The 2009 Annual Meeting of the United States Stamp Society was held at the St. Louis Stamp Expo during the weekend of February 27th through March 1st.  More than 40 members from across the country attended the show and a good time was had by all.

The official business of the Society was conducted at the Board of Governors Meeting on Saturday morning and the General Membership Meeting later that day.  The account of the Board meeting is reported elsewhere in this issue and the General Meeting minutes and Committee reports will be reported in next month’s issue.

The Society kicked off the weekend at 10 AM Friday morning with the release of our newest publication, United States Supplementary Mail by Specialist editor Leonard Piszkiewicz.  The first book was purchased by Chairman Roger Brody for placement in the USSS Room at the American Philatelic Center in Bellefonte, PA.  Sales were brisk during the course of the weekend, with several dealers at the show taking multiple copies for their own stock, knowing that this will become an essential reference for every postal historian.

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The Society’s Board of Governors held their annual meeting in conjunction with the St. Louis Stamp Expo 2009, Saturday, February 28th.  In addition to the presentation of officers’ reports, the Board engaged in discussions about ongoing projects and new proposals. 

Executive Secretary Larry Ballantyne reported that membership dropped slightly.  For the year ending 2008, membership fell 2.6% from 1777 to 1730.  His report also indicated strong membership financial support including contributions from 248 members towards the Patron, Contributor and Sustaining categories.  Donations from 14.3% of our total membership is the highest level in the Society’s history.

Board Chairman, Roger Brody reported on the highlights of the Society in 2008.  Notable were Board decisions to publish two books, United States Supplementary Mail, by Leonard Piszkiewicz, and Guide to U.S. Vending and Affixing Machine Perforations 1907–1927 by Stephen R. Belasco.  The Supplementary Mail book was successfully introduced at a book signing ceremony at the St. Louis show.  The Vending and Affixing book will be introduced in April at the New York MEGA Event.  To date, we have sold over 7000 copies of the popular Encyclopedia of United States Stamps and Stamp Collecting.  Also noted was the presentation at APS StampShow in Hartford this past August of the first annual United States Stamp Society – Barbara R. Mueller award for the best article in the American Philatelist for the year 2007.  

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Past Chariman of the USSS Board of Governors Wallace Cleland was inducted into the USSS Hall of Fame February 28th at our Annual Meeting in St. Louis.

Wallace Cleland is a nationally recognized researcher, collector and writer on numerous philatelic subjects, particularly the production and printing of U.S. postage and revenue stamps. 

His service to organized philately is most recognized by his contributions to the United States Stamp Society.  Wallace served as Chairman of the Plate Number Check List Service for many years, and in 1989, he was elected to the Board of Governors.  In 1992, Wallace was elected to the Chairmanship of the Board of Governors and in August of that year also served the Society as its twelfth President through the remainder of that year.  He served with distinction as the Society’s Board Chairman through 1997 while continuing his contributions to plate number studies.  In 2006, in honor of his exemplary service, Cleland received the George W. Brett Century of Service Award.

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USSS Secretary Joann Lenz has been awarded the USSS George W. Brett Century of Service Award. The Award was presented at the General Membership Meeting held at St. Louis Stamp Expo, February 28, 2009. The text of the citation accompanying the Award reads:

This award honors Joann Lenz for her extraordinary dedication to United States Stamp Society.         Joann Lenz, a collector of United States stamps and postal history, has done ground-breaking research covering a variety of unusual philatelic topics.  Prominent among her varied collections is Plate Number Coils.  Within two years of joining the Society she chaired the BIA Plate Number Coils committee.   In 1995 Joann was elected to the Board of Governors.  She was elected Secretary to the Board and has served the Society in that capacity continuously for thirteen years.  In addition to activities with the USSS and the Plate Number Coil Collectors Club, Joann’s service to philately has expanded to the American Philatelic Society when, in 2007, she was elected Director-at-Large. Joann’s philatelic research is reflected in her exhibits that have been awarded Gold and Grand awards in national competition.  Joann is a proponent and researcher of modern philatelic studies and she generously shares her eclectic interests, research and discoveries with fellow collectors via her website.  Joann Lenz’s philatelic research and service brings honor to the Society worthy of special recognition. The Board of Governors recognizes Joann Lenz for her extraordinary dedication to the USSS as the recipient of the George W. Brett Century of Service Award. United States Stamp Society George W. Brett Century of Service Award Joann Lenz February 28, 2009

The United States Stamp Society is pleased to announce the publication of Guide to United States Vending and Affixing Machine Perforations 1907 – 1927 by Steven R. Belasco.  This is the first book in 65 years to tell the fascinating and complex story of the proprietary coils developed by manufacturers of stamp vending and affixing machines in the early 20th Century.  This Guide covers more than 250 major varieties of coil stamps made by the six companies that created these perforations, discusses their history and proprietary perforations, stamps to which the perforations were applied, scarcity of these stamps on and off cover, and factors to be considered to identify the many fakes of these coils. 

This book will be indispensable to anyone who wishes to collect or understand these stamps, since it organizes in one place the scattered information about Vending and Affixing Machine Perforations and provides much new research about these stamps and the companies that made them.

The 220-page hard cover full-color book, produced in an 8½ by 11 inch format, will be available postpaid for $55 to nonmembers and $44 to USSS members, postpaid. 

About the Author 

Steven R. Belasco has been an award-winning collector, author and exhibitor of U.S. Vending and Affixing Machine coils for more than 25 years.  He has published more than two dozen articles about U.S. Vending and Affixing Machine Perforations.  In 1982 he was awarded the United States Stamp Society’s Hopkinson Memorial Award for his series of articles in The United States Specialist about the “Characteristics of Genuine and Fake Vending and Affixing Machine Perforations.”  He has served as a consulting expert about these stamps for many years for The Philatelic Foundation, Professional Stamp Experts and the American Philatelic Society.  Mr. Belasco has lectured about U.S. Vending and Affixing Machine Perforations at national and international forums.  His collection of these stamps has been awarded gold medals and other awards.  He lives with his wife, Fran, and their younger daughter in Scarsdale, N.Y.  Their two older children are married.

What got you really excited about stamp collecting?  This is the question that I ask every collector, young or old, upon first meeting them.  Many collectors have responded it was an event that they attended, usually a large stamp show or stamp club meeting.  I then ask, who got you started collecting stamps?  The answers to this question are the most fun to hear because they tell me something about the person, not usually learned in a normal philatelic conversation.  What are your answers to these two questions?

My interaction with thousands of stamp collectors over the years has led me to one conclusion, that philately is a very personal hobby.  The personal nature contributes to the level of intensity found among philatelists that easily rivals any other hobby.  One does not need to spend much time among passionate stamp collectors before realizing that there is a universal desire to grow our wonderful hobby and ensure its prosperity.  Though with this passion, intensity and desire by every philatelist to make sure there are stamp collectors in the years to come, there has been a striking dearth of action to make these desires a reality.  Specifically I am referring to efforts to encourage young people to collect stamps. 

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