Second Bureau Issue/Series 1902 Committee

2007 Annual Board Meeting Committee Report

The committee is composed of thirteen members.  Contact is maintained with individual committee members by email and in person at various stamp shows and through mutual club memberships.  During the last quarter of 2006, the committee revived its quarterly newsletter which is distributed via email.

The newsletter has been well received by the committee members and several have suggested topics for future issues.  The newsletter has also generated ideas for new research projects and has reinvigorated ones which have been dormant for a time.

One article was published in The Specialist concerning a newly discovered EDU for the 4¢ Grant (Scott #303).  Several new articles are being written by committee members and are in various stages of completion.

A number of committee members have been actively engaged in creating new exhibits as well as competing with existing ones.  Frank Braithwaite debuted his single frame 13¢ Harrison at the Sarasota show in February and will show it again at our TEXPEX Annual Meeting.  Nick Lombardi's existing Washington Shield exhibit competed in the Champion of Champions event at StampShow in August and will also be shown at TEXPEX.  A reduced five-frame version was shown for the first time in international competition at Washington 2006.  The committee also created one of the pages for the USSS frame that appeared in the societies section of the show.

The committee was saddened to learn of the passing of Douglas Uzakewicz. Doug had collected and exhibited the 1¢ Franklin issue.  He will be missed by all.

2006 Annual Board Meeting Committee Report

The committee is composed of 20 members.  Contact is maintained with individual committee members by email and in person at various stamp shows and through mutual club memberships.  The revival of the periodic newsletter is a goal of the coming year.

Several projects are presently in various stages of completion.  The most ambitious of these is the updating of the Second Bureau Issue census.  Begun last year, the major portion of the data has been gathered and we will begin to put it into publishable form by the end of the year. Research is also being conducted regarding the 5¢ imperforate Lincoln and its usage.

One article was published in The Specialist concerning precanceled Washington Shield booklet panes and their possible origin.  Additional information has been received about these items and a follow-up article is in the process of being written.

Several committee members have been actively engaged in creating new exhibits as well as competing with existing ones.  Roger Brody unveiled a new exhibit "U.S. Series 1902 - UPU Treaty - Special Rate Mail" and won the Grand Award at the Westfield (NJ) Stamp Show.  Nick Lombardi created a new one frame exhibit of the 3¢ Jackson stamp, which received an Award of Equal Merit at the Collectors Club annual one frame competition and a Gold at the Spring NY Mega Show. Lombardi's existing Washington Shield exhibit won the Grand at the Omaha Show in November and will compete in the C of C event at StampShow in August.  A reduced five frame version is being shown for the first time in international competition at Washington 2006.

2005 Annual Board Meeting Committee Report

There are currently 20 members of the Committee.  Contact is maintained with individual committee members by email and in person at various stamp shows and through mutual club memberships.  The Committee had published a newsletter on an irregular basis, but has not done so since late 2000.  A goal of the Committee last May was to revive the newsletter but we haven't gotten there yet.

The major undertaking at present is the complete updating of the Second Bureau Issue census.  Although parts of the census have been updated from time to time, some sections have not been changed for a number of years.  The plan is for the Committee to update one section at a time, publish the results in The Specialist, incorporate whatever feedback is received from the initial publication, and then combine the results for all sections into one overall comprehensive updated census to be published in its entirety.  Work was begun last summer on the first section, which will encompass EDUs for all the stamps of the issue and it is hoped that this will be completed in the near future.

Since May, 2004, four articles relating to the Washington Shield stamp have been published in The Specialist.  USSS Chairman Roger Brody has also completed work on the Series 1902 chapter for the upcoming Encyclopedia.  Several additional articles are presently in the planning and research stage.  The Committee plans to hold a meeting at INDYPEX to discuss present and future projects.

Several of the Committee members have exhibited at national and local shows and a number of others are working on their initial exhibits.  At the 2004 Annual Meeting in New Jersey, the Reserve Grand Award was won by Nick Lombardi's Washington Shield exhibit, which also won the reserve at VAPEX 2004 in November.  Geoff Dutton won a Vermeil Medal and the AAPE Best Novice Award at ROMPEX this past May for his exhibit of Second Bureau postal history.  He also became a Dad for the first time, so it will be a May to remember.

Roger Brody was selected as the winner of the 2004 Hopkinson Literature Award for his series of articles "Raymond Ostrander Smith Pencil Drawings - Series 1902."  The award will be presented at the INDYPEX meeting.

2004 Annual Board Meeting Committee Report

There are currently twenty members of the Committee.  Contact is maintained with individual committee members by email and in person at various stamp shows and through mutual club memberships.  The Committee had published a newsletter on an irregular basis, but has not done so since late 2000.  One goal of the Committee is to revive the newsletter later this year.

The major undertaking at present is the complete updating of the Second Bureau Issue census.  Although parts of the census have been updated from time to time, some sections have not been changed for a number of years.  The plan is for the Committee to update one section at a time, publish the results in The Specialist, incorporate feedback received from the initial publication, and then combine the results for all sections into one overall comprehensive updated census to be published in its entirety.  Work has begun on the first section, which will encompass EDUs for all the stamps of the issue, and it is hoped that this will be completed by the end of the summer.

Since November, 2003, a book review of the Cheshire Collection auction catalogue was published in the May, 2004 issue of The Specialist.  Another article regarding a third Washington Shield control perfin stamp is presented in this issue.

Several of the Committee members have exhibited at national and local shows and a number of others are working on their initial exhibits.  At the annual meeting at Chicagopex last November, Eliot Landau showed his 5¢ Lincoln exhibit and Roger Brody exhibited his latest work, "Usage of the U.S. Series 1902." Irv Heimburger showed his exhibit of "The First Ten Years of U.S. Bureau Issues, 1893-1903," which included a major section of Second Bureau Issue material. Most recently, Roger Brody showed his one frame exhibit of Second Bureau Issue printing varieties at Plymouth Show in April.

2003 Annual Board Meeting Committee Report

There are currently 17 members of the Committee, and contact is maintained with individual committee members usually by email.  On a non-periodic basis, a newsletter is used to update on new findings, etc.

The committee is maintaining an ongoing census of EKUs and largest known multiples.  Individual members have researched and continue to do research on specific topics.  Those research efforts usually are offered as articles in The Specialist.  Also, several members have made presentations to their local stamp clubs.  At least six members have ongoing exhibits presented at local and national shows.

Members of the committee have recently published the following in The United States Specialist: Nicholas A. Lombardi, "New EDU for the Imperforate 1¢ Franklin - Series 1902," March, 2003; Roger S. Brody, "Raymond Ostrander Smith Pencil Drawings - Series 1902, Parts I, II, III," July-September, 2003; and Nicholas A. Lombardi, "The 2¢ Washington Shield Black 'Trial Color'; Proof," July, 2003.

In December of 2002, Shreve Auction Galleries offered for sale part of the Series 1902 collection of Committee member Roger Brody.  Several items, especially coils, booklets and private perforations set record prices.  The catalog is an important record of the Series and is recommended to those interested in the Series.  A printed copy of the Brody Series 1902 exhibit is available from the Exhibition Phoptocopy Service of the USSS.  The exhibit is also available in color on a CD (PDF) format from the Committee.

Chairmanship of the Committee is passing from Roger Brody to Nick Lombardi as of 2004.  Brody will remain an active member of the committee.

2002 Annual Board Meeting Committee Report

There are currently ten members of the Committee, and contact is maintained with individual committee members by email, phone, periodic newsletter and personal contact at stamp meetings.

Several members are currently conducting research on various aspects of the Series.  These include supplemental usage, essay drawings and treaty rate usage.  There is ongoing research/reporting on our census of earliest known usage (EKU) and largest multiples both on and off cover.

Over the last year, committee members have published several articles in The United States Specialist; special recognition goes to Nick Lombardi for multiple contributions.

2001 Annual Board Meeting Committee Report

The committee has 15 members and communicates usually by email and occasionally by mail or phone.  The committee has a periodic newsletter published at least once but usually twice a year.

2000 Annual Board Meeting Committee Report

The Committee comprises 11 members with diverse interest in the series. Several are collecting or interested in the entire series, while others specialize in individual stamps within the series.  Some members have ancillary interest where the series is included in other collecting topics such as vending and affixing material.  More than half the members have exhibited their material in national shows and at least two will be exhibiting at NAPEX 2000.