Society News

  1. Growing Body of Seal Collecting Literature

    Green's TB Seal Catalog, Middle East 2022 Green's TB Seal Catalog, Oceania 2022 Green's TB Seal Catalog, Italy 2023 Green's TB Seal Catalog, Canada National 2024 Green's TB Seal Catalog, Europe Volumes 6, 7 & 9 2022 Green's TB Seal Catalog, Africa 2022 Green's TB Seal Catalog, Denmark 2022 Green's TB Seal Catalog, Germany 2022 Green's TB Seal Catalog, Latin America

    Beginning in the 1990's a few copies of  Green's US National Christmas Seals were printed in color on a experimental basis. Color was becoming less expensive, but most collectors wanted the cheaper black and white editions. Then, a few years later, several titles were released in full color, including Charles Hoger's supplement to Green's Foreign; Lou Caprario's TB Buttons; Tim McGuinness Easter Seal Catalog, and Joseph Ward, Jr's Santa Post Catalog.

    Now, due to the much lower cost of color printing, followed by price reductions, all new titles are printed in full color. It is hard to believe, but thanks to the volunteer writers of the CS&CSS, color catalogs now total over 3500 pages.

    Christmas Seal & Charity Stamp Society Literature

  2. 1926 International TB Conference

    1926 Swedish Int TB Conf telegram book 1904 thru 1926 Swedish Christmas Seals from International TB Conference book 1926 Swedish Int TB Conf Telegram book 1926 Swedish Int TB Conf Telegrams 1926 Swedish Int TB Conf Telegram 1 1926 Swedish Int TB Conf Telegram 2 1926 Swedish Int TB Conf Telegram 3

    Not since 1908 had the US hosted the International Union against TB's International Conference, held in Washington, DC, on September 29th thru October 2nd, 1926. More than 500 doctors ad public health workers from the US plus 58 medical people from 22 different countries participated. Following the conference, the National Tuberculosis Association held their 22nd annual meeting October 4-7. These 11 TB dignitaries were leading the fight against TB in American and around the world.

    Included here is a souvenir of the 1926 International Conference, a book given out by Sweden including a set of their seals, 1904 thru 1926 as well as a set of seven different telegram forms, which a portion of the sale of went to the Swedish TB Society.

    Photo One

    1) Dr. Charles A. Hatfield, Director of the Institute for TB Research, Philadelphia

    2) Dr. Lindsley R. Williams, Managing Director of the National Tuberculosis Association, NYC

    3) Dr. Theobald Smith, President of the International Union Against TB

    4) Dr. Edward R. Baldwin, Director Trudeau Sanatorium, Saranac Lake, NY

    5) Dr. John Weinzirl, Professor of Bacteriology, University of Washington, Seattle

    Photo Two

    1) Dr. George C. Rutland, Director of Syracuse Health, Syracuse, NY

    2) Dr. B. Weill-Halle, Director of the School for Child Welfare, College of Medicine, Paris, France

    3) Olga Nethersole, famous actress and founder of the People's League for Health, London, England

    4) Dr. Leon Bernard, Secretary General International Union Against TB

    5) Dr. Nathan Raw, member of Parlament from Liverpool, and TB specialist

    6) Dr. Ernt Lowenstein, Professor of Experimental Pathology, University of Vienna, Austria

    See related "New" items on 2-15-22, and 3-12-2022

  3. The World's First Easter Seal

    1934 Easter Seals

    The World's First Easter Seal was issued in 1934 in Elyria Ohio. The National TB Association, who issued Christmas Seals since 1907, was keeping a close eye on their new competitor. Other countries, including our neighbor to the north, picked up on the Easter seal idea for "crippled children".

     "Cleveland Plain Dealer cartoonist J.H. Donahey designed the first (Easter) seal. Donahey based the design on a concept of simplicity because those served by the charity asked "simply for the right to live a normal life." " 
    https://www.easterseals.com/about-us/history/

  6. NTA Analysis of US Competitive and Foreign Seals

    NTA Collector Service Reports NTA Collector Service Reports NTA Collector Service Reports NTA Collector Service Reports 1949 Tatham Christmas Seal Album Independent Cancer Research Foundation, a fraudulent fund Lorenz Christmas Seal press sheet tubes

     

    Beginning in 1938, the National Tuberculosis Association, our national Christmas Seal issuing society ran a collector service. Headed up by pioneer CS&CSS member Charles Lorenz, the Collector Service offered Christmas Seals from around the world. We didn't know Lorenz's duties included writing reports on newly issued seals for the NTA, but it makes sense. The NTA was interested in trends within the charitable fundraising seal business of its competitors; perhaps watching for the occasional fraudulent fund. Member George Painter, in the latest edition of Seal News (Winter 2024), wrote about a fraudulent fund (the Independent Cancer Research Foundation) listed in the Mosbaugh All Fund Medical section.

    These reports, "Analysis of US Competitive and Foreign Seals" form a catalog of every US local and foreign TB seal, as well as other charitable fundraising seals not affiliated with the NTA.

    Only recently coming to light, they were donated to the CS&CSS by Dr. Richard Muller, Professor of Military History, USAF School of Advanced Air and Space Studies. Dr. Muller explains, "I grew up in New Jersey. My paternal grandparents lived in Roseland. Growing up in the 1960's and early 1970's my two brothers Bob and Steve and I visited them many times, and frequently met a couple we knew as Uncle Charlie and Aunt Lil. (It was many years before we learned that Charles and Lillian Lorenz were not in fact blood relatives.) My dad (Wilbur H. Muller) was a lifelong stamp collector and all of us dabbled in stamp collecting at one time. Uncle Charlie was very generous with his time and expertise, and frequently gave us envelopes with exotic stamps on them that we soaked off and placed in our albums. Two generations of Muller sons (my dad, and his brothers Dick and Don, along with us kids) fondly remembered the larger than life Uncle Charlie doing everything from showing my dad and uncles "behind the scenes" at the Automat, to meeting us in the city at Gimbels stamp department (when there was such a thing).

    We visited Charlie and Lil several times at their home in Jamaica, Queens. There we saw his Christmas Seal operation - cardboard tubes containing sheets of seals, correspondence from all over the world. As a little kid, you don't really appreciate what you are looking at, but I later learned that Uncle Charlie was one of the world's premier authorities on Christmas seals.

    When Uncle Charlie passed away, as we were not blood relations, we never found out what became of his collection. (Purchased in 1981 by John Denune) But Charlie had given my dad some items over the years. My dad passed last November and there was a box in the attic containing a number of stiff paper binders, containing reports, many of which Charles Lorenz authored or co-authored. Most of these have pages of the actual seals listed, mostly numbered and identified."

    In addition to these historic reports, Dr. Muller also donated two complete 1946 Green's Catalogs, an unused 1949 Tatham Christmas Seal album, and a few articles on Christmas Seals which have been added to the CS&CSS Archive; a pamphlet, The Story of the Christmas Seal, by Elizabeth Cole 11-27-1936; and an article from The Sunday News, Queens section, on Charles Lorenz from 12-16-1956

    This material will be offered in upcoming issues of Seal News by CS&CSS Auction Manager, Joseph Ward.

     

    PDF icon Muller donation auction lots.pdf

  7. Tied on Christmas Seals

    Italian TB Christmas Seals Syrian TB Christmas Seals Danish TB Christmas Seals French TB Christmas Seals Spanish TB Christmas Seals South African TB Christmas Seals Finnish TB Christmas Seals Norwegian TB Christmas Seals Bermudian TB Christmas Seals Swedish TB Christmas Seals Colombian TB Seal Tied On Cover TB Tied On TB Tied On TB Tied On TB Tied On TB Tied On TB Tied On TB Tied On

    It is estimated that only one in 10,000 pieces of mail has a Christmas Seal "tied on" by postmark, verifying it was used in a timely manner. Everyone is different, and no one has them all. Member George Painter's Tied on Guide details many factors that can enhance their value. Their popularity has helped the hobby of Christmas Seal collecting move into mainstream philately. 

  8. Green's TB Seal Catalog Updates

    Green's TB Seal Catalogs, by Dan Cousineau Green's TB Seal Catalogs, by Dan Cousineau

    In a short time, the late Dan Cousineau managed to update nearly all of Green's part 3, Foreign TB Christmas Seals, writing around 1700 pages of catalogs, before he passed away September 2023. Dan will be missed. Brian McInturff, editor of Green's part 2, US Local TB Seals, Dan's friend, and fellow member, has graciously taken on the responsibility of finishing his work, which was believed to consist mostly of Europe less Germany and Denmark.

    Nearly a year after Dan's passing, additional Green's Catalog files were discovered on his computer, including the rest of Europe, Oceania, and the Middle East. John Denune Jr. Wrote Green's Mexico 2024, which was added to Dan's South America, Central America, and Caribbean, to complete Latin America. So, virtually the whole foreign Green's is now updated and available, printed and CD, for sale at this site, at the Literature page. John Denune, Jr also wrote Green's Canada National 2024. Dan's Russian TB Seal album, Illustrating these rare seals in full color, is also available.

    A large number of TB Christmas seal album files were also discovered on Dan Cousineau's computer, including a massive US Local album, many foreign countries, and a few All Fund charities. These will be offered free in the near future. Member Ed Dlugosz is off to a good start with his own US Local TB Christmas seal album and has graciously offered to donate his work to the CS&CSS. 

  10. Dorsey F. Wheless & his Fantastic Christmas Seal Collection

    Dorsey F. Wheless & FDR Dorsey F. Wheless & FDR

    Dorsey F. Wheless was a pioneer member of the CS&CSS who put our hobby in the spotlight thru articles, publicity, and by donating his incredible collection to the Cardinal Spellman Museum.

    This 1933 publicity photo of a Christmas Seal Album being presented to President FDR includes Dr. William Charles White, President of the DC TB Association, Dorsey Wheless, the CS&CSS member who put the collection together, an unknown woman, and Dr. Kendall Emerson, Director of the National Tuberculosis Association.

    In 1935, Wheless, who worked for Scott stamp and Coin Company, helped get Christmas Seals added to the Scott Specialized Catalogue of US Postage Stamps. Check lists of Christmas Seals first appeared in the Scott Monthly Journal, May 1928.

    In the 1980's, John Denune, Sr. visited the Cardinal Spellman Museum in Weston, MA, to examine the Wheless collection and remarked on all the early Christmas Seal essays he had never seen. 35 years later a rather beat up collection came across our desk, some tail end of the Wheless - Rigney collection. Along with it came an interesting file of correspondence with the Cardinal Spellman Museum. Shortly before Wheless's death (1959-60), he asked May A. Rigney to combine his collection with the material she had accumulated while working at the National Tuberculosis Association headquarters. After Wheless' death, in December 1961 Miss Rigney presented the combined collection to the Cardinal Spellman Museum. William Rigney, May's brother made significant additional contributions in the 1970's.

    PDF icon wheless cardinal spellman-1.pdf

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