Philatelic Society of Lancaster County
The James Buchanan Chapter #173 of the American Philatelic Society
Chapter #118 of the American Topical Association
LINKS
The links are listed alphabetically by topic and/or category, which we trust you will find useful. This is by no means an exhaustive listing. If you have a philatelic or other interesting site to share, please submit to Dr. Charles J. DiComo for consideration.
Airmail & Aerophilately
Aerodacious Aviation + Audacious = Aerodacious. Carrying mail by state-of-the-art aircraft flown by audacious pilots linked U.S. cities together. The aerodacious significance of air mail and the development of the postal service allowed man’s foremost desire to get his written message delivered quickly to the outposts in the U.S. and beyond. Progress AND transportation were driven by the influence of the mail.
Catapultmail Mail sent by an Aeroplane, which is launched from a ship, while the ship is still at sea.
FIP Commission on Aerophilately FISA promotes & defends Aerophilately & Astrophilately in the international world of philately.
Inverted Jenny The World’s Most Famous Stamp: History of the First U.S. Government Airmail; Production of First U.S. Airmail Stamp; Robey’s Discovery at the Post Office; Sale Records of the 100 Inverted Jennys; Owners Biographies & Stories; Virtual Plating of the Pane of 100.
Zeppelin Mail Zeppelin Mail & Airship Memorabilia for collectors & scholars.
Chat Boards, Blogs & Page Reprints
PhilaMercury An online image and description database for U.S. covers that is free, open-access, and non-commercial. Collectors and dealers can upload images and add to the fully searchable postal history database. It can be used for research, as an imaged record of a collection, or to list covers available for purchase. Additionally, the Frajola Board For Philatelists is a public discussion forum where philatelists from around the world can chat and ask questions.
Classic Stamp Forgeries Blog
Geographical Philately Blog | Filatelia Geografica | Philatelie Geographique
New York 19th Century Postal History Blogger
New York 20th & 21st Century Postal History Blogger
“Paraphilately Page” by Art Groten. Download PDFs of back issues from American Stamp Dealers Association’s (ASDA) The American Stamp Dealer & Collector magazine.
Punk Philatelist Out to prove that stamps and other philatelic stuff are not just dusty things for old people to collect before they die, but a fascinating and vibrant expression of pop culture.
Spared and Shared 5 Saving history, one letter at a time…Blog containing mostly 19th century letters research and translated.
Stamp Collecting Round-Up Blog Interesting News, Resources, & Links about Stamps, Stamp Collecting & Postal Operations.
Stamp Lady Diana Sudyka is an American illustrator and printmaker from whose work graces album covers, young adult books, concert posters, and original paintings. In the series, the artist starts with a European stamp, which she then incorporates into a fantasy painting using gouache, ink, and watercolor.
StampSite -Talking About Stamps This website and blog is about enjoying stamps and sharing that enjoyment. Joseph Sullivan is a lifelong stamp collector and created this website to share his thoughts about stamps, start conversations, and hopefully attract new collectors to philately.
Expertizing Agencies
American Philatelic Expertizing Service APEX offers opinions on the genuineness of philatelic material at moderate cost. APEX utilizes the services of more than 120 specialists and a variety of high-tech equipment to provide guaranteed opinions. Anyone may submit material to the service, but APS members receive discounted rates.
Philatelic Foundation Central source for expertise in philately via a certification service, reference collection, & publications.
Philatelic Stamp Authentication and Grading The PSAG is a stamp authentication and grading company specializing in United States & Canada.
Professional Stamp Experts PSE authenticates and grades for United States, U.S. Possessions, Confederate States of America, stamps, covers, postal stationery, and Back-of-Book material.
Libraries, Foundations, Encyclopedias, Publications, Databases
American Philatelic Research Library The APRL has one of the world’s largest and most accessible collections of philatelic literature. It’s nearly three miles of shelving contain more than 23,000 book titles and 5,700 journal titles.
American Philosophical Digital Library Provides access to a wide variety of digitized items from the holdings of the American Philosophical Society.
Old Fulton New York Post Cards An extensive archive of Fulton, NY material and a searchable database with over 44,000,000 Old Newspaper pages from U.S. & Canada, by Thomas M. Tryniski.
Global Philatelic LibraryThe GPL is an initiative to provide a consolidated listing of philatelic publications, archives, museum items etc. held by libraries. So far 27 libraries have contributed their listings.
Historic Map Works Formed to create a historic digital map database of North America and the world.
History of Cartography The University of Chicago Press presents the first three volumes of the History of Cartography in searchable, PDF format.
Internet Archive A digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form, providing free access to researchers, historians, scholars, the print disabled, and the general public.
Manheim Historical Society Established in 1964, dedicated to preserving the past for the future, concentrating on the preservation of some of the landmarks that have characterized the borough of Manheim, Pennsylvania and surrounding areas, as well as collecting local historical artifacts.
Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center At the Boston Public Library, Digital Collections. American Revolutionary War Era Maps, Boston & New England Maps, Maritime Charts & Atlases, Urban Maps.
Northwest Philatelic Library, Serves as specialty and research library to philatelic community of Pacific Northwest and to broader public who may have interest in or a connection to philately. Directory
The Library Company of Philadelphia, Digital Collection. An independent research library concentrating on American society and culture from the 17th through the 19th centuries. Houses an extensive non-circulating collection of rare books, manuscripts, broadsides, ephemera, prints, photographs, and works of art.
Library of Congress The largest library in the world, with millions of books, recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps and manuscripts in its collections. The Library is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office.
Library of Congress Collection of Railroad Maps, 1828 to 1900
New York City Municipal Archives Online Gallery Over 900,000 images selected from the world-class historical collections of the Archives, most of these unique photographs, maps, motion picture and audio recordings are being made accessible for the first time.
New York Public Library Digital Collections Explore 754,059 items digitized from the NYPL collections, a living database with new materials added every day, featuring prints, photographs, maps, manuscripts, streaming video, and more.
New York Public Library Digital Collections – New York City Directories
New York State Historic Newspapers The NYS Historic Newspapers project provides free online access to a wide range of newspapers chosen to reflect New York’s unique history.
Philatelic Words & Phrases Translated into Other Languages
Pocket Watch Database Amazing Resources for Pocket Watch Serial Lookup & Information, Historical Details and Timelines for many of the major manufacturers.
Postal History Foundation
Postcard History A Magazine for the postcard collector.
Project ’44, Mapping the Battle of Normandy The Canadian Research and Mapping Association (CRMA) is a non-profit and Veteran-led organization which specializes in digital preservation, collection management systems, and mapping military history.
Project Gutenberg A library of over 60,000 free eBooks from free epub, Kindle eBooks, etc. Can download or read online.
The Real Estate Record A weekly report of building activity in New York City and its environs. This website contains fully digitized volumes (newspaper), ranging from Volume 1 (published in 1868) to Volume 110 (published in 1922).
The David Rumsey Map Collection Database and Blog Containing over 83,000 historical maps and images online – includes rare 16th through 21st century maps of America, North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Pacific, Arctic, Antarctic, and the World.
Free Online Philatelic Library, by David Saks.
Stamp Smarter Philatelic Library Philatelic Learning Center – Articles on ‘How To’, Stamp Manufacturing, Collecting, and ID, as well as videos.
The Curt Teich Postcard Archives Collection, transferred in Dec. 2016 to the Newberry from Lake County Discovery Museum in Wauconda, IL, which served as its home since 1982.
Museums
Canadian Postal Museum Enhancing knowledge, understanding & appreciation of events, experiences, people & objects that reflect & have shaped Canada’s history & identity.
Crane Museum of Paper Making The mission is to collect, care for, and exhibit the history of Crane Currency in order to create an entertaining and educational experience of Crane Currency’s unique story, as well as the art and science of papermaking with a special focus on currency paper and anti-counterfeiting technologies. Has section on U.S. Private Die Proprietary Revenue, Match & Medicine examples, Byam Match wrappers, etc.
The Eric Canal Museum Dedicated to preserving and showcasing the 1850 National Register Weighlock Building, the last remaining structure of its kind, and to telling the incredible adventure story of the Erie Canal.
The Arbittier Museum of Medical History Medical Antiques and American Civil War Surgical & Medical Antiques. A resource for collecting medical, Civil War, surgical, apothecary, dental, and bloodletting antiques; featuring the Collections and Museum of Medical Antiques by Collector & Preserver: Douglas Arbittier, MD, MBA.
The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum
The Museum of Philately
The Museum of Ridiculously Interesting Things, For those with a taste for the peculiar, The Museum of Ridiculously Interesting Things is an imaginary museum that explores the strange place between art and curiosities.
National Archives National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the nation’s record keeper.
National Postmark Museum Museum provides education about postmarks & preserves postmark history.
Early Office Museum Museum which engages in research on the history and evolution of offices, antique office machines and equipment, and business technology based on original documents, artifacts, and vintage photographs
Rodney G. Klein Museum and Library Independent, non-profit museum providing a non-ideological setting for research, meetings, and programs focusing on Wall Street and the stock market, where one can enrich their knowledge of the history of the stock market, finance, banking and economics.
Smithsonian National Postal Museum Resources on U.S. and world philatelic & postal history collections and a comprehensive library on philately & postal history.
Phillips Museum of Art at Franklin and Marshall College The Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary 1706-2006, Lesson Plans, Artifacts and Trivia.
Spellman Museum of Stamps and Postal History Resource of philatelic collections, provides educational programs & activities for collectors, researchers & historians.
New Holland Hit and Miss Engines. This site was created to share information about New Holland hit-and-miss engines and equipment manufactured by New Holland Machine Company, New Holland, PA, and contains a timeline, newspaper articles, advertisements and sales literature for the engines, feed mills, rock crushers, wood saws and information about founder Abraham Zimmerman.
Organizations
Associations, Chapters, Clubs & Federations
American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors
American Philatelic Society
American Philatelic Society Learning Center C3a
American Revenue Association
American Topical Association
Auxiliary Markings Club
Berlin Postal Stationery Collectors Club (BGSV)
Brandywine Valley Stamp Club
British Thematic Association UK
Christmas Philatelic Club (CPC)
Civil War Philatelic Society (nee CSA)
Collectors Club of Chicago
Errors, Freaks, & Oddities (EFO) Collectors’ Club
First Issues Collectors Club
French Association of Collectors of Postal Stationery
Graphics Philately Association
Hamilton Township (NJ) Philatelic Society
Hamilton Stamp Club
Houston Philatelic Society
Institute for Analytical Philately, Inc. (IAP)
Lincoln Stamp Club
Merchantville Stamp Club
Metropolitan Postcard Club of NYC
Mourning Stamps and Covers Club
Northeastern Federation of Stamp Clubs
Perfins Club
Plate Number Coil Collectors Club (PNC3)
Poster Stamp Collectors Club
Poway Stamp Club of San Diego
Royal Sydney Philatelic Club
Sequoia Stamp Club
Southeast Federation of Stamp Clubs
Springfield Stamp Club
StampoRama
Texas Precancel Club
The Stamp Collectors’ Club of Toledo
Virtual Stamp Club
Washington Stamp Collectors Club
West Toronto Stamp Club
Westfield Stamp Club – NJ
Wilkinsburg Stamp Club
Societies
Allentown Philatelic Society
American Air Mail Society
American First Day Cover Society
American Historical Print Collectors Society
American Philatelic Society
American Philatelic Society Writers Unit #30
American Plate Number Single Society
American Society for Philatelic Pages and Panels
Australian Philatelic Society
British Society for Japanese Philately
Carriers & Locals Society (CLS) – U.S.
Christmas Seal & Charity Stamp Society
Clifton Stamp Society
Ephemera Society of America
Hamilton Township Philatelic Society (HTPS)
International Bank Note Society
International Society for Japanese Philately
International Machine Cancel Society
Rathkamp Matchcover Society
Meter Stamp Society
Metropolitan Air Post Society (MAPS)
Military Postal History Society
Numismatic Bibliomania Society (NBS)
Postal Order Society
Mobile Post Office Society – U.S.
Precancel Stamp Society (PSS)
The Revenue Society, International Society for Collectors of Revenue Stamps & Documents
Society of Paper Money Collectors (SPMC)
Society of Collectors of Postal Stationery Italy
Souvenir Card Collectors Society
State Revenue Society – U.S.
StampoRama
U.S. Philatelic Classics Society (USPCS)
United Postal Stationery Society (UPSS)
United States Stamps Society (USSS)
Universal Ship Cancellation Society (USCS)
Western Cover Society
The Wreck & Crash Mail Society
Societies – U.S. Cities & States
Baltimore Philatelic Society
Chester County Historical Society – PA (CCHS)
Colorado Postal History Society
Dakota Postal History Society
Eastern Pennsylvania Precancel Society (EPPS)
Historic New England
Illinois Postal History Society
Midwest Philatelic Society
New Jersey Postal History Society Online (NJPHS)
Omaha Philatelic Society
Patterson Historical Society (PHS) – NY
Patterson Historical Society Maps Project
Greater Philadelphia Stamp &
Collectors Club
Pennsylvania Postal History Society
Strasburg Heritage Society – PA
Societies – Countries of the World
American Helvetia Philatelic Society
Bermuda Collectors Society
British Air Mail Society
British North America Philatelic Society – Canada
British Society for Japanese Philately
China Philatelic Society of London
China Stamp Society
Federation of the Italian Philatelic Societies
France & Colonies Philatelic Society, APS Affiliate #45
France & Colonies Philatelic Society (UK)
Germany Philatelic Society
The Great Britain Philatelic Society
International Playing Card Society
International Society of World Wide Stamp Collectors
Korea Stamp Society – U.S.
Philatelic Specialists Society of Canada
International Philippine Philatelic Society Bibliography
Postal History Society of Canada
Postal Stationery Society of Australia (PSSA)
The Postal Stationery Society of United Kingdom
Royal Philatelic Society of Canada
Royal Philatelic Society of London – UK
Royal Philatelic Society of New Zealand
Royal Philatelic Society of Victoria – Australia
Society of Israel Philatelists (SIP)
Tasmanian Philatelic Society (TPS)
L’Union Marcophile
Study Circles & Groups
Belgian Congo Study Circle
Egypt Study Circle
Rhodesian Study Circle
Variable Value Stamps Study Group (ATEEME)
West Africa Study Circle
Western Australia Study Group (WASG)
Michigan Postal History
Perfins (Perforated Initials) or SPIFS (Stamps Perforated with Initials of Firms & Societies)
Perfin Stamps of Australia Devoted to the study of Perfins found on Australian Postage, Revenue & Railway stamps.
Perfins on the Stamps of Cuba Rudy Roy’s pictorial exhibition of Cuban perforated insignia stamps.
The Story about Danish PERFINs Stamps Perforated by Initials of Firms and Society’s, PERForated INitials, By Toke Nørby.
Online Danish Perfin Catalog
Finnish Perfins Postal History from Finland 1889 – 1918, including Perfins.
French Merson Perfins
Great Britain Official Perfins The Official Perfins of the Queen Victoria Period, Board of Trade.
Hong Kong Perfins
Italian Perfins Also includes Italian advertising telegrams catalogue, Postal Meters cancellations, etc.
Perfins on the Stamps of Mexico
Spanish-Philippine Perfins
Toke Nørby’s Perfin Pages & History
Railroad Perfins of the USA A display of rail-related “perfins” collected, mounted & annotated by Dexter C. Wright.
U.S. Perfin Covers
Resources
Africa, Asia & Pacific Nations
The Australian Philatelic Federation The APF supports organised philately in Australia. Website contains info about the APF, Exhibitions & results, useful information for collectors, Exhibition paper, protectors, official Souvenirs, State Councils and Clubs, etc.
Philately in Egypt Resource for all things related to Egypt Philately.
Manchukuo Stamps Collection, 1932 to 1947A collection of Manchuckuo philately from the Manchurian region of North Eastern China ruled by the Japanese puppet government of H. I. H. Henry Pu-Yi, subsequently Emperor Kang-teh, between 1932 and 1945.
Britain & Commonwealth Nations
Australia Revenue & Railway Stamps. By Dave Elsmore, Queensland, Australia. OZ REVENUES, the largest Revenue Stamp and Railway Stamp source in the World.
British Imprimatur Sheets Provides pictures (in B&W) of Imprimatur sheets as an aid to plating; pages show sheets as they exist (sometimes in sections 5 rows at a time), with details of missing impressions (with links to items where they have been traced), and details of the colour, watermark position and if the impressions show an ivory head on the rear.
Penny Black Plating A Wiki hosted at Stamps of the World, complete plating with images of each position from all plates.
British Postmarks A British Postmark database containing 21169 places or variations of which 17820 have pictures (~84.1%).
Ireland Overprints Identification Stamps of Great Britain (King George V) overprinted for use in Ireland. A fully illustrated guide to the printings and variations. From an original idea by David Petley-Jones.
Jersey Post Established in 1969, & incorporated from the local government in 2006, Jersey Post now operates a network of 21 post offices across the island.
Great Britain Machins Are you a “Machin Nut” like I am? Then enjoy the over 1,700 varieties identified here for collectors of the Great Britain Machins, updated often, by Robin Harris.
Guernsey Post The Bailiwick of Guernsey is made up of a number of main islands as well as a few smaller islets. It is situated in the English Channel and, although Guernsey is geographically much closer to France than the UK, it is loyal to the British crown.
Philatelic Web Assortment of primarily British databases on references, postmarks, circulars, imprimaturs, collections, etc.
“Specimen” Stamps Dedicated to British Commonwealth UPU “Specimen” Stamps.
Spectator Magazine Explore the Spectator Magazine from from 1828 to 2008. Every page has been scanned & digitized, each article tagged & extracted, can search the whole archive by content, keyword, topic, location, and date.
British North America
Canada & Newfoundland – Robert H. Pratt Stamp Collection Images Collection of ~4300 slides given to the to the Collectors Club of Chicago, digitized with help of Clarence A. Stillions and British North America Philatelic Society (BNAPS) support.
Canada – Guide to the Admiral Stamps Reference articles on all aspects of the King George V Issue of 1911, by Randall W. Van Someren.
Canada’s Inland Revenue and Postal War Tax Stamps did not Finance its War Expenditures during the First World War What purpose did the Admiral War Tax stamps actually serve? by Christopher D. Ryan.
Canadian Philately, Information for the Discerning Collector Info on Postal Rates, Elizabethan-era Glossary, Tagging Error Database, What ultraviolet light do I use? etc., by Robin Harris.
Canadian Philately, On-Line Tagging Dabatase & Catalogue An up-to-date listing of all reported tagging errors available for searching. This info was gathered by John Jamieson of Saskatoon Stamp Centre and Mirko Zatka. Administered by Robin Harris.
Dictionary of Canadian Biography Useful resource in both French and English, nearly 8500 biographies, from year A.D. 1000 to current.
Halifax’s Council Minute Digitization Project Over 250 years of municipal council meeting minutes have been digitized and are now available to search.
Jim’s Stamp Projects Images of Canadian Proof Sheets, Pence Issues, Cents Issues, Large Queens, Small Queens and Revenue Stamps.
Nova Scotia Library & Archives, An onsite searchable library catalog describes holdings from the Library at the Nova Scotia Archives. It currently includes 40,000 entries.
Re-Entries.com A site devoted to the study of re-entries on postage and revenue stamps of Canada, British North America (BNA), United States (USA) and the world.
Squared Circle Cancellations, by Aaron Gulliver. A database of the numerous varieties by multiple collectors, along with tables and digital images, 2008-09-14.
Vincent Graves Greene Philatelic Research Foundation Resources to encourage and promote research in the fields of Canadian philately & postal history.
Gateway to W.G. Burden Stamp Projects, Includes “The Admiral Issue of Canada” as described by George C. Marler and The Small Queen site, providing visual examples of Constant Plate Varieties of Canada’s Small Queen issue: 1870 – 1897. It also explains and uses a Numbering System which is helpful with any discussion of these varieties.
Toronto Named and Numbered Post Offices, by Charles Livermore. This list was developed from information in Robert Smith’s Ontario Post Offices, Volume 1, An Alphabetical Listing.
Europe & Scandinavia
EXPONET Contains more than 1000 active exhibits from Czechoslovakia.
French Internment Camps 1939-1944 Philatelic and historical study by Michel Annet.
From Mechanization to Automation in the 20th century in France, from the LEXOVIAN PHILATELIC CIRCLE. In French, use Google Translate of page.
GermanStamps.net, Germany and Related Area 1872-1945. Also contains PMGS Reveal (download to Mac or PC), which applies filters to a stamp scans to reveal hard-to-see details (similar to defunct RetroReveal).
Memel Postal Rates 1919-1945 The Klaipeda Region or Memel Territory was defined by the Treaty of Versailles in 1920 and refers to the most northern part of the German province of East Prussia, when as Memelland it was put under the administration of the Council of Ambassadors.
The Nazi Scourge: Postal Evidence of the Holocaust and the Devastation of Europe Exhibition of one of the best known collections of Holocaust materials related to stamps, covers, postcards, letters, bank note forgeries, and manuscripts from concentration camps & Jewish ghettos, now termed The Spungen Holocaust Collection.
Playing Cards & Tax Stamps, by Peter Endebrock; Decks, Boxes, Taxes and Tax Stamps on Playing-Cards from around the world.
Plate Errors on Netherlands and Overseas Territories Stamps, Plaatfout.net gives an overview of almost all known plate errors in the Netherlands and the Overseas Territories, but also many new errors that have been found by collectors over the years. In Dutch, use your Web Browser’s Translate Function.
General Philately
Alphabetilately Sharing the joy & fascination of stamp & postal history collecting to non-collectors & collectors alike via the Alphabet.
American Philatelic Congress Provides philatelic researchers the opportunity to present written, original research papers.
Barney’s Stamps Digital Library Free Resource of Useful Philatelic References, Journals, How To’s, etc.
Colnect Easily manage your personal collections, from A to Z.
Stamp Engravers A database of stamp engravers all over the world and their work.
EFO Corner and U.S. Notes, by John Hotchner, Error, Fraks & Oddities articles that appeared in Linn’s from 1978 to 2007.
Exploring Stamps YouTube Channel Stamp Collecting is still the most popular hobby in the world. Learn about the world through sorting postage stamps. The current series takes just one postage stamp per episode and in a short few minutes, will take you on a journey of discovery.
Fight Against Fakes and Forgeries Commission of the Fédération Internationale de Philatélie (FIP).
FIP Postal Stationery Commission Provides information on the FIP Commission – names of delegates, notices of meetings, etc.
The Postal History
and Markings of The Forwarding Agents, by Kenneth Rowe
The Postal History
and Markings of The Forwarding Agents – FORWARDING AGENTS by CITIES DB, by Kenneth Rowe
Golf on Stamps A site devoted to the World Golf stamps, French Golf postmarks, French Golf meter stamps, British Open postmarks, and U.K. Golf slogan postmarks.
The Thomas L. Gravell Watermark Archive A collection of photographic reproductions of over 7,000 watermarks in paper made between 1400 and 1835 available as a searchable online electronic database.
The Kings Highway An overview of the Kings Highway. The idea of Charles II in 1660, it was not completed until 1735, finally linking Charles Town with Boston. Hosted by carolana.com.
U.S. Machine Cancellations of the Early 20th Century Examples of machine cancellations, links, etc. as the Post Office was trying to find the best cancelling machine to use, experimenting with a large variety of them from many manufacturers.
The Overprint Encyclopedia An excellent A to Z resource for identifying those hard to determine overprints on your stamps.
Postmarks & Cancellations – An Overview A Presentation covering Postmarks, Cancellations, Handstamps, Machine Usage, Collecting Ideas & Reference Materials.
The Pagesmith Postal – Postal Cover and Paper Repair Restoration services for postal materials. Jasmine specializes in surface cleaning (using dry, chemical-free methods), crease smoothing (with PTFE implements), and reinforcement/tear repairs (with acid-free, archival materials).
The PMCC Online Post Office Photo Collection Extensive collection of 30,000+ photos from all 50 States, every U.S. County, of Post Offices.
Postmark Reveal For the philatelist, a great resource to reveal details and cancellations on stamps and postal history (similar to the now defunct RetroReveal)
Presidential Hobbies Care of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) Museum. Activity to discover how hobbies help us clear our minds and learn valuable skills and lessons that we can apply to more formal parts of our lives.
Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Inc. America’s Premier Stamp Auctioneer Since 1930.
Stamp Collecting World A Philatelic & Stamp Collecting Information Database.
Stamp Forgeries.com Morten Munck created Stampforgeries.com to solve the problem of stamp forgeries, to display all forgeries ever created next to a genuine stamp for easy comparison. To Date: 225 Countries; 6661 high resolution images. Goal: Cover all countries; 15000+ high resolution images.
Stamp Identifier, World Wide Full search capability for the ISWSC World Wide Stamp Identifier (a live search (meaning it searches while you type) searching through 3000+ entries.
Stampworld CATALOGUE The largest on-line stamp catalogue.
U.P.U Postal Administrations This list allows postal customers from around the world to seek general information on rates, postal codes or other mailing matters concerning the international postal service.
Yvert & Tellier Buy online all the stamps of France, China, Monaco, Andorra, New Caledonia, Polynesia, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, TAAF…and enjoy special offers permanently on a large number stamps.
Maritime: Ships, Packets, Vessels & Sailing News
The Clipper Ship Era: 1843-1869, by Arthur Hamilton Clark. Published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons, New York & London, 1911.
Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild Online, searchable database containing 17,000+ Passenger Manifests in 17 Volumes, plus numerous other passengers listed in Special Projects.
Lloyd’s List Newspapers 1771-1826 Lloyd’s List is one of the world’s oldest continuously running journals, having provided weekly shipping news in London as early as 1734. It was published daily until 2013 (when issue 60,850 was published), and in constantly updated digital format only since then. This access provided by the Hathi-Trust Library.
Lloyd’s List Newspapers 1827-1869 Lloyd’s List is one of the world’s oldest continuously running journals, having provided weekly shipping news in London as early as 1734. It was published daily until 2013 (when issue 60,850 was published), and in constantly updated digital format only since then. This access provided by the USPCS.
Magellan – The Ships Encyclopedia Extensive online searchable database of Ship Biographies, Ship Pictures and Ship Manifests from A-Z (1800-1900’s).
The Maritime Heritage Project The Maritime Nations ~ 1800s, Ships, Passengers, Captains, Merchants, Merchandise, etc.
The Maritime History Virtual Archives Biographies, Ships, Ship Models, Ship Building, Seamanship, Naval History, Harbors, Images, etc.
New Bedford Whaling Museum The Museum seeks to advance understanding related to the influence of the whaling industry and the port of New Bedford on the history, economy, ecology, arts, and cultures of the region, the nation and the world.
Norway-Heritage: Hands Across the Sea Find a Ship: this database identifies ships not only which departed directly from Norway, but also other transatlantic ships which carried emigrants. Extensive by Type, Ship, Ship Owner or Operator, Year Built, Norwegian Departures, & Transatlantic Voyages.
Norway-Heritage: Image Gallery Find an Image: Sailing Ships, Historic Documents, Ports & Harbors, Steamship Companies, Yards & Construction, Mariners & Crew, Pioneers & Settlements.
Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, 1820-1897 This National Archive’s micro-publication M237, has been digitized & made available free on the Internet at FamilySearch Historical Record Collections & Internet Archive.
The Ship List Help you find ancestors on ships’ passenger lists. Also has immigration reports, newspaper records, shipwreck information, ship pictures, ship descriptions, shipping-line fleet lists etc.; as well as hundreds of passenger lists to Canada, USA, Australia and even some for South Africa.
The Wreck Site World largest online wreck database, with 182.070 wrecks & 159.870 positions, 59.300 images, 2310 maritime charts, 30.400 ship owners & builders, etc.
Numismatics (Coins, Paper Currency, Medals) & Scripophily (Historic Stock & Bond Certificates)
Banknotes.com One of largest websites for the world banknote collector.
BankNote Den Info about banknote collecting, or notaphily – simple and informative.
Bureau of Engraving and Printing Resources for the Numismatist who studies and/or collects currency, coins, tokens & paper money.
Dead Country Stamps and Banknotes Featuring histories, stamps and banknotes from countries that no longer exist.
French Association for the Study of Paper Currency (AFEP)
Italian Paper Money Association To study and exchange knowledge and skills related to the Italian paper money.
Scripophily Historic Stock & Bond Certificates; The RM Smythe Research Service Since 1880.
My Currency Collection, Reference Tools For U.S. Paper Money Collectors: Star Note Lookup; Fancy Serial Number checker; National Bank Charter Lookup; Star Note Tables, etc.
U.S. Currency Education Program The Seven denominations of U.S. Currency, their design and security features.
Stamp Shows & News
Stamp News Now An online philatelic resource connecting you to World-Wide Postal Administrations, Stamp Dealers, Stamp Shows and Auctions, a world of philatelic knowledge, and 3 great stamp magazines! John Dunn, Publisher – Stamp News Publishing.
Stamp Show List No. 1 Source for Stamp Shows Worldwide & The Stamp Yellow Pages Directory.
iStampShows A network for Stamp Shows, Dealers and Stamp Clubs across the Country.
World Stamp Show NY 2016 Archive of NY2016 that took place at the Javits Center in NYC from May 28 to Jun. 4 2016.
Stamp Pages – “Make Your Own” and Exhibit Paper Resource
Glodan – Dan the Paperman A company that was specifically set up to fill the printers’ and designers’ need for small quantities of paper and envelopes.
Stamp Album Pages – Free U.S. Produced by the Philosateleian, the U.S. Stamp Album is a collection of free PDF downloadable stamp album pages, which is updated four times each year to ensure your album contains spaces for the newest U.S. stamps.
Stamp Album Pages – Free Make-Your-Own Created by Kevin Blackston, this site makes creating stamp album pages easy. Simply choose your page settings, enter a caption, width, and height for each of your stamps. When everything is just the way you want it, click the “Generate PDF” button to download your page.
Stamps Album Pages for U.S. Carriers and Locals Stamps
War Department Papers A digital archive that unites copies of lost files that reconstitutes the invaluable historical papers of the U.S. War Department, 1784-1800.
United States & U.N.
Scarce Postal Rate of 6¼ Cents, A philatelic census of the 6¼ rate marking by Bill Schultz & Jasmine Smith. The census includes both covers and banknotes. Browse Collections to choose between Covers or Banknotes, or Browse Items for a searchable listing of all the items in this census.
Stamp Plating of the 3¢ U.S. Imperforate Stamp of 1851-1857 J. Bryan O’Doherty’s computerized database-driven environment to help plate the 2,600 positions of this stamp, and much more.
U.S. 1¢ Franklin Plating Archive Richard Doporto’s online depository of images, organized by plate number and position for the U.S. 1¢ Ben Franklin Stamp, 1851-1861 Issues. Also offers identification & certification service.
Notes on Grilled Issues of the United States. History of Grills, with images showing various types and a useful Table showing which grills were applied to which U.S. stamps. Links within the Table provide an image of each stamp design listed.
U.S. Postal Bulletins Digital access to the U.S. Postal Bulletins & U.S. Postal Laws & Regulation (PL&R).
U.S. Postal Service The Postal Service-200+ years since Benjamin Franklin was appointed our first Postmaster General in 1775.
Identification Guide for design numbers of United States Stamped Envelopes, Wrappers, and Letter Sheets The purpose of this site is to provide identification tools for U.S. postal stationery. The site was originally developed by V.F. Thomas, with subsequent edits and additions made by Mark Dubin.
Farrell Collection of U.S. Local Post, Carriers, Independent Mails and Express Stamps, Including Fakes and Forgeries, Care of the C&LS, each section includes a brief description of the post and some examples of the stamps and their forgeries. It is intended to provide an introduction and some inspiration to beginning collectors; and a convenient resource for experienced collectors or dealers seeking reference images of specific stamps or forgeries.
The U.S. 1 Cent Franklin Plating Archive 1851-1861, by Richard Doporto, an online depository of images, organized by plate number and position. An attempt to aid collectors, researchers and/or students in identifying, with a high degree of accuracy, which stamp and from what plate and position they might have.
The U.S. 3 Cent 1851 Essays A consortium of collectors came together to research and refine the attributes of the Essays submitted for the U.S. 3 Cent 1851 issue, which led to the updating of Scott U.S. Specialized Catalog in 2017.
Dr. Carroll Chase 3 Cent 1851-57 Plate Studies. The Smithsonian Institution holds the photographic negatives of Dr. Carroll Chase’s Plate Studies, available in B&W.
19th Century “Fancy” Cancels Database, Tracings & Info courtesy James M. Cole, The U.S. Philatelic Classics Society, and Bill Weiss.
Arkansas Postal History Website Dedicated to the accumulation and dissemination of information about the Postal System in Arkansas and in Indian Territory.
Atlas of Township Warrantee Maps, Lancaster County Atlas contains 41 Township Warrantee Maps produced by Pennsylvania Land Office in 1930s showing location of earliest landowners.
Broome County New York Postal History An Ever Evolving Endeavor to collect examples for the 159 physical post offices in Broome County (w/spelling differences, 176).
Civil War Articles Hosted by West Coast Civil War Collectors, specializing in original Civil War artifacts, and early U.S. Wars.
Confederate Stamps & Postal History Provenance A database of CSA stamps and postal history showing the record of ownership from its earliest existence, a chain of custody which helps establish pedigree and authenticity.
Connecticut Postal History
ChristmasSeals.net Specializing in Christmas Seals, Charity Labels and Cinderella Stamps.
The Depreciated Currency Covers Website, by Richard Hilty
Kansas-Nebraska Overprints – How to Detect Fakes on the 1922 Series, by Riverside Stamps: Mike Girard, Owner, Operator, Webmaster (g1rardmn1099@comcast.net)
Letters from Forgotten Ancestors, pre-1920 Letters Early U.S. Domestic Postal Rates – Colonial to 1920.
The 1940’s: A Decade of Stamps Ten stellar Exhibits by Thomas Nichols that cover the post-great depression era, World War II and the post-world War II era all in one decade. Tom accomplishes an all-inclusive collection of the different types of postal material published over this varied decade of turmoil and new beginnings in order to better understand how U.S. philately was affected by those world events.
Post Office Book, 1748-1752 Creator: Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790). This 372 page volume records receipt and dispatch of all mail in the Philadelphia Post Office between May 25, 1748 and July 23, 1752. Deliveries into the P.O. from out of town were listed, letter by letter, by the names of the addressees, weight and amount due, paid or free. Outgoing mail was simply listed by number of sheets and weight, not by individual letters. A detailed inventory of miscellaneous Benjamin Franklin Collections can be found HERE.
U.S. Post Offices A listing of over 187,000 Post Offices, searchable by State, far from complete, but a good place to start.
U.S. Post Offices, 1789-1875 Detailed listing with 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th Assistant Postmasters General. Comprehensive, excellent resource, by Don Heller, 2018.
The Prexies – 1938 Presidential Series Resource which illustrates each denomination, provides production data, & information concerning principal multiples & solo uses.
United Nations Stamps The resource for United Nations stamps, issued simultaneously at U.N. offices in New York, Geneva and Vienna. Stamps available from UNPA offices in person or by mail, and from stamp dealers. Valid for postage when used on mail from the UN offices in New York, Geneva and Vienna.
United States Revenue Stamps, Civil War, et al.
Revenue Collector Covering all things U.S. Revenues, Documents, Stock Certificates, descriptions, images, references, etc.
The Civil War Sun Picture Tax: Taxed Photographs 1864-1866, Collected and Curated by Bruce Baryla, 2015.
Civil War Tax Rates. When determining the authenticity of a Civil War-era document, one of the factors that can be used is whether the tax rate was correct. The tax structure was complicated and changed for many transactions throughout the period as legislation was passed. The tax rate table can also be used to determine underpaid or overpaid taxes, as well as any secondary or tertiary transactions on the same document or companion documents. General tabular data courtesy of Michael Mahler.
U.S. Revenues – What the R’s Are Resources for Scott-listed U.S. Revenue stamps, Civil War Revenue Stamped Paper, Private Die Proprietary, & Tax-Paid Issues.
Private Die Proprietary Stamps, A primer on “Match and Medicine” Stamps.
Private Die Proprietary Stamps: A Face- and Denomination-Different Array. Thumbnails site based on pages developed by the late Sherwood Springer. Springer grouped many similar stamps in order to make balanced page layouts, so the stamps are often not in alphabetical order by company. Each thumbnail will lead to a life-size page. On these pages it is possible to see the catalog number of any stamp by holding the mouse pointer over the image, and each image is a link to a larger illustration of, and information about, the stamp. Great resource!
This Card Perfumed with “Hoyt’s German Cologne”, by Cliff & Linda Hoyt. The Hoyt’s issued U.S. Private Die Proprietary Revenue stamps for use on their bottles of cologne to meet the government tax requirements.
Private Die Proprietary Stamps – Dr. Kilmer & Company Provisionals
U.S. Battleship Revenue Stamps, includes the Battleship Desk Reference (BDR) version 2.0, based on original creation of Robert Mustacich and Anthony Giacomelli in the early 1990s, and other resources, including the Cancel Extractor (to replace the defunct RetroReveal)
The Proprietary Revenue Stamps of 1898 by Malcolm A. Goldstein. On Beyond Holcombe, Companies Using Proprietary Battleship Revenues. An excellent overview of many of the Private Die Match and Medicine Proprietors, 2018.
The 1898 Revenues by John Langlois in Nairobi, Kenya. Blog about the U.S. Revenue Stamps that Financed the Spanish-American War, including the Battleships.
“Fake Perforations on 19th Century U.S. Revenue Stamps: A Stroke of Luck”, by Robert Mustacich, The American Revenuer, 68(4): 90-96, 2015.
Hair Raising Stories, by Don Fadely. About 19th & early 20th century hair preparations, their proprietors, and the bottles they came in. It is primarily intended for antique bottle collectors, but gives details for the U.S. Private Die Proprietary Revenue stamp collector.
Re-Entries.com, by Ralph E. Trimble. A site devoted to the study of re-entries on postage and revenue stamps of BNA, U.S.A. & the world.
Domestic Matches Manufacturers Listing: late-1800s to present, useful for the Private Die Proprietary Revenue Collector.
U.S. Match & Medicine Stamps from Western New York State, by Mark Scheuer. With an emphasis on Merchant’s Gargling Oil from Lockport, NY. Presented to the Rochester Philatelic Association (RPA), March 10, 2011.
U.S Private Die Proprietary Revenues Stamps: The Emerson Drug Company Medicine Stamps. A one-frame, 16 page Exhibit on the 1899-issued stamps (RS280, RS281, RS282, RS283). They precancelled their stamps with a three-digit code that indicated the date of cancellation. The first number, 1 through 6, indicated the day of the week, Monday through Saturday. The second letter indicated the week of the year, issued in two half-year periods. The third number indicated the year: 8 for 1900, and 1 for 1901. Also includes handstamps on Battleship revenues, almanacs, trade cards, ephemera and other advertising material. A great exhibit.
“An Historical Reference List Of The Revenue Stamps Of The United States Including The Private Die Proprietary Stamps”, Compiled by George L. Toppan, Hiram E. Deats and Alexander Holland, A Committee of the Boston Philatelic Society, Boston, Mass., 1899.