Philatelic scholars and ephemera collectors, mark your calendars! Beginning January 7, part two of the Trenchard collection will go under Dutch Country Auctions’ hammer, and you won’t want to miss this material!
In February 2021, the Trenchard collection arrived at the American Philatelic Center – 24 pallets, or approximately 600 boxes, of philatelic material. Donated to the American Philatelic Research Library by the “Dean of Philately,” Dr. Herbert A. Trenchard, the collection contains tens of thousands of items related to the history of stamp collecting, or as Trenchard described it, “anything connected with stamp collecting except stamps.”
“He had an eye for anything related to stamp shows,” says Neil Coker, Senior Appraiser with Dutch Country and APS liaison. “Not just national, but the regional and local shows as well. There are cachets for the shows, for meetings, even Christmas parties, going back to the ‘20s.”
Ever since those 24 pallets arrived, APRL staff and volunteers have worked diligently to inventory the collection, reserve those materials which the library could use, and collect the rest for an eventual auction, not only to support the library, but also to make the wealth of material available to the wider collecting world.
In addition to his show programs and cachets, Trenchard’s collection included everything from business cards to postcards and photographs, all contributing to a broad overview of the history of the hobby through ephemera. Coker also cites Trenchard’s collection of cinderella stamps produced by stamp clubs 70 or more years ago as materials of significant philatelic interest.
“If you went to a local stamp show, even in a small town, back in the ‘30s, ‘40s, ‘50s, they were making all kinds of labels and souvenirs,” he says. “We don’t see that so much today.”
The collection was so large that multiple auctions were warranted, with the first sale in September earning around $12,000. This January, the second auction of material from the Trenchard collection will go under the hammer, and Russell Eggert, owner of Dutch Country Auctions, says his message for all comers is “bid high, you’re supporting the APS!”
“We try very hard to get the best for the material that APS sends us,” says Eggert. “They give us the donations and we do our best to turn it into money. And I let people know when we have APS lots, so they usually bid a little higher!”
The second auction will be held from Tuesday, January 7 to Thursday, January 9, in person at Dutch Country Auctions in Delaware and online via Stamp Auction Network. It will feature primarily U.S. material, with some Canadian and other international materials from Trenchard’s collection. For more information about the auction and lots to appear, be sure to visit the Dutch Country website, or call (302) 478-8740 for more information and to request a catalog.
To learn more about Herb Trenchard, his collecting career, and his impact on the hobby, click here.
About the Stamp Center and Dutch Country Auctions
The Stamp Center opened for business on August 4, 1979, and since then has enjoyed rapid growth and expansion, including the acquisition of Dutch Country Auctions in 1983. As a result of this growth and the addition of Dutch Country (which dates back to the 1950’s) a comprehensive selection of services covering the ENTIRE philatelic, numismatic, and related fields are offered to a worldwide clientele.
For more than ten years, Dutch Country Auctions has been the APS & APRL’s partner for the sale of donated material, from the Trenchard collection to in-kind contributions from APS members. The proceeds of these auctions go toward supporting the mission of the APS and APRL.
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