The Ashbrook Cup The Chase Cup The Perry Cup The Brookman Cup Mortimer L. Neinken Award Susan M. McDonald Award Distinguished Philatelist's

This year's Ashbrook Cup is awarded jointly to Dr. Yamil H. Kouri, Jr. and Theron J. Wierenga for their Chronicle article titled "The Havana Markings of Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina, Used on Incoming Steamship Mail."

Dr. Kouri followed the typical path of a budding postal historian by starting to collect stamps at the age of eight. Not typical, however, was his career as an international exhibitor when he was still a juvenile in 1977. Since then his collections have garnered several grand awards at national exhibitions as well as a number of large gold medals at FIP-sponsored international shows.

His first article was published in 1982; so far, he has written nearly 100 articles that have appeared in half a dozen philatelic journals. He wrote The Postal History of Spanish New Orleans, a book that was published in 2004, and has several others in preparation.

Since 1996 Dr. Kouri has been the editor of The Cuban Philatelist and is currently the president of the Cuban Philatelic Society of America. He belongs to more than a dozen philatelic societies and organizations, and is an elected member of the Spanish Academy of Philately.

His principal collecting interests include Cuba, maritime mails, Spanish colonial mail, U.S. ship mail, British post offices abroad and U.S. military postal stations. He is married and lives with his family in the Boston area, where he works as an oncologist and hematologist.

Some years ago Theron reprinted many of the early U.S. post office documents which were otherwise not conveniently available to many students. These included Reports of the Postmaster General and the Postal Laws & Regulations, as well as a two volume work, The U.S. Postal Guide & Official Register [published in 24 monthly issues from 1850 to 1852], and Official Documents of the Post Office Department of the C.S.A.. But his original research on incoming steamship mail that traveled the ocean mail route between the East and West coasts and to Cuba is his principal forte, resulting in two major books and numerous articles.

These endeavors have earned Theron many of this Society's Cup Awards over the years, including the Chase Cup in 1972, the Perry Cup in 2000, and an unprecedented three wins of the Ashbrook Cup in 1983, 1988 and now in 2005.

The Chase Cup is awarded to Gary W. Granzow for his Chronicle articles on the 3¢ plates of the 1851-1857 stamps of the United States and the 3¢ perforated stamp plates of 1857-1860.

Gary has been a stamp collector since a very early age, but like most collectors laid the hobby aside while he attended college, married and began a family. By the early 1970s he returned to collecting, focusing on U.S. classics and Great Britain, as well as postal history.

By the 1990s, Gary decided to specialize in the 3¢ stamps produced by Toppan, Carpenter, Casilear & Co in the decade preceding the Civil War. He looked to Wilson Hulme and Bill Amonette as his mentors in this field and found his interest constantly stimulated by his association with the 1851-57 Study Group. An initial article on the short "TA" of POSTAGE in one position that appeared after plate wear prompted the series of articles for which he is being honored.

Gary accepting his award from Thomas J. Alexander

Gary received a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois. He married his high school sweetheart, Mitsy; they live in Carversville PA and have three sons and two grandsons.

While working for a petrochemical technology company, Gary attended law school, graduating at the head of his class with a JD degree. In 1998 he retired as CEO of Angus Chemical Company, ending a 33 year career in the petrochemical industry.

He is a member of the American Philatelic Society and the Royal Philatelic Society London, as well as the U.S. Philatelic Classics Society.

Awarded to William E. Mooz for his series of articles in both The American Philatelist [1984 to 1989] and The Chronicle [1992 to 2004] relating to the Special Printings of United States postage stamps.

Bill Mooz has become the Society's expert on the United States special printing program that began in 1875. His interest in this subject was triggered when he obtained a copy of Admiral Vince CombsÕ monograph in 1970. Prior to that time Bill was a stamp collector; focusing on this specialty made him a philatelist. Along the way he has received the Earl P. L. Apfelbaum Memorial Award (1986), and our own Neinken Award twice, in 1992 and 1993.

According to Bill, not the least of his benefits were the many friends he has acquired. These included Bob Lewenthal, Sam Kharash, David Chassey and Leonard Sherrif, as well as Admiral Combs, who was his mentor and close friend for more than 20 years.

Not many of our members realize that Bill worked as the West Coast agent of the legendary Ezra Cole for many years.

Despite the award of this year's Perry Cup for his long series of notably informative articles on the special printings that have appeared in The Chronicle as well as The American Philatelist, Bill believes he has only scratched the surface thus far and looks forward to sharing with us his further discoveries in the future.

The Lester G. Brookman is awarded by The U.S. Philatelic Classics Society for outstanding service by one of its members. This yearÕs award is given posthumously to

for his efforts in rejuvenating the study of the 3¢ 1851-57 stamp.

Keiji ("KG" to all that met him), more than any individual, was responsible for getting the current core group of 3¢ 1851-57 collectors together and regularly sharing information. As a result there has been major progress in understanding early perforations and in plating the Type II stamps.

He was a former Director of The U.S. Philatelic Classics Society, previous winner of the Mortimer Neinken award for distinguished research, a world-class plater, and our good friend.

Keiji's wife Nina accepting the award from Wilson Hulme.

KG was a catalyst. Several world-class collectors have said that Keiji is the reason they got interested in studying the 3¢ perforated stamp or that Keiji was the one responsible for bringing them into the hobby. In Tom AlexanderÕs words, "It amazes me how a person like KG can impact so many lives Š all for the good. He really will be missed by everyone in the Classics Society who watched him (almost single handedly at first) revive interest in our favorite stamp and its postal history."

He was a brilliant analyst and problem solver. KG believed that the key to solving complex issues was to widely share information. He gathered a group of 3¢ 1851-57 collectors and got them focused on unanswered philatelic questions. Mark Rogers comments are typical, "I canÕt count the hours I spent on the phone with KG. Seems like almost every night for a very long time..."

KGÕs initiative and efforts are in keeping with the highest ideals of The U.S. Philatelic Classics Society.

The Mortimer L. Neinken Award of the U.S. Philatelic Classics Society was established in 1986 to encourage more and better articles on U.S. stamps of the classic period. It is presented for the best article on stamps in the previous year's Chronicle, with the limitation that Section Editors of the Chronicle are not eligible for consideration.

The recipient of the Mortimer L. Neinken Award for the 2004 volume (Volume 56) is

for his article on "The Plates of the 1851-57 3¢ Stamps of the United States," which appeared in three installments in Chronicle No. 202-204 (March, August and November 2004), pp. 122-33, 194-209 and 255-67.

Gary accepting his award from Charlie Peterson.

Gary Granzow has provided an exceptional monographŃa comprehensive, definitive re-examination of the printing of the 3¢ 1851-57 stamps, including their 1857-60 perforated varieties, which considerably revises established wisdom and serves as a new standard reference to these stamps. As his introduction accurately relates, the study corrects "published misconceptions of the process used in the mid-Nineteenth Century to manufacture postage stamp plates . . .," revises our understanding of the early plate hardening process, significantly revises upward (by nearly 20%) Dr. Carroll Chase's original estimates of the number of impressions of the first nine plates, even more drastically upgrades Chase's estimates of the number of impressions of the perforated stamps, and presents convincing arguments concerning the history of Plate 3, the unnumbered "Plate 0" and the second unnumbered plate which later re-appeared as Plate 5.

The article draws heavily on archival research, review of the evolution of engraving on steel from a metallurgical and methodological perspective, exhaustive study of the stamps themselves and analysis and extrapolation of a number of extensive data bases, as well as close collaboration with fellow 3¢ enthusiasts. It not only stands as an indispensable reference for this specific stamp, it bears careful reading for its relevance to the entire 1851-57 issue. This is a magnificent addition to the library of U.S. classic philately, and is most deserving of the Mortimer L. Neinken Award.

The USPCS initiated the Susan M. McDonald Award in 1995 to recognize outstanding articles on U.S. postal history published in the preceding volume of the Chronicle.

The recipient of the Susan M. McDonald Award for the 2004 volume (Vol. 56) is

for his article on "Boston to St. John Steamboat Mail," which appeared in Chronicle #201-203 (February, May and July 2004), pages 8-20, 109-16 and 167-86.

David accepting his award from Charlie Peterson.

This article deals comprehensively with the postal history microcosm of mail service on scheduled steamboats between Boston and St. John, New Brunswick, from the mid-1840s to the Confederation of Canada on July 1, 1867. It starts with a thorough review of the Boston - St. John steamboat service. It then treats each of the express companies which provided mail service on that route Š Hale & Co., Gunnison's Express, Favor's Express and others Š followed by the USPOD's steamboat letter mail service. It abounds with detail, including a table listing the steamboat letter carrier appointments and a full schedule of the Boston Š St. John steamboat service, 1841-67, and is richly illustrated. It's exceptional in its thoroughness, as well as in its readability, and in both subject matter and treatment is an apt recipient of the Susan M. McDonald award.

Most stamp collectors follow the pattern of starting early and either going straight on or making a break at the teens and coming back later. Pat Walker was exposed to stamp collecting as a youngster, but didn't get infected until she was in her mid-20s. She discovered postal history and philatelic exhibiting Š two aspects of the hobby she hadnÕt known existed. From that point on, she attended stamp shows whenever possible, and made special plans to attend Interphil '76, the FIP world philatelic exhibition held in Philadelphia. At her father's suggestion, she chose a collecting subject, Irish postal history; she bought her first cover at Interphil for $35, and thought it was a lot of money!

Patricia holding the Distinguished Philatelist's Award after putting pen to paper.

Pat met her husband W. Danforth (Dan) Walker at a U.S. national show in Newark, NJ, in 1979 when they were both taking down their exhibits. Dan was exhibiting his traditional Grenada for the first time; Pat was a seasoned exhibitor, having shown Irish postal history for the third time; they both won silver medals. They were married in 1982; the wedding cake was decorated with postal markings representing items in their collections.

With Dan's encouragement, Pat began to participate in organized philately. She is a member of the Eire Philatelic Association, and served two terms as president in the late 1980s. She is a life member of the American Philatelic Society, where she served two terms on the Board of Vice-Presidents, and remains active at the national committee level. Pat has also held key offices in the American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors and the Maryland Postal History Society, is a Fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society London, and a member of the Collectors Club and several other societies. She has been notably active in the U.S. Philatelic Classics Society, and served as an officer from 1990-2004 Š as Secretary, subsequently as Vice-President, and ultimately as its President.

Pat became accredited as a national philatelic judge in 1985, and as an international judge in 1990 Š accredited initially for youth, and accredited in 1993 for postal history. She is actively involved as a member of the BALPEX show committee.

Patricia (seated) with previous years DPA recipients in attendance (L-R: Richard F. Winter, Thomas J. Alexander, W. Wilson Hulme II, Thomas F. Allen, and Michael Lawrence).

Pat has two primary exhibits: Her exhibit of Ireland Postal History was awarded the Grand Prix National at Stamp Show 2000, London, and a Large Gold with Special Prize at the Espana 2004 exhibition in Valencia; her showing of Baltimore Postal History has won several national Grand Awards, and achieved a Large Gold with Special Prize at Bangkok 2003.

Pat holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics, Magna cum laude, from Vassar College. She recently retired from over 30 years with IBM as a computer software specialist.

For her exceptional service to U.S. philately, including her past contributions to the U.S. Philatelic Classics Society, to BALPEX and to the American Philatelic Society, we are pleased to honor Patricia Stilwell Walker as a Distinguished Philatelist.