DECEMBER 2023 $6.95
MONTHLY JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN PHILATELIC SOCIETY
LUNAR EXPLORATION
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AMERICAN PHILATELIST THE
December 2023
Table of Contents
VOLUME 137 • NO. 12 • WHOLE NO. 1,475
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OVER THE MOON ABOUT THESE STAMPS
BY JIM ROTH The United States produced 13 stamps over 51 years that directly connect humans with the exploration of the Moon. The stamps tell interesting tales of design, production, and promotion, all told via the thread of the U.S. space program and lunar exploration.
SOME SPECIAL POSTAL HISTORY
BY TERENCE HINES Stamps issued for special delivery in the United States were created to add a little something extra to the delivery service. A close look at covers bearing these stamps show numerous types of standard uses along with many unexpected uses.
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WHY COLLECT CZECHOSLOVAKIA?
BY JAMES A. BUCKNER AND KEITH HART There are so many reasons to latch onto this small country (now divided) that carries deep history and packs a big philatelic punch. Political and technological changes over eras yield their own denominations, overprints, designs, and varieties.
THE LETTER OPENER
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VACCINATIONS IN THE SMALLPOX ERA
BY DR. JAMES MILGRAM Public health practices changed dramatically with the discovery and development of vaccinations. Letters and ephemera help tell this important story.
PERSONAL PASSION BRINGS AUTHOR TO IBRA
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BY CHARLES EPTING Ships, steamboats and steamships all played a part in transporting mail across waters. A cover’s markings help tell what kind of vessel carried a cover.
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BY KENNETH GILBERT The author writes about his trip to Germany – where he spent time as an exchange student – to attend and exhibit at IBRA ‘23, a large international stamp show with much to offer.
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THE MARKETPLACE
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BY MATT LIEBSON There are some basic tricks to finding new material, along with some tricks to help you build your collection.
ON OUR COVER Designed by Chad Cowder, a U.S. stamp celebrating the Apollo 11 mission waves proudly on the surface of the moon.
Other Features 1143 1136 1150 1080 1153 1085
APRL Notes Books & Catalogs Classified Ads Editing Philately Index of Advertisers Letters to the Editor
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Membership Report New U.S. Issues New World Issues Obituary Our Story Philatelic Happenings
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President’s Column Show Time The Marketplace Worldwide in a Nutshell
And a giant leap for stamp collectors JIM ROTH
Photo from Apollo 11 mission, courtesy of NASA.
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he Moon has forever sparked the imagination as it traverses the ocean of stars, storytellers creating fanciful ships magically ferrying dignitaries to our celestial neighbor. When rocket pioneer Robert Goddard declared in 1913 that rockets would someday reach the Moon, he was laughed out of town. In 1961, when the United States’ Mercury Program launched Alan Shepard on a 300-mile, 15-minute suborbital hop, President John Kennedy boldly proposed that America could land on the Moon and safely return within the decade. The whole world watched as two Americans – Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, along with their command module pilot Michael Collins – pulled off the impossible against staggering odds in the summer of 1969. More than 50 years later, in 2025, America plans to land a new generation of astronauts on the Moon to start permanent habitats and industrial activity. Discounting stamps that just show an image of the Moon and focusing just on those that show human exploration, here are some lesser known facts about the 13 stamps that the U.S. has issued to commemorate America’s human exploration of the Moon for the past 50 years (or so).
1968 – Apollo 8 / 6¢ First Class When Apollo 7, the first manned spaceflight of the Apollo Program, returned safely to Earth in October 1968 after a simple orbital shakeout mission, NASA surprised every1092 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / DECEMBER 2023
Figure 1. One of Leonard Buckley’s Apollo 8 concepts showed the spacecraft orbiting the Moon and included an alternate biblical quote, “And God saw that it was good.” (Courtesy Third Postmaster General’s collection, National Postal Museum.)
one by announcing that Apollo 8 would break the bonds of Earth to circle the Moon, an extremely risky gamble to say the least. Apollo 8 made 10 orbits of the Moon. When the mission returned to Earth, grateful Americans wrote to the U.S. Post Office Department expressing that it would be fitting to honor this accomplishment with a stamp. Two weeks later – on January 9, 1969 – Postmaster General Marvin Watson in conversation remarked, “We should put out a stamp for the Apollo 8.” That same day, Lee D. Saegesser, an American Topical Association Space Unit member, and his manager, Eugene M. Emme, both employed with the NASA Historical Office, joked that the Johnson Administration would love to score political points by issuing an Apollo 8 stamp. Later, Emme shared the thought with Dr. Edward C. Welsh, executive secretary of the National Aeronautics and Space Council. Welsh asked if there had been a Mercury or Gemini stamp. Told that stamps had indeed been issued, Welsh said he would take a look into the subject. Meanwhile, the celebrated astronauts were visiting a joint session of Congress in Washington D.C. that very day when Representative James Fulton, of the House Science and Astronautics Committee, introduced legislation to issue a postage stamp honoring the historic spaceflight. It would appear that the stars were aligned for an Apollo 8 stamp. The next day, Watson announced that an Apollo 8 stamp would be issued on May 5, 1969, the anniversary of Alan Shepard’s spaceflight. This was before even a sketch was scribbled or a city of issue was selected. During the preliminary design process, Leonard Buckley drew up a series of concepts and the one shown (Figure 1) is similar to the final design, with a great perspective of the Apollo spacecraft orbiting the Moon. Every "final design" stamp in this article is shown from pages 1094-7.
1969 – First Man on the Moon / 10¢ Airmail There were three separate official first day ceremonies for the Apollo 11 postage stamp on September 9 in Washington D.C. All three produced programs with first day of issue canceled stamps. The official Post Office Department ceremony was held in the afternoon at the Washington Hilton Hotel with as many as 5,000 people jammed into the hotel’s International Ballroom. The three American lunar voyagers arrived to two minutes of thundering applause and enjoyed an afternoon of exuberance and levity. Armstrong noted that while he wasn’t able to create any revenue for the post office while delivering a cover to and from the Moon, he discovered that since postal regulations entitled small office carriers to charge by the mile, he would send a voucher the following month for the 468,000-mile delivery route. A presidential invitation was required for a prestigious ceremony held in the White House. The program was not the usual list of stamp details. Instead, it was a historic memento with a portrait of Aldrin on the Moon, text of Presi-
Figure 2. Officials in Apollo, Pennsylvania, denied for a first day ceremony, had an “official second day of issue ceremony” for the 1969 airmail Moon Landing stamp.
dent Richard Nixon’s congratulatory phone call to the orbiting spacecraft, the jumbo stamp canceled with the dual first day of issue postmark, and a transcript of Armstrong’s and Aldrin’s conversation while on the Moon. NASA held a “Splashdown Party” complete with its own program at the Shoreham Hotel in the evening with 1,200 invitation-only VIPs, contractors, and employees closely related to the Apollo Program in attendance; the three astronauts were again the highlight of the evening. And, there’s a fourth “official” program: a USPOD approved “second day of issue” ceremony set for September 10, 1969 (Figure 2). During a time when it was still a badge of honor to be an official first day of issue city, aldermen in Apollo, Pennsylvania wrote to the postmaster general asking to be considered for a first day ceremony. The Post Office Department nixed the idea, so the aldermen settled for the next best thing, declaring that they would have an “official second day of issue ceremony” at the Apollo Ridge Stadium, complete with dignitary speakers and a program. There also is a very special philatelic item connected with the historic Apollo 11 mission, and I show it here, courtesy DECEMBER 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 1093
Special Delivery Stamps: Rarely Seen and Special Uses TERENCE HINES
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Figure 1. A solo use of the 10-cent special delivery stamp of 1922 (Scott E12) on official mail.
Figure 2. A cover sent by the War Department in 1942 that must have included very important information. 1102 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / DECEMBER 2023
ust what characterizes an unusual use of any stamp is, of course, a matter of judgment. In this article I’ll describe covers that show what I consider to be unusual uses of special delivery stamps, beginning with the first of the so-called bicycle messenger design issued in 1922. Special delivery stamps offer great opportunities to find covers showing more than the usual use of the stamps. Such covers can also illustrate the application of some fairly obscure postal regulations. Covers from government agencies bore the famous “penalty clause” warning that private use of the envelope could result in a $300 fine. Such official federal government covers did not have to pay first class postage. If the sender needed extra postal services, those had to be paid for. Shown (Figure 1) is a May 11, 1943, official cover from the Coast Guard Station in Biddeford Pool, Maine. As a government agency, the Coast Guard did not have to pay first class postage, but payment of the special delivery fee was required. The next cover (Figure 2) shows an example of the use of airmail and special delivery stamps without payment of the basic 3-cent first class postage. The cover bears both a special delivery and a 6-cent airmail on an impressive War Depart-
ment cover with the marking, “WD ESSENTIAL OFFICIAL Amesbury. However, the special delivery stamp wasn’t canAIR MAIL.” The cover, addressed to Washington, D.C., is celed by the Army Postal Service, but in Amesbury on July postmarked November 10, 1942, from the Atlanta, Georgia, 28, nine days after the airmail stamp was canceled. Federal Annex. This illustrates that official mail had to pay What can explain the discrepancy between the dates and both special delivery fees and airmail postage. The text in the places of the two postmarks? It was the height of World War blurred blue receipt mark at the left of the cover dated NoII in 1943, and parents would have been more than anxious vember 11 reads “Telegraph & Cable Section.” The striking to get mail from their sons and daughters serving overseas. red border and the text “IMMEDIATE ACTION” indicates The message was from George E. Collins to his mother, that this cover contained some very important communicaMabel Collins. I suspect that Mrs. Collins set up some sort tion. During WWII, soldiers’ mail could be sent free of first class postage. This privilege commenced on April 1, 1942. As was the case with other official mail, additional services required prepayment. Figure 3 shows a soldier’s letter sent free of postage but bearing a special delivery stamp. The “soldier’s mail” inscription under the stamp explains the lack of 3 cents postage. The letter was mailed April 6, 1942, from St. Louis by a soldier stationed at Scott Field in Illinois. The cover was received April 7 in Huntington, West Virginia. V-Mail was a special form of mail used by armed service personnel during World War II. It commenced June 15, 1942, and ended October 29, Figure 3. Soldiers’ letters did not require postage but special delivery fees had to be paid. 1945. Special V-Mail forms were used. A sender would write their message on the form as if it were a regular letter, complete with the address of the recipient. The military postal system would then send the completed form to a location where the contents would be censored and photographed on microfilm. The combined microfilm would be developed and printed, with the messages sent to the addressee. This system allowed millions of soldiers’ letters to be transported to the United States from the European and Pacific theaters at a fraction of the cost of sending the physical letters. (Thirty-seven mail bags required to carry 150,000 one-page letters could be replaced by a single mail sack.) V-mail was free for basic first class postage, but if the sender wanted anything other than basic service, the form was treated as regular mail (with proper postage affixed) and was not miFigure 4. A special delivery stamp (Scott E12) used for uncertain crofilmed. reasons on a V-Mail form. An example of such a V-Mail form, uprated for airmail service with a copy of the 1941 6-cent transport airmail, is shown (Figure 4). Perhaps the sender thought that the letter would make better time if sent by airmail than if it was microfilmed. The airmail stamp was postmarked July 19, 1942, and the form was addressed to Amesbury, Massachusetts. The form also has a copy of the 10-cent special delivery stamp affixed. At first glance it seems that the sender wanted the cover to get speFigure 5. A Congressional use of a special delivery stamp (Scott E17). cial delivery service when it arrived in DECEMBER 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 1103
WHY COLLECT CZECHOSLOVAKIA? This small country (now divided) with a deep history packs big philatelic punch JAMES A. BUCKNER AND KEITH HART
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zechoslovak philately reflects the rich and turbulent history of central and eastern Europe in the 20th century and the struggles of the Czech and Slovak peoples for self-determination. The history of the country is shown in its beautifully produced stamps, and tell a story of domination under AustroHungarian rule, sudden independence at the end of World War I, then after only 20 years, a sudden and brutal occupation, followed almost immediately after liberation by repression under the thumb of communism, and finally a freedom in 1989 that still exists today. All this in a little more than 100 years. Situated in the middle of the continent, between Austria, Germany, Poland, Hungary and Ukraine, today Czechoslovakia no longer exists. In its place are the (relatively) new Czech Republic (also known as Czechia) and the Republic of Slovakia. The Czech and Slovak ethnic groups lived in the areas of Bohemia, Moravia, and Slovakia for 1,000 or more years. The Kingdom of Bohemia was incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years’ War (1618 to 1648) and came under Habsburg rule. Czech and Slovak nationalism grew as a cultural movement during the 19th century despite Bohemia and Moravia being under Austrian domination for 300 years while Slovakia was ruled by the Kingdom of Hungary for more than 1,000 years. As World War I was winding down, the Czechs and Slovaks, led by primarily Tomáš Masaryk and Milan Štefánik, 1112 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / DECEMBER 2023
Prague Castle, built in the 9th century and the largest ancient castle in the world. Photo courtesy of Tilman2007, Wikipedia.
respectively, declared independence. The establishment of a new country begets an interesting time, philatelically speaking, and Czechoslovakia is no exception. The new country, an amalgamation of two main groups of peoples (the Czechs and the Slovaks) along with smaller groups (Poles, Germans, Hungarians and Ruthenians among others), was established on October 28, 1918. As mentioned, Czechs and Slovaks had existed in this area for many centuries and were joined by other minorities from the surrounding areas. They had been ruled over by the Habsburg dynasty for hundreds of years but had managed to develop thriving industries in Bohemia, while Moravia and Slovakia were largely (but not exclusively) agricultural. Many of the groups of the new country had little in common except an overwhelming desire for independence from the rule of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The attempt to build a multicultural society during the First Czechoslovak Republic began a chapter of history and philately that still resonates today. The philately of Czechoslovakia can be divided broadly into historical periods: 1. The forerunner period or transition period, 1918-1920. 2. The First Czechoslovak Republic, 1918-1939. 3. Protectorate Bohemia and Moravia, 1939-1945. 4. The First Slovak Republic, 1939-1945. 5. The Second Czechoslovak Republic, 1945-1992. 6. The Czech Republic and the Republic of Slovakia, both 1993 to present.
What makes the philately of Czechoslovakia so satisfying is that collectors can choose one or more periods or perhaps, all the periods to collect or to specialize. The quality and beauty of the Czech and Slovak stamps are also an outstanding attraction to collectors as many to this day are engraved. But how to collect Czechoslovakia? A beginner can start with Czechoslovakia Scott No. 1 and collect all the stamps up to the present time until they have everything up to the last issue. Accumulation is one way of doing it. However, they will run into certain difficulties and will have passed up some very exciting and interesting aspects of Czechoslovak philately. A better approach might be to look into the different periods and examine the stamps to see what catches the eye. A survey of Czechoslovak philately is an examination of the history of the 20th century Europe: war, the struggle between fascism and democracy, peace, Cold War, the struggle between capitalism and communism, and later, the difficulties in converting a moribund centrally managed economy into a vibrant, free-market society. Czechoslovak philately shows it all.
1 The forerunner or transition period, 1918-1920 The forerunner or transition period presents the collector with many opportunities to specialize. When the Czechoslovak Republic was declared in Prague on October 28, 1918, the only postal system and stamps existing at the time were those of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The new country took over facilities of the existing postal system and continued to use previously issued Austrian (and Hungarian, mainly in Slovakia) stamps. Many specialists collect those Austrian and Hungarian stamps used on Czech territory after October 28, 1918, until their validity ended on February 28, 1919. There also was a Scout postal system set up in Prague for a short period of time after the demise of the AustroHungarian government. It ran from November 7, 1918, until November 25, 1918, issuing two stamps (Figure 1). Scouts delivered mail franked with specially printed stamps in Prague. The Scout postal system also created one of the greatest rarities of Czechoslovak philately. The Scout service was resurrected for one day, December 21, 1918, for the return of Tomáš Masaryk to Prague. The 10-heller blue and 20-heller red Scout stamps were overprinted “Příjezd prezidenta Masaryka” (Arrival of President Masaryk) for use on that day. These stamps and covers are highly sought by collectors, especially those with a Scout specialty. Were you aware that there was a Czechoslovak army in Russia fighting against the Austrians and Germans during World War I? The demise of the Austro-Hungarian Empire came in part due to the efforts of this Czechoslovak army. By 1915, groups of ethnic Czechs living in Russia were allowed to form their own units in the Czarist army. They were
joined by deserters from the Austro-Hungarian army as well as from those recruited from prisoners of war. This army grew quickly and was known as the Czechoslovak, or Czech, Legion in Russia, peaking at more than 100,000 men. It distinguished itself in battle, notably at Zborov in Ukraine. Figure 1. The 20-heller Czech Scout Post stamp of 1918, However, Russia’s exit Scott OL2. The 10-heller blue from the war after the rise with the same design of a of the communists in 1917 Bohemian lion is OL1. trapped the Czech Legion in Russia. Unwanted by the Reds and viewed as traitors by Austria, the legion was asked to disarm and leave Russia. The soldiers refused to disarm and took control of the trans-Siberian railroad as they moved east toward Vladivostok, where Allied ships would take them to Western Europe. During all this, a postal system was established along the railway that issued its own postage stamps (Figure 2). These stamps are listed in the Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue and are coveted by specialists and collectors. Transition periods of any country often see the rise of existing stamps being overprinted, either officially or locally, and Czechoslovakia is no exception. By decree of the new government in Prague, Austrian and Hungarian stamps were valid until the end of February 1919.
Figure 2. The Czechoslovak Legion Post stamps of 1919-1920, Scott 1-3.
Figure 3. Overprints from Prague, Skalic and Žilin used in 1919 on Austrian and Hungarian stamps, listed in the Michel catalog (Michel Mitteleuropa catalog Lokale Revolutionsausgaben 14, 119, and 142). Courtesy of Chris Jackson. DECEMBER 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 1113
BY CHARLES EPTING
Of Ships, Steamships, and Steamboats
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Figure 1.This 1815 folded letter from Bordeaux, France, to New Orleans bears a manuscript “Sh 14½” rating at top right. “Sh” was a common abbreviation for “Ship” during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Figure 2. An 1858 cover from Mexico City to New York City which was endorsed to be carried by the contract steamer Tennessee of the New Orleans & Vera Cruz Line but was instead carried by a private ship and correctly marked as a ship letter (“Ship” and “5” handstamps) in New Orleans.
Figure 3. The steamship rate between Havana, Cuba, and the United States was 12½ cents, as shown by the handstamp on this 1851 folded letter to New York City. This letter was carried on the Howland & Aspinwall Line’s Philadelphia. 1132 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / DECEMBER 2023
his brief column, which sets up a topic I’d like to discuss further in the future, was predicated by a conversation I had with my colleague Alison Sullivan recently. I was editing one of our forthcoming auctions and Alison asked me to explain the difference between ship mail, steamship mail, and steamboat mail. It was only when I stopped to think about the similarity of these terms that I came to realize how impenetrable such aspects of postal history must seem to newcomers. So, let’s do our best to briefly break down these terms, and we will explore each of them more fully at a later date. We’ll start with ship mail, which encompasses letters that entered the United States on vessels that did not have a contract to carry mail. Dating back to colonial times, ship captains would often carry mail on their voyages; this evolved into a formalized system whereby captains would deliver mail to the post office at the port of entry, where it would enter the mainstream. For this service the captain would be paid a small fee, usually 2 cents. Before we proceed any further, I feel it is important to define a word that’s meaning is so often taken for granted in philatelic literature: “contract.” Governments, including the United States and United Kingdom, would enter into contracts with private shipping companies for the carriage of mail: the government would require a certain number of trips be made in a set
Figure 4. This 1850 folded letter originated in Panama City on the west coast of Panama. When it arrived in New Orleans it received red “Steam” and “30” handstamps. The black datestamp erroneously reads “Panama N.Y.” when it was supposed to read “Panama N.G.” (New Granada).
Figure 6. The terms “Steam” and “Steamboat” were used interchangeably, as can be seen when comparing this 1858 cover with the cover in Figure 5.
amount of time, and the shipping line would be subsidized by the government for their service. These contracts typically allowed for mail to be prepaid at its point of origin, as opposed to ship mail, which was sent collect. Between 1840 and 1875, 31 companies carried government mail on the North Atlantic. Beginning in 1840, the British & North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company (commonly called the Cunard Line) obtained a contract with Great Britain to carry mail to North America. From that point forward, transatlantic mail was dominated by contract vessels. The existence of postal contracts meant that letters carried in this manner were not subject to a ship letter fee and are therefore not classified as such. So the key to understanding ship mail, particularly after the rise of transatlantic steamship mail in the 1840s, is the fact that it was carried on non-contract vessels. Steamship letters, on the other hand, typically originated in the Caribbean, Central America, South America, or the West Coast of the United States. In contrast with ship mail, steamship mail was carried by vessels with mail contracts, and these letters were assessed at special rates higher than those charged for ship letters. The first steamship rates were laid out by the Post Office Department in the mid-1840s, and the first steamship
Figure 5. This 1848 folded letter was carried on the steamboat Homer from Pleasant Hill, Louisiana, to New Orleans. The red “Homer” handstamp would have been applied onboard, while the black “Steam” and “10” handstamps were applied upon arrival in New Orleans.
markings appeared in 1849. The 1848 steamship rates between Charleston, South Carolina, and various ports are instructive: Caribbean islands other than Havana, 10 cents; Havana, 12½ cents; Chagres, New Grenada (east coast of Panama), 20 cents; Panama City (west coast of Panama), 30 cents; and San Francisco and other Pacific ports, 40 cents. Cities such as Charleston, New Orleans, New York, and others produced handstamps for these various rates. Steamship mail is seen through the General Postal Union period of the 1870s. Now we come to the last of our three terms: steamboat mail. Like ship mail, steamboat mail was carried by non-contract vessels. The difference is that steamboats operated on inland waterways: rivers, lakes, streams, bays, sounds, and canals. Steamboat mail was collected by a captain or clerk along a particular route and carried to the post office at the end of his run. Beginning in 1825, the captain would receive 2 cents for each letter carried (with rates generally mirroring ship letter rates in later decades). Various markings were used on steamboat mail, including post office markings that read both “Steamboat” and “Steam” to properly identify steamboat mail. Practically, there is no difference between these two terms, but one must be careful not to let a “Steam” handstamp trick you into picturing the aforementioned steamship mail. There are also private “name-ofboat” markings that include the name of the ship that carried a particular letter, which is a sprawling topic that has filled entire volumes in and of itself. To recap: Ship letters were carried on an oceangoing vessel without a post office contract to a United States port of entry. Steamship letters were carried on an oceangoing vessel with a post office contract and rated based on their point of origin. Steamboat letters were carried over inland waterways by a vessel without a post office contract. And with that, I will see you all again next month as we continue to make heads and tails of the various ways to interpret these fascinating pieces of our postal past. DECEMBER 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 1133
New U.S. Issues BY Jeff Stage
Two releases wrap up 2023; new CSAC chair is a collector
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single stamp for a revered Supreme Court justice and a whimsical block of four stamps showing woodland animals wrap up the 2023 U.S. stamp program. All the stamps are self-stick, domestic first-class Forever stamps. More news involving U.S. stamps took place far from first day ceremonies. First, new postal rates (not unexpected) were announced for early 2024. Also, a new head of the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee was announced, and guess what – he’s a stamp collector! In news forthcoming, but not yet announced, the calendar for new stamps in 2024 was expected any day, but had not arrived in time for this issue of The American Philatelist.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
ment in 1980, she led the fight in the courts for gender equality. When she began her legal crusade, women were treated, by Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a longtime law, differently from men. Hundreds of state and federal laws ardent supporter and leader for women’s rights, appears on a restricted what women could do, barring them from jobs, Forever stamp issued October 2 at the National Portrait Galrights and even from jury service. By the time she donned lery in Washington, D.C. judicial robes, however, Ginsburg had worked a revolution.” Ginsburg (1933-2020), who started her career as an acTotenburg noted one of Ginsburg’s earliest written opitivist lawyer fighting gender discrimination, was the counnons from the Supreme Court was in 1996 when she penned try’s 107th Supreme Court justice, being nominated in 1993 the court’s 7-1 majority opinion that the Virginia Military Inby President Bill Clinton. stitute could no longer remain an all-male institution. True, Ginsburg became a respected jurist Ginsburg said, most women — indeed most whose important majority opinions advancmen — would not want to meet the rigoring equality and strong dissents on socially ous demands of VMI. But the state, she said, controversial rulings made her a passionate could not exclude women who could meet proponent of equal justice and an icon of those demands. American culture, the Postal Service said in “She was an unlikely pioneer,” Totenburg a release about the stamp. wrote, “a diminutive and shy woman, whose The stamp features an oil painting of soft voice and large glasses hid an intellect Ginsburg facing the viewer in her black juand attitude that, as one colleague put it, was dicial robe with her iconic intricate white ‘tough as nails.’” collar. Artist Michael J. Deas based his paintIn 2013, a popular blog created by a New ing of Ginsburg on a photograph by Philip York University law student elevated GinsBermingham. Art director Ethel Kessler deburg to the status of “Notorious R.B.G.” — a signed the stamp. humorous play on words based on the name The stamp was printed on Banknote of late rapper the Notorious B.I.G. — and furCorporation of America’s Alprinta 74 press ther enshrined her as an icon of American The Ruth Bader Ginsburg and is being sold in panes of 20. popular culture. In 2016, Ginsburg and two commemorative is available The first day ceremony was hosted by at https://aps.buzz/RBG. biographers published My Own Words, which USPS Board of Governors Chairman Roman became an immediate New York Times bestMartinez IV and included Nina Totenberg, leseller. The 2018 documentary RBG brought gal affairs correspondent at National Public Radio; Lori Dym, additional attention to her life and work, and another film USPS procurement and property law managing counsel; Elizreleased that year, On the Basis of Sex, dramatized Ginsburg abeth Glazer, founder of the public safety nonprofit Vital City; and her husband arguing her first discrimination case in the and Ginsburg’s granddaughter Clara Spera, a lecturer at Har1970s. vard Law School and senior associate at WilmerHale. Ginsburg was a lifelong fan of opera, and during her time Ginsburg was a “demure firebrand who in her 80s beon the bench she came to be seen as one of the country’s came a legal, cultural and feminist icon,” Totenburg wrote on foremost promoters of the art form. In 2015, she attended the NPR website in September 2020 after the justice’s death. the debut of a one-act operatic comedy that dramatized her “She changed the way the world is for American women. friendship with fellow Supreme Court justice and opera lov“For more than a decade, until her first judicial appointer Antonin Scalia, a conservative with whom she frequently 1158 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / DECEMBER 2023
disagreed on legal matters. During her Supreme Court years, Ginsburg battled cancer several times but always insisted on returning to the bench as quickly as possible after treatments. Even as she became more visibly frail, her determination to stick to her rigorous, muchpublicized daily workout routine and her regular, relentless schedule of work earned her ever greater admiration as she demonstrated her endurance and the strength of her commitment to causes she had championed for a lifetime. Bermingham, a well-known portrait photographer, also was Ginsburg’s neighbor in the Watergate building in Washington, D.C., according to an article published by NPR. “It is such a powerful photograph,” Bermingham, who has photographed royalty and other luminaries, told NPR. “I wish I knew how I could replicate this on every session.” NPR offered the following about the photo shoot: On the day of the photo shoot, Ginsburg, who was then 84, hosted Bermingham and his daughter in her office at the Supreme Court. Bermingham had long anticipated the session, but in the early going of the shoot, things didn’t seem to be working out. Finally, he decided the angles were all wrong — and the 6-foot-4-inch photographer realized he should get on the ground, to let his lens peer up at Ginsburg, who stood around 5 feet tall. “So I got down on the floor and I got her to lean over me,” he said. “So I’m looking right up at her” — and Ginsburg’s eyes connected with the camera in a way they hadn’t in the rest of the session. “It’s like you feel a presence in the photograph,” Bermingham said. Anyone who collects modern stamps knows the name of New Orleans-based artist Deas, who has provided artwork for 25 U.S. stamps. Among his stamps are those for Marilyn Monroe, Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, James Dean, Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Katherine Ann Porter, Stephen Vincent Benet, Thornton Wilder, Thomas Wolfe, Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and Tennessee Williams. For the new stamp, “Deas’ portrait is both somber and warm,” wrote Doug MacCash for NOLA.com. “Against a
shadowy background, Ginsburg seems to lean intimately toward the viewer, with a subtle smile rising at the corners of her lips and an unmistakable twinkle in her eyes.” Deas told NOLA that the compelling tone of the painting was largely determined by Bermingham’s photo, which he used as a model. “The most time-consuming part of the painting,” Deas said in the NOLA article, “was Ginsburg’s legendary ‘dissent’ collar. The Supreme Court justice “accessorized her robes with distinctive, decorative neckwear. She apparently saved the most striking designs to signal that she planned to disagree with the majority of her fellow justices.”
Winter Woodland Animals A deer, a rabbit, an owl and a fox appear on a set of Winder Woodland Animals stamps issued October 10 and formally dedicated in a ceremony at the official first day location, the village of Woodland (pop. 425) in southwest Michigan. Although no national first day ceremony was held, a local ceremony was organized by postal officials and collectors. Those on hand included USPS Michigan 2 District Manager Don Dombrow Jr. and Lake Odessa Postmaster Janette Bremer, plus Jay Bigalke, editor-in-chief for Linn’s Stamp News, who served as emcee, and guest speaker Denise Lazaroff, a cachetmaker who grew up in the Woodland area. The four stamps are in booklets of 20 and feature graphic illustrations of the animals in different woodland settings in winter. Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamps with Katie Kirk, of California, who illustrated the stamps. All four animals have appeared on previous U.S. stamps, of course. White-tailed deer are one of the most plentiful species of deer in North America and are admired for their classic beauty and agility. Rabbits often live near the forest’s edge so they can easily find food from gardens, yards and meadows. Foxes are resilient and adaptable and have learned to survive and flourish in almost every environment. Owls are fascinating birds of prey that prefer to nest in tree cavities or nests abandoned by other birds. Kirk illustrated the creatures using geometric shapes of bold, solid color. Each animal appears with details of its hab-
The Winter Woodland Animals booklet is available from https://aps.buzz/ woodland. DECEMBER 2023 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 1159