The Civil War Postal Exhibition and Symposium was a three-day event, which began on October 24, 2019, with the dedication of the Kaufmann Civil War Room in the American Philatelic Center in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. It was followed by a welcoming reception. The standing-room only crowd made it necessary to move to the APS Sales Division area to hear dedication remarks from American Philatelic Society Executive Director Scott English, Thomas Lera, Schuyler Rumsey and featured speaker Patricia (Trish) Kaufmann.    Click here to watch the dedication remarks.

The Kaufmann Civil War Room currently houses literature, including a bound run of the 142 auction catalogs of John W. Kaufmann, Inc., as well as 11 Capital Mail Bid Sales. The room is fittingly painted in blue and gray with philatelic Civil War art on the walls, such as used patriotic covers, Magnus songsheets, a limited edition of a color lithograph of the Hoyer & Ludwig printing press with stamps printed on it, and more.

(lots more photos down below – please scroll down)

 

Of special interest to CSA members is the Haydn Myer Award for service to the Alliance – a large plaque with engraved names of past recipients from 1951-2001. Boxes of past Alliance records and history were sent to the American Philatelic Research Library years ago and are available for public viewing.

The Kaufmann firm was in operation from 1971 until 1989. John Kaufmann died suddenly in 1988 from a brain aneurysm on his 47^th birthday. Trish continued with four more auctions and two mail-bid sales before closing the business. She is now a full-time retailer specializing solely in Confederate stamps and postal history. Her extensive research files will be added to the room only when, as she remarked, she moves on to “that great stamp club in the sky.”

The Civil War postal event, with the tag line “The Civil War, a Postal System Divided,” was sponsored by the Confederate Stamp Alliance in conjunction with the American Philatelic Society. It was designed to be inclusive of both sides of the war.

This World Series of Philately show comprised 125 competitive frames plus a significant Court of Honor showing. Approximately one-third of the competitive exhibits showed Union material. It was a rare opportunity to see what was arguably the strongest showing of Civil War postal material ever assembled in one place.

Douglas Weisz had to withdraw from the competitive class after winning the Single Frame Champion of Champions at Mesa, Arizona, earlier this year with his exhibit “New Orleans in the Confederate Mail System,” which was instead shown in the Court of Honor.

The symposium part of the event featured four speakers who educated postal historians over the next two days to overflow crowds. Frank Crown presented an in-depth postal history research project on the 3¢ Nashville postmaster’s provisional. Dr. Stefan Jaronski discussed the evolution of the Confederate army field post service, while Dr. Daniel Knowles explained the postal history of the Civil War as shown by 31 covers. Daniel Ryterband also told the story of the Civil War and its effects on the mails as told through his exhibit.

Tours of the American Philatelic Research Library (APRL) were offered each day by APRL Librarian Scott Tiffney. Ten retail dealers and three auction houses comprised the specialized bourse, which offered Civil War stamps and postal history. Attendees and exhibitors hailed from as far away as Australia, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The catered awards banquet and reception were sold out.

This event was made possible, in part, with a grant from Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries and financial support from Mike Farrell, H.R. Harmer GPN and Schuyler J. Rumsey Auctions. Hospitality was sponsored by Daniel F. Kelleher Auctions.

The event committee was ably chaired by Jerry S. Palazolo, who also handled the dealer bourse. Other committee members were Tom Lera – Exhibits and Judges; Tony Crumbley – Program Speakers; Dr. Deane Briggs – Receptions and Award Banquet; and Trish Kaufmann – Publicity, Website and Program. Sub-committee chairs were Frank Crown – Awards; Wayne Farley  –Finances; Mike O’Reilly – Publications; and Ken Martin – APS Liaison. The Jury was comprised of Darrell Ertzberger, Chief Judge, Dr. Daniel C. Warren and Stephen Reinhard.

Special thanks go to Ken Martin, Scott English and the APS staff that made the weekend go smoothly,

The 17 competitive and 4 Court of Honor world-class exhibits covered an incredible range of material.   Exhibits in PDF format will be posted to the Exhibits page as they become available.  The Exhibition Palmares is also available as a PDF.

 

 

The Grand Award was won by Daniel J. Ryterband, who exhibited “A Country Divided: Effects of the American Civil War on the Mails.” He will compete in the Champion of Champions competition in Hartford, Connecticut, next August at the recently renamed “Great American Stamp Show.”

 

 

The Reserve Grand went to Dr. Daniel M. Knowles for “The Development of the Confederate States of America Postal Service from Secession to Appomattox.”

 

 

 

 

The Single Frame Grand Award was presented to Richard Drews for “Trans-Oceanic Uses of the 30-cent U.S. Issues 1861-68.”

 

 

 

Multi-frame Competitive Exhibits:

Large Gold

• “A Country Divided: Effects of the American Civil War on the Mails” — Daniel J. Ryterband —  Multiple Frame Grand Award.
• “The Development of the Confederate States of America (CSA) Postal Service from Secession to Appomattox” — Daniel Knowles —  Multiple Frame Reserve Grand Award, American Philatelic Congress Award.
• “Independent Statehood and Confederate Mail of North Carolina 1861-1865” — Tony Crumbley — Postal History Society Medal
• “Using Documents of Commerce to Fund the Civil War 1862-1872” — John Lighthouse — APS Award for Excellence for pre 1900 Material — American Revenue Association Best Revenue Exhibit
• “The Role of the Union Navy in the Civil War” — The Pollock Family — APS Research Award, Military Postal History Society Medal

Gold

• “West Virginia Born of the Civil War” — Wayne Farley
• “Rebel Documents, Yankee Stamps, How the United States Collected is Documentary Stamp Taxes in the Confederate States” — Michael Mahler
• “The American Civil War 1861-1865: Background, Course of Events, and Aftermath” — Anders Olason —  American Topical Association First.
• “Arkansas 1861-1865: A Divided Postal System” — Bruce Roberts
• “Rally ‘Round the Flag” — Randy Smith
• “Canada / British No. America (BNA) – Union and Confederate Postal Correspondence in the U.S. Civil War Era (1859-1867)“  —  Ronald E. Majors

Large Vermeil

• “Confederate Advertising Covers” — Larry Baum
• “Telegraphy in the Civil War” — George Kramer
• “Confederate Patriotic Covers and Lettersheets used during the Civil War (1861-1865)” — John Walker

Vermeil Medals

• “Confederate Mails on Rails” — Lou Hannen
• “Coping with Adversity: Confederate Covers in a Time of Paper Shortage” — Randy Smith — AAPE Creativity Award.

Large Silver

• “West Virginia in the Civil War” — Charles Channell —  Women Exhibitors Award.

Silver

• “Customs Cancellations of US Revenue Stamps of the Civil War Era” — Ken Trettin

Single-frame Competitive Exhibits:

Large Gold

• “Trans-Oceanic Uses of the 30 Cent U.S. Issues 1861-1868” — Richard Drews — Single Frame Grand Award, USPCS Medal

Gold

• “Prisoners of War Mail – Fort Delaware 1862 – 1865” — Alfredo Frohlich

Large Vermeil

• “Confederate States of America 2¢ Rated and Fees” — Clifford J. Alexander.
• “Galena’s 1838-1869 Lead Mining Era: An American “Boom to Bust” Story” — Kathy Johnson.
• “1861 Postal Service in the Seceded States, USPOD Operations (Jan 1 – May 31)” — Jerry Wells

Vermeil

• “Arkansas Under Two Flags” — Rod Kelley — AAPE Award of Honor.
• “Huntsville, Alabama, Confederate Postal History” — Mike O’Reilly

Silver

• “The Divided Postal History of the Civil War in Indian Territory” — Joe Crosby
• “The McCrady Family Civil War Correspondence” — Phil Eschbach —  AAPE Award of Honor

Court of Honor Exhibits:

• “My 3 Cents Worth” — Richard Drews
• “Blockade, Bucks, and Florida Express: Bogus Stamps of the Confederate States” — Mike Farrell
• “Treasures of the Erivan Collection” — Presented by HR Harmer Auctions
• “Thar She Blows! U.S. Whaling Fiscal History of the Civil War Era” — Michael Mahler
• “Civil War Special Routes”  — Presented by Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries
• “New Orleans in the Confederate Mail System” — Doug Weisz

 

Civil War Symposium photos:

Kaufmann Civil War Room Dedication

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Frank Crown presentation on the Nashville 3 cent Provisional

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dealer Bourse

 

Awards Banquet

 

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