We would like to formally announce the Eleventh Postal History Symposium to be held October 29-31, 2020 at the American Philatelic Center in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. The Postal History Symposium is a biennial event jointly sponsored by the American Philatelic Research Library, the American Philatelic Society, and the Smithsonian National Postal Museum which has been alternatively hosted at the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum or the American Philatelic Center since 2006. This year’s symposium is also co-sponsored by the United States Philatelic Classics Society.
The symposium provides a unique forum for philatelists, academic scholars, postal historians, and the interested public to discuss and present research that integrates philately and the history of postal operations into the broader context of world history. This year’s theme “Postal Innovation of the Classic Era: Evolution Leading to Modernization” concerns the Classic Era of American postal history which has come to define one of the greatest periods of postal innovation. Along with the United States, many other countries also played an equally important role during this time in the evolution and progress of postal history with creators and ideas that furthered postal development into the modern age. Plan to come and participate in this unique research event that will include other activities for symposium attendees.
For those attending the 2020 Postal History Symposium, the event will also include other activities for the philatelist and researcher alike, such as a dealer bourse, a gallery of over 175 frames of world-class non-competitive exhibits from members of the U.S. Philatelic Classics Society, certain APS and APRL services, a Meet and Greet, and finally the U.S. Philatelic Classics Society Banquet with keynote speaker Scott R. Trepel, President of Robert A. Siegel Auctions. For more information about this year’s symposium be sure to periodically consult the Postal History Symposium web page on the APS website as the list of speakers, call for papers, meet and greet, banquet reservations and the schedule of events are finalized.