Meow from New York: Cats on Stamps at World Stamp Show 2016

Today we are very pleased to welcome Marci Jarvis to our blog. Marci is a member of the Cats on Stamps Study Unit (COSSU) and editor of its award-winning newsletter, Cat Mews. Marci was smart enough to schedule her trip to the recent World Stamp Show in New York so she could attend the COSSU gathering held there. She of Little Talent was not smart enough to do this, and so we’ve asked Marci to step in and let us know how it went. Here’s what she said:

Report from the field

Three very talented and successful ladies responsible for a beautiful collection of United States Postal Service (USPS) feline stamps were guest speakers at the Cats on Stamps Study Unit Event held at the Javits Center during the World Stamp Show-NYC 2016.

Presenters at the Cats on Stamps Study Unit gathering,
World Stamp Show, May 31, 2016, Javits Center, New York City.
From left to right: USPS Stamp Illustrator Nancy Stahl,
USPS Stamp Photographer & Designer Sally Andersen-Bruce,
and Hope Tarr, PhD, pet advocate.
Photo courtesy of COSSU.

The 2010 Adopt a Shelter
Pet stamps, photograped
for USPS by
Sally Andersen-Bruce.

USPS stamp photographer and designer Sally Andersen-Bruce captured the lovely expressions on her 2002 Spay/Neuter kitten and puppy stamps and the ten 2010 Adopt a Shelter Pet cats and dogs. As she explained, it wasn't always easy to calm a nervous cat or dog.

Pet advocate Hope Tarr, PhD, founder of the Prevent a Litter Coalition (PalC), was instrumental in persuading the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to choose the important social awareness issue of spaying and neutering pets to be a topic on stamps. The result was the 2002 Spay/Neuter duo. Hope is currently promoting Marian's Dream that provides care services for cats and dogs.

Artist Nancy Stahl has
illustrated some of our favorite
USPS stamps, inlcuding this
Amur tiger cub issue.

Nancy Stahl has illustrated numerous stamps for the USPS. Her four cat designs were issued in many formats and varieties. beginning with the iconic New York Public Library lions in 2003 and the blue Florida panther in 2007. The Amur tiger cub for Endangered Species in 2011 has raised over $2 million for conservation groups in the U.S. and has also been distributed abroad. The American bobcat is her most recent motif.

The guest speakers posed for photos and participated in a Q/A session.

The editor for Cat Mews, the journal of the Cats on Stamps Study Unit, presented a musical video, “The Tiger in Philately,” describing the life of the tiger using a wide array of philatelic materials.

Visit the group's website to learn more about collecting cats on stamps: http://www.catstamps.info.

 

Wrapping up

Thanks, Marci! Nancy Stahl’s cat designs are some of old SoLT’s favorites, so she’s sorry to have missed this gathering.

And, readers, take a moment to hop over to the Cats on Stamps website. I bet you’ll see some stamps there that make you say, “Wow!”

You can also learn more about collecting cats on stamps from our post Collecting Cats on Stamps: A Fun Way to Learn about Cats and a Whole Lot More.

Meet Some Cats on Stamps at World Stamp Show 2016

Like tigers and other cats? Like collecting things?
Come to the Javits Center May 31 to learn about
lots of  cool tigers on philately, like the one on
this stamp from Russia.

We are so excited to let you know about a special gathering happing in New York City from May 28 to June 4. It’s the World Stamp Show (that’s WSS-NY2016 to those in the know). This large show happens only once every ten years, so you know it will be special. But why am I telling you about it in a blog post that is supposed to be about cats?

Cats on Stamps Study Unit to meet

Sally Anderson-Bruce,
photographer for these shelter
pets stamps, will be there.

Well, I’m telling you because the Cats on Stamps Study Unit (COSSU to those in the know) of the American Topical Association will have a special gathering during the show. COSSU is a group of stamp collectors who focus on collecting stamps with cats on them. They will get together on Tuesday, May 31, to enjoy a presentation called “The Tiger in Philately,” by Marci Jarvis. Guest speakers will include Nancy Stahl, the illustrator for the Amur tiger cub stamp (pictured below), among other cat-related issues, and Sally Anderson-Bruce, photographer for the spay/neuter and shelter pets issues (pictured at right). Finally, Hope Tarr, director of the Prevent a Litter Coalition, will be there.

Vital details: when & where

She of Little Talent is very disappointed that she mistimed her trip and will miss this gathering (I don’t call her She of Little Talent for nothing). To avoid having this happen to you, I am giving you the details now so you can plan for next week:

You could meet Nancy Stahl, 
the illustrator behind this 
endangered species issue.

Event: Cats on Stamps Study Unit gathering
Date: Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Time: 2:00–4:00 p.m.

Place: Room 1E20

World Stamp Show–New York 2016

Javits Center

New York

1880s Tiger Stamp for Playing Cards

Wordless Wednesday

Tiger on U.S. playing card stamp, c. 1881–1883.

Private die playing card stamp of Russell, Morgan & Co.,

creators of the “Tigers No. 101” brand of playing cards.

For part of the nineteenth century, the U.S. government

taxed playing cards. Manufacturers could create their

own stamps, like this one featuring a fearsome tiger.

Image scanned and processed by A. Sdobnikov

(Personal collection)

[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

Cats on Stamps: Amur Tiger Cub

Wordless Wednesday

Amur tiger cub on US semipostal stamps.

Purchase of these stamps benefits conservation funds for elephants,

great apes, rhinoceros, marine turtles, and of course, tigers.

Available from the US Postal Service.

For more information, visit the US Fish & Wildlife Service.