“There is a major policy that has been close to my heart for some time. It is the establishment of a Society Library as an increased benefit to members. It is easy to say “set up a library,“ but it must be useful to all members who may be thousands of miles distant.”
With those words in 1967 to the gathered membership at the 81st annual American Philatelic Society (APS) convention in Newark, New Jersey, APS President Edward L. Willard signaled the need for a research repository and proposed the “creation of a Library Service” for the Society. At the following year’s convention in Rochester, New York President Willard, along with the APS Board, decided to resurrect the idea of a research library. After forming an ad hoc committee led by Daniel Vooys to study the feasibility of a library, the filing of the appropriate paperwork in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania soon followed and the incorporation of the new “American Philatelic Research Library” (APRL) was granted on October 28, 1968.
Christmas Island. Philatelic Bureau. Information booklet (Christmas Island, Indian Ocean: Philatelic Bureau, 1981). [VF Christmas Island]
With October being Stamp Collecting Month, what better time than this month to select not just one, but a number of special resources that can assist not only the beginner hobbyist but the experienced philatelist with their collecting. A while back at the Columbus StampShow, I had the opportunity to ask a number of collectors if there were one resource that they felt their philatelic library couldn’t be without, and if so, what would it be. In the process I received a number of great suggestions, here are just a few.
One of the challenges for non-U.S. worldwide postal stationery collectors is finding a reliable catalog for all types of postal cards, letter cards, envelopes, letter sheets and other stationery items officially produced by worldwide postal entities. Often postal stationery listings and values can only be found in specialized catalogs for a specific country meaning that for the worldwide collector a fair number of specialized catalogs would need to be consulted when researching a collection. There are just very few resources that include in one place listings and catalog information for worldwide postal stationery.
Alaimo, Salvador, 1934-. Buques argentinos en las Islas Malvinas = Argentine ships in the Falkland Islands ([n.l.]: Group de filatelia naval (Produccion Grafica de Jarmat), 2007). [IP69855]
Adachi, Sunao. Japanese perfins ([Delta, B.C., Canada]: [n.p.], [1972]). [IP69848]
“Any Colour You Like” is the title of a memorable song from a timeless album but in philately one of the trickiest and most challenging aspects of the hobby that can change a stamp from regular to rare is the particular color or hue of a given issue. The color of stamps is a hotly debated topic in philately among collectors as one shade of difference can have a tremendous impact on a stamp’s identification and thereby value.
Barbelin, Herve. À l’aube de la philatélie, Oscar Berger-Levrault, ouvrages et correspondances (1860-1869) ([Pont-a-Mousson, France]: Académie de Philatélie (Canéjan : Imprimeur Copymédia), c2018). [IP 68589 NEW]