Author: Mike Walsh

Hello everyone. Welcome back. Thank you for the positive feedback about the RPSC newsletter. We welcome feedback. If you do not see the content you want in the newsletter, please write for us and help us to create it. If your want more articles on stamp collecting, then send us some. This publication is attempting to bring timely and relevant news to RPSC members. Please help us achieve our goal.

Deadline for Nomination of Persons to Stand for Election as Board Members 2019-2021

The most recent edition of The Canadian Philatelist calls for nominations for candidates to serve on the board of directors of the RPSC for 2019-2021. All nomination forms should have seconders (paid up members), a short personal philatelic biography and a photograph (high resolution digital preferred) suitable for publication in The Canadian Philatelist. Candidates for election must be members of the RPSC who are in good standing (paid up members) . Below is the nomination form.

RPSC BOARD OF DIRECTORS

OFFICIAL NOMINATION FORM

WE HEREBY NOMINATE ______________________________________________, a member in good standing in The Royal Philatelic Society of Canada, as a candidate for election to

The RPSC Board of Directors for the 2019 – 2021 term:

NOMINATED BY: ______________________________________ ​Member No. ____________

NOMINATED BY: ______________________________________

​Member No. ____________

Date: _______________________________________

CONSENT:

I, ________________________________, HEREBY CONSENT to my nomination as a candidate for election to the Board of Directors of The Royal Philatelic Society of Canada, for 2019 – 2021, representing a two-year term of office. I agree to stand for election and to serve the RPSC to the best of my ability if elected.

Date: ____________________________________________

SIGNATURE:​____________________________________

Please mail, e-mail or fax to the National Office of the RPSC by December 12, 2018.

Viceregal Patronage

The Governor General of Canada Her Excellency the Right Honourable Julie Payette is pleased to inform our Society  she has accepted our request to become a patron of The Royal Philatelic Society of Canada. The RPSC is most grateful for such patronage. Viceregal patronage for the RPSC extends back for many years and lasts only for the duration of the current Governor General in office.

New Volunteer Recognition Programme

In the last edition of the RPSC newsletter , I mentioned the Volunteer Recognition Program. It is intended to recognize those individuals who have made a significant contribution to philately as a member of the RPSC or a member of an RPSC Chapter or Affiliate.

We need to hear from you our members and our affiliates!!! Please let us know whom you wish to see acknowledged.

RPSC Board Activities

Our last meeting of the Board was November 4, 2018. The Board and other dedicated volunteers discussed a variety of topics pertaining to the strategic plan and future Royal shows. Once approved, minutes of Board meetings are posted on the RPSC website. http://www.rpsc.org/rod.htm. We continue to try to think of the needs of collectors and existing and new members.

Articles Are Needed for The Canadian Philatelist and

for the RPSC Newsletter

Do you wish to share your knowledge of philately with others? Please consider taking your time to write an informative and scholarly piece for the RPSC’s flagship publication, The Canadian Philatelist, also known as TCP. Please contact our new editor, Robin Harris, or a member of our talented editorial board: Gray Scrimgeour, Richard Gratton, Rob Timberg and Francois Brisse. Those wishing to submit articles for publication are encouraged to contact Robin at editor@rpsc.org. Thanks to our past editor Herb Colling for all of his work on the TCP.

We are always looking to attract new members to the RPSC and new collectors to the hobby. If you wish to write a piece on stamp collecting for the RPSC Newsletter, please contact me at the email address below or Mike Walsh – mwalsh@vaxxine.com

We are also interested in printing articles that have already appeared in the newsletters of local clubs. Please share your knowledge with your fellow collectors.

London 2020- May 2020- Will you exhibit or Attend?

The London 2020 Specialised World Stamp Championship Exhibition (known simply as ‘London 2020’) will be held from Saturday, May 2 to Saturday, May 9, 2020 at the Business Design Centre located in Islington, London. The closing date for applications is June 30, 2019. I am commissioner for Canada so please let me know if you are interested in exhibiting. The show has philatelic patronage of the Fédération Internationale de Philatélie (FIP) and recognition from the Federation of European Philatelic Associations (FEPA). Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has granted her patronage to the exhibition. There will be 2,750 frames of competitive material. At London 2020 there will be a change-over of material in the frames after four days. The Individual Regulations for the London 2020 Exhibition (IREX) are now being finalised and will be posted to the exhibition’s website www.london2020.co as soon as possible.

Chapter Listings and Chapter News

I will continue to urge all local chapters to let the RPSC newsletter help you advertise your meetings . The Canadian Philatelist contains listings of chapters every two months. Our newsletter is trying to get more timely information out to our members and to collectors who may be interested in participating in chapter activities. Let the RPSC help you grow your chapters . The RPSC is interested in seeing more collectors attend RPSC chapter meetings. We hope the newsletter will assist in this regard and will contain details of upcoming chapter meetings, including the names of speakers and locations. Even if members or other collectors cannot attend meetings, they may learn of interesting topics and be able to source presentations from those who volunteered to share information. Please send us details of upcoming meetings, locations, speakers and topics. Send us your chapter newsletters!!

Please Volunteer and Help the RPSC

These are truly exciting times for your Society! Please help your Society in any way you can. Recruit new members! Please find a little time in your busy lives to volunteer for Society committees or at your local club or show to advance and promote the interests of our Society . Without volunteers your Society cannot survive.

Best Regards

Ed

 

Established in the 1960s, Bramalea Stamp Club has a proven track record of promoting youth philately in effective ways.

Beginning in 2015 in Brampton, Ont., teachers, students and local philatelists teamed up to produce a series of stamp designs that were displayed at that year’s massive, once-in-a-decade World Stamp Show.

Through a number of donations – including stamps, covers, supplies, and importantly, time – members of the Bramalea Stamp Club were able to provide students with an in-depth, hands-on lesson about the power of stamps.

Ingo Nessel, president of the Philatelic Specialists Society of Canada, is one of three Bramalea Stamp Club members to help co-ordinate the school project that eventually displayed Canadian students’ philatelic designs on the world stage.

“First, we show the world our take on opportunities to raise awareness of the hobby with youth,”

said Nessel, who’s the Bramalea club’s Grand River Valley Philatelic Association (GRVPA)

representative. “Secondly we get to share best practices with our international counterparts.”

Lastly, Nessel added, those students whose artwork was shown are likely “thrilled to have

become ‘famous’ in New York,” and could continue down the path to stamp collecting.

The Bramalea Stamp Club has a strong, active membership of about 40 philatelists, several of which have a deep connection to organized philately. the hobby.

Nessel, who’s also GRVPA vice-president, is working alongside Bramalea Stamp Club President Bob Thorne and executive member Jerry Piotrowski on the school project.

“Raising awareness of the post office and all its workings is vital as they have a greatly reduced

profile in the daily lives of people, even though their services remain relevant,” said Nessel, who added plans to promote youth philately at local schools are ongoing.

“Besides the RPSC initiative, Bramalea Stamp Club will follow up with local schools, with the

goal of incubating school stamp clubs. This venture has taken on a life of its own and we would be delighted if it went viral.”

For more information, visit bramaleastampclub.org.

(To include your club profile in our upcoming newsletters, please email mwalsh@vaxxine.com.)

Last year, The Royal Philatelic Society of Canada (RPSC) put forth a nominal increase in membership fees leading to a more than twofold net increase in profit.

After changing the fee rate “just slightly,” according to RPSC Treasurer Stuart Keeley, the society made $863 net compared to $324 in 2016; however, this increase could be offset depending on the continuation of financial support from the federal government.

The RPSC recently received $13,500 in federal support to go towards printing our bimonthly publication, The Canadian Philatelist (TCP).

“If the government doesn’t give us the money next year for TCP, we can get into a financial issue in a very, very big hurry,” warned Keeley at The RPSC’s recent annual general meeting,  in St. Catharines, Ont.

In terms of membership, which is also part of Keeley’s role, The RPSC currently has about 1,200 paying members and about 375 life members, the latter of which may have paid their membership fees as far back as the 1970s.

“We’re supporting them with no income coming in,” he said, adding the society is losing about 50 members a year on average. “That – along with distributing TCP and other issues – is a drag on a financial statement when you only have about $50,000 or $60,000.”

The board is currently discussing how to address these life members for further support, and more information will be available in the coming months.

In the closing remarks of his treasurer’s report this June, Keeley said The RPCS needs to “stabilize” membership and find the next cohort of paying members.

“For the society to survive long term, my generation needs to be replaced by that generation at some point, but they need good reasons to join.”

Canada’s newest national-level exhibition is returning to southwestern Ontario this month with a theme marking the 150th anniversary of the Western Fair, which has been held in downtown London every September since 1868.

Hosted by the Middlesex Stamp Club, Canpex 2018 will be held Oct. 13-14 at the Hellenic Community Centre on 133 Southdale Rd. W. It’s the event’s third gathering since the show was re-invented in 2016.

With a 25-dealer bourse and about 100 exhibit frames, the show, which coincides with Stamp Collecting Month, is an opportunity for attendees to view world-class exhibits in southwestern Ontario.

The show’s competitive exhibition is part of the American Philatelic Society (APS) “World Series of Philately,” which is limited to 35 shows in Canada and the U.S.

The Grand Award winners from these 35 shows – including Canpex; Orapex; Novapex

in Dartmouth, N.S.; the Edmonton Stamp Club National Spring Show; and the annual convention

of The Royal Philatelic Society of Canada (RPSC) – are invited to exhibit at the APS

StampShow each year. The winners of the single-frame Grand Awards are invited to the APS AmeriStamp Expo.

With numerous local clubs within a two-hour drive of London, which is less than a day’s drive from more than 150 million people in Canadian and U.S. urban centres, the city is an ideal location for a stamp show.

traduction : Michèle Cartier

 

Bonjour à tous! Octobre est le mois national de la philatélie.  Qu’allez-vous faire pour le célébrer?  Acheter plus de matériel pour votre collection? Visiter le club philatélique local?  Aller à une exposition de timbres? Encourager vos amis à joindre la SRPC? Je l’espère bien.  La venue de l’automne signifie souvent que nous aurons plus de temps pour nous occuper de notre collection de timbres et profiter de nos passe-temps.  Ce qui suit est un bref aperçu  des activités de la Royal Philatelic Society of Canada/La Société royale de philatélie du Canada (RPSC/SRPC).

 

Royal/Royale 2019 et propositions pour les futures expositions

 

La planification de la Royale/Royal 2019 qui aura lieu les 21-23 juin 2019 à l’hôtel Hilton de Mississauga, Ontario,  est fort avancée.  La SRPC espère vous y rencontrer! La SRPC est en discussion avec l’American Philatelic Society pour participer conjointement aux expositions nationales de ces deux sociétés nationales.

De plus amples renseignements à venir sur notre site web ou dans le Philatéliste canadien/The Canadian Philatelist. Certains clubs envisagent la possibilité de présenter l’exposition annuelle dans les années à venir. C’est à suivre.  La British Columbia Philatelic Society nous a informé qu’elle tiendra l’exposition nationale – Vanpex – en 2019.  Les collections et les bénévoles sont les bienvenus.

 

Les expositions nationales, régionales et locales de 2018

 

Canpex est la dernière exposition nationale de 2018. Elle aura lieu à London, Ontario, les 13 et 14 octobre; pour plus de renseignements visitez le site www.canpex.ca

Il reste encore des expositions régionales et locales à venir en 2018 lesquelles sont annoncées sur le site de la Royale : www.rpsc.org/shows. Si vous désirez annoncer vos expositions, faites-nous le savoir et nous publierons l’information dans le bulletin de la SRPC et sur le site web de la Royale.

 

Renseignements sur les prochaines réunions des clubs-membres et sur les conférenciers

 

La SRPC est intéressée à voir plus de membres participer aux réunions des clubs-membres. Nous espérons que le bulletin pourra aider à cet égard en publiant les dates des réunions à venir, le nom des conférenciers et le lieu. Même si vous ne pouvez vous y rendre, vous serez au courant des sujets traités et vous pourrez vous informer auprès de membres présents. S’il-vous-plaît, envoyez-nous les dates de vos prochaines réunions, le lieu, le nom des conférenciers et le sujet traité de façon à pouvoir les publier dans le bulletin de la SRPC.

 

Nouveau programme de reconnaissance des bénévoles

 

L’exécutif de la SRPC a appouvé le « Programme de reconnaissance des bénévoles ». Il s’agit de souligner la contribution significative fournie par certaines personnes à la philatélie en tant que membre de la SRPC ou membre d’un club associé ou affilié à la SRPC. Nous attendons de vos nouvelles, vous les membres ou clubs affiliés de la SRPC!!! Nous avons aussi besoin de bénévoles pour donner de l’information à la table de la SRPC lors des expositions locales, régionales et nationales de la SRPC.

 

Articles demandés pour le Canadian Philatelist/Le philatéliste canadien et le bulletin de la SRPC

 

Désirez-vous partager vos connaissances philatéliques avec les autres? S’il-vous-plaît, prenez le temps d’écrire un article informatif approfondi pour la revue phare de la SRPC, The Canadian Philatelist/Le philatéliste canadien. Contactez notre estimé éditeur, Herb Colling à  hacolling@cogeco.ca ou un membre de notre comité de rédaction : Gray Scrimgeour, Richard Gratton, Rob Timberg et François Brisse.

 

Si vous désirez écrire un bref article pour le bulletin de la SRPC, me contacter à l’adresse courriel à la fin ou l’éditeur de ce bulletin, Mike Walsh à mwalsh@vaxxine.com

 

Le comité exécutif de la SRPC et le Plan stratégique

 

Notre dernière réunion a eu lieu le 30 septembre par appel conférence. Nous avons discuté de divers sujets incluant l’élaboration et la mise en œuvre des différents aspects et des objectifs du plan stratégique discutés dans les précédents bulletins d’information. La SRPC aura besoin de l’aide de ses membres et nous espérons que vous pourrez apporter toute l’aide nécessaire pour ce faire. Le comité s’est aussi penché sur d’autres sujets tels que la nomination de nouveaux membres sur le comité exécutif. Robert Carswell a été élu et remplacera Rob Timberg qui a dû malheureusement céder sa place. La date limite pour poser sa candidature sur le Comité des directeurs approche rapidement (décembre 2018). Au moins une personne apte s’est présentée. Nous avons besoin de plus de bénévoles! Le comité a aussi approuvé l’e-membership i.e. l’adhésion et la copie électronique du Canadian Philatelist/Le philatéliste canadien à un prix réduit. Le prix de l’adhésion incluant la copie-papier sera augmenté.   La prochaine rencontre du comité exécutif aura lieu en novembre 2018.

 

Le comité international – au service des exposants

 

David McLaughlin est l’officier et président du comité de la SRPC qui assure la liaison internationale.   Charles Verge, Sam Chiu et Jim Taylor sont aussi membres de ce comité. David publie un bulletin appelé ‘The International Exhibitor’ qui est essentiel à toute personne qui désire exposer au niveau international ou qui désire visiter ces expositions. S’il-vous-plaît, contacter David pour recevoir une copie à david.mclaughlin@rogers.com. Il y aura un certain de nombre d’expositions internationales en 2019 et 2020.

 

 

 

 

Le programme des juges

 

La SRPC possède un comité qui s’occupe de l’accréditation des juges philatéliques au Canada. Joel Weiner en est le président. La SRPC est toujours à la recherche de personnes dévouées qui sont prêtes à suivre une formation pour devenir juge accrédité aux niveaux local ou national. Vous pouvez rejoindre Joel à jweiner@ualberta.ca.

 

Le site web de la SRPC

 

La SRPC espère continuer à fournir à ses membres et non-membres de l’information sur de nombreux sujets philatéliques ainsi que sur les activités de la société.

Si vous avez fait une présentation PowerPoint à votre club philatélique et que vous croyez qu’elle pourrait intéresser d’autres philatélistes, faites-moi parvenir une copie pour une éventuelle publication sur notre site web ou une possible présentation à un club-membre.

 

Des idées pour améliorer la SRPC? Vous voulez devenir bénévoles?

Vous voulez recruter de nouveaux membres?

 

Avec votre aide, la Canadian Philatelic Society/ La Société royale de philatélie du Canada continuera à demeurer Canada’s National Stamp Club/Le club national de philatélie du Canada.

Vous pouvez me rejoindre à e.kroft@shaw.ca

 

Dons de charité

 

S’il-vous-plaît considérez faire un don de charité déductible d’impôt à la Fondation de la SRPC. Plus d’informations vous parviendront sur le sujet au cours des prochains mois.

 

Meilleures salutations,

 

Ed

Hi everyone! October is National Stamp Collecting Month. What are you going to do to commemorate it? Buy more material for your collection? Visit the local stamp club? Attend a stamp show? Encourage your friends to join the RPSC? I hope so.  The advent of Fall often means we will have more time to work on our stamp collections and to enjoy our hobbies. What follows is a brief update on the activities of The Royal Philatelic Society of Canada/La Société royale de philatélie du Canada (“RPSC“) .

 

Royal 2019 and Proposals for Future Shows 

 

Plans are well under way for Royal/Royale 2019 to be held in June 21-23, 2019 at the Hilton Mississauga in Mississauga, Ont. The RPSC hopes to see you there! The RPSC is in discussions with the American Philatelic Society to partner in each others national shows in some manner. Stay tuned for more details, plus watch for updates on our website and inside The Canadian Philatelist. Some clubs are exploring the possibility of hosting the annual convention in future years. More news to follow. The British Columbia Philatelic Society has advised it will host a national show – Vanpex – in 2019. Exhibits and volunteers are most welcome.

 

2018  National, Regional and Local Shows

Canpex is the last national show of the 2018 season. It will be held in London, Ont., on Oct. 13-14. For more details, visit http://www.canpex.ca/.

There are a number of regional and local shows still to be held in 2018, which are listed on the Royal’s website: http://www.rpsc.org/shows.php. If you wish to let others know about your shows, please let us know so we can publish details in the RPSC newsletter and on the Royal’s website.

 

Details of Future RPSC Chapter Meetings and Speakers

 

The RPSC is interested in seeing more collectors attend RPSC chapter meetings. We hope the newsletter will assist in this regard and will contain details of upcoming chapter meetings, including the names of speakers and locations. Even if members cannot attend meetings, they may learn of interesting topics and be able to source presentations from those who volunteered to share information. Please send us details of upcoming meetings, locations, speakers and topics so they can be published in the RPSC newsletter.

 

 

New Volunteer Recognition Program

 

The RPSC Board has approved the Volunteer Recognition Program. It is intended to recognize those individuals who have made a significant contribution to philately as a member of the RPSC or a member of an RPSC Chapter or Affiliate. We need to hear from you, our members, and our affiliates!!! We also need more volunteers to help us staff RPSC tables at local, regional and national shows. Please help us sign up new members for the RPSC.

 

Articles Are Needed for The Canadian Philatelist and for the RPSC Newsletter 

 

Do you wish to share your knowledge of philately with others? Please consider taking your time to write an informative and scholarly piece for the RPSC’s flagship publication, The Canadian Philatelist. Please contact  our esteemed editor, Herb Colling at mailto:hacolling@cogeco.ca,  or a member of our talented editorial board: Gray Scrimgeour, Richard Gratton, Rob Timberg and Francois Brisse.

 

If you wish to write a piece for the RPSC newsletter, please contact me at the email address below or our newsletter editor, Mike Walsh at mailto:mwalsh@vaxxine.com

 

 

RPSC Board of Directors and the Strategic Plan

 

Our last Board meeting was held by conference call on Sept. 30. We discussed a variety of topics including the development and implementation of  the strategic plan vision statement and objectives discussed in past newsletters. The RPSC will need the help of its members to do so and hopes members will assist where possible. Our Board also discussed other matters such as the appointment of new board members. Robert Carswell was elected to replace Rob Timberg who regrettably stepped down. The deadline for nominations for the Board of Directors is fast approaching (December 2018). At least one capable person has stepped forward. We need more volunteers! The Board also approved the institution of an e-membership category (with an electronic copy of The Canadian Philatelist) at a reduced rate. Dues for membership involving the receipt of a paper copy of The Canadian Philatelist will be increased. Our next Board meeting will occur in November, 2018.

 

International Committee – Serving the Interests of Exhibitors 

 

David McLaughlin is the International Liaison Officer of the RPSC and Chair of this Committee. Charles Verge, Sam Chiu and Jim Taylor are members . David publishes a newsletter called the International Exhibitor which is essential reading for those who wish to exhibit or attend international stamp shows. Please contact David for a copy at mailto:david.mclaughlin@rogers.com. A number of international shows will be held in 2019 and 2020.

 

Judging Program

 

The RPSC has a Committee that deals with the accreditation of Philatelic judges in Canada.  Joel Weiner heads this Committee. The RPSC is always looking for dedicated individuals who are looking to apprentice in aid of becoming accredited as a judge at the local or national level. Joel can be reached at mailto:jweiner@ualberta.ca.

 

 

The RPSC Website

 

The RPSC hopes to continue to provide members and non-members with current/ additional information about the Society operations and topics in philately. If you have done a PowerPoint presentation on philately for a chapter meeting or organization and you think it would be useful for others to see on our Website, please send it to me and the RPSC will consider it for publication on our website or as a presentation to be made available to other Chapters.

 

 

Any Ideas to Improve the RPSC? Want to Volunteer? Want to Help Recruit New Members?

 

With your help ,The Royal Philatelic Society of Canada/La Société royale de philatélie du Canada will continue to be Canada’s National Stamp Club /Le club national de philatélie du Canada. Please feel free to contact me at mailto:e.kroft@shaw.ca

 

 

Charitable Giving

 

Please do consider making a tax deductible charitable contribution to the RPSC Foundation. More on this topic in the upcoming months.

 

Best wishes

 

Ed

With the summer months of July and August now behind us, the busy show season is returning with four major shows taking place across Canada in September and October.

They include the National Postage Stamp and Coin Show, which will be held in Mississauga, Ont., on Sept. 8-9; Novapex in Dartmouth, N.S., on Sept. 14-16; BNAPEX in Québec city on Sept. 21-23; and Canpex in London, Ont., on Oct. 13-14.

The National Postage Stamp and Coin Show will see nearly 50 dealers return to the Hilton Mississauga’s 9,000-square-foot Graydon Hall, where they are  expected to meet more than 1,000 collectors for the fall edition of this biannual event. This September’s show will also include a range of seminars, a combined coin and stamp auction and a “Young Collectors” program that includes a table with discounted material as well as a children’s auction. The show will be open Sept. 8 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sept. 9 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Admission is only $3 on Saturday and free on Sunday, and parking is always free on site.

Hosted by the Nova Scotia Stamp Club, Novapex 2018 will include a national-level exhibition and several meetings, including one by the Philatelic Specialists Society of Canada (PPSC) and another by the British North America Philatelic Society (BNAPS). The show will be open Sept. 14 from 2 p.m.-9 p.m., Sept. 15 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sept. 16 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. There will be a “Youth Day” on Sept. 15, when children will be given free stamps and supplies.

For the first time in nearly 40 years, BNAPS’ annual convention BNAPEX is returning to Québec. This year’s show, which is slated for Sept. 21-23, is the 70th consecutive BNAPEX convention since the inaugural show in 1949, when it was held in Buffalo, N.Y. The bourse will feature more than 20 dealers and will be open on Sept. 21 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sept. 22 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sept. 23 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. A full slate of meetings and seminars as well as a 160-frame specialized exhibition are also planned for the three-day show.

Lastly, Canpex 2018 will mark the 150th anniversary of the Western Fair, which has been held in downtown London every September since 1868. In addition to a roughly 25-dealer bourse, this show will include a national-level exhibition – the final 150th anniversary of the Western Fair, which has been held in downtown London every September since 1868. national show in Canada this year. Canpex will be open Oct. 13 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Oct. 14 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

By George Pepall

A small group of Oxford and Waterloo County collectors enjoyed an informal philatelic presentation on July 25 at the Beachville District Museum in Beachville, Ont.

A random visit to the local town post office and a subsequent e-mail to club members led to the day’s gathering. The topic was cancels on mail into and out of Beachville, a small, limestone-quarrying town between Ingersoll and Woodstock.

Beachville is known primarily as the site of the first baseball game ever played anywhere – and that includes Cooperstown, N.Y. The alleged date was June 4, 1838; however, special guest and former Beachville resident Robert Stock, of Victoria, B.C., has another reason for the town to have a place on the map: its extraordinarily large and colourful split ring cancelations.

“Broken up collections lose their story value,” said Stock, of his motive for sharing his rare Beachville cancels at the recent presentation as well as exhibiting them at the Postal History Society of Canada Symposium in Hamilton this July.

“My personal interest in social history is what got me started.”

An example of rapid postal service that showed his postal history interest was of a delivery of fresh oysters by train mail from Paris Station, Ont., to Beachville.

He has an early example of youth using the mails (unlike the philatelically deprived young people of today). It is a personal letter sent by a 12-year-old girl from nearby Norwich to a friend in Duchess Co., N.Y., in the pre-stamp year of 1820.

Stock said a useful source of early censuses can be found at ancestry.ca, which is among a network of genealogical, historical record and genetic genealogy websites owned by a Utah-based company.

Furthermore, post office reports offer helpful data on postal revenues for each post office going back to the time before 1851, when the Canadian post office was a branch plant of the British post office.

Special thanks to Henny Oyl, president of the Oxford P.S., for organizing our visit to the Beachville Museum with Robert Stock.

George Pepall is a Fellow and a former president of the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada.

Established in 1891, the Ottawa Philatelic Society (OPS) – the oldest stamp club in Canada – is celebrating its 127th anniversary this October.

The OPS was founded by John Reginald Hooper as the first branch of one of the first groups to focus on Organized Philately in Canada, the Canadian Philatelic Society, which was a predecessor to today’s RPSC founded in 1887. The charter membership of the OPS contains 41 names, 16 of which are of Francophone origin; this is a reflection of Ottawa’s bilingual and bicultural nature.

“The club,” as it’s affectionately referred to by its members, has enjoyed what’s described as “great prosperity” since its formation 127 years ago. After seeing a period of decline during both the Great War and Second World War, it thrived with philately’s rise worldwide. With large membership rolls and successful turnouts at weekly meetings, the club played host to many philatelic luminaries of the time, including Robson Lowe and Alfred Lichtenstein, who made frequent visits to Ottawa.

A gradual decline in membership was reversed during the 1980s, when the club maintained at least 40 members on the books at all times until the turn of the century.

A revitalized program and recruiting campaign in 2000 saw OPS enrolment jump to 100 members. The club currently boasts upwards of 85 members, who frequently include senators, Members of Parliament, senior civil servants, teachers, nurses, doctors, students, retirees, high technology workers, and white- and blue-collar workers. Of course, the club thrives on its members’ diverse interests.

Members continue to write monographs for journals throughout the philatelic world on most aspects of the hobby and have published books on various topics. The OPS library is among the best philatelic libraries in Canada, and the club provides multiple up-to-date catalogues, periodicals and specialty books that members can borrow on a weekly basis.

Not only the oldest Canadian club but also one of the largest clubs in this country, the OPS meets weekly from September to July. The club also sponsors Orapex, Ottawa’s national stamp show, and Miniex, also held in the nation’s capital.

The success of the OPS is based on four aims that date back 125 years:

• to promote the enjoyment and study of philately and postal history in all aspects;
• to cultivate friendship and fraternity among philatelists, postal historians and others interested in philatelic matters;
• to assist the members of the society in acquiring and disposing of stamps and other philatelic and postal history
• material; and
• to encourage ethical practices in every aspect of philately and the study of postal history.
• For more information about the OPS, visit ottawaphilatelicsociety.org.

By Herb Colling, Editor of TCP

The September October issue of The Canadian Philatelist is all things royal.  The Royal/Royale is the premier stamp show and exhibition hosted by the RPSC in June each year.

TCP’s cover story in the September October edition will look at the exhibits, presentations and some of the highlights of this year’s event.

About 50 people were on hand for the gala opening, and many stayed to attend the first day of seminars, which included information about the penny post, which began an era of postal reform in Britain in 1840. Topical collecting was up next on the opening day.

American collector Larry Davidson spoke about beaver stamps, which he decided was quite a Canadian subject for a national symposium.  Then, it was back to Britain as another American collector put his spin on stamps designed by Arnold Machin, a British sculptor who lived from 1911 to 1999.

Steve McGill talked about the seven thousand varieties of Machin definitives in his one hour presentation, which could have lasted a full day because he had much material.

A highlight was running in to Jack Nixon, a 10 year old collector who talked about his exhibit, which won several major awards. The young Nixon may well be the future of philately.  He expects to stick with the hobby for awhile, and then come back to it in later years.  That seems to be the way of the avocation for many collectors.

Jack Nixon has a great mentor in his grandfather, Ted Nixon, who is guiding him through the hobby, and who also won a major award for his own exhibit.