Philatelic Society of Lancaster County

The James Buchanan Chapter #173 of the American Philatelic Society
Chapter #118 of the American Topical Association

Welcome – Enjoy your Visit!

The Philatelic Society of Lancaster County (PSLC) is an award-winning, non-profit community organization dedicated to promoting stamp collecting as a hobby for education and fun, from the teenager to adult, from the beginner to postal historian, serving members from south central PA, Northern Maryland and beyond. For Membership Benefits and/or to become a member, click JOIN US.

2021 SOCIETY PROGRAMS

We are planning to hold Virtual Bi-Monthly Meetings until further notice, which shall begin promptly at 6:30 PM and run for ~90 minutes via Zoom video conferencing. For details to attend these meetings please contact Paul Petersen via email (pcpetersen@comcast.net) or call +1 (717) 299-5640. We usually hold a brief business meeting led by President DiComo, followed by our keynote speaker(s) and a Show & Tell, where Members & Guests can share in a few minutes their favorite stamp, cover, or other philatelic item(s) and take a question or two. We look forward to seeing you! And it is never too late to start planning ahead – speakers are requested. Please contact Paul Petersen.

September 22:

Zeppelin Postcards of WWI

October 13: The Proprietary Tax of 1898: Provisionals, Battleships, Cancels, Private Die Stamps, and Facsimiles., by Ronald Lesher. A look at the Spanish-American War proprietary tax on patent medicines, perfumes, chewing gum, and wine. The haste with which the tax was passed and the need to distribute stamps nationwide brought about some provisional tax stamps in several parts of the country. Internal Revenue again permitted companies to submit designs to the Bureau of Engraving & Printing for tax stamps used only by that company. These private dies were a natural marketing plus and a number of the companies continued to use a facsimile of these designs after the tax was eliminated.

October 27: Halloween Stamps and Postal History by David Hunt. A Philatelic Hallowe’en (no tricks, but bring your own treats). In recent years the USPS has issued several Hallowe’en themed stamps, but I was surprised to find that a number of foreign countries have also commemorated the holiday with stamps. I had the rather parochial view that Hallowe’en was a particularly American celebration and I thought it curious that France and Austria would issue stamps for Hallowe’en.

Of course, All Saints’ Day exists throughout the Roman Catholic world and there are time-honored traditions associated with the Day in Europe and Britain. The old English name for the holy day is All Hallows’ Day. (Hallows meaning the same as Saints). Since the time of the early church, major features in Christianity (such as Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost) had vigils that began the night before, as did the feast of All Hallows. The Scottish word for evening is even, and even can be contracted to e’en. Hence All Hallows’ Even, which was further contracted to Allhallowe’en and then Hallowe’en.

Most of our modern Hallowe’en customs spring from practices of the Celtic speaking peoples of Britain and western Europe. Some of the early traditions for Hallowe’en include spirits being abroad and needing help to complete their journey to Heaven. Also, in parts of Europe there was the custom of baking small “soul cakes” which were given to poor people, often groups of poor children, in return for their prayers for the dead. This is thought to be the origin of “trick or treating”.

While celebrations for Hallowe’en are quite ancient, the celebrations of our modern, mostly secular holiday show significant American influence. After all, the pumpkin is native to North American and was not known in Europe until brought back by early explorers (the Celts are said to have hollowed out turnips to serve as lanterns) While witches, bats and black cats have been symbols of evil for a long time it is not clear to me how they became to be associated with Hallowe’en.

November 10: Special Guest Alan Warren speaking on The U.S. 1933 Byrd Antarctic Issue: Production, First Day and Other Uses. This program is an overview of the 3-cent United States Little America stamp issued on October 9, 1933. The stamp marked the Second Antarctic Expedition of Richard E. Byrd and was intended to help defray expedition costs by offering the public the opportunity to prepare souvenir covers canceled at the Little America post office in Antarctica by charging a service fee of fifty cents plus the face value of the stamp. The program covers essays, a die proof, production, first day and other uses of the stamp.

November 24: Christmas Seals by Stanley Jones

December 8: Speaker(s) TBD – if you have a topic you want to share, let us know!

December 22: The DC-4 Skymaster Issue., by Tom Nichols. The presentation chronicles the in-flight image of the DC-4 SkyMaster plane that was used in the design of one of the longest running series of airmail stamps and stationery ever issued in the postal history of the United States. It appeared on more than 20 types of postal material issued in a twelve year period between 1946 and 1958. Over 7.2 billion stamps as well as tens of millions of stationery envelopes and Air Letters were issued making the iconic image one of the most recognized airmail designs of all time.

2021 REGIONAL SHOWS, EXHIBITIONS & GATHERINGS

October 16: Gettysburg Stamp Show on Saturday, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, at the Gettysburg Fire Company, 35 North Stratton Street, Gettysburg, PA
October 17: Reading Stamp Collectors Club Stamp Show on Sunday, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM at the Leesport Farmers Market, Route 61, Leesport, PA (just north of Leesport. Set GPS to search for 321 Gernants Church Road)

December 18 & 19: YES, a 2-day Some Sunday (& Saturday) Stamp Show 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM, Farm & Home Center, 1383 Arcadia Road, Lancaster, PA 17601. Table fee is $120 for 8 feet “L’s” (8″ front & 8″ side) with an 8″ back table. Setup starts 8:00 AM. For more information, contact Kevin Kellman at k2stamps@gmail.com

2022 SOCIETY PROGRAMS

January 12: Lititz Postal History, by Dick Colberg
January 26: Early French Definitive Stamps, by Larry Rosenblum
February 9: The Five Cent West Point Stamp of 1937, by Mick Zais
February 23:
March 9:
March 23:
April 13:
April 22-23: 37th LANCOPEX Stamp Show & Exhibition. Stay tuned for more Information.

April 27: A Thematic Collection on the International Geophysical Year, 1957-58, by Rob Sternberg. The International Geophysical Year, the scientific year of 1957-1958 was an ambitious and successful cooperative enterprise by scientists from of sixty-seven nations who agreed to observe the earth’s surface while taking measurements with the state of the art instruments of the earth’s changing characteristics across the globe. They desired to then compile and analyze this descriptive data for its value in projecting future trends in the earth’s surface as it applies to a host of other sectors such as space and undersea exploration, for example. Geophysicist Rob Sternberg will tell the story of the IGA thought his stamps, covers, and other related ephemera.

May 11:
May 25:
June 8: Spring Club Auction. For more information, visit Auction Instructions. Download the Auction Lot Form HERE
June 22:
July 13:
July 27:
August Picnic
September 14: Fall Club Auction. For more information, visit Auction Instructions. Download the Auction Lot Form HERE
September 28:
October 12:
October 26:
November 9:
November 23:
December 14:
December TBD: December Holiday Dinner

2022 REGIONAL SHOWS, EXHIBITIONS & GATHERINGS

Some Sunday Stamp Show

Kevin Kellman

k2stamps@gmail.com

June 19: Some Sunday Stamp Show 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM, Farm & Home Center, 1383 Arcadia Road, Lancaster, PA 17601. Table fee is $120 for 8 feet “L’s” (8″ front & 8″ side) with an 8″ back table. Setup starts 8:00 AM. For more information, contact Kevin Kellman at k2stamps@gmail.com

August 28: Some Sunday Stamp Show 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM, Farm & Home Center, 1383 Arcadia Road, Lancaster, PA 17601. Table fee is $120 for 8 feet “L’s” (8″ front & 8″ side) with an 8″ back table. Setup starts 8:00 AM. For more information, contact Kevin Kellman at k2stamps@gmail.com

October 9: Some Sunday Stamp Show 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM, Farm & Home Center, 1383 Arcadia Road, Lancaster, PA 17601. Table fee is $120 for 8 feet “L’s” (8″ front & 8″ side) with an 8″ back table. Setup starts 8:00 AM. For more information, contact Kevin Kellman at k2stamps@gmail.com

December 16-17: Some Sunday Stamp Show 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM, Farm & Home Center, 1383 Arcadia Road, Lancaster, PA 17601. Table fee is $120 for 8 feet “L’s” (8″ front & 8″ side) with an 8″ back table. Setup starts 8:00 AM. For more information, contact Kevin Kellman at k2stamps@gmail.com