Mike leads a discussion at the US Study group. Click the image to be redirected to the US Study Group page.

The United States Study Group of the Ottawa Philatelic Society met during a regular meeting on Thursday, December 1st, 2011. There were nine members present.

It was an exciting meeting as the discussion topic was “Mail to and From Prisoner-of-War Camps in the United States” lead by Mike Powell. Mike showed us many covers with interesting American and German auxiliary markings, destinations, rates, etc. His vast knowledge of the subject lead to other discussions during the meeting. Mike is a published author on prisoner-of-war mail to and from Canadian camps.

Thank-you, Mike!

The next meeting of the United States Study Group will be held on Thursday, January 5th, 2012 during a regular meeting. The topic of discussion will be “The Battle of Chrysler Farm in the War of 1812”, lead by Tom Hare.

We look forward to seeing you then!

David Giles

Chairman

Clicking the book image will dircet viewers to the purchasing page at Ian Kimmerly.com

Recently, Mike Powell produced a literary work entitled  Notes through Barbed Wire.  Offered as "a comprehensive look with a new approach on mail to and from civilian internees and Prisoners of War held in camps in Canada during World War II." As should be expected, this work is the result of years of research following a series of successful introductory exhibits of the same name, presented at the ORAPEX and BNAPS exhibits, of which Mike was the receipient of numerous awards.  Encouraged by the accliam and the depth of stories within, Mike began actively pursuing content and contacts. 

The book is available in both colour and black and white, both with spiral binding.  Printed and available through BNAPS, it can be purchased locally in Ottawa or can be purchased directly on the interent at Ian Kimmerly Stamps, 62 Spark St., Ottawa, Canada (www.iankimmerly.com).  For easy refernecing the book codes are B4h049.1.1 (colour) and B4h049.1 (B&W).  Ian Kimmerly is the recognized distributor for BNAPS publications.

Click on image for list of local purchase options

One of our long-time members and past Presidents, David Madeley, along with a host of local volunteers put together this attractive coffee-table book, which has recently been offered to the market. The book's website offers the following details :

"Woodroffe, a community suburb of Canada's capital, was once a thriving village on the Ottawa River. Its charming history has now been told, in words and pictures, in a book published by the Woodroffe North Community Association (WNCA).

River, Road and Rail is a hard-covered book with a colourful jacket. Its 300 pages includes many illustrations, photos, historic maps and aerial photos. You may purchase a copy at the current price of $30. An Order Form is below. Please mail your order to Katherine Day at 51 Woodroffe Avenue, Ottawa, ON, K2A 3T4, and make your cheque or money order payable to WNCA Book Fund." 

A list of stores and other locailities currently offering this book are available via the direct webiste link provided by clicking the book's image.

TOPICAL FIRSTS : A NOTE

Sunday, November 27, 2011

This project is designed to identify as many Topical Firsts issued between the appearance of the first postage stamp in 1840 and the present as possible, a Topical First being defined as: The first presentation of the topic by a postage stamp or related philatelic elements created by a recognized national postal authority, from the Penny Black to the present.

As there is no definitive list of Topical Firsts, the topics assembled here have been gleaned from a number of sources. We started with the Checklists and Handbooks of the American Topical Association, and augmented these with both major and minor topical categories not included in the ATA inventory that were documented both through continuing research and, in a few cases, eccentric, even biased personal selection, topical collecting both inviting and permitting that kind of glorious freedom.

Determining what Topic qualifies to have a First can raise interesting questions, one of the primary being, is the First a stamp or element that directly depicts the Topic, or is simply related to it? Take Law for example: what is the earliest instance of a stamp that has something to do with Law? This project uses the broadest criteria – looking for anything related to Law as opposed to a direct representation, and so we list USA # 2 (1847) as the first stamp for Law, George Washington having been (among other things) a lawyer. Another area that creates problems are big topics that encompass a number of smaller topics. Watercraft, for example, is a huge topic, with at least 20,000 stamps in it, and from a collector’s point of view, has many sub-topics: sailing ships, canoes, submarines, shipwrecks, aircraft carriers, The Bounty, and so on and on. The approach in this list is to include all Topics that we believe some collectors have singled out for attention.

An associated problem has to do with a number of stamps that were issued after 1840 but which fall outside the definition above. It can (and will) be argued, for example, that the first bird is the 1847 local Basel Dove, the first ship the 1847 Trinidad privately issued Lady McLeod, the first bear the 1845 USA St. Louis Postmaster Provisional, elegant stamps that are beyond the reach of most collectors. For the determined and those waiting to win the lottery we will include issues such as these in a special section devoted to interesting topical firsts that lie outside the definition we are using.

Clearly, based on the two principles noted above, there is no end to gathering a list of Topical Firsts, and that is one reason we are putting the list on the Internet and opening it to everyone, to allow its timely updating and revision now and in the years to come.

This is a work in progress, and inevitably contains errors. We welcome corrections and suggestions for changes or for topics not covered, either to the Webmaster or Project Co-ordinator Jack Gray.

Our present list begins in 1840 with the Penny Black - the first Topical First - and ends with the most recent First identified - a 1998 stamp showing the ever-popular game of Monopoly. Stamps and other elements are identified by country, date of issue, and Scott number (where there is one), and in time we plan to include a broader range of information, including other catalogues.

The work on this list has underlined the fact that, though there were exceptions (especially in some of Britain’s colonies), topical philately had a slow start, with Queens, Kings, Leaders, Comfortable Symbols and National Wonders dominating the first fifty years. Toward the end of the 19th century postal authorities began to appreciate the possibilities of tapping a wider range of subjects (topics). The first specifically “commemorative” stamps celebrating “One Hundred Years” were issued by New South Wales in 1888. Events like the 1892 anniversary of the “discovery” of “America” were celebrated. While most of today’s major and popular topics achieved their Firsts by the end of World War I, the accumulation and range of new topics covered continued relentlessly, with almost 200 new topics - a third of the Firsts identified here - getting their Firsts in the twenty-one years between the wars. Some topics have proved to be huge - Watercraft (ships) numbers 20,000 + - while a few, like The World’s Largest Living Postage Stamp (Switzerland 1996), are confined to a few items. Large or small, the tide rolls on, and though since the end of World War II the number of new Firsts has declined, the entire topical field is being thoroughly serviced by the tsunami of new issues that engulfs us today.

Collectors who find any of the material presented in Topical Firsts useful are free to copy whatever they need for their own use. In due course three Topical First checklists will be available - one organized by Topic, one by Country and a third Chronologically – and will be posted on this website.

Topical Firsts © Jack Gray 2011

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The TRANS-MISSISSIPPI EXPOSITION is EXPOSED......

 Tuesday, October 11, 2011

On Thursday, October 6th, the United States Study Group of the Ottawa Philatelic Society held it’s monthly meeting with a discussion on the 1898 Trans-Mississippi Exposition issue, lead by Hank van der Linde.

Hank provided a well researched handout, and spoke about the design and use of each stamp in the issue. Bob H. kindly brought his 1898 Trans-Mississippi issues for us to see. His set was complete, save for the $2 value. It was wonderful to see America’s most beautiful stamp, the $1 “Cattle in Storm” up close.

A set of the 1998 reprints were shown as well, and it was interesting to note the designs for the 2¢ value and the $2 value were switched at the last minute.

Our next meeting will be on Thursday, November 3rd. Our discussion topic will be Mail to and From Prisoner of War Camps in the United States, lead by Mike Powell.

Thank-you Hank and Bob for providing an interesting and informative evening.

We hope others will join us in November.

David Giles

US Study Group Chairman

Visitors can view the refernce handout provided at the United States Study Group meeting, by clicking the Trans-Mississippi stamp at upper left.

Significant "material" is currently being added onto the website which will roll out over the next couple of weeks.

First, I will be adding your own Homepage.
It is password protected which will remain unique to you.
This same password will now give you access to the member's area, marketplace, etc.
Each paid-up OPS member will have their own password and page.
I will build a page, grant a password and forward a message to ALL of the PAID members one at a time, beginning with the volunteers, then the Executive, and finally the members (in the order of their membership number).

Simply click the "OPS CONNECT" button (at left) and a list of membership names will appear in the list in the column at left. Simply click your name and submit your password. The production of the Homepages are now complete.

LIFE in a NORTHERN TOWN...

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Over the summer, a wonderful article appeared in "The Northern" philatelic journal by our very own Gord Richardson.  The article opens a new window on the postal history of West Lynne, Manitoba.  Gord has been researching the postal history of Manitoba for many years and is currently working to co-author further works on the subject.  With the kind permission of both the author and the editor, the article now appears in full in our "REFERENCE ARTICLES" section on this website and can be easily found by clicking the West Lynne postcard at upper left.

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THE WORLD'S HOBBY SPEAKETH.......

Monday, May 9, 2011

The OPS is pleased to announce that a universal translator has been added to this website. The translating service is currently being offered through Microsoft Translator which is a component of the "Microsoft Bing". This translator has been posted on each page and can be found in the column at right. It provides full page translation for 36 different languages.

Select a language and see what happens !

The site ALWAYS will revert back to its original form. Of course, some technical terms may not translate directly. We would love to hear back from any second language OPS members as to whether this service works as intended.

ALSO, we have added several shortcut links now found on each page as well. By clicking "HOMEPAGE", "SITEMAP", "HELPFUL HINTS" or "AUCTION SERVICES" members and guests will be directed to our most popular headings. These may change or other added as trends demand.

FIFTY YEARS.....AND COUNTING !

June 5, 2011

Ottawa Philatelic Society Member Received 50-Year APS Membership Award

On April 30th, 2011, Ian Kimmerly was presented his 50-year membership pin for the American Philatelic Society. The award was presented at the ORAPEX 2012 awards ceremony by Doug Lingard, Chairman of the ORAPEX 2011 Committee.

Mr. Kimmerly joined the APS at age 14, and has been active in philately all his life. A Past-President of the Ottawa Philatelic Society, he is President of Ian Kimmerly Stamps, here in Ottawa. He has also previously served as President of the Canadian Stamp Dealers Association. 

Ian collects and exhibits the stamps and postal history of the Solomon Islands. The members of the Ottawa Philatelic Society extend their congratulations to Ian on this important occassion.

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