Society News

Wed, 05/17/2023 - 14:29
Christmas Seals for Other Holidays

The longest series of Christmas Seals which honor a different holiday, began in 1987. Spring ALA seals have Easter themes, and a whole book could be written about them.
Several other holidays were featured on American Lung Association Christmas Seals that collectors may not be aware of. Chanukah seals were issued from 1997 thru 2003, and the ALA of SE Florida issued Kwanzaa seals in 2001 and 2002 which feature Curtis, the comic strip of cartoonist Ray Billingsley. The 2001 had a finer roulette at the fold than the 2002 issue. Finally, in 2003 The ALA celebrated Halloween and Thanksgiving, along with Christmas Seals, all on the same sheet.
Collectors have observed a rise and fall of the number of Christmas Seal varieties, but as the landscape of America changes other holidays could be considered by the ALA. How about Cinco de Mayo, Diwali, or Ramadan?
I almost forgot, early US Christmas Seals from 1907 thru 1921 (with the exception of 1913) also honored "New Year" .
Wed, 05/03/2023 - 10:31
Free Christmas Seal Album

This 1998 eighty page album was designed to house American Lung Association (National US Christmas Seals) Design experiments and Spring issues. Design Experiment Christmas Seal began in 1979 and since 1980, nearly every national US Christmas Seal design was selected from a previous year design experiment, with one notable difference being the date. Spring issue ALA seals began in 1987.
More FREE Christmas Seal Albums here:
https://www.seal-society.org/node/45
and a Peruvian Christmas Seal album, here https://www.seal-society.org/node/63
album ALA design exp & Spring-1.pdf
Mon, 04/17/2023 - 14:28
The Christmas Seal Catalog

2013 simplified Green's Catalog. Free download, not for resale please.
The Christmas Seal Catalog-1.pdf
Fri, 03/24/2023 - 12:02
Celebrities for Christmas Seals

Christmas Seals have enlisted the help of celebrities back into the 1920's. There were dignitary signings, radio spots, movie trailers, posters, and national chairmen were celebrities as well. In 1958 The National Tuberculosis Association, with the help of Clark Gable promoted the annual Christmas Seal Campaign. Celebrities of the past include Babe Ruth, Charles Coburn, Lee Trevino, Jack Lemmon, and Rock Hudson, to name a few. This was Clark Gable movie trailer was submitted by Christmas Seal collector, Jim Stone, Many such trailers exist. If you find them, please email a link to your webmaster, John@christmasseals.net and I will upload and credit you on this news page.
1914 The Temple of Moloch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HIx2QNbPNE
1925 restored Christmas Seal cartoon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nYwZvxaJlA
1938 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYdA32RWm1E
1944 Bob Hope https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TkvC5dAGh0
1947 thru 1951 compilation with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr, Virginia Mayo, Robert Young, Ray Milland, and Gary Cooper https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsxSKZkhzlc
1952 Abbott & Costello https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7amiP7fVtHw
1954 Rod Cameron https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzzZHjg8RaM
1956 Jimmy Cagney https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3giawv
1958 Clark Gable https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7fXSWHwGR8
1959 Canada - Barry Morse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU_aq-EqGI4
1960 Rock Hudson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCPX8_JhGB0&t=1s
1961 Jack Lemmon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3A6arFL_4hw
1967 Walter Brennan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnW1nNQzbCI
1968 James Coburn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSQ8dsxx7rM
1969 Henry Fonda https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZzXmCv7UWU
1970 Rock Hudson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGATkZWtN10
1973 Barbara Eden https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OB-AcjrA_g
1985 Pearl Bailey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuI-PzUuNBQ
More Christmas Seal trailers: The 1912 film, Hope: A Red Cross Christmas Seal Story and the 1915 film, The Lone Game are available on DVD collections. (1912: Treasures III: Social Issues in American Film 1900-1934, National Film Preservation Foundation, Disk 1; 1915: Edison: The Invention of the Movies, Kino Video, Disk 2).
Wed, 03/15/2023 - 11:51
Hall, One of the First Families of Christmas Seals

Dr Sherwood Hall, MD was the son of James and Rosetta Hall, medical missionaries (Methodist Episcopal) to China and Korea. Rosetta was famous in her own rite for founding the first women's medical school in Korea. The Korean and Indian postcards with seals tied on were sent from her (in the USA) to various people including an early seal collector, CS&CSS member, Alice Westphal.
Dr. Sherwood Hall issued the first Christmas Seals in Korea, India, and Pakistan.
In 1928 Dr. Sherwood Hall built a TB Sanatarium in Haeju, Hwanghaedo Province of Korea. Hall's first Korean Christmas Seal was issued in 1932. Later reprinted in 1937 with a larger "D" in "AND". Hall's last Korean Christmas Seal issue was in 1940. The first printing with "1940" date is very rare. Only a few escaped destruction by the Japanese occupational government. Supply and demand have made it the most valuable Christmas Seal in the world, and one can expect to pay $1500 for a copy. This Christmas Seal was reissued with "Ninth Year" replacing the date. Hall, accused of being an American spy, was forced to leave the country by the Japanese.
By Christmas 1941 Hall issued the first Indian TB Christmas Seal. His Indian issues have a similar quaint style to the Korean issues, and similar related material, like Christmas Seal Greeting Cards, and Christmas Seal Souvenir Sheets were used in both countries. The first two Christmas Seals of Pakistan, issued by Hall in 1949 and 1950 appear identical to Indian issues, except the marginal inscription on the sheet includes "Pakistan". Hall's third Pakistani Christmas Seal, issued in 1951 has the same design used in India in 1942 and 1947, but without date.

hall korea.pdf hall india.pdf halls of india.pdf
Wed, 02/01/2023 - 14:22
New Discoveries by member Dave Lowental

Dave Lowental reports two unlisted items:
This US TB pin back button, issued by the Jefferson County Anti Tuberculosis Association, encourages the public to be safe, and get a chest x-ray. Those who participated were rewarded with this cool button, There are quite a few different states with a "Jefferson County", but this seems to be from Alabama. Mass x-ray screening campaigns were done from the 1930s to the 1960s, and from the looks of it, I would guess this to be from before WW2.
Dave also found this lovely Red Cross seal tied on Marion Ohio December 22, 1910. Marion is about 18 miles south of Bucyrus, which was the home of the Monnette Public Hospital. Note that "Monnette" is printed on the red cross. The card was sent by Walter Monnette, undoubtedly a member of the family that endowed the hospital. More info on the hospital here.
Thu, 01/12/2023 - 11:54
Great American Stamp Show 2023

It's official! The Christmas Seal & Charity Stamp Society is meeting this Summer in Cleveland at the big annual APS stamp show. There will be a society booth, a display, sample literature, free seals, and a meeting. Hope to see you there.
August 10-13, 2023. Thurs - Sat 10 am - 6 pm. Sun 10 am to 4 pm.
Location: Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland. 300 Lakeside Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44113.
Host Hotel: The Westin Cleveland Downtown. 777 St. Claire Ave. NE, Cleveland, OH 44114

Great American Stamp Show 2023.pdf
Mon, 11/21/2022 - 12:52
The Case of the Double Barred Cross - NTA vs Summit County TB

The double barred cross, or cross of Lorraine was first suggested as the international symbol for the fight against tuberculosis at the 1902 International Conference on TB in Berlin, Germany. This crusader's cross belonged to Godfrey of Bouillon, who in 1099 became the ruler of the Christian state of Jerusalem. The symbol was first used on a fundraising label in 1907-08 by The Kensington Dispensary in Philadelphia, PA., a US local TB seal. Like many early local TB organizations, Kensington was absorbed by our national Christmas seal association; now known as the American Lung Association. In 1919, when our national Christmas Seal society split off from the Red Cross, they became the National TB Association, and have used the double barred cross ever since.
In 1954 the NTA sued and won against a US Local TB organization, Summit County TB, of Akron, Ohio, for their use of the double barred cross. This symbol for the "Crusade against TB" was, and continues to be used internationally; first use in Canada 1908, Spain 1909, Philippines 1910, Sweden 1911, Norway 1913, and by the late 1920's many countries had adopted it. To avoid any confusion, here in the US, the double barred cross belongs ONLY to our national Christmas Seal society.
Illustrated here are the double barred cross, a Kensington TB seal tied on, 1919 NTA Christmas Seal, Early foreign TB seals uses of the double barred cross, and the first three issues of Summit County TB, showing their infringement, and subsequent removal of the double barred cross.
Special thanks to member George Painter for bringing this case to our attention.
NTA vs Summit County Case of the Double Barred Cross.pdf
Fri, 11/18/2022 - 22:31
Early US Christmas Seal Window Labels

Some of these are minature versions of the poster series that began in 1920.
Sat, 11/12/2022 - 14:50
Little Known Jewish Cuban TB Issues

Green's Cuba TB #'s 70-76, 1939//1952, were issued by the Jewish Anti Tuberculosis Commitee of Cuba (Colonia Hebrea Protectora de los Tuberculosos y Enfermos Mentales), in Havana, and have been greatly undervalued. I know of no dealer who has them for sale. Examining a single seal of this society, a Cuban philatelic expert who had never seen it, asked me how do you know they are Cuban? My only answer was, the larger certificate toward the bottom says, Cuba, and they have been listed in Green's Catalog, under Cuba for a long time.

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