Philatelic Literature & Research

Resource of the Month – Post Dates

In a hobby that at its core is dependent upon and intricately tied to history, specific dates become intrinsically of interest to the general hobbyist and the experienced philatelist alike. There are many dates known by most stamp collectors as a matter of course which are of great interest to the collector (May 6, 1840 for example), while other dates of relevance to the hobby are not as readily known. The hobby by its very nature is a chronological testament to many aspects of an issuing nation’s history, geography, politics, art, economics, and society. Regarding those dates of importance most stamp collectors when consulting a stamp catalog for the first time are primarily interested in a particular stamp’s date of issue for example, while the philatelic researcher may focus on a stamp’s date of design or production.

New Resources at the APRL, May 2019

Alaimo, Salvador, 1934-. Las comunicaciones Argentinas con las Islas Malvinas ([No location]: Salvador Alaimo, [No date]). [IP70947]

Michael E. Aldrich Auction. The Whitney collection: September 9-10, 2015 (Carefree, AZ: Michael E. Aldrich Auction, 2015). [NS Whitney Collection]

Resource of the Month – Show Programs

With the close of the most recent international show Stockholmia and with the APS StampShow in Omaha on the horizon, it brings to mind an often underused resource in our collection here at the American Philatelic Research Library. Stamp shows, whether local or national, domestic or foreign, provide a welcome resource documenting the hobby’s past through the shows presented by its clubs, societies and organizations. Often stamp shows are the first instance a beginner collector is introduced to the scope and grandeur of collecting, while even the most experienced philatelist waits with anticipation for all that that next philatelic show has to offer.

New Resources at the APRL, April 2019

Abajian, Paul G. Vermont postal history. Way mail of the Green Mountain State. Supplement no. 1(Essex Junction, Vermont (P.O. Box 475, Essex Junction, 05453): The Vermont Philatelic Society, 2003).[IP70777]

Abajian, Paul G. Vermont postal history. Way mail of the Green Mountain State / by Donald B. Johnsone. Supplement no. 2 (Essex Junction, Vermont (P.O. Box 475, Essex Junction, 05453): The Vermont Philatelic Society, 2004). [IP70778]

Resource of the Month – GPS Reference Manual of Forgeries

As the beginner collector matures from intermediate hobbyist to serious philatelist the desire to add to one’s collection and to verify and authenticate those additions becomes of greater importance. When collecting in areas of the hobby where forgeries and forgers are known to abound these additions can challenge even the most knowledgeable philatelist. One of these areas of collecting that has seen a proliferation of forged issues is that of Germany and German States and Colonies.

Inside the APRL Archives: Lytle S. Adams Scrapbook of First Ship-to-Shore Air Mail

This post is the first in a quarterly series highlighting items from the APRL’s archival collections and historical objects. In this series APRL Research Assistant Marian Mills writes about some of the unique and rare items found in the APRL Archives.

Dr. Adams (holding mail bag) on the S.S. Leviathan

In 1929, oral surgeon and part-time inventor Dr. Lytle Adams planned a test flight to demonstrate his latest invention of a device that could pick up mail from a ship by a moving air plane. This first experimental flight from ship-to-shore was planned for the S.S. Leviathan’s trip, which departed from Southampton on June 2, 1929 and arrived in New York on June 7. This first flight was unsuccessful.

National Library Week: Libraries = Digital Communities – “APRL Digital”

In the age of Twitter, Instagram and other social media alternatives the ongoing resource and service goal of the American Philatelic Research Library is to expand the reach of the library to those who may not or cannot visit in person us here. The digital world of disseminating information for research, in this case philatelic research, has advanced such that a good number of the resources we know and use each day appear in digital form. To this end, the APRL in October 2017 began its Digital Resources Imitative to make available to our members some of the more common resources used in their research.

National Library Week: Libraries = Communities for Sharing

One of the most important goals for any library including the American Philatelic Research Library is that of sharing our resources with our community of library users, in this case philatelic researchers. We do this first by making our resources accessible to those users through borrowing, photocopying, scanning and providing research. In conjunction with this type of resource sharing we also have a responsibility to share what we don’t need or require for our collection with the philatelic community.

National Library Week: Libraries = Tips from Our Community

Now that you’ve been introduced to the staff here at the American Philatelic Research Library, we thought as part of National Library Week we would next ask some of the staff to share what tips they could pass along to assist patrons and researchers to the APRL with our services and resources. In working with the resources every day and assisting patrons with their research, our staff have discovered some useful “tips of the trade” they would like to share with our philatelic “community.”

National Library Week: Libraries = Strong Communities of Staff

On this second full day of National Library Week, here at the American Philatelic Research Library (APRL) we now move our focus to the dedicated and resourceful people who make up our “community” as the staff of the APRL, those who serve the research and resource needs of our members and the global philatelic community. The APRL is staffed by three full-time personnel and two employees who split time in the library.