Patricia A. Kaufmann, Confederate Postal History Resource Links

American Philatelic Society - The APS was founded in 1887 and is the world's largest collector organization with members in 110 countries.

Confederate Stamp Alliance - The CSA was founded in 1935 and is a non-political organization dedicated to fraternity, research, and cooperation among collectors of Confederate stamps and postal history. Advantages include the CSA Authentication Service and an award winning quarterly journal, The Confederate Philatelist. Click here to download a CSA membership application in PDF format. Can't open PDF files? The PDF format is viewable with free software - Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you don't have this, you can download it for free here.

CSA Newsletter February 2010 - The official CSA Newsletter which is published between quarterly issues of The Confederate Philatelist. It helps keep Alliance members up to date on the latest happenings.

CSA 75th RICHMOND ANNIVERSARY CONVENTION
Richmond, Virginia
August 12-15, 2010

This is the big one! The CSA 75th anniversary celebration in Richmond.

We are fortunate to be part of the annual APS StampShow, which attracts worldwide participation - a perfect platform to recruit new members.

This is a four day show which rotates around the country and hosts not only regular competition exhibits, but the illustrious Champion of Champions competition - a World Series of Philately competition open only to those who have won a Grand Award at a WSP show in 2009-10. If you are exhibiting or are a dealer or a trustee, you will need to arrive on Wednesday. The convention will be held at the Richmond Convention Center adjoining the show hotel (info below).

There are many special events planned in Richmond and many collectors are taking out their collections and dusting them off to exhibit. It should be a really special event and an opportunity to either exhibit or personally examine some of the best Confederate collections extant.

Exhibit Information and Deadline

If you plan to exhibit in Richmond, I strongly urge you to get your entries into the APS immediately. The APS has only 75 frames set aside for Alliance members. They normally set aside none for convening societies. It won't take many ten-frame exhibits to chew up this space. Your fastest option is to go online and download a form at http://www.stamps.org/stampshow/EntryForm.pdf Alternatively, you can contact the APS, 100 Match Factory Place, Bellefonte, PA16823 for a prospectus/entry form. Deadline for receipt of exhibits is May 3, 2010. For the most part, entries are accepted in order of receipt and frequently the Open Competition has filled by April.

Your CSA Hosts

If you were fortunate enough to remember the 50th anniversary celebration first-hand, you know what a wonderful experience this will be. Gen. Peter Powell, Col. Ethel Powell and Col. William Shulleeta will be our local Alliance hosts and they have an array of special events and tours planned for members and spouses alike, highlighted by a fabulous Southern Supper at the prestigious Commonwealth Club.

If you are flying into Richmond we suggest renting a car, as this will give you or your spouse the chance to visit Williamsburg (50 miles away) or some of the plantations on the James River.

In future CSA newsletters and e-bulletins, Gen. Peter Powell will give us some restaurant selections. If you arrive early on Wednesday, you might want to take in the Confederate Museum or the Capitol, or see the new State Library and any changes since your last visit.

Thursday night will be a cocktail party at the lovely Powell home and buses will be available to pick you up and return you to the Marriott. On Friday afternoon the Powells have a planned tour of Richmond including Hollywood Cemetery and some of the buildings that have survived the war. Ethel Powell and Virginia Shulleeta will make them selves available for any ladies that would like to shop at Neiman Marcus or Saks Fifth Avenue

Our fabulous 75th anniversary Southern Supper will be held at the Commonwealth Club in downtown Richmond on Friday night - again buses will take you to and from the club. This club was founded in 1890 by former Confederate Soldiers and contains some of the finest artwork in existence, including the famous painting "The Crater." The hosts have a nice surprise for each attendee. More on the menu later.

Saturday afternoon Ethel Powell and Virginia Shulleeta will again take the ladies on a tour of the Louis Ginter Botanical gardens. Confederate Major Ginter served on Anderson's staff and left his estate to the city of Richmond. These gardens are well worth seeing. The Powells will also arrange a tour of the Petersburg battlefield. Saturday night will be the APS show awards banquet. Reservations will be made through APS. Special interest trips can be arranged by your hosts for Sunday for those who are interested One possibility is a driving tour that follows the route of General Lee's retreat.

Hoyer & Ludwig press to be on display in Richmond

Hoyer & Ludwig press

Through the cooperation and generosity of the Dietz family, the Hoyer & Ludwig lithographic press will be on display at Richmond. This is the press from which Confederate money and postage stamps were lithographed in 1862. When Hoyer & Ludwig went out of business at the close of the war, they sold out to Simons and Keiningham who, in turn, sold out to A. Hoen & Company. When Hoen burned out, Hudson Hoen presented this press to August Dietz, Sr. who is accepted as the Father of Confederate philately. Dietz was an apprentice to Hoens in 1884-85. Our thanks to August Dietz, IV and the Dietz family for this wonderful opportunity. The Richmond Stamp Club will partner with us in this special exhibit, which will also include other exciting things, but this is the highlight sure to stir some excitement. Dietz was a founder of the Richmond Stamp Club, as well as the Confederate Stamp Alliance.

Hotel Information

Richmond Marriott, 500 East Broad Street, Richmond, VA23219

For reservations:
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/ricdt-richmond-marriott

By Phone: 800-228-9290

Request the American Philatelic Society's room block for the show

Rooms are $120.00 + 13% tax.
Valet parking is $18 per day.

On to Richmond!

U.S. Philatelic Classics Society - The USPCS is the successor of "The Three Cent 1851-57 Unit" (Unit Number 11) of the American Philatelic Society. It was originally founded by a group of '51 to '57 specialists that included Dr. Carroll Chase, Stanley B. Ashbrook, and Leo J. Shaughnessy. Since its founding, the Classics Society has broadened its scope to include postal issues and postal history from the stampless era up to the Bureau Issues, as well as the occasional Confederate. Membership advantages include the award winning quarterly magazine, The Chronicle.

Confederate States Catalog and Handbook - In October 2006 the Confederate Stamp Alliance announced acquisition of the rights to the New Dietz Confederate States Catalog and Handbook, last published in 1986. The 21st century edition of the Confederate States Catalog and Handbook is long overdue and will no doubt be in much demand by collectors, serious students and dealers. The new catalog will take advantage of all of the marvelous changes in technology that have occurred in the past two decades, including the strong likelihood of a full color catalog. The publication goal is 2010, in attempt to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the Confederate Stamp Alliance. The Alliance 75th anniversary celebration will be held in Richmond, Virginia, in conjunction with the APS StampShow in August 2010.

Click on "interview" below to hear APS Stamp Talk host Nancy Clark discussing the CSA Catalog project with Editor-in-Chief Trish Kaufmann.

Arkansas Postal History - Dr. Bruce Roberts' 35 years of accumulated knowledge on the subject. This non-commercial site is dedicated to the accumulation and dissemination of information about the postal system in Arkansas and in Indian Territory. Bruce is the section editor for Arkansas in the 2010 CSA Catalog.

Civil War Postal History of Vicksburg, Mississippi - A William S. Parks in-depth study of one town. A well researched subject which will be the place for researchers to turn now and far into the future.

The Buck Boshwit Collection - The scanned collection of Confederate Tennessee Postal History (as well as Arkansas and magnificent adversity covers) formed by the late Buck Boshwit of Memphis. Buck won virtually every one of the Confederate Stamp Alliance exhbit awards including the coveted CSA Trophy, as well as many national philatelic exhbit awards. Prior to the auction of most of his collection, the Boshwit family allowed Buck's wonderful collection to be scanned by the Shelby County Archives Department of the County Register so that it would remain available to future students and researchers. Take the time to enjoy this magnificent collection so lovingly put together over many years.

AskPhil (short for "Philately") is provided as a service to offer general answers to questions about stamp collecting. It is a the non-commercial, all-reference site sponsored by the Collectors Club of Chicago and covers a broad range of subjects. Highly recommended.

Virtual Stamp Club - An on-line philatelic newspaper or magazine, with a very active "Letters to the Editor" section. In the forum, you'll find news, information, opinions and advice.

Collector Cafe This online community guide sponsored by Stanley Gibbons, provides articles and news on more than 90 collecting interests. Visitors can contact other collectors and post free advertisements in the classified section. Collector Cafe contains links to hundreds of specialist dealer sites and is a valuable source of information for every collector.

Stamp Forgery Guide - Worldwide sources of information on forged stamps and stamp expertising searchable by country or expert, past and present, with over 1700 listings.

Library of Congress - This link is directly to the Civil War section, an essential resource for the researcher with a very deep range of every kind of information - from books and photographs to video, movie and audio history.

Arago - People, Postage and the Post - the Confederate section of the National Postal Museum. A resource for the study of philately and postal operations. One of the many research projects with which I have been involved. This is an outstanding and continually evolving resource. Lucky for Confederate specialists that this was one of the first sections to be included. It was unveiled at the Washington 2006 international exhibition.

U.S. National Archives - On-line access to art works, census data, US legal manuscripts, the Federal Register and so much more. An invaluable source.

American Civil War - "Your history site on the Web". While not philatelic, this is a comprehensive Civil War site with forums that may be of interest and is a good source for research projects.

Brian and Maria Green - Dealing in paper memorabilia of the Civil War - autographs, letters, documents, diaries, currency and stamps. Brian has been in the business for forty years and visits major Civil War shows around the country. Brian's wife, Maria, shares his enthusiasm for things Confederate.

Jim Stanley & Associates - Jim is a collector and purveyor of museum quality investment grade Civil War artifacts, images and documents. If your interests go beyond "paper", you may want to visit Jim's site.

Museum Quality Americana - This is a division of Cal Packard, LLC. Cal and his daughter Sarah sell quality historical artifacts and documents. A nicely done and most interesting site that specializes in Civil War materials with emphasis on "paper".

John L. Kimbrough - My esteemed online competitor, John and I both have a passion for Confederates. His site also has articles and an in depth section on Confederate fakes. John is a respected author as well as a fellow member of the CSA Authentication Service.

Richard Frajola - One of the most knowledgeable U.S. students/dealers in the country, also a former postal history auctioneer. While his specialty is mostly quality U.S., he also knows and handles Confederates. He maintains a popular Message Board for collectors/dealers on his site as well.

New York 2016 - the next big international show
APS Show Calendar - lists all the major national shows
NAPEX - Washington, DC area - one of the premier U.S. shows