APS Alaska Album Available for Download

The American Philatelic Society is offering a free 15-page Stamps of Alaska album.

The mini-album showcases United States stamps that are related to the Alaska’s history and geography, its people, plants and animals. Created in cooperation with the Scott Publishing Co., it has spaces for 59 stamps including a 10-stamp Nature of America pane.

Facing pages of text describe how the issues relate to Alaska, from the arrival of the earliest peoples to the state’s modern prosperity.

Pages include “Alaska Prehistory and Early History,” “The Alaska Purchase & Gold Rush Days,” “Alaska from U.S. Territory to 49th State,” “More Alaskan History and Geography,” “Alaska Flora and Fauna,” and “More Alaskan Wildlife.”

A blank “Alaska” page with a matching border is also available at the end of the album, which collectors may use as they choose, including printing multiple copies they can use to mount First Day Covers or Alaska postmarks.

The Stamps of Alaska album is number five in a series. Previous albums included North Carolina, Connecticut, Texas, and Arizona. All of these along with other APS albums are available to be viewed or downloaded and printed.

Future albums are planned in conjunction with 2009–2011 APS shows in Pennsylvania, Virginia, California, South Carolina, and Ohio.

To download the Alaska album, click here.

Free Screening of Stamp Related Films at National Postal Museum

The National Postal Museum is having a free screening of the following stamp related films this Saturday, Jan. 10, in Washington, D.C.

Jezebel (1938) stars Bette Davis as a headstrong, independent southern belle who shocks her New Orleans community with her spitfire behavior and a certain red dress.

Also starring Henry Fonda, Jezebel won Davis an Academy Award. Often playing complex characters, Davis set the standard for women in the film industry.

Davis was honored with a 2008 Legends of Hollywood stamp as was Henry Fonda in 2005.

Hallelujah 1929)- was recently featured on the Vintage Black Cinema stamp shown here. It was one of the first major-studio films to feature an all-black cast.

Hallelujah is director King Vidor's first talkie. Hallelujah was honored with a 2008 stamp along with four other films: Black and Tan (1929), The Sport of the Gods (1921), Princess Tam-Tam (1935), and Caldonia (1945).

For details on this and other events at the National Postal Museum, click here.

1957 Gaza First Day Covers

Harretz.com ran a story last month about the history of investing in Israeli stamps in the 1940s and 50s.

One of the examples reporter Lior Friedman gave in the piece was about the 1957 "Bulei Bitahon" (Security Stamps).

Lior writes, "This is when a new concept, familiar to almost any philatelist, initially caught on in Israel: the 'First Day' envelope. This is the envelope prepared by the service on the day of issue, postmarked with the date, with stamps affixed to it."

He goes on, "It was decided that the First Day envelope for the Security Stamps would be postmarked Gaza, which had been captured from Egypt a few months before in the Sinai Campaign. It's not clear whether people thought that an eventual withdrawal from that area would make these envelopes especially desirable, or whether the number of envelopes was just small to begin with, considering the burgeoning philately market. In any event, within a short time, the value of a Gaza envelope had soared from the original price of a few hundred prutot (the pruta was equal to 1,000th of an Israel pound, or lira) to a high of 40 pounds. This was equivalent to an average week's salary at the time. Serious investors in the field were trading hundreds and thousands of these envelopes."

To read the entire article titled A Lick and a Promise, click here.

Mush!

Alaska governor and former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin attended first-day-of-issue ceremonies for the 50th Anniversary of Alaska Statehood stamp held in Anchorage, AK yesterday.

Palin is quoted in a USPS press release as saying,"We are so pleased to work with the United States Postal Service in presenting a design that most certainly displays what Alaska is all about."

According to the release, "The stamp features Jeff Schultz's photograph of a dog musher taken during the 2000 Iditarod. Fifteen degrees above zero, Schultz was 75 miles from the nearest town following the trail along the Rainey Pass just as the dog sled team raced across the foreground."

It goes on to say, "Unlike any other race in the world, Iditarod competitors traverse more than 1,150 miles of the most extreme and beautiful terrain known to man to include mountain ranges, frozen rivers, dense forests, desolate tundra and windswept coastline."

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, usually just called the "Iditarod", is an annual sled dog race in Alaska. The name of the state derives from an Aleut word meaning "great land.

According to DogSled.com, Iditarod musher DeeDee Jonrowe and her team are pictured on the stamp.

To read the entire release, click here.

Finnish Youngsters Show Feelings at Postal Museum

Franz Groter of Hellmail.co.uk reports the Finnish Postal Museum is arranging an interactive exhibition experience for children starting Jan. 14 through Mar. 22, 2009 called "We Share The Emotion."

According to Franz, "The exhibition, which explores four basic emotions: happiness, anger, fear and joy, strives to convey the idea of how important it is to share one's emotions with others, and to display emotions, too. Another objective is to provoke discussion and debate both at school, in daycare centres and homes."

He goes on to write, "Children can communicate their feelings at the children's post office by drawing and writing postcards and sending them on. Furthermore, children can sort mail and spin the roulette of emotions. The exhibition reminds visitors that mail carriers not only deliver mail but act as messengers of deep feelings."

Shown above, a set of six puzzles showing children's emotions which are made by Willis Toys in the UK. The puzzles help children talk about their feelings and would actually make a great set of stamps.

To read the entire article, click here.

ATA Announces 'Celebrate America' Contest

Linn's reports that the American Topical Association (ATA) is sponsoring a new contest for young collectors.

Called "Celebrate America", young persons need to create a one-page mini-exhibit on some aspect of the United States.

First, second and third place prizes will be awarded in each of the following age groups: 8 and younger, 9 and 10, 11 and 12, and 13 and older. Special prizes will be awarded for the most unusual topic and the most informative text.

The contest is open to young collectors in any country, but only U.S. can be used. Entries, who need to be photocopied (color preferred but not required). Each entry must include the following information on the back of the exhibit page; the full name, mailing address (either home or school) and age of the participant.

Deadline for receiving the contest entries is May 15.

For more information call 817-274-1181 or e-mail americantopical@msn.com.

Happy New Year!

Obama/Biden Inauguration Cover

On January 20, Barack Obama will become America's 44th president.

In observance of the inauguration, the Postal Service is offering a philatelic folio which includes a collectible stamped envelope with silk portraits of Barack Obama and Joseph Biden, and a digital color postmark dated Jan. 20, 2009.

The folio also includes photographs of the newly elected president and vice-president and biographical information, a brief history on inaugural tradition and the presidential oath of office.

The commemorative folio is $14.95. Pre-orders are now being accepted at usps.com/shop and will be shipped starting Jan. 20, 2009. Official sales begin Jan. 20 at select Post Offices, usps.com or by calling 800-STAMP24.

To watch a video, click here.

Old TV Shows Get Spot in 2009 Commemorative Program

The US Postal Service has released its 2009 stamp program.

Besides Oregon, Hawaii and Alaska Statehood; Abe Lincoln: Gary Cooper; Bob Hope; Gulf Coast Lighthouses; Civil Rights Pioneers; Edgar Allan Poe; State Flags: Supreme Copurt Justices; Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Wedding Cakes, the new issues will include Early TV Memories(shown above).

The 20 stamp set includes: Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet; Alfred Hitchcock Presents; Dinah Shore Show; Dragnet; Ed Sullivan Show; George Burns & Gracie Allen Show; Hopalong Cassidy; The Honeymooners; Howdy Doody; I Love Lucy; Kukla, Fran and Ollie; Lassie; The Lone Ranger; Perry Mason; Phil Silvers Show; Red Skelton; Texaco Star Theater; Tonight Show; Twilight Zone; and, You Bet Your Life.

To see pictures of all the new releases slated for 2009, click here.

Lincoln Stamps

Cheryl Ganz, chief curator of philately at the National Postal Museum is quoted in an article that appeared in the Louisville, KY, Courier-Journal as saying a certified plate proof of the four-cent 1958 Lincoln stamp (shown here) is really the work of two artists.

"First, there is the artist who designs the look of the stamp, using sources such as portraits or busts. Then there is the artist, or artists, at the Department of the Treasury's Bureau of Printing and Engraving," according to Cheryl.

Reporter James R. Carroll writes, "Lincoln first showed up on a stamp in 1865, the year he was assassinated at Ford's Theatre in Washington. It technically wasn't a postage stamp, but rather a revenue stamp required for newspapers to be shipped by mail."

The first Lincoln postage stamp followed the next year.

To read more about US stamps that feature the 16th President of the United States, click here.

USPS' Equipment Recovery Project

Alabama's Birmingham News reports, "The Postal Service has launched what is being called the 'Equipment Recovery Project' in an effort to reclaim its crates, trays and pallets."

"The Postal Service wants them back, and the agency is sending postal inspectors around to area businesses to collect," writes reporter Robert K. Gordon.

Gordon goes on to say, "Blame it on the recession. No one is immune, not even the USPS. Saddled with a $2.8 billion deficit, the agency has been forced to pinch pennies in an effort to save all the money it can."

Tony Robinson, a U.S. postal inspector in Birmingham,is quoted in the article as saying, "Last year the Postal Service spent $40 million on mail transportation equipment such as pallets. This year, we'll spend another $40 million."

Joseph Breckenridge, an Atlanta-based USPS spokesman, is also quoted as saying, "That is money we're not getting. We need to save every nickel, dime and dollar we can. We're trying to stave off eroded service and layoffs."

To read the entire article, click here.

Her Majesty's Stamps

The Ottawa Citizen reports the Canadian Postal Museum is opening a seven-month-long exhibition later this year titled Her Majesty's Stamps.

According to an article by reporter Paul Gessell, "The exhibition will include 400 of the Queen's prized stamps, including examples of the world's first-ever stamp, the so-called Penny Black of 1840, showing a young Queen Victoria."

Gessell goes on to write, "About three-quarters of the exhibition will be built around this exceedingly important stamp, a tiny scrap of paper that literally changed forever the way the world communicated. The design of the stamp came after a national competition in Britain."

"The exhibition is the fruit of years of negotiations and planning that began when Adrienne Clarkson was the governor general and, at the request of the postal museum curator Bianca Gendreau, wrote the Queen asking if her Canadian subjects could get a peek at the royal collection started in 1856 by two of Queen Victoria's sons, Alfred and Edward," pens Gessell.

Shown above, one of the items that will be exhibited - The Kirkcudbright cover, a first-day cover bearing ten of the world's first stamp, the Penny Black. They were mailed on May 6, 1840,the first day they was valid for postage.

While there are around 70 known first-day-of-issue Penny Black covers in existence, the ten-stamp cover is the only one with more than two stamps affixed to the envelope.

It is called the Kirkcudbright cover because of its destination.

To read the entire article, click here.

Young Philatelic Leaders Fellowship

This past summer The American Philatelic Society initiated the Young Philatelic Leaders Fellowship (YPLF).

The newly formed group encourages the development of the next generation of stamp collectors, writers, exhibitors and dealers.

According to an APS press release, "For years, many of the brightest and most energetic young collectors have found that, while they are welcomed into philately and encouraged to begin, there is no ready way for them to enter into and learn on a long-term basis from the world of organized philately — very much an adult world, and one that can appear cold, unreceptive, and intimidating to young people."

It goes on to say, "YPLF exists to break down that wall — to enable young people who already have shown a sustained interest in stamp collecting to have an enriching and dynamic experience with a specific aspect of the stamp hobby, selected by them in partnership with a series of adult mentors."

YPLF has two age groups: Junior Fellows, ages 13 through 17, and Senior Fellows, ages 18 through 25. Junior Fellows participate in the Fellowship for one year, and Senior Fellows participate for two years. Junior and Senior Fellows, after an introduction to the program, will choose one of three tracks on which to focus: a Dealer Track, an Exhibitor Track, or an Author Track.

The APS invites all stamp collectors to join in this effort by supporting it with their time, treasure and talents.

Beginning January 1st, applications for Young Philatelic Leadership Fellows will be accepted until the deadline of March 31, 2009.

Click here to see how you can get involved and make a difference in the future of the hobby.

Merry Christmas!

Here's wishing you and yours a very merry philatelic Christmas!

Artist Loses Lawsuit Over Korean War Veterans Memorial Stamp

Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers has an interesting post on his website, Suits and Sentences, about an artist who tried to sue the U.S. Postal Service over the 2003 Korean War Veterans Memorial stamp.

According to the post, Vermont artist Frank C. Gaylord, a former World War II Army paratrooper, spent 5 years sculpting the 19 stainless steel soldiers for the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

When the Postal Service issued a stamp using a photograph taken by another individual of his work, Gaylord sued and demanded 10 percent of the revenues from sales of the stamps. The photographer was paid $1500, Gaylord nothing.

On Dec. 22, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims ruled against Gaylord and in favor of the Postal Service.

According to the post, "The court concluded that the stamp was itself a 'transformative' work in which the photographer who took the picture of "The Column" in essence created a new work. Moreover, the judge determined the stamp is unlikely to financially harm Gaylord's ability to profit from his enduring copyright."

To read the entire post, click here.

To read the Court's opinion, click here.