Stamptrotters of the Hudson Valley
President's Message
STAMPTROTTER NEWS - July 2024
Craig reports that our bank balance is $7,200 +/- and all our bills are paid with the
exception of our web site. (see below)
Under old business we discussed our annual dinner and discussed options. We hear the usual complaints about the meals and service at Savonna's. Many restaurants in our area could do better. Location does not seem to be an issue. Annarella's in Saugeties and Le Canard in Kingston were mentioned, both have the space our group requires.
Ron has offered to host the entire event next year. We will determine menu and space
requirements.
Your suggestions on location are welcome. We will start the decision process at the
January 2025 business meeting. This will give us plenty of time for research and
discussion.
Dick received notice from our web provider of new contract requirements as well as a
hefty price increase. We agree we should maintain the web site and Dick is researching
our options. More to come.
Discussed the GASS in Hartford and ride sharing. Club members have many conflicting schedules and plans for the show which make car pooling difficult. Our auction is the week prior to GASS so last minutes changes and arrangements are possible.
It was suggested to do your homework (events, want list, dealers and organizations to visit etc) prior to arrival. The show is free but there is registration at the door. You can
preregister online and, skip the and pick up you name tag at the door. Check it all out at
stamps.org/great-american-stamp-show. Another excellent site for stamp show schedules in general is istampshows.com.
I attended the Fort Orange bourse this past Tuesday and dragged along all the club show material. I usually attend these and foot traffic seemed a bit light this year. We pocketed only $14.
Our club show material is available to our members at every club meeting about 30
minutes prior to meeting start time.
Upcoming events:
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25 July Stamptrotter auction
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29-30 July N.E. Stamp and Ephemera show, Polish Club in Albany
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8 August Stamptrotter business meeting
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15-18 August GASS, Hartford, CT
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22 August Stamptrotter auction
We will participate at the FOSC show 20 October, in Albany. Members have priority on our tables. All are welcome to sell at this show.
Charlie
STAMPTROTTER NEWS - April 2024
A short meeting this month with 8 members in attendance.
We will return to Savonna's in Red Hook for our June dinner/meting on June 13. David
will make our reservations. I will get back to everyone to confirm the time. We will need
a head count, contact me soon. Family members are welcome. We are responsible for our drinks and meals. The club will provide pre seating appetizers.
Liz and Ron have invited us all to cocktails at their home prior to dinner. Very generous,
thank you.
It was decided not to sponsor a show in Saugerties for the present. Holding a successful show during January or February depends a lot on good weather. A stamp show has not been held in this area in decades, will people attend. The venue has a shortage of tables.
So, we are confirmed to participate in the Kaaterskill Post Card Club show in October at Saugerties. This will gauge how sucessful hosting a show there in the future will be. We will also continue to participate in the Fort Orange shows in April and October in the
foreseeable future. Member material has priority when we participate in shows.
The post card club shows and the Fort Orange stamp shows are both in April and October – the 1st and 3rd Sundays respectively. I have been assured by the usual suspects that they will have the time and energy to participate in both.
The club has purchased the remainders of Fred's consignment material. It is being broken down into singles and small sets for sale at shows. It has already been offered to all members at auction in large lots. Presenting this material as individual lots with an
opening bid of less than $1 is at best tedious. So this material will be brought to every
meeting so members have an opportunity to pick smaller items that they may need.
As before, all material recceived by the club will be offered at auction before being broken down for show sales.
The club has received another donated box of material from the estate of George Slegel. It will be presented at auction when it has been prepared for sale.
Charlie
STAMPTROTTER NEWS - March 2024
We will not be at the Dutchess Co. Fair, too large a project for our membership.
The cost to hire a small bus for a club outing to attend the GASS to be held August 15-18 in Hartford, CT was too high. $1500 for the vehicle and driver for one day. Club members are still going and arranging carpools. More on this as we get closer.
We will be participating in the April FOSC show on the 21st. We will present member material first and then fill with club material. If you have items you wish to sell mark your calendar and email me to reserve space. Need a couple of helpers for club stuff.
Since we will participate in the FOSC shows in April and October the club will not be
reserving space at the Kaaterskill Post Card Club show in Saugerties, also in October. I can provide KPPC contact information if anyone wants to participate on their own. They are welcoming other collecting interests – stamps, bottles etc.
Shows in Albany are in April, July and October. It was decided to explore sponsoring a show in Saugerties sometime in January or February. It would fill the winter blank spot, promote the hobby and the club locally at a reasonable price. If we can't get enough paying vendors to fill the hall we can offer space to club members at a very deep discount. I have an email out to the coordinator asking for more information regarding available dates and new pricing.
I will break down club material into single stamps and small sets in preparation to attend shows. I have ordered more club supplies to support that effort. Wanna help?
We had discussed paying for ads in local papers to promote the hobby and club. Larger format, more information etc. The average cost is about $100 per 2 x 4 3/4” ad. The ads will offer assistance with unwanted collections as well as “how to” information to anyone wanting to start collecting. We will do a trial run in 2 publications as a test.
We have donated $25 to the APS Mighty Buck Club to help fund their philatelic library and their educational programs.
Elections will be held in June. All offices are open for a 1 year term. The nominating committee is suspended so feel free to nominate someone or put your hat in the ring.
Charlie
STAMPTROTTER NEWS - January 2024
We now have a Facebook page, search Stamptrotters of the Hudson Valley also a web page at Stamptrotters.net. Many thanks to Dick for the effort he has put into both these club
projects.
Last call for volunteers for our information table at the Dutchess Co. Fair, last week of August. We have 9 slots 4 hours positions currently open, plus we need a few extra for drop outs. If we can't fill these we will not proceed.
The Great American Stamp Show will be in Hartford, CT 15-18 August 2024. We are checking cost and availability of transportation for a club day trip. More to come.
We have contacted the Kaaterskill Post Card Club and reserved a spot for their show in October. To be held at the Saugerties Senior Citizens Center, date TBA. More information
as it becomes available.
Do we want to sponsor a show locally in January or February 2025? Local stamp shows in Albany are held in April, July and October each year nothing in the winter. I will contact the Town of Saugerties about availability and cost of the Senior Citizen Center. Good local exposure for our club and the hobby.
The topic of running ads in local papers was discussed again. There are 6 newspapers that cover the 4 counties within easy commuting distance. We will check out the cost of ads, circulation and coverage of the papers. We will continue to place meeting notices in local print media at no cost and do direct mailing to APS members as before.
We have been offering consignments and club material as whole collections or lots at auctions and shows for the past year or so. We have had some success but we are left with a large amount of “remainders”. It will take a great deal of time and effort to break these down for sale. We have too few volunteers for this amount of work. So, back to our former method. Members who prepare material for auction can purchase at a 50% discount off the opening bid for material they prepare for sale. Consignments will be processed before club owned material.
Remember the Expertizing Seminar via Zoom at 7PM on 17 January. Here is the link
https://psu.zoom.us/j/92642992729
STAMPTROTTER NEWS - December 2023
This month we held our annual Holiday Social at the VFW. The club supplied a cold cut platter and a cold salads. Members added some finger foods and desserts. Fifteen members and guests attended.
We also held our first club competition hosted by Craig. We had eight members submit entries from their personal collections. All present voted and the three winners received auction credits.
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First Place to Elliott for covers and information on the U.S. Inland Mails.
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Second Place to Ron for his cover carried on the first airmail flight and crash from Washington DC to NYC.
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Third Place Charlie for four covers demonstrating transitions in mail transportation.
We also saw U.S. Plating and errors, parachute mail to Mornington Island off Australia, Netherlands stamps of the 1928 Olympics, selection of Great Britain royals, and U.S. Airmail covers.
Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all who participated. Thanks to Craig for the suggestion and for putting it all together.
The ZOOM talk with Ken Martin, APS Director of Expertizing is scheduled for 7PM on January 17. All are welcome, no registration needed. More information and links needed to enter the discussion will be forwarded as I receive them.
Mark your calendars:
9 January Fort Orange presentation “WW II V-mail”
11 January Stamptrotter business meeting
17 January “Stamp Expertizing” seminar at 7PM
25 January Stamptrotter auction
8 February Stamptrotter business meeting
13 February Fort Orange Winter Auction
22 February Stamptrotter auction
STAMPTROTTER NEWS - November 2023
This month was a combined Business and Auction meeting since the Thanksgiving holiday conflicts with our usual monthly auction night.
No progress yet on the 2024 Dutchess County Fair. The Fair Committee requires a proposal of what we will present and our plan on running the exhibit. The exhibit will require 2 people a shift, 2 shifts a day for 6 days. I'll start a list of volunteers. If we can't fill the manning requirement we will have to pass.
The Kaaterskill Post Card Club held a show at the Saugeties Senior Citizen's Center in October. The rental fee is $175. A tax number was required. The number of tables available required some vendors to bring their own. A local show would be a great way to promote the hobby and the club in our own “back yard”. Shows in the Albany area in April, July and October leaving a big gap in the winter.
Dick is working on the Face Book page as time permits. He has changed color schemes and fonts to make it easier to read and added more stamp collecting pictures etc. More to come.
I will update our membership's collecting interests. Sellers can then tailor auction lots to what the buyer wants. If interested send your current collecting areas and I will update our current lists.
We had a relatively quick auction. Lot's of varied material at very reasonable prices. I promise to finish up the “Fred” consignment material in January or February.
Our Holiday Social is 14 December. The club will provide a cold cut platter, rolls, cold salads and tableware. Members can bring chips, dips, cheese, crackers and desserts. Drinks from the bar. Plan for a 7 PM start. We will also be holding our first competitive member show. Craig has sent out that information last month. Should be a fun evening. Guests are welcome.
Mark your calendars:
14 November – Fort Orange Stamp Club auction
28 November – Fort Orange meeting program topic “Who Are These People”
14 December – Stamptrotter Holiday Social
9 January '24 – Fort Orange meeting program topic “WW II V-Mail”
11 January '24 – Stamptrotter Business meeting and Show and Tell
25 January '24– Stamptrotter Auction
Be well, enjoy the holidays and hope to see you soon.
Charlie
STAMPTROTTERS NEWS - 10 members attended
the 12 October business meeting.
Treasurer reports we are doing well. A partial check has been sent to the owner of our latest consignment, and we will continue to work through that material. No other club expenses to report.
We will move to our holiday schedule in November. November is a combined business/auction on the 2nd Thursday no meeting on the 4th Thursday due to Thanksgiving. December we will have of Club Social and inaugural Exhibit on the 2nd Thursday nothing on the 4th Thursday due to Christmas. Back to normal in January.
We got a show of hands on who would be attending the Fort Orange Stamp Show this coming Sunday. Plenty of folks to help out. The show starts at 9:30am at the Albany American Legion and runs until 3pm.
The club will be offering the remainders of the Tobin and Bishop lots at discounted prices as well as the unsold portions of the current consignment. There are no refreshments available on site so if you are coming for the day bring a bag lunch and drinks.
We briefly discussed the next step for all unsold club lots. Donations, offer to dealers (Brad was contacted recently by a dealer looking for collections to purchase) or club members who sell on line. That will probably be an issue in early 2024.
We still plan to have our first club competition during our Christmas Social. Members are invited to submit a 1 or 2 page Exhibition Format entry. Something from your collections with an explanation. Do not put your names on the entries. There will some type of secret ballot and the winner/s will be awarded prizes. Possibly in the form of auction credits.
Dick has been very busy with his personal work but to be able to spend more time on the website as his work load eases up.
David is putting together an article on What to do with an Inherited Collection as well as a Stamp Collecting 101 type article. These will added to the website and also sent to local on line newsletters.
Fred informed us that the Kaatersill Post Card Club is back in business in a new location. They have a show scheduled for 22 October at the Saugerties Senior Citizen Center, 207 Market St., Saugerties from 9-4. Admission is $4, refreshments will be available.
We were all signed up to participate at their last show in Kingston when COVID hit. I have reconnected with them asking if they are still interested in non post card vendors.
We had our 2nd Show and Tell night. Brad shared a post WWII Japanese grouping of stamps on pages that was apparently presented as a gift to government officials – not exactly sure on that but still an interesting lot.
David brought in a pile of Hideako Nakano hand made, one of a kind FDC that he picked up at GASS in Cleveland. Quite a grouping of some unique themed covers with multiple stamps and cancellations. He used his own “HN” perfin on the stamps. A very interesting group.
Thanks to Fred who donated some unwanted glassines and stock books. We will add these to our sorting and cataloging tool box for future consignments.
If you haven’t paid you dues for 2024 make sure to see Craig on the 26th.
Mark you calendars:
15 October – FOSC Stamp Show, Albany American Legion 930-3
22 October – Post Card Club Show, Senior Citizens Center, Saugerties, 9-4
26 October – our monthly auction set up 645 with 715 start.
9 November – our monthly business/auction
14 November – Fort Orange Fall Auction, Albany
Be well and hope to see you all soon.
Charlie