Philately has two quite different aspects. The first is introspection, collecting, studying and exhibiting. The second is sharing the knowledge, the fun and comradery. The Collectors Club is booked for exciting fall and winter programs held live at our home, the mezzanine floor at 58 W 40th Street opposite beautiful Bryant Park. Our Board of Governors are working hard to make your membership filled with excellent programming, The Collectors Club Philatelist, monographs, books and more.

In September will see two hybrid programs. A hybrid program is not genetic engineering but rather holding the program both live at the club and on the webinar. The advantages of the live program include meeting the presenter and seeing the material mounted on the club’s frames, and the opportunity to share firsthand with others interested in this subject. Each of the IRL (In Real Life) programs also has a social hour with refreshments and dinner opportunities.

The first hybrid program featured Howard Hughes FRPSL (pictured at the Club, at left). Howard is Past-President of the GB Philatelic Society (UK). His presentation was titled “From Perkins Bacon to De La Rue: The Story of the 1879 and 1880 Tenders”. September 23 will see what promises to be a fascinating program on Hindenburg Crash Mail presented by Cheryl Ganz, RDP, FRPSL, former Chief Curator of Philately at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum, and renowned postal historian with a specialist interest in Zeppelin mail.

Moving ahead, the Club will host a series of Philatelic Foundation workshops intended to train and identify future experts, share knowledge and techniques, and address complicated items that require hands-on examination. It is open to anyone who wants to attend in person and learn, so all are welcome. These workshops are scheduled approximately every two to three weeks and the focus will be on technical issues such as repaired or altered stamps and covers, fraudulent cancels and other markings, and specialist matters related to stamp identification such as plating, paper types, colors, etc.. Some workshops will focus on specialist areas such as proofs and essays and revenue stamps and will be led by recognized experts in these areas, Contact the Collectors Club or Board Governor and PF Vice Chairman Dan Ryterband, who is leading this initiative, for more information.

The first meeting was held on September 15 at 5:30 pm EDT. The next meetings are scheduled for September 30, October 14, and November 5.The Collectors Club is a convening society for NOJEX from October 2-4 and we will be there with exhibits, a club table for a social meeting point, Joan Harmer will present on mourning covers, there will be a celebratory dinner. The NOJEX chair is Bob Rose, who serves on the Collectors Club Board of Governors and is Chairman of the Board of the Philatelic Foundation. See the NOJEX website (nojex.org) for additional details.

The club’s one frame exhibit program never ceases to impress me with amazing and entertaining material, a great social atmosphere and it puts meaning into the concept of a club. This is a must see on November 11th hosted by Stephen Reinhard, former Collectors Club President, American Philatelic Society President and Lichtenstein Award winner.

A few days later, on November 14th we will have perhaps a first for the Collectors Club, a Bourse between 11:00 AM to 3:00 pm This is anticipated to be an amazing and fun event. Bring something to show and sell or show and tell or come and brows to buy. Please put Saturday November 14th on your calendar. Bring a guest, we want a full house and are certain we will have one. Just let us know if you are planning on coming by contacting the office. There will be refreshments.

It is also my pleasure as President to invite you to the Board of Governors’ Open House on December 9th. The Rockefeller Christmas tree will have been lit for a week, and the Bryant park Christmas market will be in full swing. We will keep you informed of these and other events so watch your emails for a message from the Collectors Club. We will be having a new contacts look which includes email addresses ending @collectorsclub.org rather than Gmail addresses. Our website is being updated and so much more, headed by a dynamic tech team of Behruz Nassre, Joan Harmer and Alan Barasch.

If you would like to get more involved either at the club house, at philatelic shows where the club is a convening organization, or virtually, please let me know at  president@collectorsclub.org.

There is a lot more going on, but I only have so much space allotted. Hoping to see you IRL or on Zoom or to hear from you by email.

–Bob Gray

 

 

You can tell by my selfie that Boston was exhausting. It was, however, well worth the effort. The exhibition hall was enormous filled with exhibits, dealer and society booths and more. The show included many seminars, dinners, and special exhibits one of which included Queen Elizabeth’s Rolls Royce. Another was kinetic Lego structures. The US Post Office was a major site for philatelic fun as well.

The Collectors Club had a huge booth shared with two other philatelic associations. We had a lot of booth traffic and with many visitors mentioning how much they appreciated the Club’s webinar program.

The Club’s joint dinner with the US Philatelic Classics Society at Boston 2026 seated 200 guests on the 51st floor of the Prudential Building, which permitted a magnificent view of the city. Our thanks go to Carol Bommarito and Dr. Vernon Morris who organized this amazing opportunity to be with our fellow philatelists.

Many awards were presented with the highlight for me representing the Collectors Club was awarding two Lichtenstein Memorial Awards. The 2025 award went to Dr. Yamil H. Kouri, Jr., President of Boston 2026; and for 2026 to Alfredo Frohlich. Both awardees are also signers as Fellows of the Royal Philatelic Society London and recipients of the American Philatelic Society Luff Award.

Dr. Steven Berlin presented the Collectors Club with a signed copy of his Mail Robbery Postal History (From Around the World), and the American Society of Polar Philatelists donated a copy of Hal Vogel and Serge Kahn’s Cold War: Polar Military Conflict Mail.

New Club member Dieter Michelson, Global Philatelic Network Managing Director, donated four Edition D’Or books for our library. In June the club hosted an HR Harmer auction of Japanese Dragon covers and several individuals attending this have since joined the Club. A second auction is planned in November.

This summer we will take a break from the webinars. The club remains open, so if you find your way to NYC please stop by. We will be preparing the program for the 2027 webinars and some special events for the fall of 2026.

The Club will be convening at NOJEX, a World Series of Philately exposition; October 2-4 and I hope to see you at the club or at NOJEX.

–Bob Gray

 

 

As the photo shows, I indeed bought the T-shirt. What a privilege to be at such a remarkably well-run philatelic show. Our thanks to the volunteers at WESTPEX who made all this happen and to the WESTPEX chairman, Collectors Club Board member, Behruz Nassre.

The Collectors Club came to WESTPEX and entered 22 Exhibits with a total of 97 frames. We not only came in force but won as well. 13 of the 23 exhibits won Large Gold, which speaks very well to the quality of the Club’s exhibits. Collectors Club member, James Mazepa won WESTPEX Grand Award with Poland: Warsaw Postal Administration-First Issues of a New Country November 11, 1918, to June 1919.

Daniel Knowles, Collectors Club member, won WESTPEX Grand Award – Single Frame Exhibit for Mail Handling Across the Union and Confederate Lines Following Creation of the Confederate States of America: May 24, 1861, through August 26, 1861. In addition, two Club members’ exhibits were in the Court of Honor exhibits, Mark Horne with A Miscellany of Rarity and Gus Clark with Hawaii Provisional Govt Overprints, April 1893-February 1894.

The joint dinner with the Collectors Club of San Francisco was held at the Shalizaar Restaurant serving an amazing Persian dinner. Once dessert was served, Daniel Ryterband, Collectors Club Board member, gave a five-star presentation on the US Zeppelin issue.

The following day, club member Fredrick Lawrence presented at WESTPEX, showing Alice in Wonderland, California, focusing on new information about the now dead post office in the now ghost town, Wonderland, California.

Because the Club was a sponsoring society and brought more frames than the other sponsors, WESTPEX provided a hospitality room. There was not a lot of attendance but the members who did stop by had ample opportunity to talk philately and enjoy some social time. Others were perhaps at the exhibits, talking to dealers, or just relaxing elsewhere.

The Club’s table was staffed with a couple of volunteers, and we could have had a few more there. Having a table is important because it affords a focal point to attract potential new members and to inform and assist our visiting members. Mark Banchik dropped off several bags of candies and nuts, Steve Berlin stayed for hours as did I, along with my wife Ilona.

The next big show is BOSTON 2026. If you are attending, please stop by The Collectors Club table, if only to rest your feet or if you are inclined, perhaps to take a turn at the table. Membership growth is important both to the Club and to philately as a hobby. Whether you are working the table or talking informally, please encourage avid and active collectors to join.

See you at BOSTON 2026!

–Bob Gray

 

 

The photo is from the top of the Empire State Building. It reflects the top of the world feeling when I was elected as President of The Collectors Club. It is an honor and obligation to continue the great legacy of this organization.

Most of you do not know me, so please permit a brief introduction.

My philatelic biography began while working in Europe in 1999. It took me sometime to focus on India during the World War I era. Returning to the US, I joined The Collectors Club because I wanted a social and philatelic experience. There I had the chance to volunteer as advertising manager and for our amazing library. I joined the board and was later elected to Vice President and then President this January.

My philatelic interests include publishing articles, occasionally exhibiting and membership in the Civil Censorship Study Group, as Americas Secretary, the German Colonies Collectors Group, Military Postal History Society, Forces Postal History Society, and the India Study Circle.

The Collectors’ Club was founded 130 years ago as a social club bringing some of the most important collectors and philatelic businesses together in the greater New York area. Its purpose is to further the study of philately, promote the hobby within a social, educational, and non-commercial setting.

Over the years, the club occupied ten Manhattan locations including today’s club near Bryant Park in midtown Manhattan. Unlike bygone years, today most of our members live well beyond the greater New York City area. To fulfill its mission our club provides programs at our Manhattan headquarters, Zoom Webinars, PDF and print copies of our journal and the publication of monographs and books.

These activities along with the effort and the support of members who reach out to other philatelists, have made it possible for our club membership to remain steady at around 600 despite the general decline observed in many other philatelic clubs. Here is what to expect in 2026 beyond the daily work required to keep the club running and the already planned programs. I recognize that most members cannot experience the conviviality of a club-based program. Therefore, we need to find ways of bringing that social experience to the membership. At the Club itself, I would like to see some informal programs perhaps sharing a favorite cover or a library volunteer day. Key to long term success is a solid strategy and an appropriate multi-year plan will be developed this year. This will start with a survey of our members and to maintain data on participation at the club’s activities.

This year our club is sponsor at Westpex, Boston 2026 and NOJEX. At Westpex Collectors Club members have entered 79 frames. There are club dinners at each of these shows and a club table and chairs in the exhibition area.

At Boston 2026 we have a large booth shared with other organizations. Please stop by, sit awhile and chat with your fellow Collectors Club members and others.

Details are at    www.collectorsclub.org.

Looking forward to meeting many of you this year IRL.

–Bob Gray

 

 

Several weeks ago, I was speaking with a friend who asked me to define organized philately. Given my service on the Collectors Club Board and, more recently, my role as a Board member and treasurer of the APS, I was a reasonable person to ask. I paused for a moment—it’s a deceptively difficult question—and finally offered that organized philately is the structured way in which stamp collecting and postal history are advanced through clubs, societies, and other formal institutions.

It’s the ecosystem that supports the hobby: bringing collectors together, sharing knowledge, setting standards, preserving history, and promoting the study and enjoyment of stamps. This aligns quite neatly with the purpose laid out in the opening paragraphs of our bylaws. The first paragraph gives our name; the next tells you why we exist. You can look it up. It’s on our website.

Perhaps you have a better definition, and that’s perfectly fine. But that’s not really the point.

The real question is why? Why do we need “organized philately” at all? Couldn’t we get by without it? A generation or two ago, no one would have even thought to ask this. So let me try to answer the underlying question: why do we need organized philately?

Implicit in the question is a belief that an individual collector can get along perfectly well without the larger structure. That we don’t need groups that take up time, space, and money—groups with cliques, self-congratulation, and all the rest. That I can do just fine in my stamp room with my catalogs and my albums. I can check what’s available on eBay or at the big auction houses. I can buy what I need, fill the gaps, and enjoy the satisfaction of doing it on my own. I don’t need the journals or the societies or the meetings.

And in the short term, that’s probably true. Our non-organized friend can do just fine—for now. But long-term, it’s a dead end.

We are not numismatists; there is no bullion value propping up the little pieces of paper we cherish. Stamps and postal history derive their value from knowledge—knowledge of usage, production, scarcity, context, and story. Without the backstory, these are simply bits of paper, intrinsically worthless. We all understand why the Inverted Jenny has its aura: the story of its printing, the chain of ownership, the lore surrounding that original sheet.

But the same principle applies to far more “ordinary” stamps: the distinction between dry and wet printings, the shift from flat plate to rotary press to offset, the subtle color variations born of wartime ink shortages, the way a cover posted in London in 1845 made its way to New York—on which ship, with which markings.

All of this—all of it—comes from organized philately. It was built, documented, debated, and preserved by those who came before us.

But why is the question even arising now? Because we are living through a generational shift. As the baby boomers age out, they are succeeded by people who want more of a quid pro quo. “What do I get for my support?” replaces the older model of membership for membership’s sake—where you supported an institution because the institution was worth supporting, even if the journal went straight into the recycling bin. Attitudes are changing. People want direct, tangible benefits. We may find the question uncomfortable, but it is being asked. And we shouldn’t be afraid to answer it.

So why should someone join—and remain a member of—the Collectors Club? Yes, we have a library you can borrow from by mail. Yes, we publish a fine journal. And yes, we host events throughout the year, in New York and at major shows. (We’ll be at Westpex in April—hint.) The Zoom programming is great, and I know you don’t come to New York all that often. Neither do 87% of the members of the Collectors Club.

But more importantly, by being part of the Club and its sister organizations, you help sustain the very value inherent in those little pieces of paper. You support the knowledge, the research, the community, and the continuity that keep philately alive.

And as for the direct, personal benefit? You gain a network. You join a group of people who share the same odd, wonderful language of philately. You become part of something that makes the hobby richer, deeper, and far more enjoyable.

Frankly, it’s a damn sight better than sitting alone in your stamp room. 

–Lawrence Haber