By Patricia A. Kaufmann This is primarily a small selection of the many articles written on my favorite subject, as well as resources from other places on the Web. With the advent of virtual presentations, I have begun to add some of these as well.
COMPLIMENTS
WHY I WRITE
I have adored postal history since my late teens. I wrote almost from the very beginning. Postal history has great potential for collectors who are also fascinated by human studies. I love the stories told by the covers. By the time I am done researching a particular subject, I feel I personally know the families and the subject of my research. And like many authors who are asked to identify their favorite article, I usually say that my favorite is whichever one I am working on right now. One thing leads to another with covers and the most seemingly mundane example suddenly comes alive, speaking to us from the past.
One of my favorite quotes: We leave you our deaths. Give them their meaning. Archibald MacLeish
But I am not just a social philatelist. I also enjoy "fly-speck philately" and researching the nuances of printing and mail routes. Most of my most serious research articles are published in the Civil War Philatelist. The more general the magazine, the more I delve into the social aspects of the correspondence.
WRITING AWARDS
I am blessed to have been the recipient of numerous writing awards over the years and was inducted into the philatelic Writers' Hall of Fame of the American Philatelic Society Writers' Unit 30 in 2017, as well as winning four specific literature awards that year.
Provenance: Tracing Philatelic Ownership Through Owner and Expert Markings - extensive compendium of markings found on Confederate stamps and covers. An original article illustrating known markings and including detailed vignettes on the collectors, dealers and experts who produced them. Provenance helps establish pedigree and authenticity. Covers or stamps with demonstrable pedigree are more coveted than their mundane brethren. A cover that was once owned by Caspary, for example, really gets advanced collectors excited.
The Confederate Stamp Primer Online is a basic stamp by stamp guide for those who don't have access to classic philatelic literature on the subject or for those who do, but would like a quick online reference. You may view just the section in which you are interested or read it systematically from one page to the next. This primer deals only with stamps and not the vast area of postal history covered by The Rebel Post. Of particular note is the section at the bottom called "Trouble Spots," which deals with common problems encountered between stamp types and details on forgeries encountered. This includes the all-important Dates of Secession and CSA Admission
The Rebel Post - Collecting the Confederate Era
An overview of collecting the Confederate era, this article first appeared in Scott's Monthly Stamp Journal in April 1976, describing the the postal history that began when a handful of Southern states first seceded from the Union until the last shots of the War were fired. It is a fascinating look at the Confederate postal system which clearly demonstrates why specialists are so passionate about this area of collecting. For a more in depth article on the stamps of the Confederacy, see the "Confederate Stamp Primer Online."
The Madison, Florida Postmaster Provisionals - Anatomy of a Postal History Research Project
Due to the revolutionary nature of the material presented, this article appeared in both The American Philatelist and The Confederate Philatelist at the same time in February 2000 by joint cooperation of the editorial teams. The research resulted in the addition of a completely new section in the Scott Catalogue which immediately precedes the Confederate provisional section.
Sperati Confederate Forgeries - by Patricia A. Kaufmann, as printed in The Philatelic Book of (even more) Secrets, Volume 2, 2015 by Professional Stamp Experts
Jean de Sperati was one of the most noted and proficient stamp forgers in the world. His stamps were often authenticated as genuine by experts. He was a printer by profession and could skillfully mimic with detailed accuracy the design and motifs as well as the paper of the real thing. He was nicknamed "The Rubens of Philately." Forgeries by Sperati often command prices equal to the genuine stamps.
Confederate Lost Plate - Object Spotlight on the website of the Smithsonian National Postal Museum (NPM) - Patricia A. Kaufmann
The Confederate copper printing plate on display in the museum was ordered by the Confederate States of America and manufactured by De La Rue & Co., Ltd. in London in 1862. It was captured off the Bahamas when the British blockade runner Bermuda was captured by the USS Mercedita. From there, it was taken to Philadelphia to Prize Court. This plate was never used to print stamps by the Confederacy. I was priviledged to be involved in its accession by the museum while serving on the NPM Council of Philatelists during the time of the construction and opening of the William H. Gross Gallery.
VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS
Virtual meetings, stamp shows, symposiums, and philatelic presentations are everywhere these days, particularly spurred on by the Covid-19 global pandemic. I've participated in a number of them and am glad to present some here for your viewing pleasure.
The Civil War: A Postal System Divided - A virtual presentation given to the Philatelic Society of Lancaster County (PA) on September 25, 2024. The actual talk is roughly 30-35 minutes long, but with the introduction and Q&A after the presentation, it runs 53 minutes. Watch as much or as little as you wish. It gives an overview of postal systems both North and South during the war.
Jenkins Express: Dodging the Yanks Across the Rappahannock - A virtual presentation given to the Collectors Club of New York on December 1, 2021. Award-winning presentation and intro are 27 minutes long with 20 minutes of Q&A following. This program examines the two recorded Jenkins Express covers, which were delivered by a paid mail service across the blockaded Rappahannock River. Mail was delivered from Confederate troops to their families on the Northern Neck of Virginia. While clandestine exchange of mail is known to have existed between North and South along the river borders in the Chesapeake Bay, no express company mail had been positively identified before these recently came to light. "I was present for your Collectors Club presentation and really wowed by it. The depth of research may have been “Typical Trish,” but your analysis and presentation are what made this an especially memorable talk! You typify the statement 'great research is studying what others have studied but seeing what no one else has seen!' Congrats." GWL CCNY "Best Program of the Year" for 2021
Madison Fla. 3¢ 1861 Postmaster's Provisionals. A virtual presentation given September 8, 2021, to the Philatelic Society of Lancaster (PA) County. It is one of my favorite topics and one of the most rewarding research projects of my career. It is a 44-minute presentation which includes a roughly 10-minute question and answer session at the end.
Stamp Chat: Social and Historical Research Through Postal History. February 23, 2021, webinar. Panelists for this were: Cheryl Ganz, Trish Kaufmann, and Marjory Sente, with APRL Librarian Scott Tiffney presenting a segment on research resources. Heidi Rhoades, host, and Susanna Mills, assistant editor of The American Philatelist moderator. 1.5 hours including Q&A.
Winner of the 2021 "Chatty Award" for best presentation in the category "Stamps Teach."
Conversations with Philatelists - Episode 28. December 14, 2020. I discuss the rebranding of the Civil War Philatelic Society, as well as my passion for Confederate postal history and how to get started in this area of philately. Charles Epting, of H.R. Harmer, and Michael Cortese, of Noble Spirit, interview philatelists around the world in this award winning program promoted by the American Philatelic Society. This program won the Philatelic Traders' Society 2020 Award for the Best Creative Concept.
Confederate States of America: Postal Innovation during the Civil War. October 30, 2020. A well-illustrated and narrated PowerPoint presentation from the Eleventh Postal History Symposium sponsored by the Smithsonian National Postal Museum, U.S. Philatelic Classics Society, American Philatelic Society, and American Philatelic Library. There is a question and answer session after the half-hour presentation, total session 49 minutes.
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Royal Philatelic Society of Canada panel presentation on Aspects of U.S. Philately - Postal History by Pat Stilwell Walker, Trish Kaufmann, and Charles Verge. Presented by Zoom on June 17, 2024. Trish's segment (second up) was, of course, about American Civil War Stamps and Postal History. Pat spoke about collecting your home town and Charles about U.S. Dental Philately and Dental History.
Stamp Collectors Quarterly (formerly Kelleher's Collectors Connection) is a stellar house organ that began in the fall of 2015. It is destined to become "the" philatelic house organ of all time, instantly surpassing the best of all prior works, such as the classic Herst's Outbursts. This slick publication is chock full of fascinating and utterly readable articles that will capture your undivided attention, no matter what you collect. The publication bears the distinctive touch of the premier philatelic editor of our time, Randy Neil. While I have no business association with Kelleher, I am thrilled to be a part of this wonderful endeavor. Links to the Kelleher site with online versions are shown here with permission. My columns on Confederates and the Civil War began with Volume 1, Number 2, although I sometimes stray into non-Confederate subjects as well.
N.B. Kelleher recently redesigned their website and I lost links to some articles. All my columns are accessible from the full magazines published on the Kelleher website if you can't find them in this list.
Volume 10, Number 1 (1st Quarter, 2024) - Transitional Uses During the Transfer from the United States to the Confederate Postal System
Volume 9, Number 4 (4th Quarter, 2023) - The Charleston Hotel
Volume 9, Number 1 (1st Quarter, 2023) - North Carolina 1871: The Ku Klux Klan Strikes Down Governor Holden
Volume 8, Number 3 (3rd Quarter, 2022) - Hon Alfred Ely Granted Postal Favors to Victim of Narrow Battlefield Escape - A Rather Memorable Picnic
Volume 8, Number 2 (2nd Quarter, 2022) - The French Family of Soule and Their War with the War
Volume 8, Number 1 (1st Quarter, 2022) - Persecuted by the Provost Marshal of the District of East Tennessee
Volume 7, Number 4 (4th Quarter, 2021) - Pondering the Coming of the Great War
Volume 7, Number 2 (2nd Quarter, 2021) - "Boy Andrew" - Camp Slave or Black Confederate Solider? A role for young freed slaves and contraband in the war?
Volume 7, Number 1 (1st Quarter, 2021) - The Last Private Owner of Mount Vernon (pp. 60-69)
Volume 6, Number 4 (4th Quarter, 2020) - Dodging Billy Yank Along the Rappahannock, Part II (Jenkins Express)
Volume 6, Number 3 (3rd Quarter, 2020) - Dodging Billy Yank Along the Rappahannock, Part I (Jenkins Express)
Volume 6, Number 1 (1st Quarter, 2020) - Bloodshed Unavoidable: A Failed Civil War Peace Mission
Volume 5, Number 4 (4th Quarter, 2019) - Major (Dr.) Cornelius Boyle: Robert E. Lee’s Secret Agent/Co-conspirator in the Lincoln Assassination
Volume 5, Number 3 (3nd Quarter, 2019) - President Jefferson Davis’ Nephew Returns Home from Gettysburg
Volume 5, Number 1 (1st Quarter, 2019) - Hang Him from a Sour Apple Tree - A Battlefield Souvenir
Volume 4, Number 4 (4th Quarter 2018) - Dr. Alvinzi G. Thomas "...[with] the sword of Georgia in one hand and the sword of the Spirit in the other."
Volume 4, Number 3 (3rd Quarter 2018) - "The Civil War's Most Famous Scout" - Col. Lewis S. Payne
Volume 4, Number 2 (2nd Quarter 2018) - Illegal Use of Demonetized U.S. Envelope: The Fleet Correspondence
Volume 4, Number 1 (1st Quarter 2018) - From a Confederate Valentine to the Nancy Harts
Volume 3, Number 4 (4th Quarter, 2017) - Resilience in Hard Times: Adversity Covers
Volume 3, Number 3 (3rd Quarter, 2017) - Underground Code Name "Faithful"
Volume 3, Number 2 (2nd Quarter 2017) - Entreaty for Help from a Political Prisoner (pp. 30-39)
Volume 3, Number 1 (1st Quarter 2017) - A World Class Philatelic Library (pp. 11-20)
Volume 2, Number 6 (Nov-Dec 2016) - Lewis Carroll's "Wonderland" Postage Stamp-Case (pp. 9-18)
Volume 2, Number 5 (Sept-Oct 2016) - Prisoners-as-Shields and Other Horrors of War as Experienced by James A. Penfield (Part III), pp. 32-41
Volume 2, Number 4 (July-August 2016) - Prisoners-as-Shields and Other Horrors of War as Experienced by James A. Penfield (Part II), pp. 32-41
Volume 2, Number 3 (May-June 2016) - Prisoners-as-Shields and Other Horrors of War as Experienced by James A. Penfield (Part I), pp. 36-41
Volume 2, Number 2 (March-April 2016) - Confederate States of America Postmaster's Provisional to a Son of the Haitian Slave Revolution (pp. 8-13)
Volume 2, Number 1 (Jan-Feb 2016) - John Grimball - Present for the First Shots--And for Those at the End (pp. 8-22)
Volume 2, Number 2 (Nov-Dec 2015) - The Fascination with Confederate Postal History (pp. 26-31)
Volume 1, Number 1 (Oct-Nov 2015) - The seminal issue of this new house organ. No Confederate articles.
Kind words for my first column: "I feel so fortunate that I happened to have carried the Kelleher magazine with me on a recent train ride to the office and had time to read it cover to cover; what you've done is to marry Confederate postal history - which caught my eye the intriguing way you presented it - with U.S. history, which I have always wanted to better understand but have never been able to devote time to, to move me to finally push myself to dig deeper." BC
The American Philatelist (AP) is the official organ of the American Philatelic Society. The APS was founded in 1887 and is the world's largest collector organization with members in 110 countries. Founded in 1886, the APS is now in its third century of service to stamp collectors and postal historians. Click here to download an APS membership application in PDF format. With the April 2018 issue of the AP, I have become a regular contributor, although I have contributed occasional articles in prior decades, such as the research on the Madison, Florida, 3¢ postmasters' provisionals in both 1984 and 2000 (bottom article listed here).
February 2021 AP - Researching Confederate States Stamps and Postal History
May 2020 AP - Imprinted Envelopes of the Confederate States
March 2020 AP - Clara Barton - Angel of the Battlefield and Founder of the American Red Cross
January 2020 AP - Confederate Prize Court Mail
May 2019 AP - How to Start Collecting the U.S. Civil War
February 2019 AP - Civil War Love Story Gave Rise to Unique 1861 Fort Valley, Georgia 5c on 3c Postmaster Provisional
April 2018 AP - Civil War Prize Court Mail: Profits and Bounty on the High Seas Led to Philatelic Treasures.
February 2000 AP - Anatomy of a Postal History Research Project (the Madison C.H. Florida postmaster's provisionals)
The Civil War Post is a monthly column I began writing with the January 2007 issue. Originally entitled the American Stamp Dealer & Collector, it became the American Stamp Collector & Dealer in 2020. It is a general interest column on Civil War topics, mostly Confederate (was titled the "Confederate Post" through 2017). With permission, I am archiving a portion of the column on this website in PDF files. I invite you to check out ASDA's slick full-color monthly publication, chock full of general philatelic articles and the latest news with an emphasis on the human side of philately. This is not just a magazine for dealers. There is a wealth of collector related information on a wide variety of subjects and its features on the people, events and activities in our hobby is unprecedented. Check out the publication website for subscriptions and other information at www.americanstampdealer.com/
May 2024 - An Impossible Use
April 2024 - Check the Dates
March 2024 - Mistakes Made in Passing
February 2024 - A 'Too Good to be True' Trap
January 2024 - Censored Mail from Fort Monroe to Chaplain L.C. Vass, Stonewall Brigade
November-December 2023 - Short-lived Norfolk Flag-of-Truce Route
October 2023 - Custodians for Future Generations, Part Two: Improper Storage
September 2023 - Virginia First-Day Cover from Green's Mansion House
August 2023 - Hempstead Texas Hollow-Star Cancel
June 2023 - TASCO Prize Set Packets
May 2023 - Charleston Penny Post Service During the Civil War
April 2023 - Vedette Mail From Tucson to Los Angeles via Fort Yuma
March 2023 - Confederate Issues With Often-faked Postmarks
February 2023 - First State Postal History Keepsakes
January 2023 - 1932 Dietz Wallpaper Covers Still Deceiving
November-December 2022 - U.S. Senator Jefferson Davis to U.S. Revenue Cutter Service Officer
October 2022 - North Carolia Scalawag George W. Swepson
September 2022 - An Unlisted Confederate Arkansas Use
August 2022 - Confederate Provisional Wannabees; Common-Sense Determination
July 2022 - A Voice of the Past Regarding Those Spurious Essays
June 2022 - "The Great Pretender" - The Use of Springfield Facsimiles on Cover by Ne'er-Do-Well J.H. Scruggs Jr
May 2022 - Spurious Confederate Essays
April 2022 - Military Censorship
March 2022 - Fiancé's Ultimatum: Change Your Name or Farewell!
February 2022 - Why Use a Magnifying Glass?
January 2022 - Only Recorded War-dated Cover from General Colquitt
November-December 2021 - It's Not All About Stamps and Postal Routes
October 2021 - A Confederate Cover from Nebraska
May 2021 - Castle Williams Prisoner-of-War Cover From Survivor of Battle of the Crater
April 2021 - How Do Postal Artifacts Find Their Way Into the Collector Market?
March 2021- Cotton Gin Port, Mississippi - Only Recorded Confederate Use
February 2021- Young Cold Harbor Combatant Dies of Wounds at Lincoln General Hospital
November-December 2020 - Wake Up and Smell the Coffee - Dangerous Slave Discontent
October 2020 - Circus Broadside Adversity Cover
July 2020 - Union Patriotic Label: "Taken near Pittsburg" and Used in the Confederacy
June 2020 - The Joy of New Listings
May 2020 - Philatelic Terminology: It's all in how you say it
April 2020 - Newly-Recorded Largest Block CSA-Y - Stone Y
February 2020 - Gruesome Train Accident Death
January 2020 - State Abbreviations Were Not the Same During the Civil War
November-December 2019 - Travails of a North Carolina Foot Soldier - James C. Zimmerman
October 2019 - Maj. Campbell Brown, Fort Warren Prisoner of War
July 2019 - Across-the-Lines Use - Confederate Tennessee into Union Missouri
June 2019 - “Jeff Davis and his piciune stamp” – Battlefield Souvenir
May 2019 - CSA Typographed Stamp Issues and Pretenders
April 2019 - 20c Bisect Pays 10c Eastbound Trans-Mississippi Rate
February 2019 - Stolen Mail at Salem Post Office
January 2019 - Dr. William Davis Ewing - Lynchburg, Va., Wayside Hospital
November-December 2018 - Patriotic Cover to Marie Rosa Haydel Andry
October 2018 - Mixed Franking Forwards Soldier's Mail from Howard's Grove Hospital
September 2018 - Grow My Money!
July 2018 - Provenance: Tracing Philatelic Ownership
June 2018 - Bank Security – Civil War Style
March 2018 - New Earliest-Recorded Jonesboro, Tenn., Postmaster's Provisional
February 2018 - Col. Henry H. Cumming; Father of the Augusta Canal
January 2018 - American Poet Sidney Lanier; A celebrated life cut short by a Civil War prison
November-December 2017 - The Earliest Listings of Confederate States Stamps
October 2017 - Eagle Machine Works
September 2017 - Texas Secession News from Castroville
July-August 2017 - Collecting Confederates on a Shoestring Budget
June 2017 - Found in a Vintage Book: Confederate Patriotic Cover
May 2017 - Lincoln and Grant's Last Meeting, Petersburg, Virginia, April 3, 1865 - the Thomas Wallace House
April 2017 - Charleston Orphan House
March 2017 - A Foreign Frenchman in South Louisiana
November-December 2016 - Keeping Up with the Times
October 2016 - 'What's Up' by Randy Neil - a Tribute to Trish Kaufmann
May 2016 - Governor Charles Clark Imprisoned for Threatening Insurrection
September 2015 - Confederate Mail to a Centuries Old French Winery
July-August 2015 - Confederate Stamp Alliances Celebrates 80th Anniversary in London at Europhilex 2015 plus "Will the Confederate Battle Flag Controversy Claim My Patriotics Exhibit, Too?" by Randolph P. Smith
June 2015 - Theodore B. Starr: Gilded Age Jeweler
May 2015 - Mrs. Foster Brutally Murdered with a Spike Maul
March 2015 - Largest Recorded Confederate Patriotic Sticker – Dapremont and Mallory
February 2014 Profiles & Leaders | People who have moved the hobby forward |Trish Kaufmann
October 2013 - The Sultana Disaster - the Worst Maritime Loss in American History
March 2012 - Dr. C. H. Dabbs - a Story with an Irish Twist
February 2012 - The Enchantress Affair
January 2012 - Surgeon Edmund Burke Haywood
November-December 2011 - A Confederate Cover with Stellar Provenance
September 2011 - The Lost Plate:New Acquisition of the Smithsonian National Postal Museum
July-August 2011 - Battlefield Condolence from Brig. Gen. Robert E. Rodes to Mrs. Webster
June 2011 - A Blue Umbrella and a Tall Beaver Hat - Major General "Extra Billy" Smith
May 2011 - Adversity Double Use to Signal Corps Balloonist on the CSS Palmetto State
April 2011 - Caf or Decaf?
February 2011 - Confederate Patriotic Enigma Valentine
January 2011 - Dr. General Collett Leventhorpe - England's Fighting Generals
November-December 2010 - Private Noah Deaton - One of Lee's Tarheels, Army of Northern Virginia
October 2010 - Unused Norfolk, Virginia 5¢ Postmaster Provisional Resurfaces
September 2010 - The Gregory Siblings - Spirited Scots
July-August 2010 - A final cover to Brigadier General James Johnston Pettigrew
June 2010 - Fort Stockton, Texas - in transit to destiny at Glorieta Pass
May 2010 - A scolding note from the CSAPOD Chief Clerk
April 2010 - The Tax Man Cometh - A War Tax Circular
March 2010 - "...any attempt to coerce seceding states would unite them all in one day."
February 2010 - Brig. Gen. John Wesley Frazer POW
January 2010 - North Carolina Depot - Clothing the Troops
November-December 2009 - A First Day Cover – Virginia Secedes April 17, 1861
October 2009 - Louisiana Relief Committee Mail
July-August 2009 - Brothers: Gen. John Hunt Morgan and Sergeant Frank Key Morgan
September 2009 - Lordy and Neptune…a tale of friendship and loyalty - N.B. Since this column was written, a family member wrote to correct one bit of information printed in the column. Neptune Sr. and Sukey died as slaves on Retreat Plantation prior to emancipation and were never granted the right to choose a last name. It was Neptune Jr. who chose the last name “Small” after emancipation.
June 2009 - Arnaud Eduard Préot (1818-1873) - An Ignominious End
April 2009 - The Immortal 600 - a tale of one of the war's most infamous events
March 2009 - James Wright Tracy, Confederate Surgeon
February 2009 - More Close Calls
January 2009 - Custodians for Future Generations
November-December 2008 - Civil War Cherokee Regiments - An Indian Nation Divided
October 2008 - Mail from Johnson's Island Union Prison
September 2008 - Brothers: Gen. John Hunt Morgan and Sergeant Frank Key Morgan
July-August 2008 - Regimental Surgeon Samuel Van Wyck/Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest
June 2008 - Capt. John B. Castleman - Company "D", 2nd Kentucky Cavalry
May 2008 - Confederate Stamps as Battlefield Souvenirs
April 2008 - "First Word" - Randy Neil editorial featuring Trish Kaufmann
April 2008 - Dr. Edward G. Porcher - a victim of "the end of the medical Middle Ages"
March 2008 - Six Degrees of Separation - Dibble, Kohn, and Kaufmann
February 2008 - Wonderful Confederate Valentines!
January 2008 - Rediscovered Family History - Stephen A. Corker, POW
November-December 2007 - COMING: The new Confederate States Catalog
October 2007 - After Union mail service ended...a fascinating correspondence.
September 2007 - Contradictions of Research - Dr. S. S. Herrick
July-August 2007 - The Calhoun Legacy
June 2007 - "Hetty likes them that way: gilt-edged with stars!"
May 2007 - Confederate letter with a military address and a sad statistic
April 2007 - A Mysterious Confederate Cipher Cover
March 2007 - Ordinary looking cover...to the lady who "danced herself to death"?
February 2007 - A Confederate Gem: The largest known block of CSA #8
January 2007 - Specialize in Confederates?
In this section are articles from a column I began for the Confederate Philatelist in 2013. I have had articles and columns of various sorts in this publication since 1970. In November 2020, the membership voted to change the name of the society to the CIVIL WAR PHILATELIC SOCIETY and the publication name has been changed to the Civil War Philatelist. It is sent quarterly to all members.
Kind words: "Your Part 2 essay in the Confederate Philatelist, which came just today, is an outstanding, urgently communicated reminder of an important truth about those who care about collectibles in any field of endeavor, but especially in the field of philately. I have taken away and to heart your admonition: '[We] all are custodians for future generations.' Thank you for the reminder." JV May 14, 2017
4th Quarter - 2024 - Erasmo Oneglia: CSA 2¢ Andrew Jackson Stamp Forger
3rd Quarter - 2024 - Second Norman S. Walker Bermuda Blockade-Run Use
2nd Quarter - 2024 - Vexing Cover - A Conundrum Solved
1st Quarter -2024 - John Cassels, Provost Marshal at Fort Monroe, Va. New Type Handstamped Censor Marking
4th Quarter - 2023 - A Larger Fake Postmark from Eutaw, Alabama
4th Quarter - 2023 - What's in a Name? Rabbit Creek, Danville, or New Danville, Texas?
3rd Quarter - 2023 - J.R. Crockett - Soldier's Express Line
2nd Quarter - 2023 - Ogden Handcrafted Confederate Provisional Forgeries and Census August Dietz Award 2023 for Distinguished Research and Writing
1st Quarter - 2023 - Using Genealogy to Solve Postal History Conundrums
4th Quarter - 2022 - Decades of Distortion: Norman S. Walker - Bermuda Blockade-Run Mail vs. Henry P. Walker - Internal Consular Mail
3rd Quarter - 2022 - A Cammann Imprint Discovery that Changed a Catalog Listing, Plus Insights on Dr. James T. Paterson Large Gold at Sarasota National Stamp Expo 2023
2nd Quarter - 2022 - An Addition to the Madison, Fla., Provisional Files
1st Quarter - 2022 - Private Express Services, Censorship, Jenkins' Identity and More...
4th Quarter - 2021 - Subscriber Rate for Unsealed Circulars
4th Quarter - 2021 - First Annual Meeting of the Civil War Philatelic Society: Napex 2021
3rd Quarter, 2020 - Jenkins Express - A New Listing - Reserve Grand for Best Article in SESCAL 2022 literature competition
2nd Quarter, 2020 - New Largest-Recorded Block of CSA 2-Y - Stone Y
2nd Quarter, 2020 - The Mail Pouch
1st Quarter, 2020 - Dialogue on Censuses and Provenance - Case Illustration: Madison, Florida
2nd Quarter, 2019 - Textile Marks Variety...not Laid Paper
2nd Quarter, 2019 - Mysterious Number "605" on Keatinge & Ball Printing
1st Quarter, 2019 - Brass Rules Revisited Plus, A Bonus Scratched-Plate Variety - Andersen and Kaufmann
1st Quarter, 2019 - Confederate Way Mail
2nd Quarter, 2018 - Northampton, Ms. Pretender - Massachusetts, not Mississippi
1st Quarter, 2018 - Lenoir Provisionals - A Newly Recognized Paper Variety
4th Quarter, 2017 - Gum--A Dilemma
3rd Quarter, 2017 - Using History to Authenticate Covers
2nd Quarter, 2017 - Custodians for Future Generations, Part 2
4th Quarter, 2016 - Confederate Mail Runner and Spy Lottie Moon Clark and a New Look at the Undelivered Camp Chase Letters - Winner of the best article for 2016.
3rd Quarter, 2016 - A Cartersville, Georgia, Provisional 'Across the Lines' Use
2nd Quarter, 2016 - Confederate Stamps and Covers as Battlefield Souvenirs
1st Quarter, 2016 - Analysis of a CSA 10 Frame Line Stamp
4th Quarter, 2015 - The Discredited Twin Crescents Variety
3rd Quarter, 2015 - Philatelic Intuition
2nd Quarter, 2015 - An Arkansas Post Adversity Cover Made from a Slave Census - Red Fork, Arkansas, New Listing
1st Quarter, 2015 - The Largest Recorded Multiple of a Confederate Patriotic Sticker - Winner of the best article for 2015.
4th Quarter, 2014 - A First Day Cover that Escaped the System
3rd Quarter, 2014 - Lost and Found: A Cover from Alder Brook, Arkansas
2nd Quarter, 2014 - The Athenaeum Prison at Wheeling, (West) Virginia
1st Quarter, 2014 - The Saltville, Virginia, Reversed ‘DUE 10’
4th Quarter, 2013 - A Greensboro Postmaster Provisional Not Used for the Purpose Intended
3rd Quarter, 2013 - Hillyer Correspondence Delivers New Finds
2nd Quarter, 2013 - A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing - Fake Frame Line Stamp
Selected prior articles in the Confederate Philatelist
1st Quarter 2010 - New Postmasters' Provisional - Abingdon, Virginia Revalued 5 over 2¢ This article announces a new provisional find and the story of the Hannum family to whom it is addressed. It just goes to show that almost 150 years later, important new discoveries are still being made.
1st Quarter 2005 - William Weaver, Buffalo Forge and Paid Slave Labor New Earliest Known Use for Richmond Print - July 25, 1862* Some additional photos have been added to the online version for those not as well versed in Confederate postal history or just for the pleasure of those who are. It is a perfect example of why this period of history intrigues us. Initially intended to be written as a simple report of a new earliest known usage of the "Richmond Print", it evolved into a fascinating look at the people and history behind the correspondence, effectively putting the "history" into postal history. * N.B. This is no longer the earliest known use.
La Posta - The Journal of American Postal History - this wonderful magazine has been published since 1969. They publish informative research by the leading students of U.S. postal history as well as presenting discussions of timely topics. They also publish postal history reference books and monographs. I began writing articles for them in 2012 and archive them here for your reading pleasure.
4th Quarter 2024 - A Cover Sent by the Georgia Relief Association
2nd Quarter 2024 - A Mixed Franking that Includes Demonetized U.S. One-Cent Stamps on a Prisoner of War Cover
1st Quarter 2024 - Confederate States Diplomacy Abroad
4th Quarter 2023 - Unique Confederate 'Advertised' Handstamps from Fredericksburg, Virginia
1st Quarter 2023 - A Scout Requests Instructions from Gen. Benjamin J. Hill
4th Quarter 2022 - Wax Seal Ties Confederate Stamp to Hampden-Sydney College Cover
3rd Quarter, 2022 - Point Lookout Prisoner-of-War Timothy Rives
2nd Quarter, 2022 - The Jonesboro, T. Postmaster's Provisional -- as Interesting on the Back as It is on the Front
1st Quarter, 2022 - The Telegram Every Wartime Wife Dreads Receiving
4th Quarter, 2021 - A California Letter Describing the Great Flood of 1862 Sent by Flag-of-Truce Mail to the Confederacy
2nd Quarter, 2021 - Gettysburg Prisoner-of-War Mail Sent by Baltimore Smuggled Mail Route
1st Quarter, 2021 - Smuggled Southern Mail to California, Murder, and Scandal
4th Quarter, 2020 - Per 'Wild Pigeon' - The Caroline Carson Correspondence
3rd Quarter, 2020 - Research Complications: The Family of Bolling Hall
2nd Quarter, 2020 - Civil War Old Point Comfort Postmarks are Union Uses, Not Confederate
4th Quarter, 2019 - Capt. Sally Tompkins: Confederate Cavalry Officer, Unassigned
3rd Quarter, 2019 - The New Earliest Recorded Use of a Confederate Patriotic Cover
2nd Quarter, 2019 - Confederate Military Courier Delivery from Lt. L.A. Bringier
1st Quarter, 2019 - Confederate Military Courier Delivery from Lt. L.A. Bringier
3rd Quarter, 2018 - Stephen Alpheastus Corker: Politics Run in the Family
1st Quarter, 2018 - Thomas Hardy: Forebearer of Military Royalty
4th Quarter, 2017 - Aarons Huggins--A Galvanized Yankee
3rd Quarter, 2017 - A 'Wanna-Be' Confederate Cover to Postmaster John Glymph
2nd Quarter, 2017 - "Breaking the Rules: A Civilian Flag of Truce Cover"
1st Quarter, 2017 - "It has to be true. I saw it on the Internet." The Warwick & Barksdale Mill 'Confederate Prison'
4th Quarter, 2016 - A Confederate Cover From Columbia (Gold) Mine, Georgia
3rd Quarter, 2016 - California Overland Mail to a Confederate Prisoner of War - Winner of the Helbock Prize for the best article in 2016
2nd Quarter, 2016 - A Virginia First Day of Independent Use
1st Quarter, 2016 - Frank Pope, CSA - From Colorado to Ole Miss to New York
4th Quarter, 2015 - Dr. Nathaniel Alpheus Pratt Jr and the CSA Nitre and Mining Bureau
3rd Quarter, 2015 - Confederate Stamp Alliances Celebrates 80th Anniversary at Europhilex 2015 in London
2nd Quarter, 2015 - The Confederate Paymaster's Property Becomes the National Colored Home
1st Quarter, 2015 - A Cover to a Sea Captain - The Victim of Mutiny and Murder
4th Quarter, 2014 - Paul Romaré: A Swedish Mariner Fights for the Confederacy and Leaves an African-American Legacy
3rd Quarter, 2014 - An Aristocratic Planter Goes to War
2nd Quarter, 2014 - A Black Jack Use from the Old Capitol Prison
1st Quarter, 2014 - Civil War Prize Court Evidence
4th Quarter, 2013 - A Talbotton, Georgia 10-cent Confederate Provisional Entire Revalued to 15-cents
3rd Quarter, 2013 - A Last Day Cover Sent by the Texas Word Family?
2nd Quarter, 2013 - U.S. Postage Used in the Confederacy from North Carolina
1st Quarter, 2013 - First Battalion Florida Special Cavalry - 'Munnerlyn's Cow Cavalry'
4th Quarter, 2012 - Producing a 21st Century Confederate Catalog
Other Civil War and Confederate Postal History Articles Online
If you have a Confederate article you'd like to see hosted on this site, please contact me.
Semi-Official Imprinted Envelopes of the C.S.A. Nitre and Mining Bureau - by Thomas Lera. Hosted on this site (see Tom's one frame exhibit on this topic on the exhibits page). Winner of The Confederate Philatelist Writer's Award in 2001.
U.S. Stamped Envelopes Used by the Confederate Post Office - by Thomas Lera. Hosted on this site. This is a slightly updated version of Tom's article that was published in 2009 in The Confederate Philatelist, 54(2): 25-30.
Arkansas Postal History - Dr. Bruce Roberts' 35 years of accumulated knowledge on the subject. This non-commercial site is dedicated to the accumulation and dissemination of information about the postal system in Arkansas and in Indian Territory. Bruce is the section editor for Arkansas in the 2012 CSA Catalog.
The Maury Mourning Covers - An Initial Census and Survey - written by mourning cover collector "Paul Bearer." A thorough treatment of the well-known correspondence of Major Richard Launcelot Maury.
Rebel Dollars and Documents, Yankee Stamps - by Michael Mahler. On October 1, 1862, a broad tax program designed by the United States Congress to offset the rising costs of the Union Civil War effort took effect, including a detailed schedule of documentary stamp taxes. In a stance at once consistent and paradoxical, the US government considered these taxes payable also in the eleven "rebellious states" otherwise known as the Confederate States of America. This presentation shows, via intact stamped documents, how those taxes were collected. Okay, so this isn't strictly Confederate, but it is a rich, fascinating and heretofore completely unrecognized subfield of US Civil War era fiscal history. This presentation includes illustrations of 50 documents stamped within the Occupied Confederacy, and 45 more stamped retroactively after the war, as well as a census of all recorded examples in each of these classes.
Confederate Postal History of Grenada, Mississippi - William S. Parks. Hosted by the Civil War Philatelic Society.
Civil War Postal History of Vicksburg, Mississippi - William S. Parks. Hosted by the Civil War Philatelic Society.
Dates of State Secession and their Admission to the Confederacy
Shown at left is the South Carolina secession flag
Trish Kaufmann shares her passion for Confederate States philately
Reprinted with permission Amos Media Co. / Linn’s Stamp News. Copyright 2016 Amos Media Co., Sidney, OH 45365
To a Confederate Stamp - wonderful ode written and published in July 1893 - really gives one pause.
"Envelopes - Confederate" - a wonderful brief description on the creation of "adversity covers" directly from a young lady of the South
during the War.
Custodians for Future Generations is the subject of "The President's Prerogative" printed in the third quarter 2008 issue of The Confederate Philatelist. After reading this, one of the editors of the Scott Catalogue emailed to say, "Your PP column in the July-September issue of The Confederate Philatelist should be read far and wide, and not just by collectors of CSA material." Thus so encouraged, I share it here with you.
Ayn Rand's equally fascinating personal take on stamp collecting and why intelligent people pursue philately as a hobby. To me, it is perhaps the most insightful and accurate view of why philately engenders such passion in serious students. Russian-born novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand was an unusual woman by any standard. She published the best sellers The Fountainhead in 1943 and Atlas Shrugged in 1957, as well as other titles. She was a champion of individualism and lectured on her philosophy of Objectivism. I was fascinated when I first read these works in my youth and, whether you agree with her or not, they are still thought provoking, stirring the brain cells and conversation.
Kaufmann Inducted into Writers' Hall of Fame - Along with Donna O'Keefe Houseman and two late philatelic luminaries, Trish was inducted into the 2017 Writers' Hall of Fame at APS StampShow 2017 in August.
Kaufmann Wins 2017 Helbock Prize - Trish took top honors in voting for the 2017 Richard W. Helbock Prize that is awarded for the best postal history article appearing in the previous year's La Posta: The Journal of American Postal History. The article is the rare intertwining of Civil War postal history with Western Mails. It is linked on these pages: California Overland Mail to a Confederate Prisoner of War
Profiles & Leaders | People who have moved the hobby forward - Trish Kaufmann is profiled in February 2014 issue of The American Stamp Dealer and Collector.
William H. Gross Stamp Gallery - Smithsonian National Postal Museum Council of Philatelists member and founding donor Trish Kaufmann's personal photo album from the Groundbreaking Ceremony on June 4, 2012 to the Founding Donors' Opening Gala on September 21, 2013.
Newly discovered Confederate provisionals sold for $40,000 by Rick Miller - Linn's Stamp News; March 3, 2008; page 16.
Rare Victoria provisionals discovered among fakes by Arthur R. von Reyn in The Texas Philatelist May-June 2008 - another somewhat more in depth version of the March 3, 2008 Linn's Stamp News story.
"Tireless" - First Word - The American Stamp Dealer and Collector - editorial by Randy Neil featuring Trish Kaufmann. April 2008
