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President’s Message – March/April 2025

As you will read elsewhere in this journal, we are honored to report that Yamil Kouri has been awarded the Lichtenstein Award for 2025. For me, both the selection process and Yamil’s choice are particularly special.

First things first. I had the opportunity to sit in on the Lichtenstein Award Committee – not because I was a past winner (far from it!), but because, as president, I am ex-officio on committees. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been there. For me, it was an eye-opening experience. For every nominee, we receive not only a completed nomination form but often their philatelic CV, which is usually a marvel to behold.

Yamil’s philatelic CV spans 14 pages. Keep in mind, he is a physician with an active clinical practice. Within that CV, I counted 196 published articles across 24 different journals. He has presented at numerous meetings and conferences. As an exhibitor, he has earned countless Gold and Large Gold medals at World Series of Philately (WSP) shows, as well as many international and Fédération Internationale de Philatélie (FIP) Gold and Large Gold awards. His Gold and Large Gold exhibition awards alone take up more than a full page.

In addition, Yamil has served as a philatelic juror, chief juror, commissioner, vice president of the APS, member of the Federación Interamericana de Filatelia (FIAF) board, chairman of the Spellman Museum, and director of Boston 2026.

He is a member of nearly every philatelic organization I have heard of and has also served as president of the Cuban Philatelic Society of America and the Postal History Society. Notably, he is the only numbered member of the Real Academia Hispánica de Filatelia e Historia Postal and serves on its governing board.

He has been a journal editor and contributor to numerous American philatelic publications. His body of work includes seven books and 10 monographs.

His achievements have been widely recognized: he is a recipient of the U.S. Philatelic Classics Society (USPCS) Ashbrook Cup, a Fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society, a USPCS Distinguished Philatelist, a Luff Award winner and a signer of the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists.

There is one more thing I want to highlight. On Dec. 30, 2021, at 3:53 p.m., I sent Yamil a question about a postcard. I needed help understanding the circular datestamp on the card. It read “Bagley, Cuba,” April 22, 1909. The name “Bagley” didn’t sound Cuban to me. What gives?

At 4:02 p.m. – just nine minutes later – I received his response:

“It was a U.S. post office within the U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay that opened in 1907.

“It was named after the first U.S. officer killed during the Spanish-American War, Ensign Worth Bagley. I have a few letters to his family and remember his statue on the grounds of the North Carolina State House (one of my daughters lives in NC).”

This amazes me – not just his encyclopedic knowledge and lightning-fast recall, but also his eagerness to share and help. To me, this is the true measure of his character.

Sitting in the committee meetings has been a privilege. It has given me insight into the commitment and dedication of some of the finest philatelists we have walking about. The Lichtenstein requires performance at the highest levels across several criteria:

Philatelic leadership
Philatelic Research & Publication
Philatelic Exhibiting or collecting achievement
Previous honors and awards

If an individual has contributed at the highest levels in just three of these four, the gap from the missing fourth will stand in the way. There has to be excellence across all four. Not a trivial matter.

There is a video monitor on the wall of the lounge of our Club, and the names of all past Lichtenstein winners flash through on the screen in sequence. It is an enormous testimony to the contribution each has brought to our hobby and an inspiration for us all.

–Lawrence Haber

President’s Message – January/February 2025

Welcome to the last year in the first quarter of the 21st century. Astounding, isn’t it? I am quite sure that I am not alone among this group who once felt that 1984, or for that matter 2001, was a far-oﬀ science-fiction date that lived only in the imagination and was unimaginably far oﬀ into the distant future. But here we are. It’s something to be excited about, and we should all be excited about the year ahead for us and our Club.

Elsewhere in this issue, you should be able to review our program of presentations for calendar year 2025. We are very proud of the work of our programming committee: Kathy Johnson, Kimberlee Fuller, Chip Gliedman, Steve Reinhard and Wade Saadi, chaired by Behruz Nassre, and the result of their work. Perhaps hid- den, but maybe not, there is a change in the design of the annual program. Non- atypically, the set of programs we assemble strives for great presenters covering interesting topics, but the topics do not necessarily bear any relation to each other and might appear to be a random assemblage. This is not a criticism but a reflection that we are a generalized society, we are not, as a group, a specialized society. Our members – you – collect just about everything in the book, or in the back thereof. Consequently, we have always striven to provide a broad set of programs that will appeal to the broad interests of our members. But this year we are trying something diﬀerent.

Among the “random” assemblage, you will note an over-arching theme. We are very much aware that the year is 2025. We are, therefore, at the beginning of the semi-quincentennial or the quarter-millennium of the United States (that’s 250 years). The committee felt that it would be appropriate to have a number of programs during the course of the year that recognize the anniversary approaching, especially as we anticipate the upcoming international show in Boston in May 2026. I would remind all of us that Boston is less than a year and a half away. We hope that we do our part to help get people in the mood. And we especially want you to enjoy the programs we’ve put together for 2025.

There is one other major change in our programs for 2025 that I would like to point out. Most, but not all, of our programs will be hybrid programs. They will be delivered live from the Club and simultaneously “broadcast” out to you via Zoom. We are delighted that so many of our presenters have agreed to come to the Club and take advantage of our fabulous capabilities. As promised, we remain thoroughly committed to the Zoom platform, but we are also thoroughly committed to personal interactions among our members in real time, in real space, at the same time. There is a substitute for the personal via virtual media, but the person- al is truly special—hint, hint. Visit us.

The library has largely gone back onto the shelves – not an easy task. It is now possible to casually walk from section to section, well lit and easy to access. Not a day goes by without a visitor marveling at the library and its depth and breadth.

–Lawrence Haber

President’s Message – November/December 2024

2024

When I pen these letters, I usually focus on the future, as the present quickly turns into the past. I thought that – for this once – I would share updates on events you already know about.

This is our last issue of 2024; my last letter to you for the year. It is amazing how fast time is moving. It seems as though just the other day, I was struggling to change the date from 2023 to 2024, but here we are. Let’s take a few moments to reflect on the year we are about to complete.

The big deal was the reopening of the Club at our new location on 40th Street. Many members have come by and have seen it for themselves. The reactions have been pretty consistent – very positive and a clear model for the future. The layout is clean and efficient, and the decor reflects a modern city on the cusp of the beginning of the second quarter of the 21st century. We are no longer at the fi n de siècle of the 19th century – or the 20th, for that matt er, and the Club reflects a positive modern outlook.

We are starting to bring programs back into the house. These still go out via Zoom, but attending in person is special, and we encourage you to visit at those times.

We should be very proud of our library. It is all in one space, no longer chopped up into four bits and scattered as it was on 35th Street. Also, as beautiful as the old bookcases on 35th Street were, those gorgeous French doors with glass doors were an impediment. No longer are there barriers between you and the volumes on the shelves. To a large extent, removing these barriers has helped reinforce our appreciation of the excellence of our holdings, as numerous members have told us. Please remember that our catalog can be accessed online or in person. And we can mail you the items you would like. That’s not a problem, and we’re happy to oblige.

We would hope by now that you know about the book we published by Nick Kirke on NYC Foreign Mail 1845-1878. Everyone who has seen the book sings its praises; the reviews are universal. It won the Literature Grand award at the Great American Stamp Show (GASS). You should buy a copy even if you have “no interest” in the topic. It is that good and is such a model for how this can be done. You can order a copy from the website or by calling the office.

We have made it a point to attend many shows throughout the year. This is an opportunity to meet you and receive your feedback. We also hosted numerous dinners that were sold out in each instance: San Diego, Napex, GASS and Nojex. Fellowship is an essential component of what this is about.

As I write this, we have yet to close out the program schedule for the year, but we can point to these as a great success. Our live online audience is very large, which demonstrates their appeal. As you know, we capture the video feed for all these, which reside in our online archive. We want to encourage you to view these programs. Please allow me the space to list the titles and names of our presenters:

Gordon Eubanks: Via Nicaragua with Commodore Vanderbilt 1851-1857
Akhtem Al-Manaseer: Early Postage Stamps and Postal History of Transjordan
Alison Bazylinski, PhD: Re-Imagining Philately: Social Philately and the National Postal Museum
Gregg Redner: Early Belgian Auxiliary Markings and Labels
(various presenters): United Postal Stationery Society
Eric Scherer: Reply Cards in International Mail – The story behind a UPU oddity
Sandeep Jaiswal: Bahawalpur Philately – in two parts
Rob Faux: US 1861 24¢ World Tour
Daniel Knowles, MD: United States Demonetization and Transition to the 1861 Design Stamps
Ron Klimley: Polish Hyperinflation, 100th Anniversary
Chip Gliedman: How the Temperance Movement Used the 19th Century Mails
Maurice Hadida: Morocco Postal History: The Spanish Postal Service (1870 – 1915)
Henrik Mouritsen: International Parcel Post – From pre-UPU-Chaos to UPU-System and Back Again
Fred Gregory: Leis for the Boys in Blue: Hawaii in the Spanish-American War (1898-1900)
Frederick Lawrence: 1918 Czech Scout Post
Omar Rodriguez: The Curious and Peculiar Postal System of Early Mexico and Its Amazing Stamp 1736-1917
Robert Benninghoff, Brian Callan, Karl Winkelmann and Brian Warren: An Introduction to Irish Philately
Yamil Kouri: Boston 2026 Update
David Hobden: In Defence of the Border – Canadian Military Mails 1667-1885
Todd Ronnei: Minnesota First Days and the Evolution of First Day Covers
Various: Panel discussion on the future of Stamp Shows (various); Carriers & Locals Society
Ken Stach: Western Express Postal History

This is quite a group of which to be proud. Please take a look and listen to these videos in the archive.

We are currently putting our 2025 schedule together. It will be thoroughly worth your time on Wednesday evenings to join us or view the video afterward. For the first time, we will have a series of programs recognizing the date 2025 and the approaching semi-quincentennial of the United States. It is going to be great.

It has been quite a year, but I’m sure that 2025 will be even better.

With this, please allow me to wish you all the best for the upcoming winter holidays and that the new year will bring us all good fortune, health and philatelic delights.

–Lawrence Haber

President’s Message – September/October 2024

What a GASS!

When I pen these letters, I usually focus on the future, as the present quickly turns into the past. I thought that – for this once – I would share updates on events you already know about.

Just a few days after returning from the Great American Stamp Show in Hartford, Connecticut. (Aug. 14-17), I find reflecting on some recent events essential before we shift our gaze forward.

First and foremost, I want to celebrate the remarkable accomplishment of Nick Kirke’s book on New York City Foreign Mail, which won the Large Gold and Grand awards at GASS. This achievement is particularly noteworthy, as I’ve been discussing the book’s progress over the last several years, as it has passed through its editing and printing stages. We are immensely proud of Nick and his staunch editor, Seija-Riitta Laakso. Their collaborative effort has produced a truly exceptional book. Unlike many philatelic works that are often nothing more than a catalog of covers and stamps, this book is meant to be read and enjoyed. Nick’s distinctive voice resonates on every page, making it a must-have for anyone interested in this topic.

Many of our members were honored during GASS. We’re delighted with all the grand prizes handed out to members of this Club, from Steve McGill to Roger Brody to Nick Kirke; to our members who were recognized with the Luff Award, Ken Trettin, Jay Stotts and Steve Reinhard; and, let’s not forget our own editor, Wayne Youngblood, who received the Peterson Philatelic Literature Lifetime Achievement Award; and Joan Harmer, who is a recipient of the Carter Award (for local promotion and service). It is a privilege for us to be in their company.

At the Great American Stamp Show, we held a joint dinner with the U.S. Philatelic Classics Society, the U.S. Stamp Society and the Collectors Club of Chicago to support the upcoming international event in Boston. A small reminder: May 2026 is not all that far away from today. Unlike the typical Friday night, where various clubs and societies host separate events, this gathering at the Mark Twain House was a unique opportunity for us all to come together. It was truly gratifying to see these groups unite and demonstrate their commitment beyond individual interests. The leaders of these organizations — Vern Morris, Nick Lombardi, Roger Brody and Melanie Rogers — showed exceptional leadership, making the event a success and selling out in the process. We also want to recognize Martha and Tony Dewey, who located the venue. We all know how much Tony wanted Hartford to shine during this show, which was undoubtedly the case at the Mark Twain House.

As many members have asked about our new Club on 40th Street, I want to update you on our progress. While most of the work is completed, and we are about 70% moved in, the transition from our long-time 35th Street location is a complex task. The layout and design of the new space are quite different, requiring a staged approach to ensure a smooth relocation.

Our library is one of the highlights of this transition. Almost all of our books, journals and auction catalogs are now in place. The improved lighting and layout make the library more inviting and functional. We now have ample space for new acquisitions, which wasn’t possible at our previous location. I love walking around the library. It is so inviting. This being the summer, we have frequent visitors and we are very happy to show them around.

But the library is the most special place in my heart. I suppose a library can be a solitary place. And ours certainly can be a place to work on one’s own research or writing quietly, but ours can also be a social place. There is a reason why the reading table has 12 seats. Libraries are meant to be used, and ours is a fabulous place.

Speaking of the library, I would like to make a special request: if you have any philatelic books or materials you are considering parting with, please consider donating them to your Club. Your contributions will help us expand and enrich our collection.

–Lawrence Haber

President’s Message – July/August 2024

If you build it, they will come.
The location of 58 West 40th Street is certainly not a baseball field in the middle of a cornfield in Iowa – far from it. But we built it and they (you) will come.

In May, we held three significant events in our new premises. On May 1, we held an open house for everyone who worked on the project that took us crosstown from East 35th Street. This event was followed by a gala dinner on the 11th and then (finally) an open house for members on the 15th. Our correspondents tell us that they were pleased with the new place. If you have yet to visit, we hope to see you there soon.

We built it, but our work is only beginning.
Following four years of a pandemic and our move, our task is to re-invigorate and bring life and vigor into the Club’s premises and make it a beehive of activity.

We got off to a strong start with the Siegel auction fi rm holding a showing for the Bill Gross collection and then the second session of the Gross auction itself. The company’s use of the Club demonstrates a good beginning.

But while we will encourage auction firms and others to use the Club, it is more important to see it used by you, our members.

Certainly, you are all familiar with our biweekly Zoom programs. These served as a real oasis for many of us during the pandemic and are still a very strong feature of our Club. The number of people who view these programs – and do so regularly – is a real inspiration, and is a positive reflection on us all. We remain committed to Zoom to deliver content to the broad philatelic community. We have offered all our presenters the option of conducting their programs from our premises. We have already held our first hybrid meeting with Chip Gliedman, who presented on “Temperance.” We expect to continue these efforts.

However, we must do more to encourage person-to-person connections than the traditional speaker-at-a-podium format.

You may have seen the announcement of our series of seminars. [Editor’s note: If not, you’ll find more information on pages 204-205.] We are beginning with a session in September, “Understanding Machins,” led by Steve McGill, followed in October by a seminar on intermediate/advanced exhibiting led by Bill Schultz. We are very excited about these and hope to build on their momentum. Our new Club has multiple locations where seminars and meetings can be comfortably held. These range from tables of four to a seminar room that easily holds 10, the library table with 12 and the presentation room’s capacity of 50.

Some specialty groups that used the Club as a gathering place have returned, and we hope to see more of them and others.

One of my issues is that the group I describe as “the exhibitor class” is very well served by the “organized” hobby. We see exhibitors at shows and at our various venues; much we do as a hobby is geared around their needs. But, those who do not exhibit – those who are not connected – are the ones I would like us
to touch. They are underserved and, I suspect, are missing out on much that the hobby can offer. They either have no idea what exhibiting is, or are put off by exhibiting and consequently are not well connected with their peers in the hobby. It is also likely that exhibiting will never interest them, and they are not likely to pursue exhibiting. Many have excellent material but no venue to share their enthusiasm for their collecting. So, how can we bett er serve these people?

You would have seen emails regarding a “different type of exhibition.” What is this about? Well, as it says, there are no rules, judges or scores; just the pleasure of sharing and discussing fabulous material. Informally. You have the freedom to do as you choose. Please do not ask what or how. That is up to you. All we ask is great material and a willingness to informally explain your passion.

We have 18 of the most beautiful frames in the hobby. They can be used for regular exhibit pages or album pages. They can accommodate almost anything. The key is getting people out of their stamp room and into a venue to share their treasures. The word “exhibition” is not meant as an exhibition blessed by CANEJ (Committee on Accreditation of National Exhibitions and Judges) or the FIP (Fédération Internationale de Philatélie), but as “an exhibition” in the sense of an art exhibition: placing wonderful material on the wall to be appreciated. I think this can be a very exciting and wonderful outlet for those without an interest in rules and regimes.

So, my message to you is, how about it? Drop us a line. You have nothing to
lose, and no one will stand in judgment.

–Lawrence Haber

What a GASS!

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