VOICE OF THE

American HelvetiaPhilatelic SocietyVol . XIX, NUMBER 3MAY 1993

Catapult Airmail cover, see story on page 89 as start-up for ROMPEX '93

Table of Contents:83 From the President, Ernest Bergman 92

"Double

A"

Letters,

by

Charles

J.84 An Update, by Fred Pickard LaBlonde85 Members' Mini - ads 93

Read any good Booklets Lately?, by Michael86 A Profile of a Swiss Stamp Collector, Mario

Wiedenmeier, by Robert GleichenhausRutherfoord & Charles J . LaBlonde

102 The deCoppet (Razor Blade) Cancels, by88 The Printing Process of Stamps, by Mano

WiedenmeierMichael Rutherfoord and others, reported byCharles J . LaBlonde

89 Catapult Airmail, by Charles J . LaBlonde 112 A "New" Strubel rarity? by Herbert Brach90 Withdrawal of the Swiss Federal Grill, by

Harlan F . Stone113 Mrs . Edythe J . Rawnsley : A Remembrance

by Harlan F . Stone

American Helvetia Philatelic SocietyOFFICERS 1992 - 1993

ELECTED OFFICERS APPOINTEDOFFICERS

REPRESENTATIVES

President Union of Swiss PhilatelicErnest L . Bergman Editor Societies1421 Harris Street Mario Wiedenmeier Ralph SoderbergState College 12 Lyncrest Drive P.O . Box 36067PA 16803-3024 Galveston Grosse Pointe WoodsHome : 814-238-0164 TX 77550-3215 MI 48236

Home : 409-763-4855 Home : 313-885-4125Past PresidentMario Wiedenmeier Circuit Sales Manager American Philatelic12 Lyncrest Drive Emil L. Tobler SocietyGalveston P .O. Box 26 Charles J. LaBlondeTX 77550-3215 Bradford RI 02808 P.O . Box 264Home : 409-763-4855 Home : 401-377-2238 Chelmsford MA 01824

Home : 508-256-3904Vice-President Auction Manager

George Struble Liechtenstein Study Group210 18th St . NE Chm : Max Rheinberger

OPEN Salem, OR 97301 100 Elizabeth St., #510Home : 503-364-3929 Duluth MN 55802

Home : 218-728-3925Secretary & Librarian Publicity ChairmanRichard T. Hall Awards Chairman 1993 AHPS ConventionP .O. Box 666 Editor Emeritus Dick BartonManhattan Beach Harlan F. Stone 2800 CrestviewCA 90266 P.O . Box 334 Loveland CO 80538Home : 310-546-5226 Woodside NY 11377 Home : 303-669-8130

Home : 718-478-2374Treasurer Change-of-Address shouldFrank Young Slide Chairman be sent to the Secretary412 North Main Street Richard W . Blaney Advertising communicationsHerkimer NY 13350 P.O . Box 1100 should be addressed to theHome : 315-866-7822 Easton MA 023 34-1 100 Editor

Home : 508-238-3134Regional Director West Subscriptions for 1993Dick Barton Regional Director East Include AHPS dues : North2800 Crestview David E. Durham, Pastor America, $15 ; overseasLoveland CO 80538 #7 Allenhurst Road air delivery, $25.Home : 303-669-8130 Buffalo NY 14214-1201 VSPhV 30$, US only.

Home : 716-833-6504 Request membershipRegional Director Central applications from theWilliam R . Lucas Secretary.P .O. Box 2103Aurora IL 60507Home : 312-983-9149

TELL (ISSN 1042-2072) is the official journal of the American Helvetia PhilatelicSociety, affiliate #52 of the American Philatelic Society and a member of the Unionof Swiss Philatelic Societies, and is published bimonthly (Jan-Mar-May-Jul-Sep-Nov).Deadlines are the first of the month prior to publication (Dec-Feb-Apr-Jun-Aug-Oct).

Opinions expressed in this journal are those of the authors and are not necessarilyendorsed by AHPS or the Editor . Articles on Swiss, Liechtenstein, UN Geneva andrelated philately are welcome and should be sent to the Editor.

82TELL, VOL. XIX, 3 May. 1993

FROM THE PRESIDENT

While this is being written, Spring is just around the corner, butmost of the 28 inches of snow is left over from the weekend blizzardwhen our annual local stamp show took place. It was the "shortest"show on earth with 2 hours instead of 2 days and not necessarilywhat the "doctor" ordered for yours truly, the show chairman?But we have also some good news for you . As you can see from"From up Front", we have a new Vice-President but an "old"Helvetia hand in form of Steve Turchik . Your Board of Directorsapproved his appointment and I welcome Steve on board . We nowhave also a complete Board of Directors.We also found out from reading the minutes of the Union of SwissPhilatelic Societies (VSPhV) Annual Assembly of Delegates (October24, 1992), of which Helvetia is a member, that our member Mr . MaxHertsch of Bern, the man responsible for all the Zumstein catalogs,Editor of the Berner Briefmarken Zeitung and also a signer of theRole of Distinguished Philatelists (see Tell, March 1993), receivedthe "golden honor medal" of VSPhV . Belatedly, but neverthelesswith the same enthusiasm, we would like to express to Mr . Hertschour heartiest congratulations for this well-earned honor, hoping hecan continue for some time to come with all his philatelic activities.This year, Switzerland commemorates the 150th anniversary of thefirst Swiss stamps, the so-called "Züri 4 and 6" (Z .1 & 2), as wellas the "double Geneva" (Z .3). In one man's opinion, the new justissued set by the Swiss PTT is rather disappointing when comparedto the issues for the 50th and 100th anniversary . Did you know thatZ.1S and 2S have vertical red lines while 1W and 2W havehorizontal ones . Five different types of each one exist, identifiable byvarious numbers of diagonal lines as well as by other marks.In 1893, the PTT issued in connection with the International StampExhibition in Zürich a special 5¢ postcard with blackish-blue printshowing an old St .Gotthard Mail Coach and the Rütli . About 36,000were printed but only 2/customer could be bought at the exhibition.According to the source, fights broke out and even ribs were brokenetc. The price per item jumped immediately to Sfr 20 and more?In 1943, the PTT issued a regular 100 stamp (Z .258), a souvenirsheet (Z.WII /14) for Sfr . 3 and a special "luxury" sheet (Z.WII/16)with 12 stamps for Sfr. 5 with surcharges for the Swiss NationalFund, and the GEPH sheet (Z.WII/18) for Sfr . 3, with surchargefor the Swiss Red Cross . Each individual stamp of the 3 sheets wasvalid for postage, but not many collectors took advantage of this.Soon it will be time for the Denver meetings and I hope you will bethere, participating in the many planned activities and remember thatstamp collecting is fun . - Ernest L. Bergman

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3 May, 1993

From up Front

AHPS has a Vice-President again, welcome aboard.

Steve Turchik is a lifelong stampcollector starting at about age 10 whilegrowing up in Ashtabula, Ohio. Mostof his first stamps carne from the trashcans of the post office . A first exper-ience with Swiss stamps came with apurchase of a packet of a couplehundred Swiss stamps at the Garfield-Perry stamp show in Cleveland, Ohiofor about five cents.

A retired California educator, Steve hasspent many years with his participationwith a variety of philatelic groups,including being advisor to junior stampclubs . An avid general collector formany years, Steve started specializingin Swiss about thirty years ago.During that time he has exhibitedseveral different themes at a variety oflocal and national stamp showsincluding several AHPS conventions .

His long time interest has been inSwiss "Strubels, " as it is such an inter-esting collecting area.

Besides AHPS, Steve maintains mem-bership and supports a variety of Phila-telic organizations such as : APS, APSWriters Unit #30, Helvetia PhilatelicSociety, Union of Swiss Phil Societies,the Philatelic Foundation, AAMS, aswell as others, and is a life member ofthe Friends of the Western PhilatelicLibrary.Having been a past editor of TELL,Steve values the many friendshipsmade in person or through the mailswith collectors and dealers alike duringthat time. He appreciates the manyimprovements each new editor bringsto TELL . For these reasons I want tobe a continuing part of this greatphilatelic society.

An UpdateFred Pickard AHPS member in Great Britain points out that Harlan F . Stone' sarticle Roll of Distinguished Philatelists (TELL VOL XIX, March 1993 page 57)omits the latest Swiss honoree, Mrs. H. Alma Lee, FRPSL (UK) . Sincepublication of the book 'The History of the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists ' in1990 another name of a Swiss borne person has been added to the Roll . Mrs.

H. Alma Lee, FRPSL (UK) born in Geneva . "Mrs. Lee is still a very activecollector and members of the HPS continue to enjoy sight of her collection atintervals, as well as are pleased to have her as their president. "

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Members' Mini - Ads

85 TELL,VOL .XIX,

3 May, 1993

Robert Gleichenhaus

A Profile of a Swiss Stamp Collector

The changing of the guard in AHPSwith our new president in officecauses us to write about our outgoingleader who has done a great job theselast two years.

A word of appreciation is due toMARIO WIEDENMEIER who hasjust stepped down from the Presidencyand is being replaced by ERNESTBERGMAN.

A future profile is being written aboutour new President, Ernest Bergman,but first let's talk about Mario, whohas done yeoman duty for two yearsserving in the dual role of Presidentand Editor of TELL . These are thetwo most demanding jobs in AHPSand Mario tackled them both at once,performing quite well in each task.It ' s always amazing how a person whohas enormous responsibilities in hisprofession can take the time tovolunteer for awesome jobs in anorganization such as AmericanHelvetia Philatelic Society.

Mario, who resides in Galveston,Texas, is Director of RadiologyEngineering and Planning at theUniversity of Texas Medical Branch.(UTMB is the oldest and largestmedical school in Texas .) Mariomodestly admits that his departmenthandles $32,000,000 .00 worth ofradiology equipment, computers andvarious and sundry other expensivecomponents .

He has been a member of AHPS since1976 and credits Chuck LaBlonde forbringing him in to the organization.He served as Circuit Manager forthree years from 1976 to 1979,President in 1991 and 1992, andEditor since 1991 . He will continue toserve in the capacity of Editor ofTELL.

Mario was born in Switzerland, andstarted collecting stamps in 1944 whilein an orphanage in Basel . Hiscollection of Swiss and Italian stampsdisappeared in 1954 and in 1974, hissister found his stamps in a group ofpapers to be willed to someone else!His interest awoke instantly and hestarted rearranging his collection,trading to improve certain areas . Hechanged directions during a visit toSwitzerland when an uncle of his wifeshowed him some retouches onStanding Helvetias . Needless to say,his interest today still lies withStanding Helvetias.

When he became a member of AHPS,he immediately volunteered to take onthe job of Circuit Manager . BobZiegler was finishing his education asa lawyer and needed relief from hisextra duties . During his tenure asCircuit Manager, there was enormousactivity in this area of ourorganization.

Mario commented that he made anannual pilgrimage to Chicago to attend

86 TELL, VOL. XIX, 3 May, 1993

the meetings of the RadiologicalSociety of North America. Jokingly,he admits the meetings were alwaysheld around Thanksgiving, so theDoctor's wives had a chance toChristmas shop in Chicago . This gavehim opportunity to visit with FelixGanz, who at first interviewed Marioto see if he was qualified to take onhis first job with AHPS. Felixarranged a nice Fondue and invitedBob Zeigler, Harlan Stone, and othersto attend the festivity.

Mario soon discovered that Felix, whowas a young officer in the SwissArmy, was stationed in the very sameorphanage, Klosterfiechten near Basel,during the winter of 1944 . Talk abouta small world! They had plenty ofstories to exchange . Ganz's immensestamp collection was almostintimidating, but Mario discovered thatFelix lacked the interest of theStanding Helvetia.

This gave him a good reason toconcentrate in a field where he couldapply knowledge and developsomething substantial without toomuch competition . His limited budgetand lots of communication with PierreGuinand in Switzerland enabled himto gain great knowledge and ahandsome collection . Mariocomments, "I'm not, of course, in thesame league as Ralph Soderberg, whohas one of the most preciouscollections of the Standing Helvetia."

Mario is working on different aspects,retouches which we will be hearing ofmore later.

Asked how TELL has helped him,Mario responds "beyond enhancing myoverall knowledge of Swiss Philately,it has inspired me to becomePresident . Thanks to Pierre Guinandfor encouraging me, and caused me toaccept the Presidency, so I am able toreturn in a small way all of theselfless help he has given me . I wasalso hoping to lean on Felix Ganz forsupport, and to strengthen myapproach, but regretfully this was notto be . "

As a side story, he relates how hebought the "scratchings of the barrel "from several dealers including HeinzKatcher and found many items ofinterest . "Almost all my spectacular69E retouches originate from there . Italso took a lot of learning how towash this junk ' and transform it intojewels . I had a lot of defective andyucky stuff to practice on . Most ofmy good material I bought fromHeinz, who somehow always woundup with the unexpected . Many thanksto him too . "

Mario sums up things in his usualmodest way, "Well, that 's it . "

We can add one more comment to hiswind-up and say, "Thanks, Mario, fora job well done."

87 TELL, VOL. XIX, 3 May, 1993

Mario Wiedenmeier

The Printing Process of Stamps

The printing process of yesteryear wasnot without its problems some of thesedifficulties are now the delight oftoday ' s collector. A great unknown isthe composition of the coloring agentsused in the printing process, sincetheir formulation was a secret of thetrade . Instead of dwelling on this, Iwould like to present a little side storyon the one hundredth anniversary ofthe discovery of synthetic blue dye,which appeared in the Neue ZüricherZeitung of May 30, 1990.

Before that discovery, all blue dyesderived from plant material . For morethan 10,000 years, red, yellow, brown,black, colors where made from plantsubstances, with the color blueappearing only approximately 5,000years ago . Blue was much moredifficult to produce and therefore wasmore expensive as well . The plant isthe indigofera tinctoria, originating inIndia and is a relative of thecross-flowering cabbage family fromwhich indoxyl derives.

This indigo blue dye slowly found itsway to Europe by land, and in 1489Vasco da Gamma brought it back asship's cargo. It soon dominatedEuropean production of the blue dyes,which before then came from a similarplant, insatis tinctoria (Färberwaid inGerman), which was not as bright andclear as indigo blue . Bothplant-derived dyes required twelvehours for the two-stage process to

88 TELL, VOL. XIX, 3 May, 1993

prepare the coloration lot in a vat(Küpe) . The plant material firstminced, then urine added forfermentation after which the fabric gotimmersed into the still colorless brewthen hung out in sunlight for appro-ximately twelve hours, which broughtout the blue color through oxidation.Dye house employees, usually off onSundays, took it easy on Mondays byhanging out the fabric to be dyed blue,letting the sun doing most of the work,thus the phrase making blue Monday.

Cultivation of the indigo plant becamea marketing success not only in theFar East but also in California whereits profits helped indirectly the GoldRush. Then, a Bavarian, Levi Strauss,moved to San Francisco and beganmaking work clothes from "drillich" aheavy and blue dyed fabric, which wasmanufactured at the Textile Centre deNimes in Nimes, France . This cottonfabric called "bleu de Gènes" becausethe material was to be shipped viaGenoa Italy, and the Americanizedname became "blue jeans . "

In 1826 a German pharmacist, Mr.Unverdorben, experimented to learnmore about the chemistry of producingblue dye from indigo. He evaporatedindigo and ended up with a condensatehe called "anilin" (a variation on thePortuguese word for blue) . Adolf vonBaeyer, a Professor discovered a cokeprocess of coal to produce anilin,which he patented in March 1880 .

This first approach proved to beimpractical to manufacture.

Research into more efficient pro-duction methods continued, and inMay 1890, Professor Karl Heumannpatented a more practical productionmethod. Over the next few years,Badische Anilin und Soda Fabrik (today BASF) invested eighteen millionGoldmark in to the anilin production.Later intense competition from othercompanies almost forced BASF out of

Charles J . LaBlonde(With Thanks to Roland Kohl)

CATAPULT AIRMAIL

As we share our AHPS nationalconvention with the American AirmailSociety it seems appropriate torediscover the rich airmail heritage ofSwitzerland . For a tiny, landlockedcountry, Switzerland certainly is aworthy focus for the airmail collector.One of the more colorful eras in theairmail postal history of Switzerland isthe time of the catapult flights.

In the late 1920s, airmail pioneerswere getting impatient with theinability of existing aircraft (other thanthe infrequent zepps) to cross theAtlantic . They hatched a scheme tocut at least several days off the voyageof a letter across the Atlantic . TheGerman steamships "Bremen" and"Europa" were equipped withcatapults . Depending upon theweather, airplanes carrying mail couldbe launched from these catapults,

89 TELL, VOL. XIX, 3 May. 1993

business . With the renewed popularityof blue jeans in the 1960s, and withthe acceptance today of denim ascasual wear, anilin still manufacturedin large commercial quantities byBASF in Germany, ICI in England,Mitsui Toatsu in Japan, and in NewYork State by Buffalo Colors.

That is enough of an aside about thehistory of blue dyes, instead of anexplanation of the colors used in theearly stamp printing process.

hundreds or even thousands of milesfrom the coast of North America.

From 1929 to 1932 there were at least105 such flights, each with uniquemarkings, each carrying few letters.Shown here is an example, todemonstrate the tortuous route of thesecatapult letters across the ocean . Thisletter is from catapult flight Number 2.

This cover originated at the 1929Assembly of the Society of Nations inGeneva (postmark Pen SDN 6) . ThePTT brought the letter to the GenevaCointrin Airport for air transport toBasel (Geneva and Basel airmailpostmarks) . From Basel to Cologne,the letter went by rail . Train 307 leftBasel at 8 :40 PM the day before theship sailed and arrived in Cologne at8 :24 AM the next morning . (RolandKohl notes that the letter could have

been carried on 22 September byLufthansa, on the regular flight Basel-Mannheim-Frankfurt-Köln-Essen-Mülheim-Amsterdam, but the mar-kings on the letter do not support thisrouting .)

The letter was flown from Köln toCherbourg, departing Köln at 10 AMand arriving in Cherbourg at 3 PM, intime for the sailing. This part of thetrip is shown by the mark, "Mit

Luftpost zum D ."Bremen" befördet ."

The ship sailed on 26 September 1929and the catapult airplane was launchedfor New York on 1 October . Thepostage for catapult service variedover the years, but in 1929 it was 1 .75francs . This, added to regular airmailpostage, results in the total postage of2 .25 francs.

Those with further interest in Swisscatapult mail should see Section KF ofthe Swiss Airmail Handbook by Kohl.See picture on front page.

Harlan F. Stone

Withdrawal of the Swiss Federal Grill

A key date during the 1854-63 life ofSwitzerland's imperforate SittingHelvetias (Strubels) turned out to beMay 23, 1857 . On that day all postoffices in Switzerland had to turn intheir federal or local grill cancellationtools . Thereafter, circular date stampswith town names normally served ascancellations as well as postmarks.

The first cover enclosed a registeredletter from Langnau to Burgdorf datedOctober 9, 1858, and carries a pair of23A (Figure 1) . The postage amountappears correct: 10c. for a Rayon IIletter going 6-30 miles (approxi-mately) and the same amount for theregistration fee . The pair of stampsalso logically provides enough roomfor an entire grill strike, with nooverhanging "tie " on the cover.However, the left end of the cover ismissing, possibly along with one ormore original stamps.

90 TELL, VOL. XIX, 3 May. 1993

The second cover went fromNeuchatel to Paris on October 2, 1857,with a single 26A (Figure 2). Inaddition to the grill cancellation, fourother points cause suspicion in thiscase.

First, the use of 26A seems to havepractically ended in mid 1857,according to the recent usage surveyof all Strubel stamps conducted byHerbert Brach.

Second, the grill does not tie thestamp to the cover, even though it isincomplete on the stamp.

Third, the amount of postage appearswrong . From September 14, 1854, toAugust 14, 1859, letters going nomore than 10 stunden (hoursapproximately 30 miles) inSwitzerland to points in Francebeyond those departments adjoining

Switzerland required only 35c . payment by a thrifty Swiss, particular-postage . The 40c. rate applied to ly a business agent or merchant to aletters going more than 30 miles in banker in Paris, seems highly unlikely.Switzerland before reaching theFrench border. To paraphrase a Fourth, the cover bears a faintcomment by Herbert Branch, over-

handstamped "4" decimes (40c .)

Figure 1

Figure 2

91 TELL, VOL. XIX, 3 May. 1993

postage collect mark . If the 26Abelongs on the cover, there shouldprobably be a manuscript "2" toindicate double weight (7½ to 15grams) and additional postage tocollect.

A Swiss expert has now verified whatthe evidence indicates . Stamps used

earlier were added to the covers afterthe dates of the postmarks.

I do have small consolation . I boughtthe covers so long ago that the valuesof the genuinely canceled stamps offcover are now worth more than theamounts I paid for the stamps oncover.

Charles J . LaBlonde

"DOUBLE A" LETTERS

For a very short time in January 1993,one could send airmail letters fromSwitzerland to the USA with twodifferent A stamps to pay the postage .

Recall that the new A stamp wasissued on 19 January 1993 . . .this is the80 centime stamp with the letter Aand the bar coding in the right margin.

Figure 1

92 TELL, VOL. XIX, 3 May. 1993

The A letter rate from Switzerland tothe USA was 1 .60 francs, but onlyuntil 31 January 1993. So, for 12days, one could prepare covers withthe old and the new A stamps on thesame letter (see Figure 1) . As of 1February 1993 the A post airmail

letter rate to the USA went to 1 .80francs.

Of course, one could also pay the oldrate with two of the new A stamps(Figure 2) . The two red stamps makea very nice looking cover.

Michael Rutherfoord & Charles LaBlonde

READ ANY GOOD BOOKLETS LATELY?

The 5 franc Postmanbooklet (Zumstein #59,Figure 1) issued by theSwiss PTT on 8September 1988 did notmake a very big splashin the philatelic world.True, it is the firstSwiss booklet notmanufactured from se-tenant tete-beche sheetsof stamps, in the classical

Figure 1

93 TELL,VOL .XIX,

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Figure 2

manner which had been inuse since 1904 . The Post-man booklet is made fromnormal sheets of stamps(Zumstein #738, the 50Centime "Postman," Figure2) such as one might findat post office counters.Well, almost "normal . . ."! Figure 3

The basic stamps are printed in sheetsof 50, 10 horizontal by 5 vertical . Twosheets are printed at the same time andseparated (cut apart) later fordistribution to post offices . Sheets ofSwiss stamps have the printing dateand the sheet number in the lowermargin (Figure 3) . In the upper marginare the stamp values for each column.And the sheet selvage is usuallyperforated.

The sheets used for the originalbooklets in 1988 had none of these

features, i .e ., no marginal values, nomarginal perforations, no printingdates and no sheet numbers.

There is one added feature on thesespecial sheets, a small (3mm) purpleline at the top center of each sheet.And, for booklet production, onlyevery other column is perforated.Booklet covers come in sheets of fiveand four (Figure 4), but the signifi-cance of this was only recentlyrealized. As you can see from thefigure, the booklet

94 TELL,VOL .XIX,

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Figure 4

covers have alignmentmarks which are used topaste (painstakingly, byhand) the sheets in placebefore cutting . The littlemark at the top of thestamp sheet is aligned witha similar mark on the coverand the edge of the stampsheet is aligned with thehorizontal marks on thecovers . The assembledbooklets are then foldedand cut for distribution.The booklets are distri-buted in packs of 25, witha green cover (Figure 5).

The PTT made clear earlyon that the special sheetswould not be madeavailable for sale. Allwould be used only forbooklet production.

Because of the way inwhich the double sheets areperforated, twocolumns at a time startingfrom the left, only ninebooklets can be made fromtwo sheets of stamps, asshown in Figure 6 . Thisanomaly is caused by thewhite space between thetwo sheets, as you can seein the diagram. The whiteinter-sheet space as wellas one column of stampsis discarded. And, on thefar right, the final column of stamps and the right margin is discarded . Thisexplains the layout of the booklet covers in blocks of five and four.

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Figure 5

Figure 6

The purple layout marks allowone to determine some of thebooklet positions relative to theoriginal sheets of stamps . Thenumbering system established byRutherfoord helps to do this(Table 1).

At least twice, on 25 November1991 and 6 February 1992, thePTT reprinted the special sheetsof 50 centime Postman stampsfor the booklets . What makesthis interesting is the fact that onthe reprints the plate numbers,printing dates and valueindications were left on thestamps . This allows the bookletsto be "plated," as shown in theTable and Figure 7 . Note thatbooklets from the first printing can only be partially "plated," and even then noteasily . Several of the positions have no distinguishing features, for example 2 .1and 4.1, as well as 7 .1 and 8 .1 (the latter depend upon how accurately thebooklets are cut apart).

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Figure 7

Version 2 with

4 stamps per

sheet type 8 .2

with columnvalue and

date 25 . 11.

91, second

print

Version 2 with

5 stamps per

sheet type 3 .2

perfectly cut

Version 2 with

4 stamps per

sheet type 7 .2

shows miscut

Version 2 with4 stamps per

sheet type 8 .2

with column

value and

date 6. 2 . 92

third printing

note slight

miscut

Version 2 with

5 stamps per

sheet type 5 .2

Based upon this discovery, there was great interest in how the new 6 francbooklets would be printed and assembled . These booklets went on sale the 14thof January 1993 and the stamps were valid from the 19th of January. Note thatthese booklets are sold only over the counter since the vending machines wereset for 5 francs and cannot be modified.

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Figure 7 Version 1 with 5 stamps per

sheet type 1 .1

Figure 7 Version 1 with 5 stamps per

sheet type 5 .1

The basic layout described above is also used for these booklets, that is, 9booklets per double sheet of stamps . The booklets have no marginal values, butthey do have the printing date and the sheet number . Due to the perforating andcutting method, each set of 9 booklets has two with printing date and one withsheet number. The sheets of stamps do have a center alignment mark to aid inpasting up the booklets . Thus all 9 positions cannot be "plated, " as only, five canbe identified with certainty . Starting from the left as the table above, positions1 and 2 have no special marks . Position 3 has the alignment mark in the middle.Position 4 has the printing date (right side) . Position 5 has the sheet number.

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Table 1 -- Booklet Typology

Version 1, 5 Per Sheet No Column Values

1 .1

Horizontal Mark

2 .1

None

3 .1

Vertical Mark

4 .1

None

5 .1

Horizontal Mark

Version 2, 5 per sheet with Column Values1 .2 Fr. 2 .50 Fr . 5 .-2 .2 Fr. 7 .50 Fr .10 .-3 .2 Fr.12 .50 Fr .15 .-4 .2 Fr.17 .50* Fr .20 .-5 .2 Fr.22 .50 Fr .25 .-**

Version 1, 4 Per Sheet No Column Values

6 .1

Horizontal Mark

7 .1 Vertical (Traces)***

8 .1 Vertical (Traces)***

9 .1

Horizontal Mark

Version 2, 4 Per Sheet with Column Values6.2 Fr. 5 .- Fr .

7 .507 .2 Fr.10 .- Fr .12 .508 .2 Fr.15 .- Fr .17 .50*9 .2 Fr.20 .- Fr .22 .50

Printing date shown in lower selvage.Plate number shown in lower selvage.

Types 7 or 8 show the vertical mark clearly,

when the booklets are poorly cut (that is to

say, the booklets are seldom cut "exactly" on

the line . . .the line ends up on one side of the

cut or the other .

Figure 7. Version 1 with 5 stamps per

sheet but without distinguishing

features to assign number.

Notes on the table:

The horizontal marks are often covered during the pastingprocess.*

**

***

Position 6 has nothing . Either position 7 or 8 will have the alignment mark,depending upon how the sheet was cut . And position 9 will have the printingdate (left side) . Happy hunting!

References:

1. Berner Briefmarken Zeitung, 12/92

2. Helvetia Newsletter, October 1988, January 1993 and February 19933. Zumstein Catalog, 19934. Zumstein Specialized Catalog

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Michael Rutherfoord and OthersReported for Tell by Charles J . LaBlonde

The deCoppet (Razor Blade) Cancels

This fascinating story has beenevolving for several years, thanks tothe hard work and dedication of Swissphilatelists in Great Britain andSwitzerland. Until now, many collec-ted these unique cancels withoutknowing their origins nor theirsignificance . Now, at last, we knowwhy the cancels were made, whomade them, when they were delivered,when they were broken and neededrepair and much more . There are stilla few outstanding questions which willbe noted throughout this report.

The cancels themselves attractedinterest because of their distinctive

shape, like an old-fashioned Gilletterazor blade . Hence, "Razor Blade"cancels . Collectors of these cancelshave pooled their knowledge over theyears to determine the period of use ofthe cancels as well as to pin down themany variations found in the cancels.

Tables of dates and varieties haveappeared periodically in the philatelicpress . As a term of reference, thelatest use table and the cancels them-selves are shown in Figures 1 and 2.Note that this table existed before theevents narrated in this story happened. . .it was assembled from years ofcollector research and collaboration.

Figure 1, Cancels

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Figure 1, Cancels continued

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Figure 2, Table of Racer-Blade Cancels

Our story focuses on an engineer and deCoppet .) To understand what he did,inventor named Fredric deCoppet who we need to note that the Swiss handlived and worked in Lausanne . (See cancellers of the late 19th centurybelow for the events which led to were rigid devices, with no flexibility

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between the cancel head and thewooden handle . For a perfect strike,the canceller had to be held exactlyvertical . . .there was no mechanical"forgiveness " for slightly off-verticalstrikes . One can also imagine thepostal clerks arm and hand gettingvery tired from hitting this rigiddevice on a hard surface . (I have some1880 and 1890 examples showing justhow hard letters and cards werecanceled . . .the cancel impression is

deeply embossed into the paper!)

Mr. deCoppet simply set out to inventand perfect a flexible canceller inwhich the cancel head was attached tothe handle by some sort of spring, toallow for off-vertical strikes.Some research in the Swiss patentoffice (which only opened in 1888),conducted by Rutherfoord, revealedthe following patents issued todeCoppet:

Number Date

251 21 Feb . 18891158 13 Jul . 18894715 25 Feb . 1892

26863 12 Jan . 190333145 7 Feb . 1905

Subject

An articulated cancel systemAn automatic cancel inking deviceA hand cancel machineAn articulated canceller

An articulated canceller, perfected

There is still some research needed to relatethese patents to the delivered cancellers, but it ispossible that the very rare Lausanne postmarkshown in Figure 3 may be an impression fromthe canceller deCoppet delivered to the Swisspatent office in 1889 to support his claims.

Fredric deCoppet had frequent meetings with thePTT District Office in Lausanne and these led toa meeting with PTT General Management inBern on 19 March 1892 . Following this meeting,he submitted three flexible cancellers for use inBern, Geneva and Lausanne . At this point, we donot believe the impressions from these threecancellers had any distinctive features . . .theywere not razor blades . After a short period, allthree were back with deCoppet for repairs andimprovement.

A short aside is necessary here, to mention theSte . Croix cancel (Figure 4) . This unique device was also made by deCoppetand used for some period of time in Ste . Croix . It is not a razor blade, but it is

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Figure 4 Figure 5

definitely a deCoppet cancel . It showsup in the PTT records as still being inuse in 1898 . . .and we do not know thelast day of use . Why Ste . Croix? Thisis one of those remaining mysteries.

deCoppet kept tinkering with thecancellers until the 26th of May 1898when he finally told the PTT that theimproved cancellers were ready fordelivery . Later that same year, on 19September, he delivered a samplecanceller to the PTT and asked if itwas acceptable. Two days later thePTT said yes . This sample was verylikely the first razor blade cancel.And a very logical question herewould be why the razor blade shape.

We need to recall that deCoppet wasproposing a new and improved systemof canceling letters, and anythingnew required a period of evaluationagainst the old. The deCoppetcancellers needed to be distinctive insome way, to allow the PTT toevaluate the clarity of theirimpressions against the rigid cancellerscurrently in use (Figure 5) . AnddeCoppet, as a businessman, wanted toprove his cancellers worked better,thus they had to be distinctive . Therazor blade shape was nothing morethan an identification method for thetrial period .

The first 6 cancellers were deliveredto Bern by deCoppet on 5 October andon October 8 (a Saturday) the PTTsent them to Postal Districts I throughV for use in their main post offices.These postal districts were : Geneva,Lausanne (2 cancels), Bern, Neuchateland Basel . The postal districts weretold to use the cancels for one year,then report on how they worked . Forthe early deliveries the number ofrepairs was so high that no annualreports were ever done.

A comparison of this October 8 datewith the earliest known use dates inthe table proves the deCoppet connec-tion. Note Bern and Geneva beganusing the new cancel on October 10,Neuchatel and Lausanne on October11, Basel on October 12 and the otherLausanne office on October 16.

Mr. deCoppet delivered 5 morecancellers on October 19 and the VITsent these to Aarau, Luzern, Zürich, StGallen and Bellinzona on October 24.(Note Chur was missing .) Once again,comparison of this date with theearliest known uses proves the point.

The PTT records show periodicreturns of the deCoppet cancellers forrepair and/or modification . Forexample, there should be no razor

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Figure 6

blade cancel usage at all fromNovember 16th 1898, toFebruary 2nd 1899, as all thedevices were with deCoppetduring this period for redesignand repair. And here is aninteresting point for research byyou razor blade specialists outthere . From the PIT records,the travels of each razor bladecancel back to PIT Headquar-ters, then to deCoppet forrepair, then returned to service,can be plotted. It would be niceto have enough cancel samplesto confirm these repair dates.The PTT records are unfortuna-tely not 100% complete andaccurate.

On April 19th 1899, a shipmentof 7 cancellers arrived at thePTT in Beni from deCoppet.The assumption is that 5 wererepaired and the other 2 werefor Chur (finally) and Zürich

Figure 7, Patent number 26863, date 12 . 1 . 03

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filled with notations of returns andrepairs . At the end of a year, thereports from the post offices weregenerally positive for these firstdeCoppet cancellers.

A steady correspondence ensuedbetween deCoppet and the PTT, whichresulted in delivery to all 11 postaldistricts of an improved canceller(Type II) on June 27th 1902, withinstructions to report on experienceswith the cancellers in January 1903.Once again, note how well this datefits with the dates in the table. ThePostal District reports were allpositive, except for Bellinzona. Finally,in 1903 the PTT signed a contractwith deCoppet for all future first classcancellers (those with time reels) andall traveling post office cancels . Theactual samples illustrated in thesigned contract are shown in Figure 6.The devices were covered bydeCoppet's new patent of 1903 . . .theyhad an internal spiral spring (Figure7) . Anyone wanting a copy of thecontract (in French) please let me

know (contains interesting cost figures .for the cancellers).

As an aside, the cancellers wereactually made by Güller and Sons ofHüttikon/ZH since deCoppet could nothimself deliver the required numbers.Güller got a PTT contract onNovember 23rd 1897 to make allSwiss hand cancels . He introduced thedate and time reels to replace the olderremovable plugs containing thenumbers.

Besides the razor blades, deCoppetmade some other cancels for the PTT.The cancels shown in Figure 8, fromthe Pen (Zumstein) catalog also camefrom deCoppet.

deCoppet apparently also made thespecial cancel for the UPU meeting in1900 (Figure 9) and gave it to theorganizers in return for the privilegeof handing out to the delegates apublicity letter in which he notes that"you can see it in use at the specialpost office ."

Figure 8

Jubiläumsstempel

HOW THE MYSTERY WAS SOLVED

Figure 9

This is all well and good, but how did This was later taken up by the "Cerclethe name deCoppet ever come up in d 'Etude Philatelique du Leman"the first place? In 1969 the Dutch (CEPL) whose members published a"Studiegroep " first published a number of razor blade articles in thecollation of the razor blade cancels . SBZ from 1972 to 1978. Mrs.

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Bidmead in England took up aninterest in these cancels and wroteseveral recent articles in the HelvetiaNewsletter, reporting on newdevelopments with razor blade cancels.

The key breakthrough occurred atSTAMPEX/BPE '91 in the UK. Arazor blade cancel appeared in aNorway exhibit (Figure 10) and thiswas noted by Mrs. Bidmead . Theexhibitor was contacted and producedan article in October 1991, in theNorwegian Philatelic FederationReview magazine about that verycancel (fantastic coincidence) . Thisarticle was the first link betweenFredric deCoppet, his flexiblecanceller and the razor blade form andhis Norwegian patent.

Figure 10

This all led to the patent office, asnoted above, and also to the PTTLibrary and Archives in Bern where,on 8 October 1992 I had the pleasureof joining Michael Rutherfoord to findthe deCoppet records . The PTT kept afascinating filing system, annotated byhand in large (and now musty)journals, on a daily basis . Allcorrespondence to and from PITheadquarters in Bern was logged but,sad to say, the correspondence itselfwas not kept . Beginning in 1898 thedeCoppet affair had its own PTT file

number and merited its own section inthe journals. Following the visit, wewere sent photocopies of the entiredeCoppet records for the years1898-1903 . I have translated most ofthe material in the form of anannotated chronology of events . It isobvious the clerks who recordedthings in the journals were not perfect.There are clear omissions, but thegeneral flow of events is quitecomplete . Anyone interested in thetranslations (or the original records)should contact me to make copyingarrangements.

WRAP UP NOTES

We have found nothing dealing withthe last days of the deCoppet razorblade cancels . It is obvious from thetable that there was no formal removalof the cancels from use . Some of themwere in use for a rather long period oftime, at least sporadically . Pleasecheck your holdings for later uses thanshown in the table.

Due to the many repair periods, Isense that the razor blade cancels fromthe years 1898 - 1900 are substantiallyscarcer than one would expect fromthe periods of use shown in the table.We know now that the periods of usewere not continuous and indeedcontained large gaps.

Rutherfoord has visited a number ofthe postal districts to see if any of theactual deCoppet-related correspon-dence might still exist . No luck so far.

A summary of the entire situation isshown in Figure 11, Rutherfoord's

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Figure 11

table of date comparisons, between the delivery date of the deCoppet cancels andthe earliest known use of a razor blade cancel . It makes a convincing bottom lineto the entire story.References:This story is not set in stone just jet . Many contributed to this and should be named here,other than the ones already mentioned, but Pierre Guinand who's table appears on page104 deserves to be pointed out as a true pioneer of the "Razor-Blade" Cancels.

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Herbert Brach

A "NEW" STRUBEL RARITY ?

A genuine 23Cc with grill cancel? Not very likely.

We know there were no paper stocksin Bern in December 1856 . Paper wason order from the an der Sihl papermill in Zurich and their first com-mercial delivery was anxiouslyawaited. We must look to 1857 forthis hope to become reality . When weexamine the schedule of deliveries of10 Rappen Strubels from the Mint tothe Post Office, it becomes apparentthat the first delivery of lORp stampson Zurich paper took place onMonday, May 11th, 1857

On Saturday, May 23rd, 1857, all grillcancellers in the entire SwissConfederation had to be turned in,never to be used again . There are thuseleven working days when it waspossible for the combination, 10 Rpstamp on Zurich paper with red thread,cancelled with a grill cancel, to occur.

What are the chances of any of thesecoming down to us, 136 years later?The total need for lORp stamps at thattime was approximately 200,000stamps per month, or about 100,000 ina two-week period . Of theapproximately 100,000 stamps of the10 Rp denomination used in the periodMay 11th to May 23rd, 1857, not allwere 23Cc, by any means . 23Cc and23Cb, as well as 23E and 23F use wasstill very much in evidence at thattime, as it was to be until the fall of1857 .

If we are very conservative andassume a statistically high participationof 23Cc in this period, maybe as manyas 50,000 of these stamps were can-celled with grill cancellers Even thatnumber would make this stamp twiceas rare as 22Aa!

In the wildest dreams of a Strubelcollector, he may imagine a perfectcopy of this improbable stamp to fallinto his lap . Margins wide enough tomake it abundantly clear that thecliche setting is obviously that of theuneven alignment of 23Cc . A splitframe line thrown in, to make doublysure . An obviously light red thread,about the shade of which there can beno doubt. Paper of a structure andconsistency such that there can be nodoubt that this is, indeed, Zurichpaper. Then, to finish the dream, a

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beautifully applied grill cancel ; maybea slightly unusual one, from a localitywhich you would not expect rapiddistribution to have reached, such asBiel or Neuchatel?

Then I woke up, and there it was,right in front of me! Just as it hadappeared in the dream . The illustrationof this stamp accompanies this article.So, dear Strubel collector, do not giveup. Many unusual stamps can still be

found in your accumulation, as long asyou know what to look for . "New "rarities can still be discovered, even atthis late date.

Regarding the 23Cc with grill cancel,there must be other copies to befound. The writer is very interestedand would be grateful to receivereports on these, care of thismagazine . 13803 Crown Bluff, SanAntonio, TX 78216

Announcement

The Swiss Cancel Collector Society (SVP) published a new K Cancel Handbook.It in bound , M size, current through March 1993 and contains over 1000 pricecharges . It replaces the familiar yellow binder K Cancel Handbook . Anyonewanting this new handbook can send $20 .00 to Charles J . LaBlonde P .O. Box264 Chelmsford MA 01824 . The price includes shipping from Switzerland.

Harlan F . Stone

Mrs. Edythe J. Rawnsley:

Soon after moving into serious Swisscollecting in 1966, I joined theHelvetia Philatelic Society (HPS) ofGreat Britain to take advantage of its" News Letter. " The unexpecteddividend was occasional correspon-dence with the editor, Mrs. E. J.Rawnsley. She patiently answeredquestions, sent me earlier issues of theNews Letter and (most significantly, itturns out) recommended that Ispecialize in the perforated SittingHelvetia . This issue was underpriced,she said .

A Remembrance

In more recent years I lost touch withMrs . Rawnsley, partly because of myever-busier schedule, partly because ofher retirement . But I never stoppedspecializing in the perforated SittingHelvetia.

Early this year I remembered to writeher some news I thought she wouldappreciate . My perforated SittingHelvetia exhibit had won a large goldmedal in international competition atGRANADA 92 in Spain . It wasgreatly due, I told her, to that tip

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nearly a quarter of a century earlier.Her long letter in response soundedimpatient with life in a retirementhome without philately . She died onJanuary 21 . The 1987 AHPS news

release I prepared with pleasure on herelection to our honorary lifemembership, reprinted below, descri-bes how she encouraged many collec-tors of Switzerland besides this one.

Helvetia elects Rawnsley Honorary Life Member . (June 22, 1987)

The directors of the AmericanHelvetia Philatelic Society (APSAffiliate No . 52) have elected Mrs . E.J . Rawnsley a life member for hercontribution to Swiss Philately aseditor of the monthly News Letter ofthe Helvetia Philatelic Society ofGreat Britain for nearly three decades.She is the ninth person to receive thishonor from the American Society.

Mrs . Rawnsley has been active in theGreat Britain society since itsinaugural meeting in October 1948,when she became a member of itsgoverning committee . The societyelected her secretary in 1954 andeditor in 1959 . She held both positionsuntil her retirement at the end of lastyear . (1987)

Articles by Mrs Rawnsley in the NewsLetter and other British philatelicpublications covered a broad range od

Swiss postal history, stamp andpostmark subjects . "The Pro JuventuteArms Stamps, " one of her best known,described the heraldry of Swisscantonal coats of arms . "The SwissPostal Agencies Abroad" anothermajor article, described the use ofSwiss Postal coach routes ended.

During her long service, MrsRawnsley frequently assisted theAmerican society by trading editorialmaterial with the editor of its journalTell and by providing back issues ofthe News Letter to members whojoined the Great Britain society.

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First-day cover stamped with two 'Animals'

definitives . Unstamped covers will be available

for 50 c. each at all philatelic salespoints from

1 . 2. 1992

Definitive stamps : «Animals»Two values are being added to the «Animals» definitive series . The I-franc horse stamp

replaces the same value from the Signs of the Zodiac series now ended . It corresponds to the

new postage for 20g priority letter mail items to Europe and the Mediterranean countries.The 1 .20-franc stamp covers various second-class (B-mail) rate and weight steps.

Like the other issues in the series, the stamps were designed by Basle graphic artist CelestinoPiatti and steel engraved by Max Müller, Bern.

Fr. 1 .- Horses The close bond between humans and horses is an ancient one, and formany peoples of the world domestication of the horse made work, travel and transport mucheasier. So it is not surprising that the horse is widely regarded as the noblest of all animals inthe human entourage and in many parts of the world is highly revered . Industrializationgradually robbed the horse of its role as a work animal, though without detracting from itsstatus as a privileged friend and companion of humans in their leisure and sporting activities.Today, organic farming is turning more and more to horse power in the original sense of theterm, thereby providing a stimulus for horse breeding.

Fr.1 .20 Dog Dogs can be fairly described as pets, farmyard animals or workinganimals, depending on the breed . While widely kept as a pet, 'man's best friend . also has an

important role to play on the farm as a watchdog or shepherd's and cowherd's helper . Somebreeds are still occasionally seen harnessed to carts carrying milk churns . Last but by nomeans least, dogs render invaluable services as search and rescue animals at avalancheand disaster sites, as guard dogs or as guide dogs for the blind.The best-known Swiss breeds are certainly the four types of Sennenhund (dairyman's dog) —Bernese, Appenzell, Entlebuch and Big Swiss — and, of course, everybody's favourite,the St Bernard.

115 TELL,VOL .XIX,

3 May, 1993PTT 1 82 06 No 100 XII 92

First-day cover stamped with a set of specialpostage stamps «150 Years of Swiss PostageStamps» . Unstamped covers will be availablefor 50 c . each at all philatelic salespoints from

1 .2 .1993.

150 Years of Swiss Postage StampsThe postage stamp as we know it today was first introduced in Great Britain . In 1837

Rowland Hill suggested that in future postage should no longer be paid by the addressee butby the sender and that adhesive stamps should be used as proof that the correct postage had

been prepaid . This led to the issue on 1 May 1840 of the first postage stamps : the 'Penny

Black' and the 'Twopenny Blue', both bearing the likeness of the young Queen Victoria.In Switzerland the postal services were exclusively the concern of the cantons until 1848.Encouraged by the developments in England, Zurich became the first canton, and also

the first postal authority on the European mainland, to introduce prepaid postageusing stamps . The 'Zurich 4' for local postage and the 'Zurich 6' for cantonal mail wereissued on 1 March 1843 . On 1 October 1843 Geneva followed suit with a stamp of its own,the 'Double Geneva'.

Basle-City was the third canton in Switzerland to issue a postage stamp . On 1 July 1845the 2'/2-centime stamp — better known as the 'Basle Dove' — appeared. It was tobecome extremely popular with stamp collectors and is still famous today . It was the

first stamp in the world to be produced in three-colour letterpress and relief printing.The Federal Constitution of 12 September 1848 made postal services throughout thecountry a federal business . The first Swiss as opposed to cantonal stamps appearedat the beginning of May 1850 . They were denominated at 2 1/2 centimes and showeda shield with the Swiss cross . None of the stamps mentioned so far were perforated:they had do be cut from the sheet with scissors . The year 1862 saw the appearance of the

'Sitting Helvetia perforate' series, which for several reasons can be regarded as thefirst modern postage stamps. – Until about 1900, stamps were virtually limited to theirprimary role of furnishing proof of payment ; later they acquired a whole range of

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supplementary functions . Today, nearly all countries in the world use postage stampsto convey cultural and political messages. They are harnessed to promote tourism aswell as patriotic and philanthropic causes . Colourful postage stamps are in a sensea country's 'visiting cards' . Swiss issues, superbly designed by well-known artists, providea fascinating overview of economic developments, art and history, flora and faunaand aspects of national life . And, of course, people all over the world collect stampsbecause of their attractive designs and interesting themes.

The 60c issue shows the classic 'Zurich 4/6' and 'Double Geneva' stamps . The 80c valuesymbolizes the function of stamps in the postal service, while the 100c issue pays homageto the postage stamp as a collector's item . The set of three was designed by HartmutBillharz, a 3rd-year student of graphic arts at the Basle College of Design.

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60 c . 500th Anniversary of the Birth of ParacelsusParacelsus, by his real name Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, was born atEinsiedeln in the Canton of Schwyz in late 1493 or early 1494 . His mother was a nativeof Einsiedeln, his father a Swabian physician who had settled there . After the mother'sdeath in 1502, the father moved to Villach, Austria, taking his son with him.Paracelsus was a student-teacher at the local mining school and worked at thelaboratories of the nearby ore mines and metal-works . He completed his medical studiesin 1516 with a doctorate from the University of Ferrara . After working as an armydoctor from 1519 to 1520, he set up a medical practice in Salzburg . In 1527, Paracelsuswas appointed town physician and honorary professor at Basle University . It wasnot long before he was at loggerheads with the faculty and his colleagues, who wereopposed to his unconventional ideas . His flight from Basle in 1528 marked the begin-ning of a turbulent, highly instructive and peripatetic phase of his life that was rich inliterary activity. His first theological works date from 1532-33 when he was a doctorand lay preacher in St . Gallen and Appenzell . He returned to Salzburg in 1541 anddied there on 24 September of the same year.Paracelsus developed new medicines with the help of inorganic compounds, replacing thedrugs and remedies used in the past . He also pioneered surgery as an integral part ofthe medical arsenal.In his holistic approach, Paracelsus attempted not just to diagnose a disease but also tosee and interpret cause and therapy in a larger context. Cosmic influences were broughtin along with spiritual and psychological factors . As a physician, alchemist, philosopherand theologian, Paracelsus is now enjoying something of a comeback.The stamp, designed by Gérald Ducimetière, Geneva, is based on a 1538 engraving ofParacelsus by Augustin Hirschvogel.

80 c. Inauguration of the Olympic Museum in LausanneThe new Olympic Museum, dedicated to both sport and culture, will be opened in Lausanneon 23 June 1993 . Ideally situated in spacious gardens on the shores of Lake Geneva, thecontemporary building offers 3400 m 2 (36,600 square feet) of exhibition space . Exhibitsare presented in an attractive and instructive manner, enlivened by a variety of computeranimations, interactive audiovisual facilities and computerized information stations.The museum traces the development of the Olympic movement, with its historical andcultural ties . It documents the Games of ancient Greece and the work of Baron Pierre deCoubertin as well as the modern Olympics . The displays illustrate the Games' influenceon art, design, architecture and town planning, as well as their purely athletic aspects.Temporary exhibitions with valuable collections of stamps, coins, posters, badges, etc .,will be staged periodically. An Olympic research centre with a database, large library(15,000 volumes), a photo section, an audiovisual unit and archives complete the attractiveofferings.The stamp design, by Peter Scholl, Vevey, shows a discus thrower on a Greek vase, symboliz-ing the museum's purpose of documenting the history of the Olympic idea.

Fr.1 .80 Centenary of the International Metalworkers' FederationFounded in 1893 in Zurich, the International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF) today isthe largest of the international associations of industrial trade unions . Its 170 member

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unions range from giant ones like the 3 .6 million strong IG Metall of Gemany to smallorganizations in developing countries . In 1993,16 million metalworkers in unions in 70 coun-tries are united internationally in the IMF.In Switzerland, the Swiss Metalworkers' and Watchmakers' Union (SMUV-FTMH) is theIMF-affiliated organization and plays a key role in international union developments inthe global metal industry . The Swiss connection with the IMF goes back decades . In 1920Konrad Ilg, a member of parliament and president of the Swiss metalworkers' union,was elected secretary of the IMF, a post he held until 1954 . He was succeeded by AdolpheGraedel, also a Swiss metalworker, who was secretary until 1968 . For more than 70 yearsthe headquarters of the IMF have been in Switzerland, first in Berne and now inGeneva . The federation is a leading international defender of human rights, politicalfreedom and economic and social justice . It has given its moral and material supportto the Polish Solidarity movement and to metalworkers in countries such as South

A complete mint set ofthe year's stamps on a pre-sentation card with trans-parent covers . No text . Nocharge except face valueof stamps.

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ROMPEX '93May 14-16, 1993

AHPS has reserved 100 frames at ROMPEX 93 for Swiss exhibits . Yourattendance is requested . We are sharing the show with the American Air MailSociety . Register at the AHPS table and be prepared to help-out for two hoursduring the show.

The Program is:

Friday

May 14 Show hours 10AM - 6PM

Saturday May 15 Show hours 10AM - 6PM

10 :15 The DeCoppet Razor Blade Cancels Charles J . LaBlonde11 :00 Identification of Strubels Herbert Brach12 :00 break for lunch and bourse

1 :00 Stamp Security and Insurance Ernst Bergman1 :30 Swiss Stamp Valuations Bob Zeigler2 :00 Annual AHPS Meeting3 :00 Exhibiting Seminar4:00 Judges Critique6 :00 Cocktail Hour cash bar7 :00 Awards Banquet, cost $22 .00

Sunday May 16

Show hours 10AM - 4PM

8:15 ROMPEX Breakfast, cost $10 .0011 :00 AHPS Swap meet, bring your duplicates and sell or trade.

Rompex '93 will be held at the Holiday Inn I-70 East . The telephone number is(303) 371-9494, located about 3 miles northeast of Denver Airport . Guesttransportation is available from the Airport to the Hotel . There is a show rate,but it is suspected that the best rate is available through the Holiday Inn CentralReservation System #1-800 Holiday (1-800 465-4329) and ask for weekend rate.(Make all your affiliations known which can help to reduce hotel cost, such asAARP, AAA and so on .)

Richard H . BartonROMPEX '93, Exhibits ChairmanP.O. Box 2352303 660-8130Denver, CO 80201-2352

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