After collecting IGY stuff for over 15 years, I'm finally trying to organize, catalog, and sometimes make more sense of and write about my hoard. As I get chunks of my organizing and cataloging in better shape, I plan to share these resources online with anyone who might be interested.
For written works, I am using Zotero for a bibliographic database, including web pages, articles, technical books, popular books, books about 1950s culture, etc. I have my articles saved as pdfs, and a physical personal library of technical and popular books, reports, and magazines. I try to keep my Zotero database up to date on useful resources, and have a separate Zotero library folder for my physical library, part of which is shown.
For philatelic items, I am feeling my way through developing spreadsheet databases and linked scans. Lately I have been focusing on a spreadsheet for U.S. IGY and IGY-related covers. I had some helpful suggestions from two other collectors of IGY philatelic items, Robert A. Greenwald and Don Hillger. Among their publications, Bob wrote International Geophysical Year; A Philatelic Survey, for the The American Philatelist, Feb. 2007, p. 138-146. Don and Gary Toth authored A Philatelic Look at the IGY and the Dawn of the Space Age in Astrophile, July/Aug. 2007, p. 155-164. Hillger and Toth also have a great online checklist for IGY philately, which provided an initial model for my own spreadsheets.
So, here is my spreadsheet, at the moment focusing on my U.S. covers and some other philatelic items related to the IGY. I currently plan on a separate spreadsheet for international covers, and still another for stamps, blocks, and panes.
Scans of these covers are contained in three flickr albums:
The headings to the spreadsheet columns are currently as follows, although I am still playing with the format:
Country - U.S. for all these, but of course will be otherwise for international covers;
Sternberg # - a running index for my collection;
Stamp 1 - Scott Catalog number for the "primary" stamp, many of which are Scott 1107 for the U.S. IGY stamp;
Type/Stamp 2 - designation for stamps other than singles, such as a block/Scott catalog number for additional stamps on the cover other than the primary;
Cover # (default Mellone) - cross-listing to any lists of covers, so far just the Mellone lists and the special "Wood" collection;
Cachet maker (Mellone price mult.) - maker of the cachet where known or surmised (and for Mellone-listed covers, the price multiplier given for the relative value of the cover);
Cachet theme/color/(number); bold significants [intended as a plural rather than an adjective, so not a typo] - main themes portrayed in the cachet/color variant of the cachet/how many if there are duplicates/bold type for anything deemed significant, such as signatures on the cachet;
Date (FDI-bold) - date of the postmark (bolded if a first day of issue);
Postmark - place of the postmark;
Addressee/Sender (bold significants) - addressee/sender of the cover, if given (notable people in boldface);
Cost - what I paid for the cover, although so far I have not been filling this in;
Cancel slogan or pictorial (p) - any slogans or pictorial (p) components of the cancellation;
Scan front - a scan of the front of the cover, linked from entries in my flickr account;
Scan back - a scan of any non-blank backs of the covers, and/or of inserts;
Comment - any other feature of the cover, such as being a naval cover;
Blog - date of a blog post for which this cover was used.
This may be over-complete for some. I'd appreciate feedback on significant omissions, superfluous information, or ways this content might be improved.
The alpha and the omega in the file at this moment:
US 001, from the "Wood" collection
US 211, Robert Goddard FDC, U.S. rocket scientist, from my childhood collection
Feel free to use this spreadsheet should it be useful, but please acknowledge me as appropriate.
Since the last post was on Operation Deep Freeze (ODF), I'll stay with that theme and focus today on two covers related to ODF that I have recently purchased .
The first is another cover postmarked at the Amundsen-Scott Pole Station, Antarctica (see this post for the other such cover, and a little blurb on the station).
First ODF cover for today; living addressee obscured
Unlike that other cover, this one is postmarked during the IGY, on May 31, 1958. To me, that date within the IGY is already a plus for my collection. But there is an extra bonus! The stamp is not the IGY stamp, but Scott #1086 from 1957, commemorating the bicentennial of Alexander Hamilton's birth. And interestingly, the cancellation is on the date of issue of the IGY stamp. Wonder if that was intentional? Hmm, I think so. The addressee is apparently still around in his 80s, so I think I'll write him and ask. But for now, let's celebrate with a Hamiltonian song by Lancaster County's very own Jonathan Groff:
Those ungrateful colonists! I did have the pleasure of seeing the musical Hamilton in San Francisco almost two years ago.
Oh, I almost forgot about the cover! The cachet is similar to the image on my mug from the last post, and the same that was on the back of the cover in this post, with Task Force 43 and a discussion of that. The cancellation includes the slogan U.S. Navy Operation Deep Freeze.
The second cover has a new cachet for my collection, Operation Deep Freeze IV (1958-59), International Geophysical Year, Oceanographic Survey Group. The stamp is Scott #1094 4¢ “Old Glory,” issued on July 4, 1957 (when first class postage for a letter was still only 3¢). This was the first stamp with the U.S. flag as the central design. It was also the first stamp printed using the Giori press (as was later used for the IGY stamp), which allowed the multicolored design to be printed in one step. Too bad it is obscured by the ugly 4-line killer bars.
Second ODF cover for today
The postmark is dated Nov. 8, 1958 (during the IGY), from the USS Glacier AGB-4. I can't find much on the Oceanographic Survey Group cited on the cachet, but I did dredge up (pun intended) the Technical Report report from Operation Deep Freeze II, 1956-1957, Oceanographic Survey Results. The Purpose paragraph states that the primary goal of this Group was providing support services for IGY activities in Antarctica, but that oceanographic and hydrographic information was collected when possible.
The USS Glacier AGB-4 was a U.S. Navy, then later U.S. Coast Guard, icebreaker which served in the first through fifteenth ODF expeditions. AGB stands for "Auxiliary, General, Icebreaker." Burton Island, Edisto, and Atka were AGB-1,2,3, respectively. Glacier was capable of breaking ice up to 20 feet thick, and of continuous breaking of 4-foot thick ice while progressing at 3 knots. These naval covers unfortunately don't say where the ship was on the date of cancellation, but apparently Glacier was near the South Pole at McMurdo Sound in November of 1958.
How do icebreakers work, anyway? Check out this video
I've had several posts mentioning Operation Deep Freeze (ODF), the U.S. Navy operation which provided infrastructure support for the IGY Antarctic program. You can use the search function on the right side of this blog page to find those earlier posts.
I have two non-philatelic items in my collection that relate to ODF. The first is a Boy Scout patch I acquired some time ago, via ebay like most of my collection.
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is administered through 272 local councils, with each council covering a geographic area that may vary from a single city to an entire state. There are 13 BSA local councils in Illinois. Three Fires Council was formed in 1992 from the merger of the Two Rivers and DuPage Area Councils (named for DuPage County). I'm not sure what was the particular significance of this patch. I assume it dates to 1958, but I suppose it might be an anniversary patch. One Boy Scout from my state of Pennsylvania was famous for his involvement in Antarctica and the IGY. In 1928, Paul Siple (1908-1968) was the first Eagle Scout selected for an Antarctic expedition, sailing with Richard E. Byrd. Later he served in Antarctica during Operation Deep Freeze I in 1955–1956, and was the inaugural scientific leader at the U.S. Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station 1956–1957. I may dedicate a future post to him.
Boy Scout patch from my collection, about 4" x 4"
The second memorabilia item is a recent acquisition, a very nice mug in excellent condition. We have seen plenty about the IGY and ODF in previous posts, but AIRDEVRON 6 is showing up for the first time.
ODF mug, AIRDEVRON 6, International Geophysical Year
According to Military Wiki, the Air Development Squadron Six was a United States Navy Air Development Squadron based at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. This squadron of aircraft and personnel was established in 1955 at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland. The squadron's mission was to conduct operations in support of Operation Deep Freeze. "AIRDEVRON 6" comes from Air Development SquadronSix (6). This squadron was also know as VX-6. Navy squadron designations starting with VX indicated a group that supported Antarctic scientific research. I assume this is original to IGY times, not a reproduction, so that the mug dates to the IGY/ODF II (1957-58) or perhaps the immediately preceding ODF I (1955-56).
The logo on the mug is colorful and clear. Besides the ship and plane that presumably represent naval vessels and aircraft, there is a penguin which must be the "puckered penguin" commonly used as the nickname for AIRDEVRON 6. The bee must be a "Seabee."
"Frank" on the back of the mug does not refer to the free franking of government mail discussed in my last post, but must be somebody's name. I don't know who he is, unfortunately.
The bottom of the mug shows that it was made by Balfour, which (from Wikipedia) was an American producer of high school, college, military, and championship rings and similar stuff.
My editor here on the home front was able to make out the small writing inside the band on my high school class ring and confirm that it was also from Balfour. I lost this ring during high school while playing tennis. My parents kept asking me why I wasn't wearing it (pretty observant), so I surreptitiously ordered and paid for a replacement, a small fortune for me at the time. It was actually a rather vexing experience. I guess I have put on a little bulk over the years; it doesn't fit on my ring finger any more.
Class ring from Northwestern High School, Hyattsville, MD
Northwestern Wildcats, Class of 1968 Scholarship, Loyalty, Achievement
Recently I bought an interesting cover, and in the past week I have learned more about it.
Cover from my collection. See text for details.
Let's look at the various elements of this cover:
1. The sender is Russell V. Mack (1891-1960), U.S. Representative from the State of Washington.
2. The addressee is John A. F. Spellman, c/o Grays Harbor College, Aberdeen, Washington.
3. Mack's signature in the upper right corner represents his congressional franking privilege to send this without additional postage. But somehow (unclear to me how), this letter was first directed towards Pole Station, Antarctica.
4. The stamp is the definitive 1954 Statue of Liberty, Scott #1035, from the Liberty Series. Nothing too special about that. I don't know if it is the wet or dry printing version in the Scott catalog. (I do like the deep violet color; a decade later, one of my first favorite songs was Deep Purple, by the brother-sister team of Nino Tempo and April Stevens, which won the 1964 Grammy Award for Best Rock And Roll Recording).
5. The postmark on the stamp is from Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica, dated Jan. 11, 1958, during the IGY. The cancellation slogan is "U.S. Navy Operation Deep Freeze," the Navy operation that provided infrastructure support for the IGY Antarctic Program.
6. The cachet is far from good quality, but shows an Antarctic penguin.
So this cover traveled from Washington, D.C., to the South Pole via the franking privilege, and then on to Aberdeen, WA, via the stamp. Cool (literally)!
A few extra related tidbits:
7. Russell Mack was born in Hillman, Michigan. The other night I watched a documentary on PBS' American Experience series about the brilliant and unsung codebreaker Elizebeth Friedman. I thought I recalled that she had gone to Hillman College, but it turned out it was Hillside College, also in Michigan. Highly recommended documentary!
8. Mack's bio indicated he died of a heart attack on the House floor. (That's one reason I retired at age 66 instead of going into my 70s.) John Quincy Adams was the most notable member of Congress (after his presidency) to literally die on the job, reminiscent of the equally dramatic death of his father, President John Adams. At least six other members of the House died on the premises.
9. This Report for Congress, Members of the U.S. Congress Who Have Died of Other Than Natural Causes While in Office (2002), by Mildred Amer, lists 61 members of Congress who died while in office, but not from natural causes. The names I recall are Hale Boggs (father of NPR's Cokie Roberts), Sonny Bono (Sonny and Cher), John Heinz (think ketchup), Bobby Kennedy (could have been President instead of Nixon), Huey Long (southern demagogue), Leo Ryan (Jonestown massacre), and Paul Wellstone (college professor). The array of causes is diverse: suicides, assassinations, duels, food poisonings, Civil War service, car/train/ship/plane/ hunting/skiing/falling-off-building accidents.
10. After initial googling, I thought the addressee of the letter was the one-term (1981-1985) Washington Governor John D. Spellman, but the initials and dates didn't match. Turns out there is a John Spellman Library at Grays Harbor College. According to the very helpful Grays Harbor College librarian Adrienne Roush, John A. F. Spellman (1913-1993) was longtime head librarian at the College. As far as I can tell, he was not related to either Governor Spellman or noted philatelist Cardinal Francis Spellman. But he did live in the congressional district that Russell Mack represented, so I am assuming they were acquainted.
11. While looking at Google maps to locate Grays Harbor College in Aberdeen, I noticed that across the Chehalis River from the College is the Kurt Cobain Under the Bridge Memorial. So Kurt Cobain (1967-1994) grew up in Aberdeen, near the Young Street Bridge. He and Spellman lived in Aberdeen at the same time. For those of you of my generation, Kurt Cobain and his band Nirvana were pioneers in the grunge music scene in Seattle. Their album Nevermind (1992) became one of the best-selling albums of all time. The lead single "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is not one of my favorite songs, but became an angsty teen anthem. The YouTube video has over 1 billion views!
Cobain and his band Nirvana were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. Sadly, like nine of those congresspersons, Cobain committed suicide in 1994 at the peak of his fame. Success is no guarantee of happiness.
I was curious to see if I could compile a list of all members of the Committee at the time of the IGY stamp. The Committee, still in existence, was formed in 1957 by Postmaster General Arthur E. Summerfield to establish standards for selection of commemorative stamp subjects, and then to recommend which stamps would be issued in accordance with such standards. The idea was to pay more attention to the design and aesthetic appeal of stamps and also to reinforce the interests of stamp collectors, who provided a significant revenue stream for the Post Office. My editor asks if posting on this is particularly interesting for readers, and my response was something like, "Maybe not, but it provides more context for the IGY stamp, and that has some significance here."
I might first say, before you lose interest, that back in 2003 I suggested to the Committee that a stamp be issued for the 50th anniversary of the IGY in 2007, but as you can see from the correspondence below, that suggestion was declined.
Let's start with a photo showing the Committee members in 1957. The Committee has since become more diverse, thankfully.
Source: The Bureau Specialist, vol. 28, June, 1957, p. 184
The biographical notes below for these people are edited from the American Philatelic Society Hall of Fame (APSHF). citations unless otherwise noted. I did wonder about the Hall of Fame requirement that "Only deceased persons can be nominated." I think it would be more gratifying to receive whatever recognition you might get while you are still around to appreciate it. Anyway, here is the cast of Committee folks.
Arthur E. Summerfield, Postmaster General (not actually on the Committee):
(1899-1972), was the 57th Postmaster General, a political appointment by President Eisenhower. He presided over a modernization of the Post Office Department, including the creation of the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee in an effort to encourage citizen involvement in postal policy.
Franklin R. Bruns, Jr., Director of the Division of Philately in the Office of the Special Assistant to the Postmaster General (ex officio member):
(1912-1979), was widely known for his nationally syndicated stamp column that appeared in some 30 newspapers between 1932 and 1972 (was this the column I read in the Washington Evening Star newspaper as a youth?). He became curator of the Smithsonian Institution's philatelic collection in 1951, and was the first curator of the Cardinal Spellman Philatelic Museum. Member, APSHF.
William H. Buckley, President, New York Art Directors Club:
was one of three appointed members chosen to represent artists and designers, to assure the best possible designed postage stamps. The NY Art Directors Club was founded in 1920 "to ensure that advertising was judged by the same stringent standards as fine art." Buckley co-designed two stamps, for the Overland Mail Centenary (Scott #1120) and the Fort Duquesne Bicentennial (#1123). I tried to find more biographical information on him, but I kept getting directed to William F. Buckley.
Arnold J. Copeland, President, The Westport Artists, Inc.:
was another representatives of the art and design community. As a member of the Westport, CT, arts community, he passed on stamp design commissions to other Westport artists. According to the web site 1847us.com, Copeland was a co-designer of all 19 stamps in the Champion of Liberty issues (1957-1961). These commemorative stamps featured foreign leaders who were presented as champions in the struggle for liberty in their own countries. The Encyclopedia of United States Stamps (2016, p. 202-203) identified this as a series with an "agenda" (quotes in original); all 10 personages represented in the series had stamps with denominations for the airmail rate of 8¢, so that these images of "freedom" could be mailed abroad. Copeland also designed commemoratives for the Mackinac Bridge (Scott #1109), St. Lawrence Seaway (#1131), National Automobile Show (#1162), and the National Automobile Show (#1164).
Robert E. Fellers, Director, Division of Philately, Post Office Department (ex officio member):
(1892-1961) was widely known due to his many visits to stamp exhibits and first-day ceremonies across the country. When Summerfield became Postmaster General in 1953, he declared that the pursuit of the hobby of stamp-collecting had great educational [and commercial] value; a new Division of Philately was established, and Fellers was named its director (obituary, New York Times, 11/7/61). He was the first awardee of an Honorary Life Membership in the American First Day Cover Society.
Sol Glass, President, Bureau Issues Association, Inc.:
(1893-1973) was one of the greatest experts of United States 20th century stamps. His book, United States Postage Stamps 1945-1952 (1954) received national and international awards. Member, APSHF.
H. L. Lindquist, Chairman, National Federation of Stamp Clubs:
(1884-1978) was one of America's most acclaimed philatelic editors. In 1932, he began editing and publishing Stamps, which became the weekly magazine of record during his long ownership. Lindquist founded and was president of the National Federation of Stamp Clubs, comprising 600 national stamp clubs with over 200,000 members. He was guest speaker at more banquets than any other philatelist. Member, APSHF.
Ervine Metzl, President, Society of Illustrators:
(1899-1963) was the third representative of the art and design community. As the designer of the IGY stamp, he will get one or more posts all to himself in the future.
L. Rohe Walter, Special Assistant to the Postmaster General (ex officio member)
(1899-1966) was special assistant to Postmaster General Summerfield. He was the liaison between the Post Office Department's Stamp Advisory Committee and philatelists (obituary, New York Times, 4/24/66).
Abbott Washburn, Deputy Director, United States Information Agency
(1915-2003) was head of public relations for General Mills Inc. in Minneapolis, and then executive vice chairman of Crusade for Freedom, which raised money for Radio Free Europe. He was deputy director of the U.S. Information Agency from 1953-1961, acting as liaison between the broadcast agency and the White House and National Security Council during a peak period of the Cold War. He served on the Citizens' Advisory Committee in this capacity. Later, as a Federal Communications Commission member, he contributed to an opinion about what constituted obscene material for broadcast outlets. This became the basis for the 1978 U.S. Supreme Court case FCC v. Pacifica Foundation, which found that the government could punish speech deemed indecent. As a result, the FCC was able to penalize a daytime radio broadcast of comedian George Carlin's "seven dirty words" monologue (Washington Post obituary, 12/19/2003). Learn about that case (if you can tolerate some semi-bleeped obscenities) in this video.
And why, you might ask, was a representative of the USIA on the Citizens' Advisory Committee? The USIA was an agency responsible for American "public diplomacy" (emphasis mine; read public diplomacy as propaganda, maybe?), especially during the Cold War. It was the largest public relations organization in the world, with an annual budget over $1 billion in the years directly after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It presided over U.S. government communications to over 150 international populations. So yes, you could say those Liberty Series stamps carried an "agenda" around the world.
On December 15, 1960, Postmaster General Summerfield presented the first Benjamin Franklin Awards to the then12 members of the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee, including all of the above plus Robert Sivard and C. Robert Payne. The Benjamin Franklin Award is the highest award given by the Postal Service to non-employees.
Back in my post of 11/28/20, I mentioned that the U.S. IGY stamp "was one of the last three U.S. stamps issued with a 3¢ denomination. The rate for first-class postage had been unchanged since 1932, but went to 4¢ on August 1, 1958."
So I've been looking to buy covers franked after the rate went up, using the 3¢ IGY stamp was another 1¢ stamp to make up the difference. I recently acquired two such covers.
The first cover adds a George Washington 1¢ stamp. It is a definitive or regular or ordinary stamp, issued for routine use, and printed over a longer period of time with no fixed printing quota (Juell et al., 2016, p. 702-703). Recall that the IGY stamp is an example of a commemorative stamp.
Front of cover with 3¢ IGY stamp and 1¢ George Washington stamp
I like this cover in that it was postmarked during the IGY, but after the rate increase, so the extra stamp was required.
The postmark location is Army-Air Force Service, APO-23. APO stands for "Army Post Office," and is associated with Army or Air Force installations.
The cachet and the cancel slogan refer to Operation Ice Skate, Ice Island T3.
According to a web page from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, in March 1952, a C-47 aircraft from Thule Air Base landed on iceberg T-3, which was seven miles long and protruded 50 feet above the surrounding icepack, and a weather station was installed. Huts were flown in and assembled by the military. Scientists performed numerous scientific investigations including hydrographic measurements, seismic soundings, and meteorological observations. Studies were continued during the IGY under the aegis of Project ICESKATE.
Whoever thought you could have a post office on an iceberg? This web page, as part of a polar philately site,further discusses T-3 and its mail.
I wonder if that cachet represented Carol Heiss, who won the women's World Figure Skating Championship for five consecutive years (1956–1960), encompassing the IGY. Only Sonja Henie (10 straight!), Herma Szabo (5 in a row), and Michelle Kwan (5, but not consecutive) had as many. I don't remember ever hearing about this great champion before. Have a look here (sorry, can't embed this one).
My second cover used the same combination of stamps.
Front and back of cover with 3¢ IGY stamp and 1¢ George Washington stamp
The Artmaster company has been making cachets like the one on the front of this cover since 1946. I wonder if that dog sled team is on the Moon looking up at the Earth? I am working on a spreadsheet compilation of my cover collection, many with cachets, that I hope to be able to share before long.
As for the cachet on the back, Task Force 43 was formed under the Commander in Chief, U. S. Atlantic Fleet, as the support force for American participation in the IGY. Here is a clearer image of the Task Force 43 image. I like the (sea)bee.
These two covers intersect with the collection categories of military covers, navy covers, polar covers. Pretty cool.
Three stamps of the Liberty Series, from my childhood collection
The Washington stamp (1954, Scott #1031) is from the so-called Liberty Series (Juell et al., 2016, p. 110-119), taking its name from three Statue of Liberty stamps in the series. This series replaced the 1938 Presidential series of definitives, and was in turn replaced by the Prominent Americans Series beginning in 1965. Eventually there were 60 stamp varieties printed in the series, covering 26 different denominations. A Post Office Department news release in 1964 stated that the "In God We Trust" text included on the State of Liberty stamps marked "the first time that a religious tone has been incorporated into a regular or ordinary stamp." Something to distinguish U.S. stamps from godless Soviet Union stamps during the Cold War, I suppose. This phrase (IGWT) had already appeared on some U.S. coins, but did not become the official U.S. motto until 1956, or start showing up on paper currency until 1957.
Undamaged postage stamps don't expire, even as postal rates change. Since 2007, we've been able to buy Forever Stamps to avoid having to mix stamp denominations to meet changing postage rates.
