowers. What a great season that symbolizes blooming and renewal!
by Natan Yonatan, “The Sand Will Remember”.
BELLEFONTE, PA – Construction of a new $2.6 million library caused a roof leak at the American Philatelic Center, headquarters of the American Philatelic Research Library (APRL) and the American Philatelic Society (APS). During a rainy weekend, water leaked into the recently-completed George Turner Rare Book Room threatening some of the hardest-to-find philatelic literature in world. Quick action by the library staff, with assistance from Penn State University Libraries, minimized the long-term damage to books and other material.
Along with putting the library materials out to dry, Murray contacted Sue Kellerman, head of the Penn State University Libraries Preservation Department. Kellerman and members of her staff were soon on site to assess the damage and provide expert advice. They even lent the APRL equipment, including fans to circulate air and hygrometers to measure humidity.
As long as the emergency conservation measures are effective, the monetary impact for the APRL will be small and related to treatment of rare books. The library will attempt to replace unsalvageable auction catalogs through donations. For a list of the catalogs lost and information about donating replacement copies, see http://blog.stamplibrary.org/?p=3106.
United States Postal Headquarters
United States Postal Headquarters
OTTAWA, March 1, 2016 /CNW/ – With spring just around the corner, Canada Post continues its perennially popular flower series with two new stamps featuring the billowy and showy hydrangea cultivars beloved by Canadian gardeners. A celebration of beauty to come, these beautiful blossoms continue a long tradition of flower stamps often sought after by gardeners, plant enthusiasts and brides.
The stamps illustrate yet another attractive quality of hydrangeas. While white is a common colour, some species develop flowers of different colours, depending on the pH of the soil. Acidic soil creates blue flowers, neutral soil creates cream-coloured blossoms, and alkaline soil produces purple or pink, as exemplified by the stamp image of Endless Summer.
The stamps measure 26 mm x 32 mm and are available together in booklets of 10 stamps and coils of 50 stamps. They were printed by Canadian Bank Note Company and use lithography in six colours. The souvenir sheet of both stamps measures 120 mm x 84 mm. The Official First Day Cover bears the cancellation site of Sunny Corner, NB. Designed by Benny Corrigan, with art directed by Karen Satok and David Sacha of Toronto’s Sputnik Design Partners Inc., the stamps were illustrated by Montréal artist Marie-Élaine Cusson.
One postcard is illustrated with a close-up image of two species of hydrangea. The white flower featured on the stamp is the cultivar Annabelle, a selection of smooth hydrangea (Hydrangea aborescens). Native to the United States, Annabelle is one of the most cold hardy hydrangeas. The pink flower on the second stamp is Endless Summer, a cultivar of bigleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla). Native to eastern Asia, this species will also produce blue or lavender flowers, depending on soil acidity or alkalinity.
The other postcard features two selections of hydrangea, aligned in an alternating pattern of diagonal lines. The pink flower featured on the stamp is Endless Summer, a cultivar of bigleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla). Native to eastern Asia, this species will also produce blue or lavender flowers, depending on soil acidity or alkalinity. Endless Summer is unique among hydrangeas in that it flowers on both old and new growth. On the second stamp is the snow-white flower of Annabelle, a cultivar of smooth hydrangea (Hydrangea aborescens). Annabelle, native to the United States, is one of the most cold hardy hydrangeas.
OTTAWA, March 8, 2016 /CNW/ – Canada Post today issued a new stamp that pays tribute to the women who fought and won the right to vote 100 years ago in this country. While the suffrage movement began to form nearly four decades earlier, the struggle to secure the vote did not significantly advance until the First World War, when women worked in hospitals, factories and offices, and often raised families alone, spurring demands for equality. In 1916, women in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta became the first in Canada to win the right to cast provincial ballots.
The Official First Day Cover features one of the most important figures of the women’s suffrage movement, Nellie McClung. Her portrait is set over an image of the 1915 petition to the Government of Manitoba that helped secure full political rights for women in that province. At the bottom is a black and gold banner reading “Votes for Women,” one of several artifacts currently on display in a women’s suffrage exhibit atWinnipeg’s Manitoba Museum.
After Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan, women gained their voting rights in British Columbia and Ontario in 1917, Nova Scotia in 1918, New Brunswick and Yukon in 1919, Prince Edward Island in 1922, Newfoundland in 1925 (before it became a Canadian province), Quebec in 1940 and the Northwest Territories in 1951. However, it wasn’t until 1960 when all Canadians, including Inuit and First Nations, were eligible to vote regardless of race or ethnicity.
5036 (49¢) Quilled Paper Heart
The cost of mailing a letter in the U.S. went up three cents two years ago, but it was a temporary measure because the U.S. Postal Service was in serious financial trouble. The deal was the rate hike would last two years.
Not surprisingly, the USPS is crying the blues (and how appropriate the Sarah Vaughan stamp will be issued three days before the reduction). Here’s the USPS press release:
