Welcome to the Postal History Society
Collecting Postal History
Postal history is the study of material carried by and related to official, local, and private mail systems. It illustrates routes, rates, markings, usages, and other postal aspects. It describes services, functions, and activities related to the history of the development of postal services. Postmark collections—also called "marcophily"—demonstrate classifications and studies of postal markings related to official, local, and private mail on covers and other postal items.
Postal history, therefore, tells the story of mail handling, who has handled it, and why. In postal history, research is necessary to interpret a cover and its postal markings. In doing such research, one comes face to face with the history and the personalities of a particular event, place, or postal service (These insights come from the Australian Postal History Society.).
Tracing the postal history of one’s environment—be it a town, state, territory, or county—is a subject of increasing popularity. The domain of postal history includes a variety of areas of research: the rise and fall of stagecoach, railroad, and truck mails; the development of postal systems and methods of handling mail; disinfected, censored, delayed, or wreck covers; and correspondence from prison and internment camps. All that and more is collected, studied, exhibited, written, and spoken about by those who constitute the membership of the Postal History Society.
Journal Issues Available for Download
As the Society publishes each issue of its journal—The Postal History Journal—it makes available the complete contents of an issue released two years earlier. The Society’s Board of Directors decided to provide these journals as a resource to the philatelic community. The complete contents of issues Numbers 143–169, June 2009 through February 2018, are now available for download.
Spellman Museum Hosts Symposium Exploring Postal History of Switzerland
The Spellman Museum of Stamps & Postal History, the oldest philatelic museum in the United States, in partnership with the American Helvetia Philatelic Society, will host its eighth annual postal history symposium that will deal with several aspects of the postal history of Switzerland. The symposium will take place on the campus of Regis College (College Hall 202) in Weston, Massachusetts, where the museum is located, on Thursday, July 23, 2020, starting at 9:30 a.m., a day before the opening of the WSP Philatelic Show in nearby Boxboro. Please note that this new date is changed because of rescheduling in response to the COVID-19 crisis.
The displays in the Museum’s galleries, open to the public, will include exceptional material from its holdings.
The symposium presenters include Michael Peter, “Early Registered Mail from Switzerland”; Richard T. Hall, “Postcards and Briefli—The Other Pro Juventute Collectibles”; Greg Galletti, “The League of Nations at 100”; and Bruce Marsden, “Campione D’Italia, a Geographic Anomaly.”
Admission to the symposium is free, but the Museum asks that attendees register by emailing info@spellman.org or visiting www.spellmanmuseum.org.
Those who wish to stay at the hotel hosting Philatelic Show 2020 may call 978-263-8701 and ask for the “Stamp Show” rate or visit www.boxbororegency.com.
Program
8:30 a.m. Exhibition opens at the Spellman Museum’s Exhibit Hall
9:30 a.m. Walk/drive over to College Hall room 202, at Regis College
9:45 a.m. Opening remarks by Yamil H. Kouri, Jr.
10:00–10:45 a.m. “Early Registered Mail from Switzerland” by Michael Peter (Wildwood, MO)
11:00–11:45 a.m. “Postcards and Briefli - The Other Pro Juventute Collectibles” by Richard T. Hall (Asheville, NC)
12:00 Noon–1:00 a.m. Lunch at Regis College cafeteria (Dutch treat)
1:05–1:50 a.m. “The League of Nations at 100” by Greg Galletti (Mt. Airy, MD)
2:05–2:50 a.m. “Campione D’Italia, a Geographic Anomaly” by Bruce Marsden (New Hope, PA)
3:00–3:15 a.m. Closing remarks and discussion
3:30–4:30 a.m. Tour of the Museum. See you next year!
United State Stamp Society Funded Postal History Journal Digitization
The United States Stamp Society has agreed to provide $3,550 to fund the digitization of the Postal History Journal of the Postal History Society (PHS). The Board of Governors believes that funding the PHJ digitization would be an important contribution towards philatelic research. The total number of pages to be digitized is estimated at 11,680. The scanning will be performed by American Philatelic Research Library staff using the library’s book scanning equipment. Pages will be scanned in color, even if the issue is entirely black and white, for the best image quality. The scans will be delivered in PDF format, with optical character recognition so they will be fully searchable.
The APRL will retain the right to make available to American Philatelic Society (APS) members the scanned issues, presented as whole issues, except for the most recent five years. USSS members, via the USSS website, will also have similar access. The complete digitized journal will be available to PHS members.
In return for the USSS funding, the PHS will acknowledge USSS support on its website, create a link on their site to the United States Stamp Society, and publish, fee-free, a USSS membership advertisement in all three of their journal annual issues for a period of two years, and thereafter at the discretion of the journal's editor.
Postal History Society Members Garner Awards at APS StampShow
When the country's stamp-collecting community gathered recently in Omaha, Nebraska, for the American Philatelic Society's 133rd annual philatelic exhibition, the postal-history labors of a long list of Postal History Society members bore fruit in a list of awards. Yamil H. Kouri Jr., the Society's president and acting treasurer, received the Benjamin & Naomi Wishnietsky World Series Champion of Champions award for his exhibit, The First Postal Issues of Spanish Antilles (FLOREX 2018). He also won the Literature Grand and Large Gold for Under Three Flags, the Postal History of the Spanish–Cuban/American War (1895–1898), the Collectors Club of Chicago.
Other Society members and their awards appear in the following list.
World Series of Philately Prix d’Honneur:
Court of Honor
Grand and Large Gold
Golds
Large Vermeil
Next year's APS StampShow will be held in Hartford, Connecticut, August 20–23, 2020.
Postal history is the study of material carried by and related to official, local, and private mail systems. It illustrates routes, rates, markings, usages, and other postal aspects. It describes services, functions, and activities related to the history of the development of postal services. Postmark collections—also called "marcophily"—demonstrate classifications and studies of postal markings related to official, local, and private mail on covers and other postal items.
Postal history, therefore, tells the story of mail handling, who has handled it, and why. In postal history, research is necessary to interpret a cover and its postal markings. In doing such research, one comes face to face with the history and the personalities of a particular event, place, or postal service (These insights come from the Australian Postal History Society.).
Tracing the postal history of one’s environment—be it a town, state, territory, or county—is a subject of increasing popularity. The domain of postal history includes a variety of areas of research: the rise and fall of stagecoach, railroad, and truck mails; the development of postal systems and methods of handling mail; disinfected, censored, delayed, or wreck covers; and correspondence from prison and internment camps. All that and more is collected, studied, exhibited, written, and spoken about by those who constitute the membership of the Postal History Society.
Journal Issues Available for Download
As the Society publishes each issue of its journal—The Postal History Journal—it makes available the complete contents of an issue released two years earlier. The Society’s Board of Directors decided to provide these journals as a resource to the philatelic community. The complete contents of issues Numbers 143–169, June 2009 through February 2018, are now available for download.
Spellman Museum Hosts Symposium Exploring Postal History of Switzerland
The Spellman Museum of Stamps & Postal History, the oldest philatelic museum in the United States, in partnership with the American Helvetia Philatelic Society, will host its eighth annual postal history symposium that will deal with several aspects of the postal history of Switzerland. The symposium will take place on the campus of Regis College (College Hall 202) in Weston, Massachusetts, where the museum is located, on Thursday, July 23, 2020, starting at 9:30 a.m., a day before the opening of the WSP Philatelic Show in nearby Boxboro. Please note that this new date is changed because of rescheduling in response to the COVID-19 crisis.
The displays in the Museum’s galleries, open to the public, will include exceptional material from its holdings.
The symposium presenters include Michael Peter, “Early Registered Mail from Switzerland”; Richard T. Hall, “Postcards and Briefli—The Other Pro Juventute Collectibles”; Greg Galletti, “The League of Nations at 100”; and Bruce Marsden, “Campione D’Italia, a Geographic Anomaly.”
Admission to the symposium is free, but the Museum asks that attendees register by emailing info@spellman.org or visiting www.spellmanmuseum.org.
Those who wish to stay at the hotel hosting Philatelic Show 2020 may call 978-263-8701 and ask for the “Stamp Show” rate or visit www.boxbororegency.com.
Program
8:30 a.m. Exhibition opens at the Spellman Museum’s Exhibit Hall
9:30 a.m. Walk/drive over to College Hall room 202, at Regis College
9:45 a.m. Opening remarks by Yamil H. Kouri, Jr.
10:00–10:45 a.m. “Early Registered Mail from Switzerland” by Michael Peter (Wildwood, MO)
11:00–11:45 a.m. “Postcards and Briefli - The Other Pro Juventute Collectibles” by Richard T. Hall (Asheville, NC)
12:00 Noon–1:00 a.m. Lunch at Regis College cafeteria (Dutch treat)
1:05–1:50 a.m. “The League of Nations at 100” by Greg Galletti (Mt. Airy, MD)
2:05–2:50 a.m. “Campione D’Italia, a Geographic Anomaly” by Bruce Marsden (New Hope, PA)
3:00–3:15 a.m. Closing remarks and discussion
3:30–4:30 a.m. Tour of the Museum. See you next year!
United State Stamp Society Funded Postal History Journal Digitization
The United States Stamp Society has agreed to provide $3,550 to fund the digitization of the Postal History Journal of the Postal History Society (PHS). The Board of Governors believes that funding the PHJ digitization would be an important contribution towards philatelic research. The total number of pages to be digitized is estimated at 11,680. The scanning will be performed by American Philatelic Research Library staff using the library’s book scanning equipment. Pages will be scanned in color, even if the issue is entirely black and white, for the best image quality. The scans will be delivered in PDF format, with optical character recognition so they will be fully searchable.
The APRL will retain the right to make available to American Philatelic Society (APS) members the scanned issues, presented as whole issues, except for the most recent five years. USSS members, via the USSS website, will also have similar access. The complete digitized journal will be available to PHS members.
In return for the USSS funding, the PHS will acknowledge USSS support on its website, create a link on their site to the United States Stamp Society, and publish, fee-free, a USSS membership advertisement in all three of their journal annual issues for a period of two years, and thereafter at the discretion of the journal's editor.
Postal History Society Members Garner Awards at APS StampShow
When the country's stamp-collecting community gathered recently in Omaha, Nebraska, for the American Philatelic Society's 133rd annual philatelic exhibition, the postal-history labors of a long list of Postal History Society members bore fruit in a list of awards. Yamil H. Kouri Jr., the Society's president and acting treasurer, received the Benjamin & Naomi Wishnietsky World Series Champion of Champions award for his exhibit, The First Postal Issues of Spanish Antilles (FLOREX 2018). He also won the Literature Grand and Large Gold for Under Three Flags, the Postal History of the Spanish–Cuban/American War (1895–1898), the Collectors Club of Chicago.
Other Society members and their awards appear in the following list.
World Series of Philately Prix d’Honneur:
- Carol A. Bommerito NOJEX 2018, U.S. Mail To, From, and Through GB 1840–1875
- Anthony F. Dewey OKPEX 2019, A Postal History of Hartford, Connecticut as US Post Office 1792–1897
- Juan Farah SARASOTA National Stamp Exhibition 2019, Great Britain Penny Red Stars, 1850–64; World’s First Perforated Postage Stamp
- Alfredo Fröhlich WESTPEX 2019, Delaware Postal History 1773–1847
- Daniel Knowles NAPEX 2019, The Development of the Confederate States of America (CSA) Postal Service from Secession to Appomattox
- Lester C. Lanphear III SESCAL 2018, U.S. Departmentals, 1873–1884
- Timothy O’Connor SEAPEX 2018, Postal History of the Original Thirteen Colonies.
Court of Honor
- George Kramer, Transcontinental Railroad, and Buffalo Bill and Pawnee Bill, Two of a Kind
- James Milgram, The Transcontinental Railroad
Grand and Large Gold
- Robert J. Faux, Postal History of the 1861 United States 24-cent Adhesive, also the U.S. Philatelic Classic Society award.
Golds
- Anthony F. Dewey, The United Nations Precancel, 1952–1958; and The ‘H’ Rate-Change Stamps of 1998 Depicting ‘Uncle Sam’s Hat’.
Large Vermeil
- Alfredo Fröhlich, Prisoners of War Mail—Fort Delaware 1862–1865.
Next year's APS StampShow will be held in Hartford, Connecticut, August 20–23, 2020.
Postal History Society Held Free Public Seminar--“D-Day … Change to the Decimal System in the UK”
The Postal History Society hosted a free-admission seminar, entitled "D-Day … Change to the Decimal System in the UK," by Larry Haber. He spoke on Saturday, August 11, 2018, at 11:30 a.m. EDT, as part of StampShow, the American Philatelic Society National Convention. Held in Columbus, Ohio, August 9–12, the multiple-day event also featured meeting of the PHS Board of Directors at 10:30 a.m. on August 11. Mr. Haber's talk, set for Room B235 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, 400 N. High St., followed the open-doors general meeting of the society.
The Postal History Journal's Best Article for 2017 Receives Recognition
The Postal History Journal's Associate Editors have released the news that “D-DAY: DECIMAL POSTAGE IN THE U.K.” (published in PHJ 168, pp. 2–15, October 2017) by Lawrence Haber. The author is a retired Swiss banker who belongs to many of the principal philatelic societies both in the United States and the United Kingdom. In addition to his interest in UK decimalization, he collects and has exhibited across a wide variety of interests including plate XI of the Penny Black, and the United States stamps and postal history of 1909, and the pre-1996 range of GB Machins.
Journal Recognizes Best Article for 2016
The Associate Editors of the Postal History Journalannounced that the Best Article for 2016 award went to Thomas Lera and Sandra Starr for their “Flathead War Party, The Story Behind the Hamilton, Montana Post Office Mural” (published in PHJ 163, February 2016). Lera is Research Chair, Emeritus, Smithsonian National Postal Museum, editor of the award-winning Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Analytical Methods in Philately, and the two-volume Select Papers of The Winton M. Blount Postal History Symposia, all published by the Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press. Starr is Senior Research, Emerita, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. See her preface, “About Indians at the Post Office and Murals as Public Art,” to the online exhibit, "Indians at the Post Office: Native Themes in New Deal-Era Murals," at www.postalmuseum.si.edu.
Postal History Presentation
The society’s general membership meeting on Saturday, May 6, 2017, featured a free presentation, a joint PHS/AAMS Talk. PHS member Gary Loew discussed “How Postal Agreements Develop: The British/German Collaboration on Deutsche Lufthansa’s Routes to South America.”
History of the Society
The Society had its origin in the 1940s when the late Edith M. Faulstich suggested its formation. The Postal History Society of the Americas (the last three words were later dropped) was founded in 1951. It has grown to include more than 300 members scattered throughout the world.
Mission of the Society
An outstanding achievement of the Society is the publication of the Postal History Journal, which began as an annual in 1957, but now appears three times a year in February, June, and October. Featuring original studies, it is richly illustrated and printed on high-quality paper stock. Awards are given annually for the best articles published within its pages. It invariably wins high awards when exhibited both nationally and internationally. Recent accolades garnered by the Postal History Journal include the following awards:
The Society takes great pride in its contribution to bolstering the international recognition of postal history, as a class in shows held under FIP patronage. Since its founding, the Society has devoted itself to promoting postal history at exhibitions.
The Society supports local and regional postal history groups, offering associate membership to encourage their participation in the Society’s activities. No fees are required from associate members.
The Society offers an opportunity to expand your interest in postal history, to publish your research results, to gain recognition for your collecting interests, to further your individual and group’s work, and to learn more about the postal history of all ages and places.
The Postal History Society hosted a free-admission seminar, entitled "D-Day … Change to the Decimal System in the UK," by Larry Haber. He spoke on Saturday, August 11, 2018, at 11:30 a.m. EDT, as part of StampShow, the American Philatelic Society National Convention. Held in Columbus, Ohio, August 9–12, the multiple-day event also featured meeting of the PHS Board of Directors at 10:30 a.m. on August 11. Mr. Haber's talk, set for Room B235 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, 400 N. High St., followed the open-doors general meeting of the society.
The Postal History Journal's Best Article for 2017 Receives Recognition
The Postal History Journal's Associate Editors have released the news that “D-DAY: DECIMAL POSTAGE IN THE U.K.” (published in PHJ 168, pp. 2–15, October 2017) by Lawrence Haber. The author is a retired Swiss banker who belongs to many of the principal philatelic societies both in the United States and the United Kingdom. In addition to his interest in UK decimalization, he collects and has exhibited across a wide variety of interests including plate XI of the Penny Black, and the United States stamps and postal history of 1909, and the pre-1996 range of GB Machins.
Journal Recognizes Best Article for 2016
The Associate Editors of the Postal History Journalannounced that the Best Article for 2016 award went to Thomas Lera and Sandra Starr for their “Flathead War Party, The Story Behind the Hamilton, Montana Post Office Mural” (published in PHJ 163, February 2016). Lera is Research Chair, Emeritus, Smithsonian National Postal Museum, editor of the award-winning Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Analytical Methods in Philately, and the two-volume Select Papers of The Winton M. Blount Postal History Symposia, all published by the Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press. Starr is Senior Research, Emerita, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. See her preface, “About Indians at the Post Office and Murals as Public Art,” to the online exhibit, "Indians at the Post Office: Native Themes in New Deal-Era Murals," at www.postalmuseum.si.edu.
Postal History Presentation
The society’s general membership meeting on Saturday, May 6, 2017, featured a free presentation, a joint PHS/AAMS Talk. PHS member Gary Loew discussed “How Postal Agreements Develop: The British/German Collaboration on Deutsche Lufthansa’s Routes to South America.”
History of the Society
The Society had its origin in the 1940s when the late Edith M. Faulstich suggested its formation. The Postal History Society of the Americas (the last three words were later dropped) was founded in 1951. It has grown to include more than 300 members scattered throughout the world.
Mission of the Society
An outstanding achievement of the Society is the publication of the Postal History Journal, which began as an annual in 1957, but now appears three times a year in February, June, and October. Featuring original studies, it is richly illustrated and printed on high-quality paper stock. Awards are given annually for the best articles published within its pages. It invariably wins high awards when exhibited both nationally and internationally. Recent accolades garnered by the Postal History Journal include the following awards:
- Gold Medal, APS StampShow 2017
- Reserve Grand and Gold, APS StampShow, 2015
- American Philatelic Congress Diane D. Boehret Award, 2014 and 2004
- Gold Medal and Prix d’Honneur, Canada’s 7th National Philatelic Literature Exhibition, 2005
- Grand Award, Colopex, 2005
- Gold Medal, Chicagopex, 2014
- Gold Medal, Napex, 2009
- Gold Medal, APS Stampshow, 2009
- Gold Medal, Colopex, 2007.
The Society takes great pride in its contribution to bolstering the international recognition of postal history, as a class in shows held under FIP patronage. Since its founding, the Society has devoted itself to promoting postal history at exhibitions.
The Society supports local and regional postal history groups, offering associate membership to encourage their participation in the Society’s activities. No fees are required from associate members.
The Society offers an opportunity to expand your interest in postal history, to publish your research results, to gain recognition for your collecting interests, to further your individual and group’s work, and to learn more about the postal history of all ages and places.
