Philatelic Literature & Research
Companion blog to the Philatelic Literature Review, quarterly journal of the American Philatelic Research Library.
The One-Cent Magenta: Inside the Quest to Own the World’s Most Valuable Stamp tells the story of the rare stamp that was sold at auction for $9.5 million in 2014. Written by New York Times reporter James Barron, the book was called “delightful” by a review in the Washington Post.
You can read an excerpt on Amazon.com. It is also available for borrowing from the APRL. And, if you are attending the March Party stamp show in Cleveland, you can hear a talk by the author.
Two more inches of snow politely held off until after the February meeting of the Mount Nittany Philatelic Society at the American Philatelic Research Library in Bellefonte, Pa., postponed from the prior week when sub-zero wind chill brought central Pennsylvania to a standstill. The APRL is where the club usually holds monthly meetings, but was an especially appropriate venue for the late February get-together of a dozen hardy souls, because the subject was philatelic literature.
MNPS members were asked, “What stamp-related books have you found indispensable, and why? Which publications would you recommend to others in the stamp hobby?”
One of the first recommendations by a MNPS member was Robert B. Morgan’s Hungarian Hyperinflation of 1945-1946: the Postage Rates and Postal History of History’s Most Impressive Inflation, published in 2003 by the Collectors’ Club of Chicago. Hungary’s postwar economic collapse, reflected in mail rates and stamps, was literally unimaginable. At its peak, which came about in July 1946, inflation was 41,900,000,000,000,000,000,000,000%. That’s 41.9 quadrillion percent, as Europe calculates it.
Another club member had words of praise for Passing in Review, LTC. Herman L. Halle’s account of the political chaos that engulfed post-WWII Germany, largely told with original documents from that turbulent era. Continue reading “What's Your Favorite Philatelic Literature?”
Two more inches of snow politely held off until after the February meeting of the Mount Nittany Philatelic Society at the American Philatelic Research Library in Bellefonte, Pa., postponed from the prior week when sub-zero wind chill brought central Pennsylvania to a standstill. The APRL is where the club usually holds monthly meetings, but was an especially appropriate venue for the late February get-together of a dozen hardy souls, because the subject was philatelic literature.
MNPS members were asked, “What stamp-related books have you found indispensable, and why? Which publications would you recommend to others in the stamp hobby?”
One of the first recommendations by a MNPS member was Robert B. Morgan’s Hungarian Hyperinflation of 1945-1946: the Postage Rates and Postal History of History’s Most Impressive Inflation, published in 2003 by the Collectors’ Club of Chicago. Hungary’s postwar economic collapse, reflected in mail rates and stamps, was literally unimaginable. At its peak, which came about in July 1946, inflation was 41,900,000,000,000,000,000,000,000%. That’s 41.9 quadrillion percent, as Europe calculates it.
Another club member had words of praise for Passing in Review, LTC. Herman L. Halle’s account of the political chaos that engulfed post-WWII Germany, largely told with original documents from that turbulent era. Continue reading “What’s Your Favorite Philatelic Literature?”
John Finch reviewed Chris Wests’ A History of America in Thirty-Six Postage Stamps for About.com. (West’s previous book, A History of Britain in Thirty-Six Postage Stamps, was reviewed by our own Fred Baumann in the third quarter 2014 Philatelic Literature Review.)
Scott Catalogue editor Charles Snee reviewed Every Stamp Tells A Story: The National Philatelic Collection, the new book edited by Cheryl Ganz, curator emerita of the Smithsonian National Postal Museum, for Linns.com.
Book reviews are a popular section of our journal, Philatelic Literature Review, and we thank the individuals who contribute reviews.
Have you read any good (or not so good) books lately? Consider submitting a review. We welcome short, thoughtful reviews of books (including digital books). Please include as much bibliographic information as possible, including ordering details. Address all submissions to Doris Wilson, Philatelic Literature Review, 100 Match Factory Place, Bellefonte, PA 16823 or plrarticle@stamps.org.
If access to books is the only thing holding you back, the APRL can lend you books for review at no cost to you. If you are interested in being a reviewer, please contact Tara Murray. Include the subject area(s) in which you are qualified to review books. (Please note we can only supply books for review to APS/APRL members in the U.S.)
The Philatelic Literature Review wants to know what’s on your bookshelf. In each quarterly issue, the journal features a brief essay by a reader about a favorite philatelic publication. It can be old or new, common or rare – as long as you deem it worthy of inclusion on your bookshelf.
To submit an essay or for more information, contact editor Barb Boal.
Last weekend at STAMPSHOW in Columbus, Ohio, John Barwis, who had two exhibits entered in the World Series of Philately competition, won the championship with his The Half-Lengths of Victoria, 1850-59. Those interested in spending more time with the first stamp issue from Victoria will find his book, The Half-Lengths of Victoria: The Stamps and Postal History 1850-59, published in 2009 with Rod Moreton, in the several philatelic libraries.
This attractive, readable, and well-designed volume should interest collectors beyond Australia, or even British Empire, because it set a new standard for the research and publication of monographs on a single stamp issue. Additionally, John provides a model for researchers planning to undertake a cover census, or analyze existing census data in greater depth. The authors consider stamps and covers in relationship to their postal use and historical events, placing the Half-Lengths within the context of Victoria’s developing postal system and 1850s Australian gold rush. “By concentrating on the confluence of stamp collecting and postal history and by presenting previously unpublished census data on Half-Length covers, we hope to shed light into areas that cannot be illuminated by stamps or covers alone.”