Georgia Postal History Society
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History of the Society
The Georgia Postal History Society began as a suggestion by Ervin Underwood to form a society to study the postal history of Georgia. Four collectors, McCary Ballard, Frank Crown, Tom Kingsley, and William McDougall responded to the suggestion and met with Underwood on 15 April 1984 to discuss the idea. At that time is was agreed to proceed with the formation of a society and Underwood volunteered to act as Secretary pro tem until a formal structure was established.
By the end of the year the structure of the society was agreed upon and the first elections conducted. The officers selected for the first three year term were Ervin Underwood, President; Francis J. Crown, Jr., Vice- President; Douglas N. Clark, Secretary; and Ernest C. Owens, Treasurer.
In short order a newsletter was published and in May 1985 the first issue of the G. P. H. S. Bulletin was published under the editorship of Douglas N. Clark. The Bulletin continued through July 1991. It was followed in September 1991 by Georgia Post Roads, the current publication of the Society.
The society which numbers about 35 members, meets once a year at what is now called the Southeastern Stamp Expo (formerly Peach State Stamp Show). The annual meeting always includes an informative seminar by a GPHS member that is open to all members of the public.
Benefits of Membership
The Georgia Postal History Society is devoted to the study of all aspects of Georgia postal history. This includes the pre-stamp or stampless period that goes back to the late 1700s, the Confederate period, fancy cancels, machine postmarks, RFD markings, railroad markings, flight covers, first days, last days, use of a particular stamp on covers from Georgia and just about anything else you can think of that mixes stamp collecting and Georgia. Basically there is something for everyone.
Benefits of membership include a quarterly journal, Georgia Post Roads. There is an annual meeting held each year at the Southeastern Stamp Expo in Atlanta. You also have the benefit of meeting and corresponding with other members of the society, many of whom are recognized experts in their Georgia postal history specialty.
Are you interested in becoming a member? The best way to join is to come to the Southeastern Stamp Expo and meet current members, where you can obtain a membership application. Or, download and complete the membership application and send to the Society's Secretary, Steve Swain (at the address below).
The Georgia Postal History Society began as a suggestion by Ervin Underwood to form a society to study the postal history of Georgia. Four collectors, McCary Ballard, Frank Crown, Tom Kingsley, and William McDougall responded to the suggestion and met with Underwood on 15 April 1984 to discuss the idea. At that time is was agreed to proceed with the formation of a society and Underwood volunteered to act as Secretary pro tem until a formal structure was established.
By the end of the year the structure of the society was agreed upon and the first elections conducted. The officers selected for the first three year term were Ervin Underwood, President; Francis J. Crown, Jr., Vice- President; Douglas N. Clark, Secretary; and Ernest C. Owens, Treasurer.
In short order a newsletter was published and in May 1985 the first issue of the G. P. H. S. Bulletin was published under the editorship of Douglas N. Clark. The Bulletin continued through July 1991. It was followed in September 1991 by Georgia Post Roads, the current publication of the Society.
The society which numbers about 35 members, meets once a year at what is now called the Southeastern Stamp Expo (formerly Peach State Stamp Show). The annual meeting always includes an informative seminar by a GPHS member that is open to all members of the public.
Benefits of Membership
The Georgia Postal History Society is devoted to the study of all aspects of Georgia postal history. This includes the pre-stamp or stampless period that goes back to the late 1700s, the Confederate period, fancy cancels, machine postmarks, RFD markings, railroad markings, flight covers, first days, last days, use of a particular stamp on covers from Georgia and just about anything else you can think of that mixes stamp collecting and Georgia. Basically there is something for everyone.
Benefits of membership include a quarterly journal, Georgia Post Roads. There is an annual meeting held each year at the Southeastern Stamp Expo in Atlanta. You also have the benefit of meeting and corresponding with other members of the society, many of whom are recognized experts in their Georgia postal history specialty.
Are you interested in becoming a member? The best way to join is to come to the Southeastern Stamp Expo and meet current members, where you can obtain a membership application. Or, download and complete the membership application and send to the Society's Secretary, Steve Swain (at the address below).
| Georgia Postal History Society - Membership Application.doc |
Officers Contact
Our current slate of elected officers is: Steve Swain, President
5 Meeting Street
President: Steve Swain Roswell, GA 30075
Vice-President: Ed Jackson swain.steve9@gmail.com
Secretary-Treasurer: Nancy Clark and Steve Swain
President Emeritus: Douglas N. Clark
Our current slate of elected officers is: Steve Swain, President
5 Meeting Street
President: Steve Swain Roswell, GA 30075
Vice-President: Ed Jackson swain.steve9@gmail.com
Secretary-Treasurer: Nancy Clark and Steve Swain
President Emeritus: Douglas N. Clark
Georgia Post Roads
The official Journal of the Georgia Postal History Society, Georgia Post Roads, is published quarterly featuring articles on various aspects of Georgia postal history. Articles for publication may be submitted in the form of typed manuscript or, preferably, via email.
| Georgia Post Roads Winter 2019 |
Articles by Society members and non-members are welcomed. Contact:
Steve Swain, Editor
swain.steve9@gmail.com
Steve Swain, Editor
swain.steve9@gmail.com
Georgia Post Roads Honored With Silver Award
Georgia Post Roads was honored with a Silver award in the literature competition at the August 3-6, 2017, American Philatelic Society’s annual show in Richmond, VA. A sincere “Thank You” is extended to all Society members for their contributions to and support of our journal.
Awards given to other state postal history journals were a Large Vermeil for the North Carolina Postal History Journal and a Vermeil for the Florida Postal History Journal. Other journals honored at the competition included First Days (Gold), India Post Vol. 50 (Gold), Japanese Philately (Vermeil), The Czechoslovak Specialist (Vermeil) and the Europa Study Unit Bulletin (Siver).
Georgia Post Roads was honored with a Silver award in the literature competition at the August 3-6, 2017, American Philatelic Society’s annual show in Richmond, VA. A sincere “Thank You” is extended to all Society members for their contributions to and support of our journal.
Awards given to other state postal history journals were a Large Vermeil for the North Carolina Postal History Journal and a Vermeil for the Florida Postal History Journal. Other journals honored at the competition included First Days (Gold), India Post Vol. 50 (Gold), Japanese Philately (Vermeil), The Czechoslovak Specialist (Vermeil) and the Europa Study Unit Bulletin (Siver).
Georgia Postal History Item of the Month
The Railroad Show, by Frank Crown
The cover illustrated below brought back memories from my childhood. I was probably about eight at the time. It was several years after the war and we were living in Glen Burnie, Maryland. In the backyard of the house my father rented was a rail spur that served some nearby businesses. Occasionally a train would come by, either delivering or picking up rail cars.
The Railroad Show, by Frank Crown
The cover illustrated below brought back memories from my childhood. I was probably about eight at the time. It was several years after the war and we were living in Glen Burnie, Maryland. In the backyard of the house my father rented was a rail spur that served some nearby businesses. Occasionally a train would come by, either delivering or picking up rail cars.
One day a different train came by. This one was loaded with circus equipment and went about a half mile down the spur and stopped adjacent to a large vacant field. Soon there was activity of kinds as equipment and animals were unloaded from the railcars. My friends and I spent the next few days down at the vacant field watching the circus spring up.
First the big top went up and then lots of smaller tents for the different amusements. There were also the pens for the horses and small animals, and cages for the lions and tigers. When the circus opened, we had our tickets for the first performance. A few days later the circus closed, and all the equipment and animals were loaded back on the railcars to proceed to the next town.
The Masterson Railroad Show was not a circus, but a carnival. It was formed in Charleston, West Virginia, in late 1910. In December of that year the show advertised for equestrian and musical directors, musicians, knockabout, singing and talking clowns, side show attractions, leapers and tumblers, aerial acts, and a magician. In April 1911, the show opened in Charleston, West Virginia. Then in July the owner was forced to sell off the assets of the carnival to settle with his creditors. Among the items sold were three rail cars, a large tent, eighteen sections of multi-tiered seats, and a trick mule. The Downie & Wheeler Show bought all the equipment and added it their carnival. The cover was mailed from Valdosta, Georgia, several months after the show was sold at auction. It was probably used by someone in in the old show who had left over envelopes.
First the big top went up and then lots of smaller tents for the different amusements. There were also the pens for the horses and small animals, and cages for the lions and tigers. When the circus opened, we had our tickets for the first performance. A few days later the circus closed, and all the equipment and animals were loaded back on the railcars to proceed to the next town.
The Masterson Railroad Show was not a circus, but a carnival. It was formed in Charleston, West Virginia, in late 1910. In December of that year the show advertised for equestrian and musical directors, musicians, knockabout, singing and talking clowns, side show attractions, leapers and tumblers, aerial acts, and a magician. In April 1911, the show opened in Charleston, West Virginia. Then in July the owner was forced to sell off the assets of the carnival to settle with his creditors. Among the items sold were three rail cars, a large tent, eighteen sections of multi-tiered seats, and a trick mule. The Downie & Wheeler Show bought all the equipment and added it their carnival. The cover was mailed from Valdosta, Georgia, several months after the show was sold at auction. It was probably used by someone in in the old show who had left over envelopes.
Patriotic Envelopes of Camp George H. Thomas, Lytle, Georgia, Spanish-American War by James C. Cate
2020 Annual Meeting Presentation
The 2020 annual meeting of the Georgia Postal History Society was held on February 1 at the Peachtree Corners, Ga., Southeastern Stamp Expo. James Cate presented his research and collection related to patriotic covers associated with Camp George H. Thomas and Lytle, Georgia during the brief Spanish-American War. Please open the PowerPoint presentation provided on this page to "read the story" and view the covers shown during the presentation.
| Patriotic Envelopes of Camp George H. Thomas |
"Absolutely Fireproof" Postal History
2019 Annual Meeting Presentation
The 2019 annual meeting of the Georgia Postal History Society was held on January 26 at the Peachtree Corners, Ga., Southeastern Stamp Expo. Michael Wing presented his research and collection related to hotel advertising covers announcing "Absolutely Fireproof" buildings. A most notable cover in Michael's collection is for the Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta that burned in one of the worst hotel fires in history. Please open the PowerPoint presentation provided on this page to "read the story" and view the photos and covers shown during the presentation.
2019 Annual Meeting Presentation
The 2019 annual meeting of the Georgia Postal History Society was held on January 26 at the Peachtree Corners, Ga., Southeastern Stamp Expo. Michael Wing presented his research and collection related to hotel advertising covers announcing "Absolutely Fireproof" buildings. A most notable cover in Michael's collection is for the Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta that burned in one of the worst hotel fires in history. Please open the PowerPoint presentation provided on this page to "read the story" and view the photos and covers shown during the presentation.
| "Absolutely Fireproof" Hotel Advertising Covers |
Camp Thomas - Chickamauga Park - Lytle Ga: Spanish-American War Postal History
2018 Annual Meeting Presentation and Discussion
The 2018 annual meeting of the Georgia Postal History Society was held on January 27 at the Norcross, Ga., Southeastern Stamp Expo. The presentation and discussion at the meeting explored Spanish-American War postal history related to three closely associated areas in Georgia: Camp Thomas, Chickamauga National Park (Battlefield) and Lytle, Ga. Please open the PowerPoint presentation provided on this page to "read the story" and view the photos and covers shown during the presentation.
2018 Annual Meeting Presentation and Discussion
The 2018 annual meeting of the Georgia Postal History Society was held on January 27 at the Norcross, Ga., Southeastern Stamp Expo. The presentation and discussion at the meeting explored Spanish-American War postal history related to three closely associated areas in Georgia: Camp Thomas, Chickamauga National Park (Battlefield) and Lytle, Ga. Please open the PowerPoint presentation provided on this page to "read the story" and view the photos and covers shown during the presentation.
| Camp Thomas-Chickamauga Park-Lytle, Ga: Spanish-American War Postal History |
Francis J. Crown, Jr.
2018 Writers Unit #30 Hall of Fame Inductee
Congratulations are extended to Georgia Postal History Society member Francis (Frank) J. Crown, Jr. for his induction into the American Philatelic Society’s Writers Unit #30 Hall of Fame. The Writers Unit is an affiliate of the APS, with a stated goal of encouraging and assisting philatelic communications, knowledge and comradeship.
Frank’s lifelong interest in Confederate stamps and postal history began at age 12, according to the announcement published in the Philatelic Communicator, the quarterly journal of the Writers Unit. In the 1960s and 1970s, Frank compiled the annual index for the Confederate Philatelist, the quarterly journal of the Confederate Stamp Alliance, and, from 1971 to 1979, he wrote a column for the journal as well.
Combining his own independent research on Georgia postmasters’ provisionals with surveys previously prepared by Charles J. Phillips and Frank E. Hart, Frank published Surveys of the Confederate Postmasters’ Provisionals in 1982. His later works include First Returns Received from Georgia Post Offices 1879-1918, Guide to Georgia Public Officials During the Stampless Period, and Georgia Stampless Cover Catalog and Handbook. With Patricia A. Kaufmann and Jerry S. Palazolo, Frank published in 2012 Confederate States of America Catalog and Handbook of Stamps and Postal History.
Frank has served as president and vice president of the Confederate Stamp Alliance, and has received the August Dietz award for distinguished research and writing. Most recently, Frank won the following awards at the August APS show in Columbus, Ohio:
Again, congratulations to Georgia Post Roads frequent contributor Francis (Frank) J. Crown, Jr. for his induction into the American Philatelic Society’s Writers Unit #30 Hall of Fame.
2018 Writers Unit #30 Hall of Fame Inductee
Congratulations are extended to Georgia Postal History Society member Francis (Frank) J. Crown, Jr. for his induction into the American Philatelic Society’s Writers Unit #30 Hall of Fame. The Writers Unit is an affiliate of the APS, with a stated goal of encouraging and assisting philatelic communications, knowledge and comradeship.
Frank’s lifelong interest in Confederate stamps and postal history began at age 12, according to the announcement published in the Philatelic Communicator, the quarterly journal of the Writers Unit. In the 1960s and 1970s, Frank compiled the annual index for the Confederate Philatelist, the quarterly journal of the Confederate Stamp Alliance, and, from 1971 to 1979, he wrote a column for the journal as well.
Combining his own independent research on Georgia postmasters’ provisionals with surveys previously prepared by Charles J. Phillips and Frank E. Hart, Frank published Surveys of the Confederate Postmasters’ Provisionals in 1982. His later works include First Returns Received from Georgia Post Offices 1879-1918, Guide to Georgia Public Officials During the Stampless Period, and Georgia Stampless Cover Catalog and Handbook. With Patricia A. Kaufmann and Jerry S. Palazolo, Frank published in 2012 Confederate States of America Catalog and Handbook of Stamps and Postal History.
Frank has served as president and vice president of the Confederate Stamp Alliance, and has received the August Dietz award for distinguished research and writing. Most recently, Frank won the following awards at the August APS show in Columbus, Ohio:
- The C. Corwith Wagner Award for “The 3¢ Nashville Provisional Adhesive: A Study in Postal History Research“ in the Philatelic Congress Book 2018.
- Dietz Award – Stephen Roth, Francis J. Crown, Jr., and Patricia A. Kaufmann, The Springfield Facsimiles of Confederate Postage Stamps
- CP Writers Award for “Fake Columbia, South Carolina, Five-Cent Handstamped Provisional”
Again, congratulations to Georgia Post Roads frequent contributor Francis (Frank) J. Crown, Jr. for his induction into the American Philatelic Society’s Writers Unit #30 Hall of Fame.