August schedule update 2

Whoops! can't believe I forgot to post our Tucson Birthday Party in which we announce the Stamp Design Contest winners! The library is hosting the event starting at 10 a.m.

Also, the library will be closed from about 11 - 1, as we're picking up a large book donation then.

Up, Up, and.. [crickets]

Did you know... there was once a great Balloon Mail experiment? The balloon mail craze was a short-lived one, primarily because it was an absolute failure.

The first transatlantic flight was attempted in 1860 by aeronaut T.S.C. Lowe. First called "The City of New York," it caused a huge stir in New York City where it was to launch. Expectations and enthusiasm deflated when the New York Gas Company couldn't get enough gas pressure to lift the balloon.

Dr. Cresson of the Franklin Institute to the rescue! The operation was moved to Philadelphia, the balloon name was changed to "Great Western," and it took of September 8, 1860.

And then immediately plummeted back down. Apparently, too many practice runs left the balloon fabric weak.

There had been great hopes for not only the success of the flight itself, but also in air mail delivery. The balloon basket was equipped with

nautical and meteorological instruments, lanterns and signal rockets, a large supply of provisions; and for emergency purposes a metal boat suspended from the basket. The mail was contained in waterproof bags marked "U.S. Mail" with parachutes attached so that messages cold be dropped over ships en route and over towns once the European continent was reached (Stamps, May 29, 1976, p. 662).

The only piece of mail known to survive was probably handed on board at the last minute because it wasn't cancelled. It reads,

Phila. Sept, 1860.
Dear mother
As the Great Bloon is going today I thought I would write but dont whether this will reach you in four days from the time it is written. Mary gave birth to a daughter this morning about five oclock. She is pretty well and it is a fine child. If this note should reach you please take good care of it.
                                                                                      your affectionate son
                                                                                      Philip

This is a great undertaking for Professor Lowe of the Great Western Bloon

It certainly was, poor man. But it didn't go so well. And his second attempt was thwarted by the Civil War. But then that gave him the chance to serve in the Balloon Corps. No, your eyes are not deceiving you. There was a civilian contract group called the Union Army Balloon Corps, and he really did go up in a balloon, using a telegraph to report troop movement in the Peninsula Campaign and the Battle of Seven Pines. His ballooning days were pretty much over by 1863, and he refocused more on technology involving water and gas.

Though Lowe's experiment in balloon mail wasn't a rousing success, it wasn't the only attempt at it.

Next week: The pigeon-and-dirigible publicity stunt by The Daily Graphic. Stay tuned.

Lovely meter mail... and more

Not too long ago, we received a large donation from the Meter Stamp Society, consisting of many monographs and journals from many countries in many languages. I've started processing this generous gift, starting with three AICAM (Italian Association of Meter Stamp Collectors) titles, AICAM Flash, Aicam news, and Congresso AICAM. Much more meter mail material to come in the next several months!

Some highlight of our other recently added material:


We have two of these Postage Stamp Catalogues from the Republic of China, the 1983 and the 1984. Isn't this cover fantastic?


Title: Postage stamp catalogue of the Republic of China

Author: China (Republic of China). Directorate General of Posts.

Publisher: Directorate General of Posts, Republic of China

I just had to put up the BACK cover of the auction catalog for The Richard L. Calhoun collection of Charleston, South Carolina: the first year of secession. Stunning.

AND, lot 541, "5-Cent Blue Provisional Stamp, the only recorded block," went for $15,000. I like to peek at the prices realized & see if there were any mind-boggling transactions.

Auction gallery: Robert A. Siegel Galleries in New York
Date of sale: 27 February 2014
Sale #1065





An auction catalog for the most famous lady in all of philately, the Inverted Jenny. The sale of this one stamp puts the 5-Cent Blue Provisionals to shame: it fetched $575, 100.

!!!

Auction gallery: Spink Shreves in New York
Date of sale: 21 May 2014

I'm pretty much a sucker for western postal history, so I had to include this auction catalog in the highlights, as well. It has some really nice background and history to several of the pieces up for sale.

Auction gallery: Robert A. Siegel Galleries in New York
Date of sale: 24 June 2014
Sale #1072









Full-color and large illustrations make this Japenese philatelic book a really exceptional addition to our collection.

Title: The large commemorative datestamps of Japan: 1902.06.20-1944.04.24 (ISJP Monograph 21; a supplement to volume 69, no. 3)

Author: Charles A.L. Swenson.

Publisher: The International Society for Japanese Philately, Inc., 2014



This fictional thriller by Michael Aldrich has a philatelic thread running through it.

Title: Imagine no more lies [a thriller]

Author: Michael Aldrich

Publisher: Xlibris Corp., 2011










You can delve into the history of British stamp design.

Title: Royal Mail stamps: a survey of British stamp design

Author: Stuart Rose

Publisher: Phaidon, 1980










And, a serious topic, road safety, complete with a "SAFETY DEPENDS ON ME!" slogan. This doesn't look like an official official publication -- I couldn't find a publication # for example. But it clearly has an association with USPS.

Title: Lifting the fog from driver safety: rural carrier training guide

Publisher: United States Postal Service? No date.








And a complete list of all our recent arrivals:

Meter mail journals:

• AICAM flash - n. 1 (1982) - no. 59-60 (1996).
• Aicam news - no. 1 (1997) - no. 10 (1999), no. 12 (1999) -no. 16 (2000), no. 18 (2001) - no. 20 (2001)
• Congresso AICAM - no. 1 (1982) - no. 17 (1998), no. 19 (2000), no. 20 (2001)

Other journals:

• DFT, Dansk Filatelistisk Tidsskrift - 1960-2010 (computer file)
• Inside Coverage: first day cover newsletter - 1976-1983
• Philamath - Vol. 1, no. 1 (July 1979)- Vol. 35, no. 4 (Apr 2014) (computer file)
• Philatelia chimica et physica / Journal of the Chemistry and Physics on-Stamps Study Unit - Vol. 8, no. 1 (spring 1986)-CURRENT [selected issues]
• PHT, Posthistorisk tidsskrift - 1972-2011 (computer file)
• Skilling - 1972-2000 (computer file)

Books / monographs:

• How to collect stamps (Bullard handbook Series)
• Imagine no more lies [a thriller] by Michael Aldrich.
• The large commemorative datestamps of Japan: 1902.06.20-1944.04.24 by Charles A.L. Swenson.
• Postage due: the United States postage due essays, proofs, and specimens 1879-1986 by Harry K. Charles.
• Postage stamp catalogue of the Republic of China, 1983 & 1984
• Royal Mail stamps: a survey of British stamp design by Stuart Rose.

Auction catalogs:

• The Brandon collection of Confederate states stamps and postal history: part one: postmaster's provisionals, R.A. Siegel Auction Galleries
• The Daniel H. and Marcel V. Collection: birds of the world, R.A. Siegel Auction Galleries
• The J.E. Safra 24c Inverted Jenny, Spink Shreves Galleries
• The New Helvetia collection of western expresses and California mails: featuring Pony Express stamps and covers, R.A. Siegel Auction Galleries
• A portion of the Wade Saadi struck on stamps collection: 5 cents - 90 cents, 1851-1866 issues, R.A. Siegel Auction Galleries

Exhibits:

• Die figurestempel Finnlands = Finnish figure postmarks / Reinhard Weber collection cork cancels, Finland (computer file)

Postal employee manuals, training, etc.

• Arizona district IJ (instructions for the job) guidelines: for RCA/TRC rural route delivery new hires
• Field implementation kit: special postal bulletin / Rate case implementation / R-2000-1
• Handbook EL-812: Hazardous materials and spill response - 1997
• Lifting the fog from driver safety: rural carrier training guide
• Performance evaluation system: confirm profile quick-start guide version 1, September 2004
• Postage, rates, and information / Domestic postage rates and fees / Notice 59 - 1959, 1985, 1993, 1998
• Rate case training: shaping our future (video)
• Unisys model 2050 integrated retail terminal: user's guide

August schedule updates

The library reading room has been reserved next week on Tues the 12th through Thursday the 14th. The stacks are still available, but cold. Bring a jacket if you're going to do some research.

Revised August schedule pfd here.

August Schedule

The August schedule is out for the Slusser. Click here for the pdf file in month format.

August 2: Reserved for education field trip.
August 6: Closed intermittently; call ahead.
August 7: Closed intermittently; call ahead.
August 8: Reserved for Civil War Roundtable (?) TBD.
August 16: Reserved for Tucson Stamp Club.

Clang Clang Clang went the trolley!

Stamp, Stamp, Stamp went the mail.

Our current exhibit, Trolley Mail, explores the brief but important urban postal service using electric streetcars.

Only a few cities actually officially used streetcar R.P.O. systems. St. Louis, the first city to adopt streetcar mail in 1891, was followed by Brooklyn (1894), Boston, Philadelphia, New York City, Chicago, Cincinnati (all 1895), Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Rochester, San Francisco (all 1896), Pittsburgh (1898), Seattle (1905), and Cleveland (1908).

But in the 1910s as mass-production of motor vehicles increased, cities favored mail trucks over streetcars to deliver the mail. And so, by 1915 most cities had discontinued trolley mail service, and all cities had stopped it by 1929.

Our exhibit runs through Summer 2014. Stop on by!

Busy Baltimore street.

Boston mail wagon & streetcar.

Inaugural run of Long Beach trolley.

July Schedule

The July schedule is out for the Slusser. We've got quite a few activities and some closures. Click here for the pdf file in month format.

July 4 & 5: Closed for Independence Day.
July 11: Closed early, about 1 p.m.
July 12: Education field trip; closed early, about 1:30 p.m.
July 19: Tucson Stamp Club
July 23: May open late or be closed all day -- TBD
July 26: PHF Board meeting