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1995
Joseph
Britton Leavy
(March 7, 1872 – July 25, 1921) New York City, Washington,
D.C.
 Leavy
is best known as the first “Government Philatelist” of the United
States National Museum (Smithsonian Institution). During his eight-year
tenure, he built the National Stamp Collection and arranged for
its installation and exhibition to the public. He prepared a catalog
of the Smithsonian Institution's collection, Catalogue of the
Postage Stamps and Stamped Envelopes of the United States and Possessions
Issued to January 1, 1919 (1919).
Leavy built several
important collections, most notably of Belgium and the Netherlands.
He wrote The Postage Stamps of Holland (XIX Century) (1912). Leavy
was editor of The American Philatelist in 1918 and 1919.
George
Maybee Martin
(June 18, 1906 – February 21, 1994) Spokane, Washington
 Martin
actively supported organized philately both nationally and in his
Pacific Northwest. He served the many stamp clubs that make up the
Northwest Federation of Stamp Clubs, which include
clubs in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and in Western Canada. He was
active in its annual Pacific International Philatelic Exhibition
(PIPEX).
For his long service
to the area, Martin was named NFSC Distinguished Philatelist in
1962. He was elected to the Washington State Philatelic Hall
of Fame in 1966. In June 1986 the Yakima Valley Stamp Club honored
him by calling its exhibition MARTINPEX, with a special
post office cancel that described him as author, historian,
philatelist and philanthropist.
Martin was a specialist
collector of U.S. postal cards and edited the first U. S. Postal
Card Catalog (1955) for the United Postal Stationery Society.
He worked on subsequent editions for the next decade. Martin
served the APS in many posts, including the Expert Committee, Recruiting
Committee and the Speakers Bureau. He also was an accredited judge,
and participated on many juries. He served as APS Counsel (later
Senior Counsel) from 1965 until his death.
He was a founding
member of American Philatelic Research Library and served as trustee
for 14 years, until 1983. He also was a founding member of the APS
Writers Unit 30 and served as its president from 1969 to 1973. In
1973, in recognition of his work with young collectors, the Junior
Division of the Writers Unit presented him with a special Silver
Medal bearing the Writers Unit logo. Martin wore this with pride
at many philatelic events. He received the Luff Award in 1974
for Outstanding Service to the Society.
Charles
J. Starnes
(April 26, 1912 – November 25, 1993) Michigan
 Starnes
was a distinguished student of U.S. postal history. His major specialty
was on foreign mail usages. He built important collections, mainly
of covers, reflecting these interests. One of his most important
collections, postal history of the U.S. Department stamps, was stolen and
never recovered.
Starnes wrote the
seminal work, United States Letter Rates to Foreign Destinations,
1847 to GPU-UPU (1982, revised 1989). From 1975 to 1992 he
was editor of the Foreign Mails Section of the Chronicle of
the U.S. Classic Postal Issues, writing extensively on this
and other subjects. He received the Luff Award in 1986 for Distinguished
Philatelic Research.
1996
James
H. Baxter
(February 10, 1906 – September 2, 1995) Pennsylvania
 Baxter
was an active collector and student of postal history, and a life-long
editor and printer. He was best-known as an expert on stamp engraving.
His articles, “Printing Postage Stamps by Line Engraving,” appeared
in The American Philatelist from November 1937 to September
1938 and received the APS Literary Prize in 1938. Baxter revised
and expanded the articles into the book Printing Postage Stamps
by Line Engraving in 1939. It was reprinted in 1981.
Baxter wrote a
stamp column in the Chester (PA) Times, now the
Delaware County Daily Times, for many years. He was a technical
advisor to the National Philatelic Museum (Philadelphia) during
the 1950s and '60s. Baxter edited the Postal History Journal
from 1958 to 1985. He was elected to the APS Writers Unit
30 Hall of Fame in 1986.
Charles
C. Cratsenberg
(August 1, 1903 – January 27, 1995) Illinois, Arizona
 Cratsenberg
was an active collector and strong advocate of philately. He served
the APS in many positions, including president in 1957-1961. During
that time the APS made the important move of centralizing controls
over its many functions to State College, Pa.
Cratsenberg also
served as an officer in many philatelic organizations in his home
areas. He was president of the Trans Mississippi Philatelic Society
and held office in both the Iowa and Illinois Federations of Stamp
Clubs. He was elected to the Arizona State Philatelic Hall of Fame
in 1962.
Cratsenberg was
one of the "Committee of Five" who led the APS effort
to put the notorous forger Raoul Ch. De Thuin out of business. The
story of their successful operation is presented in the APS publication,
The Yucatan Affair (1974, reprinted 1980). He was one of
the founders of the APS Writers Unit 30 and served as its president.
He received the Luff Award in 1961 for Outstanding Service to the
Society.
Dr.
Gordon H. Torrey
(December 4, 1919 – March 28, 1995) Maryland
 Dr.
Torrey was a world-famous expert on and collector of the stamps
and postal history of the Middle East, Imperial Russia and the Ottoman
Empire. His collections won numerous medals and he served on the
expert committees of both the APS and the Society of Philatelic
Americans.
Torrey was elected
vice-president of the Rossica Society of Russian Philately in 1968,
became president-pro tem in 1972, and president from 1974
until 1992. He then served on the society's Board of Governors until
his death. He wrote numerous articles for the society journal, Rossica.
He was an active
participant in Washington, D.C. philately, serving as an officer
of the local clubs. He was on the board of the annual NAPEX
exhibition during the 1960s and 1970s. Torrey was also on the Board
of Directors for SIPEX, the Sixth International Philatelic Exhibition,
held in Washington, D.C. in 1966.
1997
Joseph
M. Clary
(January 18, 1905 – August 8, 1996) San Francisco
 Clary
was an active member and officer of the APS and a strong supporter
of California philately. He held various elected positions in the
APS, including director-at-large, over a span of 35 years (1955-1989).
In his tenure as vice president (1957-1961), he oversaw the relocation
of the Sales Division to State College, Pa.
Clary held offices
and participated in the activities of San Francisco Bay Area stamp
clubs and their exhibitions. He was a founder of the California
Collectors Club in 1937. He was a director of the WESTPEX exhibition
from its beginning in 1960, and was aptly known as “Mr. WESTPEX.”
From 1961 to 1979,
Clary was chairman of the APS Convention Committee. Under his chairmanship,
the APS decided to independently organize and arrange its own yearly
conventions and exhibitions, under the name STaMpsHOW. The first
such exhibition was the 91st APS Convention, held in 1977 in San
Francisco. Clary was chairman of that show. In 1964, he received
the Luff Award for Outstanding Service to the Society.
Pandelis
J. Drossos
(May 4, 1900 – May 10, 1996) Greece
 Drosses
was known as "the Ambassador of Greek Philately." He was
a world famous dealer, writer, and exhibitor of the stamps and postal
history of Greece.
Drossos wrote his
first philatelic article in 1920, won his first international medal
in 1930 and became a full-time dealer in 1932. Throughout his career,
he wrote prolifically on Greek and related stamps, and on Greek
social and postal history. He was a commissioner for Greece for
many international exhibitions from 1938 to 1970.
Jacques
Minkus
(December 15, 1901 – September 17, 1996) New York City
 Minkus
was called “ the merchant prince of stamp collecting.” Postmaster
General Arthur E. Summerfield called him “the man who brought stamps
to Main Street.” He emigrated to the United States in 1929. In 1931
he established a counter stamp department in Gimbel's department
store in Manhattan. He expanded his realm over the next 30 years,
operating 38 department store stamp shops nation-wide by the 1960s.
In 1953 Minkus
published his first New American Stamp Catalog and in 1955
the Minkus New World Wide Stamp Catalog. He published over
one hundred different stamp albums. Minkus sold his business in
1966.
In 1966 the American
Stamp Dealers Association presented Minkus with its Service to Philately
Award. He received the Luff Award in 1993 for Exceptional Contributions
to Philately.
Edward
Boker Sterling
(September 9, 1851 – November 29, 1925) Trenton, NJ
 Sterling
was a pioneer collector and student of U.S. stamps, most notably
postal stationery and revenues. He became a collector in 1874 and
published the first of a series of important catalogs of U.S. stamps
in 1877. His fifth edition in 1888 became the standard reference
work for U.S. revenues.
Sterling sold his
collection of U.S. revenues to Hiram
E. Deats in 1888 for $7000, an astonishing price for such material
at that time. He then became a stamp dealer, making several important
purchases of revenue material. The most important was the records
and archives of Butler and Carpenter, Philadelphia security printers
and engravers of both private and government revenue stamps for
the U.S. Treasury Department. It contained essays, proofs and much
collateral material and documents of U.S. Government issues and
the private die proprietary stamps known as “match and medicine
stamps.” He sold this material to Deats.
In 1890, Sterling
and Deats made an incredible purchase from the U.S. Treasury of
213 tons (seven boxcar loads) of “useless” material (obsolete
documents) that contained numerous copies of “Special Tax”
stamps, mostly for liquor and tobacco products. Many of these stamps
were uncancelled and had never before reached the hands of collectors.
When the Government realized what it had sold, it seized and eventually
destroyed nearly all of the material remaining in the hands of Sterling
and Deats.
1998
Leo
August
(March 2, 1914 – December 4, 1997) New Jersey
 August
is a legendary figure in first day cover collecting. He and his
older brother Samuel became stamp dealers in 1933 as the Washington
Stamp Exchange in Newark, N.J. In 1939 their firm, Washington Press,
created White Ace Albums and Art Craft cachets. During the next
half-century they sold more first day covers and cachets than any
other company.
In 1955, Leo August
helped found the American First Day Cover Society, providing both
moral and financial support during its formative years. In 1958,
the Augusts established an annual first day cover award “for furthering
the interests of the hobby.” In 1980 the AFDCS bestowed Honorary
Life Memberships on both brothers. The Leo and Samuel August Memorial
Award for best topical FDC exhibit is presented annually by the
AFDCS.
August was a generous
benefactor to the National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C. and
established a number of exhibitor awards for national and local
stamp shows. In his will, he made a large bequest to the American
Philatelic Research Library. He received the Luff Award in 1990
for Outstanding Contributions to Philately and was named Man of
the Year in 1997 by the ASDA.
Calvin
Waters Christian
(September
8, 1905 – January 14, 1997) California
 Christian
was a noted collector, student and writer on the the U.S. 1861 series.
He wrote extensively about U.S. grilled stamps, most notably a three-part
series in The American Philatelist (1983) and a four-part
series in the Bulletin (1986-1988) of the Philatelic Foundation.
“Bert” built an
award-winning collection of the 1861 one-cent Franklin stamp. His
extensive research and unpublished data were used and acknowledged
by Don L. Evans “with contributions from C.W. ‘Bert’ Christian”
in his book, The United States 1¢ Franklin 1861-1867 (1990).
Christian was an
active member of many stamp clubs, most notably the U.S. Philatelic
Classics Society. He was a vice-president, director and served as
its president from 1988-1990. He was contributing editor for the
1861-1869 period for the Chronicle of U.S. Classic Postal Issues
from 1973 to 1992. The USPCS awarded him its Chase and Brookman
cups, and named him a Distinguished Philatelist. He received the
Luff Award in 1993 for Distinguished Philatelic Research.
Robson
Lowe
(January 7, 1905 – August 19, 1997) London
 John
Henry Robson Lowe was one of the most celebrated philatelists of
his time. He established his stamp-dealing business in 1920, and
became a stamp auctioneer in the 1930s. His company was the first
to recognize postal history as a specialist category and he held
regular postal history auctions from 1939.
“Robbie” was a
serious student and collector of U.S. Carriers and Locals, both
the genuine stamps and their numerous imitations and forgeries.
He wrote extensively on them and supported the research and publications
of other students, notably Elliott
Perry and Donald Patton.
Among his many
books was the Robson Lowe Encyclopedia of British Empire Stamps
published in six volumes between 1948 and 1990. He received the
Crawford Medal in 1974 for Encyclopaedia of British Empire Postage
Stamps, Vol. V.
During his 80 years
in philately, he sold stamps, built collections, wrote articles,
edited journals, published books, spoke extensively and received
nearly every honor given by organized philately. Lowe was inducted
into the APS Writers Unit 30 Hall of Fame in 1980 and received the
Luff Award in 1980 for Exceptional Contributions to Philately. He
received the Lindenberg Medal in 1981. In 1991, the Royal Philatelic
Society London made him an Honorary Member, the first ever for a
stamp dealer.
1999
Dorothy
B. Blaney
(June 29, 1921 – May 12, 1998) Pennsylvania
 Blaney
was a leading activist in promoting programs that encouraged young
future philatelists. When the U.S. Postal Service started the Ben
Franklin School Program in 1976, Blaney, postmaster of Perryopolis,
Pa. from 1972 to 1984, became one of the most active postmasters
in supporting the program. She personally started over 700
stamp clubs in Pittsburgh, Pa. area schools. She served as an advisor
to the USPS on how to improve the program and how to inspire USPS
personnel and teachers to get involved.
After her retirement,
she became the educational director for AMERIPEX 86, World Stamp
Expo 89, and World Columbian Stamp Expo 92. Blaney spoke at over
1,000 workshops for junior collectors, parents, teachers, and Postal
Service colleagues. She served as chair of the APS Youth Activities
Committee and was the author of Tips for Promoting Youth Philately.
In 1995 she received the Ernest
Kehr award for these many accomplishments.
Charles
Henry Coster
(July 22, 1852 – March 13, 1900) New York City
 Coster
was one of the first students of philately in America. Beginning
in the 1860s as a teenager, he built the most important collections
of his time of U.S. Carriers and Locals, postal stationery and forgeries.
He wrote a seminal
book, The United States Locals and Their History (1877),
published by J. W. Scott.
It was reprinted by Scott in 1879, and in 1912-1914 in the United
Stamp Company Herald. Coster expanded and improved his original
work and it was published by the Belgian dealer J.-B. Moens in two
parts (1882, 1885) under the title Les Postes Prives des États-Unis
d'Amerique.
Coster wrote extensively
on other topics during the 1870s and 1880s, most notably on U.S.
Postmaster Provisionals, U.S. Special Printings of 1876, and postal
stationery. He was the only American to present a paper at the Congrès
International des Timbrophiles in Paris in 1878: “Les Timbres Semi-officiels
ou Provisoires des États-Unis” for which he received a gold medal.
Coster was America's most prolific philatelic writer of that era.
Dr.
Robert Laurenson Dashiell Davidson
(January 11, 1909 – June 20, 1998) Missouri
 Dr.
Davidson was a distinguished philatelist who served the APS and
the APRL in many areas. He served the APS as a director (1971-1976),
chaired the Literature Committee for many years, and was the APS
Historian. In that capacity he wrote a history for the APS centenary
celebration in 1986. Davidson was an original trustee of the American
Philatelic Resesarch Library and later served as its president.
“Larry” was an
active member of the U.S.Philatelic Classics Society, writing for
and editing its journal, The Chronicle of U.S. Classic Postal
Issues. He was active in the philatelic activities of local
societies in St. Louis and elsewhere in Missouri. He was also a
Distinguished Philatelic Lecturer for the Smithsonian Institution.
In 1985 he received the Luff Award for Outstanding Service to Philately.
John
E. Foxworth Jr.
(April 6, 1932 – February 25, 1998) Michigan
 Foxworth
was one of philately's leading advocates in the late 20th century.
He joined APS in 1960, and was an active member serving in many
elective positions: director (1969-1973); secretary (1973-1977)
and president (1977-1981).
Foxworth was a
founder of the American Philatelic Research Library, and served
as trustee (1969-1981) and as president (1985-1995). He was a founder
and first president (1976-1977) of the Council of Philatelic Organizations.
Foxworth was president (1976-1977) of the APS Writers Unit.
Foxworth served
on the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee of the U.S. Postal Service
from 1984-1990. He received the Luff Award in 1983 for Outstanding
Service to the Society.
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These
biographies were prepared by the APS Hall of Fame Committee. For
comments or suggestions, please contact Herbert A. Trenchard, Chairman,
APS Hall of Fame Committee, 6909 40th Ave., Hyattsville, MD 20782-1420,
or E-mail NPMLIB@yahoo.com.
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