Drive-thru post office

Here's something you don't see everyday...unless you live in Bel Air, Md.

It's a drive-thru post office. I mean an honest-to-goodness, fully-staffed (albeit one person) post office where you can buy stamps, send packages, buy money orders...whatever.

It's right next to the regular, walk-in post office. Don't ask me why.

But I will say it's darn convenient on one of those hot and muggy Maryland summer days like they're having right now.

Let's hear it for air-conditioned comfort...aaaaaaaaaaaah!

American Stamp Dealer Magazine

The American Stamp Dealers Association has started a new magaizne for dealers and collectors called The American Stamp Dealer. The glossy, high-quality magazine will be published 10-times-a-year and costs $19.95

Designed for stamp collectors and dealers, a special press run of 50,000 copies of The American Stamp Dealer was distributed at WASHINGTON 2006

The 64-page full color magazine is packed with news, feature stories, serious philatelic articles, and numerous other resources for all stamp collectors, from beginner to advanced. Months in preparation, the publication was conceived during ASDA strategy conferences over the past two years.

Publisher of the magazine is Jim Roselle, soon to be the Association's new Executive Vice President."One of the most important elements of The American Stamp Dealer is its coverage of the human side of philately---the people, the events and activities," explained Randy L. Neil, Editor.

"This kind of coverage, though very popular years ago, has largely been missing in philatelic publications in recent times."ASD offers some excellent opportunities for writers and advertisers. It presents a bold and colorful new venue for philatelic writers and advertisers wishing to reach a new audience. But most of all, the American Stamp Dealer is a wonderful new medium to help collectors better enjoy the hobby."

For more information, click here.

Flap over Disney stationary

Cindy Skrzycki, business columnist for the Washington Post, reports on a complaint - and possible lawsuit - over the pricing of special Disney postal stationery.

"This case is bring watched by collectors and consumer advocates because it goes to the heart of what qualifies as a traditional, regulated postal service," writes Skrzycki.

Rob Haeseler , director of administration for the American Philatelic Society in Bellefonte, Pa. is quoted as saying, "We're appalled that they should create this stuff and charge so much for it."

To read the entire article, click here.

Cows for all seasons

Swiss Post has broken with tradition and has for the first time allowed a foreigner to design one of its stamps according to SwissInfor.

Swiss Post's idea was to show Switzerland through the eyes of foreign artists as part of a four-year campaign and "is Swiss Post’s way of contributing to the mindset of a cosmopolitan, tolerant and multicultural Switzerland."

French comics artist Patrice Killoffer was selected to do the first series of four stamps picturing cows during each season of the year. Cows are one Killoffer's favorite subjects and to him symbolize the country which is famous for its diary products.

Next year, an artist from Britain will be commissioned.

Not everyone, however, is happy with the choice of subjects or use of foreign artists. According to the published report, officials are expecting some controversy when the stamps were released earlier this month.

To read the entire article, click here.

Farley's Follies

The National Postal Museum has an interesting on-line exhibit about James A. Farley who was Franklin D. Roosevelt's Postmaster General in the 1930s.

While Roosevelt was a stamp collector, Farley was not.

However, according to the NPM, Farley did everything he could to "ingratiate" himself to the president by allowing him to design stamps and having special printings which he gave to Roosevelt and Interior Secretary Harold Ickes.

Ickes was the only other stamp collector in the Roosevelt cabinet.

Causing a storm of protest, these special printings (known as Farley's Follies) eventually became available for purchase by the public in March of 1935 and are listed in Scott Catalogue as 752 through 771.

To learn more about "Farley's Follies", click here.

To learn more about Roosevelt and the stamp design he was working on just hours before his death in 1945, check out the Syracuse Stamp Club's "Stamp of the Month" for May-June by clicking here.

Postal Police

I never realized the Post Office had police cars.

I guess that's why I was so surprised to see one parked outside the Eagle Rock, Calif., post office the other day with "Postal Police" written on the side.

I knew the post office had Postal Inspectors, but I was unaware of Postal Police which apparently have different duties...and their own vehicles.

According to the Fraternal Order of Police Officers..

"Nearly 900 Postal Police Officers nationwide are assigned to maintain a safe environment at postal facilities located in major metropolitan areas that are considered "high-risk."

"In addition to protecting these facilities against potential terrorist attacks, Postal Police work to ensure the safety of postal employees and managers, as well as the thousands of postal customers who conduct business at postal facilities, often in high-crime areas."

Architecture week stamps

The Royal Mail released an interesting set of stamps this week featuring six rather unusual British buildings.

According to a write-up on the 24 Hour Museum Web site, "The stamps showcase some of the very best examples of modern architecture created this millennium. Each of the chosen buildings has either received or been shortlisted for a Royal Institute of British Architects prize."

Architecture Week runs from June 16-25 2006, and aims to encourage people to find out about architecture and the built environment in an entertaining and informative way.

Shown above is the stamp honoring the ‘Gherkin’ (so named because it looks like a pickle) which came in fourth in a BBC poll for the most disliked building in London.

To read the entire article, click here.

United loses domestic mail contract

The Chicago Tribune reports that United Airlines, the passenger carrier that flies the most mail, will lose its domestic contract with the U.S. Postal Service on June 30 because of poor on-time performance.

"United will still carry international mail, the majority of its mail business. The airline, which has transported U.S. mail for 75 years, declined today to say how much revenue it received from its current three-year Postal Service contract," according to the article.

Mail transported by United probably will be picked up by other Postal Service carriers, which include AMR Corp.'s American Airlines and Delta Air Lines Inc., said Gerry McKiernan, a Postal Service spokesman in Washington.

To read the entire article, click here.

Denver post offices support the troops

According to the Pueblo Chieftain, when the Iraq War began in March 2003, Denver post offices began selling phone cards to customers wanting to support nearby Fort Carson soldiers.

The cards that are available include $10 for 100 minutes, $20 for 250 minutes and $30 for 450 minutes. Anyone may purchase a card.

Once customers buy a card, their names are placed on a bulletin board in the post office lobby. The bulletin board also features honorary pictures of soldiers who have served or are serving in Iraq.

The cards are mailed directly to Maj. Gen. Robert Mixon Jr., commander at Fort Carson. They then are given to soldiers scheduled for deployment to Iraq.

"It's so touching to see veterans come in and buy cards for soldiers because they've been there and they know what it's like. They want the guys to be able to call home," said Edie De La Torre, station manager of the Midtown post office.

To read the entire article, click here.

Motorcycle stamps

According to the USPS NewsLink; motorcycle, stamp enthusiasts - and even postal employees - are gearing up for the August 7 release of the American Motorcycle stamps at the 66th annual Sturgis, SD, Motorcycle Rally.

The Postal Service has had a large presence at the week-long rally for several years.

Shown above in a USPS photo are owners of three of the vintage motorcycles featured on the American Motorcycle stamps. Left to right, George Tsunis with his 1965 Harley-Davidson Electra-Glide, Larry Speilfogel and his 1940 Indian and Penny Knickerson, dressed in period costume, with her 1918 Cleveland.

For more on the stamps, click here.

Stanley Gibbons

We've all heard of him. But who exactly was Stanley Gibbons?

In the July issue of Gibbons Stamp Monthly, the story of world’s most famous stamp dealer and organization is told.

Born in 1840 (the same year as the world's first adhesive postage stamps, Penny Black and Two Pence Blue, made their debut), Edward Stanley Gibbons became interested in stamp collecting at an early age.

According to the article, "His father, realising that it could be a worthwhile and lucrative pursuit, encouraged him..."

Starting off with a small space in his father's pharmacy, Gibbons built his business on the purchase of a sackful of rare triangular Cape Triangulars, "many thousands of them, in strips and blocks, including Woodblocks" from two sailors newly returned from South Africa in 1863.

Throughout the 1860s and 70s he expanded his business to stamp albums and publishing his now famous catalogue. In 1890, he started the Stanley Gibbons Monthly Journal which is the forerunner of today’s Gibbons Stamp Monthly.

By the turn of the century, "many famous collections were purchased, rare stamps became known and identified and the Gibbons catalogue had become the collector’s main source of reference."

Gibbons died in 1913.

To read the entire article, click here.

Maria Sharapova

2004 Wimbledon tennis champion Maria Sharapova has "revealed an unlikely passion for stamp collecting which allows her to relax away from the court," according to an article in the Malaysia Star.

Sharapova is quoted as saying, “I’ve collected stamps since I was nine or 10 years old, and I’ve so many, millions. I’ve stamps passed down from my mom’s grandmother. They’re that old they’re almost rusty!”

Gibbons Stamp Monthly also has a piece on the Russian tennis star/stamp collector in next month's issue. To read it, click here.

The Stamp Man

The Jacksonville Daily Record of Jacksonville,FL did a nice feature on William Rose.

Rose, 80, (shown at left) is affectionately known as "The Stamp Man" for his collection of framed U.S. postage stamps he sells at a local farmer's market.

According to the article, "Rose has a wide range of stamps including occupational, animal, cartoon, war and American history designs. But for a man with so many stamps, Rose denies that he's a stamp collector. He's a stamp accumulator. Rose doesn't even want the stamps, he said."

To read the entire article, click here.

Stamp museum cartoon

The cartoon shown above appeared in yesterday's Los Angeles Times.

In case you're having trouble reading it, it starts off with the one young boy saying, "I wish summer vacation lasted forever."

In the next panel, he says "Instead of just seeming that way," to which his pal says, "Is your Dad really taking you on a tour of stamp collecting museums?"

Quite frankly I don't get it.

I sense the cartoonist, Jef Mallet is making fun of stamp collecting and/or stamp museums but again I could be wrong. I have e-mailed him letting him know I didn't find the humor in the cartoon.

His address (which is shown at the bottom of the first panel) is jefmallett@yahoo.com.

Military History Society

The Military Postal History Society wants you!

Founded in 1937 as the War Cover Club, American Philatelic Society Unit #19, the original club focused largely on the postal history of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I.

The group changed its name in 1991 to better reflect the wide variety of collecting interests of its members. Today the Society promotes the study of the postal aspects of all wars and military actions of all nations.

Members' interests include soldier campaign covers, patriotics, prisoner-of-war mail, naval mail, occupation and internment covers, picture postcards of a military nature, camp cancels, field post offices, propaganda labels and leaflets, V-mail, censored mail and similar related material.

The Society publishes a quarterly journal, Military Postal History Society Bulletin, as well as separate books including an APO directory.

For more information on the Military Postal History Society, click here.

Ronald Reagan reissue

Yesterday, I attended the first day ceremony for the 39-cent Reagan stamp held at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.

Unlike the Feb. 9, 2005 first day ceremony for the 37-cent version, the ceremony was very lightly attended.

At the ceremony was James C. Miller III, Chairman of the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors; Duke Blackwood, Executive Director, The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Kerry Wolny, District Manager, Van Nuys District, U.S. Postal Service

"Re-issuing a commemorative U.S. Presidential stamp in a higher denomination is a very rare occurrence," said Blackwood. "Mrs. Reagan [who was not at the ceremony] is touched that the U.S. Postal Service is honoring her husband in this manner."

For more on President Reagan and the reissue, click here.

Judy Garland - Mail Carrier

According to Karen Risener of Flushing, NY in the USPS NewsLink, Judy Garland played the part of a letter carrier in the 1943 movie Girl Crazy.

Actor Mickey Rooney asks Garland, as she is standing beside a truck with “U.S. Mail” painted on it, “What do you do?” She replies, “I deliver the mail.” He replies, “They ought to put your picture on a stamp.”

Shown above is a USPS photo taken at the stamp dedication held at Carnegie Hall over the weekend. From left to right are Judy Garland’s son and daughter Joe and Lorna Luft, USPS Chief Marketing Officer Anita Bizzotto and Garland’s grandchildren Jesse and Vanessa Richards.

For more pictures of the event, click here.

Paghat the Ratgirl

Paghat the Ratgirl has an interesting website dealing with "Cinderella Stamps" and "Mail Art."

Paghat says, "Cinderella Stamps, are a postage-stamp-like object that is not really a postage stamp. Cinderellas include not only stamps made by artists for the sake of art & whimsy, but also such things as Christmas Seals & stamps from children's toy post office sets.

"Mail artists like to distinguish their cinderellas more specifically as "Artist Stamps" shortened to 'Artistamps,' though occasionally terms like Faux Post are used. The other common mail art item is a fake postage stamp."

Shown above an example of a mail artist's artistamp, shown as a detail from a postcard sent to Paghat by Rik Selby aka Studio Crispy Bug.

To visit her site and learn more, click here.

Visiting Firemen of Philately

Linn's reports the Visiting Firemen of Philately are set to return after a 73 year hiatus.

The organization was originally founded in 1933 as an association of collectors and stamp dealers who frequently attended stamp shows across America.

The group's purpose is to foster the preservation of the history, heritage and artifacts of the hobby, to encourage the development of philately’s future leaders and to just plain have some good old-fashioned fun. Numerous events, including an annual Conflagration, a newsletter, and website, are being planned.

According to Linn's, "Any stamp collector who belongs to a a recognized stamp society (APS, The United States Stamp Society and others) is eligible to join."

Dues are a once-in-a-lifetime payment of $50.00.

For more information, click here.

Singapore Philatelic Museum

The Manila Bulletin Online ran an interesting piece recently about the Singapore Philatelic Museum (SPM), Southeast Asia’s first and only philatelic museum.

The museum's mission is to "stimulate interest in philately, it is able to render information about the world, national history and heritage through the appealing use of philatelic materials."

"Since it opened in 1995, the SPM has been a top attraction particularly for locals, including schoolchildren who comprise 50 percent of its visitors. Walk-in tourists from various countries have also been checking it out, many drawn in by the old colonial structure that houses the museum."

To read the entire article, click here.

For more about the museum, click here.

World Cup stamps

Shown at left is a photo that appeared in the Croydon Guardian (U.K.) of the Croydon ladies postal football team.

"Decked out in their football kits members of the only female Post Office football team in the country unveiled a special set of World Cup stamps."

The new stamps, which went on sale last week, mark 40 years since "England's greatest footballing triumph" and also honor the other winning countries since 1966. Each stamp shows a player alongside the nation's flag and the year they won the trophy.

To read the entire article, click here.

For more on the World Cup, click here.

Stamp market vibrant

The Associated Press reports Escala Group Inc. realized record sales of $3.61 million (up 22 percent from pre-sale estimates of $2.95 million) at their four stamp auctions conducted at Washington 2006.

"The sale of intact collections generated sales of $2.34 million, up from a projected $2 million. The most sought-after items in the GMA auction were 61 lots from the Varro E. Tyler Reference Collection, which collectively sold for almost four times its pre-sale estimate of $100,000. "

Greg Manning, president of Escala's North American and Asian Philatelic Auction Division, is quoted as saying, "Based on the results of the four Escala auctions in Washington, D.C. and interest at the exposition, we believe the stamp market continues to be vibrant."

For more on these auctions, click here.

Increase your knowledge

Janet Klug writing in Linn's says, "The more you know about what you collect, the more you will enjoy collecting."

She then goes on to write about various catalogs and books about stamp collecting including the newly published Encyclopedia of United States Stamps and Stamp Collecting, edited by Rodney Juell and Steven Rod.

According to Klug, "You can also use the searchable card catalog, the article index, and list of journal holdings of the American Philatelic Research Library to find out what is available in your area of interest. The card catalog is available online at www.stamplibrary.org ."

"If you are a member of the APS, you can borrow library materials. While you are on the web site, read the section titled “How to Use Library Services” and discover how easy it is."

To read her entire article, click here.

Missile mail

Today marks the 47th anniversary of the United States' first and only delivery of "Missile Mail."

According to the Bay City Times, "The experiment was conducted June 8, 1959, with 3,000 pieces of mail, all with 4-cent domestic stamps and 8-cent international stamps. All were postmarked from the submarine, the USS Barbero, at 9:30 a.m."

"The ship launched the missile, armed with canisters of mail, with the target being the Naval Auxiliary Air Station in Mayport, Fla. It took 22 minutes for the missile to reach its apex and then descend to the ground by parachute. "

"Once on the ground at Mayport, the canisters were opened and the mail sent to Jacksonville, Fla."

To read the entire article, click here.

For more on rocket mail, click here.

What's in your attic?

The York Daily Record reports that last week at the World Stamp Expo in Washington, D.C. at a booth called "What's in Your Attic," people could get their "could-be " valuable stamps appraised on the spot, for free.

According to the paper two precious rarities had surfaced at the booth by mid-week.

"I had (an envelope) signed by Charles Lindbergh - lady didn't know she had it ... Then I had a whole (stamp) collection that was left to somebody by a relative who passed. It was complete U.S. collection from number one on to almost the 1900s, in great shape," said booth volunteer John Pedneault. "

"Pedneault, a New Yorker with the American Stamp Dealers Association, has been collecting stamps since 1951. As an appraiser, he valued the Lindbergh letter from $15,000 to $20,000 grand, and the U.S. collection between $30,000 and $50,000."

"I sent them right over to the insurance company. I gave them an evaluation and said, 'You can't even walk the streets with this!'" Pedneault said.

To read the entire article, click here.

Washington 2006 attendance

Tom Fortunato, Washington 2006 Media Communications Chairman, reports that through registrations and group visits, it is estimated that 85,000 unique visitors attended the exhibition over the 8 days from May 27-June 3. This includes over 6,000 school children who came by.

Daily entrance clicker counts by the security staff at the Washington Convention Center are as follows and include re-entries.

Saturday, May 27...... 39,463
Sunday, May 28........ 37,704
Monday, May 29........ 29,681
Tuesday, May 30....... 28,203
Wednesday, May 31.. 12,833
Thursday, June 1....... 26,606
Friday, June 2........... 21,316
Saturday, June 3....... 31,011

Total Visit Clicks......226,817

Entropia

In the May 16 edition of Canadian Stamp News, Grassroots Philately columnist Peter Butler writes about a new book - Entropia: A Collection of Unusually Rare Stamps.

Peter says, "The stories in Entropia masterfully document the life and culture of the planet through a collection of unusually rare stamps. "

Enthopia is a small, fictitious, planet that philatelically "celebrates nature, conservation, education and even proproganda."

Peter recommends the 127-page book (which was released in January) to adults and teens, although he says it would make "a fine gift for anyone involved with philately."

To learn more about Entropia and how to order a copy, click here.

The Rush Cover

Calling it "The most important cover known to American philately, last month the Robert A. Siegal Auction Galleries sold the 1847 Rush cover for $1.2 million dollars.

In his Ventura County Star stamp column, John Weigle writes, "The cover is known as the Rush cover because it's addressed to Richard Rush, who was the U.S. minister to France and was in Paris when the letter was mailed in 1848. The cover was mailed from Philadelphia. It's the only known cover with a strip of four, five or six of the Scott No. 2 stamp addressed to a foreign country. "

For more on this unique cover, click here.

The Art of Disney

Yesterday Mickey Mouse gave the audience attending Washington 2006 a sneak peak of the upcoming The Art of Disney: Magic stamps, which will be issued in 2007.

In 2004, the U.S. Postal Service issued its first in the series of stamps entitled The Art of Disney. That year, Friendship was the theme and it featured Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Donald Duck and a host of Disney friends.

The Art of Disney: Celebration stamps issued in 2005 were the second in the series and featured Mickey Mouse and Pluto; Alice and the Mad Hatter; Ariel and Flounder; and Snow White and Dopey.

The third in the series was The Art of Disney: Romance featuring Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, Lady and the Tramp, Belle and the Beast, and Cinderella and Prince Charming, issued just this year.

The surprise announcement of the fourth in the series came on April 21 as well, only this time the theme is Magic.

For more on Disney characters on stamps, click here.

New Zealand Post Codes

The Sydney Morning Hearld of Sydney, Australia reports the use of four-digit post codes in neighboring New Zealand are being promoted once again with the hope that somebody will actually use them.

"Most New Zealanders have been happily sending and receiving mail for more than 150 years without having to remember any pesky numbers," writes reporter Peter Williams.

"Postcodes have existed in New Zealand urban areas for decades, but they have been little used. Post codes have be used in Australia, the US and Britain since the 1960s."

"Britain was the first country to introduce modern postcodes in 1959, although a simpler version based on compass points began in London in 1857. Australia Post brought in its codes in 1967, and by the following year they were being used on 75 per cent of mail."

If you talk to the average person on the street in New Zealand and ask what's their postcode, they wouldn't have a clue,"a New Zealand Post spokesman is quoted as saying.

To read the entire article, click here.

Mr. Zip and Postman Pat

The USPS News Link has posted a series of photos of Washington 2006 on-line.

Among them is the one shown at the right of Mr. Zip and Postman Pat.

The Mr. ZIP character was used by the Postal Service to advertise the idea of the Zone Improvement Plan (ZIP) postal coding system beginning in 1964.

According to Zip-Codes.com, Mr. Zip’s theme song was “Zip-a-dee-doo-dah” sung by Ethel Merman. He has appeared on several stamps, stamp selvage and various post office publicity items and advertising campaigns.

The site goes onto say, "In 1986, Mr. Zip was retired by the post office. The new nine-digit Zip + 4 Code had been developed, and the Post Office felt that their little ambassador had become 'an anachronism' that needed to be put to rest."

Postman Pat is the main character of a popular BBC animated children’s television series. The Postman Pat series, which first appeared on BBC TV in 1981, concern the adventures of Pat, a postman in the (fictional) Yorkshire village of Greendale.

To see some other photos of Washington 2006, click here.