Dead Countries: Elobey, Annobon, and Carisco
Another article in the collection of Dead Countries by Phil Schorr. Check out Elobey, Annobon, and Carisco.
Another article in the collection of Dead Countries by Phil Schorr. Check out Elobey, Annobon, and Carisco.
A stamp from Belize, Scott #1017 issued November 19, 1993, features an accordion player in the center, surrounded by other musicians playing maracas, drums, a guitar, and an unfamiliar instrument, the quijada (key-YAH-dah) or ass’s jawbone.
By Hadley Mitchell and John Martin
In September 1929, a man from New York selling office supplies went into the Andres Co. department store in Evansville and asked if a local stamp club existed. The query apparently led two local men, Arthur Romerhaus and Henry Meyer, to publish an article in the Evansville Courier asking anyone interested in stamp collecting to come to the store.
Romerhaus and Meyer, a schoolteacher with a vast collection of Hawaiian stamps, were joined by seven others at a meeting. The Evansville Stamp Club became official on Oct. 2, 1929, and it’s still going strong 94 years later.
The club is preparing for its 91st Annual Stamp & Postcard Show Oct. 21-22, at Reed’s Auction Barn, 10233 IN-662 in Newburgh, Indiana. The free show will feature exhibits and dealers, an auction of used and unused stamps, the club’s first-ever silent auction, and door prizes.
“We encourage people to come to our show to meet interesting people, talk to other stamp collectors, learn some history, see some beautiful and interesting stamps, learn a new hobby, buy some stamps, and most of all, to have a fun experience,” says Guy Sides, the club secretary.
Sides started collecting in his youth and takes a special interest in Machin stamps, used in the United Kingdom. Others, such as club president Zach Lottes, have less-specific collections. Lottes got his first stamps in the fourth grade, and he enjoys bidding on stamps that catch his eye at auctions.
“It’s interesting, and it’s history,” Lottes says.
The club is always open to new members, says Sides, who is retired from Bristol Myers.
“Stamps are just small pieces of paper, but they carry so much with them,” he says. “They are windows into culture, history, geography, and current events and these topics are discussed at our meetings.”
If you weren’t able to join us in Cleveland for GASS 2023, don’t worry — here is what you missed!
Greater Mound City Stamp Club member, 14-year-old Christina Esbeck was recently a speaker at the USPS First Day of Issue Ceremony for the Thinking of You stamps released on August 11, 2023, at the American Philatelic Society’s Great American Stamp Show in Cleveland, OH. The Thinking of You issue included the first cupcake on a U.S. postage stamp.
From Left to Right: Dawn Hamman (President of the American Topical Association), Greg Breeding (Art Director, USPS), Cara Greene (VP, Controller, USPS), Christina Esbeck (Greater Mound City Stamp Club Member and Youth Exhibitor), Scott English (Executive Director, American Philatelic Society), Jennifer Miller (Executive Director, American Topical Association), and Nicole Harrell (Supervisor, Distribution & Operations of Cleveland, USPS).
Christina was also recently highlighted by the USPS in the “PHILATELIC” (Volume 23, Quarter 3, pg. 49) magazine, which you can see on our club website at Beyond the Perf – Christina Esbeck – Greater Mound City Stamp Club.
Christina gave an awesome speech at the ceremony! Additionally, she entered her Cupcake exhibit and was awarded the Champion of Champions in the Youth category. This is a first for the Greater Mound City Stamp Club to have a member when a Champion of Champions award.
Greater Mound City Stamp Club’s Christina Esbeck is highlighted in the USPS Philatelic (2023/Volume 28/Quarter 3, pg. 49) based on her Cupcake Exhibit as the USPS will be releasing the first cupcake on a U.S. stamp at the Great American Stamp Show. Christina has been asked and will participate in the First Day of Issue Ceremony in Cleveland, OH on 8/11/2023.
Congrats to Christina!
Silas Ernst, the Daniel F. Kelleher Auctions Fellow, is from Pacific, Missouri. The discovery of an Utz potato chip can full of used stamps and covers in his grandmother’s attic ignited Silas’ interest in stamp collecting.
By: John Marquardt
Tristan-Da-Cunha-by-John-Marquardt