Daniel W. Vooys – once called “Mr. Philatelic Literature,” by George W. Linn, founder of Linn’s Stamp Weekly – believed that philatelic literature was indispensable for the serious philatelist. Vooys (1914-1978) felt philatelic literature was so important that he helped start two important philatelic libraries, including the American Philatelic Research Library (APRL).
“The possibilities of the library are tremendous,” wrote Vooys in a 1969 edition of The Philatelic Literature Review, this journal that he started. “It is a good philosophy that one must ‘put something back.’ ” Philatelic historian Brian Birch shares much more about Vooys in this PLR article.
Since 2007, the APRL has invited those who believe in the great importance of philatelic literature, as well as the conservation, storage and access to research materials, to help the cause by becoming a Vooys Fellow. Since the inaugural class of six Fellows, 50 more names have joined the roll. Some of the most recent Fellows are profiled in this column and more will be profiled in the Fourth Quarter PLR.
Vooys Fellows are staunch supporters of the APRL and agree to support it by pledging to donate $5,000 payable over five years.
Vooys Fellow privileges include: A vote for Founder/Patron representative on APRL Board of Trustees; an opportunity to run for Founder/Patron representative on the APRL Board of Trustees; a lifetime subscription to the Philatelic Literature Review; a personal Vooys Fellow plaque; and their name on a Vooys Fellow plaque in the APRL.
Here is a list of Vooys Fellows listed by the year in which they were named.
2007 - William H. Bauer, Richard Drews, Alfredo Frohlich, Al Kugel, Roger Schnell, Herbert A. Trenchard
2008 - Ted Bahry, Roger S. Brody, Sidney Epstein, Hugh J. McMackin III, W. Danforth Walker
2009 - Clark Frazier , Don Heller, Barbara R. Mueller, Charles J. Peterson, Stephen D. Schumann
2011 - Eliot A. Landau , Wade E. Saadi, Charles F. Shreve
2012 - Gerald R. Forsythe, David A. Kent, Janet R. Klug, Steven J. Rod, Lamar Stout
2013 - Edward H. Jarvis, Alan Warren
2014 - Arthur Cole, Jack R. Dykhouse, Hugh Lawrence, Ken Martin
2015 - Gordon Eubanks, Alan Parsons, Mark Schwartz
2016 - Robin Gates-Elliott, David W. McNamee, Randy Neil, Paul Petersen, Charles C. Wooster
2017 - Stephen Washburne
2018 - Michael Turrini, San Diego Philatelic Library
2019 - Cheryl Ganz, Irving R. Miller
2021 - John H. Barwis, Thomas H. Bieniosek, Scott D. English, Eric A. Jackson, Bobby Liao, Robert Bruce Marsden, Frank L. Sente, Marjory Sente, David T. Zemer
2022 - Patrick M. Farrell, Royal W. Gelder, Tami J. Jackson, Brian Birch
In the last two years, the number of Vooys fellows has increased rapidly. We have also received pledges from William O’Connor, Van Siegling, Chris Green, and Foster Miller, who we will proudly welcome to Vooys fellowship over the next several years. We thank you for your trust in the APRL and its missions, and for your investment in its future.
Why Support the APRL? A Few Words from Recent Vooys Fellows
2022 Fellow - Roy Gelder
For me, the APRL has been part of my philatelic journey. Like many collectors, my interests have evolved over the years. Interest in early Belgium, and its numerous railway cancels and attending summer seminar classes on forgeries and expertizing led to visits to the APRL. Evolving interest in Austria-Hungary by virtue of its extraordinary cultural diversity led to study of cancels, and the changing nature of national boundaries. More visits to the APRL.
As I began to dig deeper into what has become my specialty – the stamps of Bosnia Herzegovina issued during the occupation by Austria-Hungary – periodicals led me to references and citations at the end of articles. These led to more articles, archived exhibits, and the collection of the research papers of Edwin Coleman, a collector of Bosnia material who lived in the San Francisco Bay area in the 1960s and 1970s. Mr. Coleman did extensive research on several aspects of Bosnian stamps, compiled what he had discovered, and donated it to the APRL, in his words, “… for the use of those who may, as the years go by, have need for further study.”
Our access to the APRL has been made much easier than in Coleman’s day. Digitization and the David Straight Philatelic Union Catalog pull the resources of several libraries to our keyboard. Even for those items that cannot be sent through interlibrary loan, the Union Catalog certainly points us in right direction, and makes our time during our visits more productive.
If you are reading this, you already have an appreciation for the APRL, or probably any library. The APRL can always use our help to sort donations, scan materials into digital form or provide support for more specialized tasks.
We can support the APRL by donating our time, our knowledge, and by fostering demand by passing the word about APRL resources and the ever kindly and welcoming help they will receive when contacting the library. We also can foster demand by asking questions of our fellow collectors and mentoring new collectors who may not have any idea of the depth and scope of the research materials waiting for them in Bellefonte.
We are all learning as we collect, we collect more effectively as we learn. How can that be possible without a library?
2022 - Patrick (Mike) Farrell
A Vooys membership is a pledge of support for the APRL. What does the library mean to you?
This hobby has over a hundred years of history, and new discoveries are being made all the time. But that information means nothing unless people can access it. I support sharing information and resources – that’s why I support the APRL.
The APRL’s missions are to preserve philatelic research and literature, and make resources widely accessible through APRL digital. Why are these important in your opinion to the future of philately?
Digitizing resources is the best way to make information accessible to the whole philatelic community. (This is) not only because it’s so fast to share a digital file, but because these books are now searchable so that anyone can quickly find the information they need. Research used to be limited to only the people who could travel to libraries and take the time to sift through mountains of material. Digitization opens the door for anyone to sit at their computer and find what they need to make new discoveries. We are going to discover so many new things!
Do you have any stories about using the APRL and its resources?
The most valuable resource at the APRL is its staff. They do an amazing job serving the needs of both beginners and advanced collectors.
Why should readers consider supporting the APRL and its missions?
Everyone will benefit when we make information accessible. We need to be sharing knowledge.
Please share a few words about yourself, your philatelic involvement, etc.
Mike Farrell is a philatelist and world traveler from Indiana. He collects stamps and postal history of the United States and U.S. possessions, and is a member of more philatelic societies than he can list here.
2021 - Robert (Bruce) Marsden
A Vooys membership is a pledge of support for the APRL. What does the library mean to you?
After serving as the volunteer librarian at the Collectors Club in New York for some time, Roger Brody asked if I would be interested in serving on the APRL Board of Trustees, which had a pending vacancy. I believe strongly in the principle of “100 percent board giving” so embarking on the Vooys fellowship program seemed a natural fit.
The APRL’s missions are to preserve philatelic research and literature, and make resources widely accessible through APRL digital. Why are these important to the future of philately?
A key to making philately interesting is to be able to understand and tell the story behind the stamp or postal history artifact in your hand. Without access to the published (or in some cases unpublished research notes) collectors are left to “make it up on the fly” or conduct their own duplicative and increasingly difficult original research. As most people are not able to visit Bellefonte regularly, online digital access to resources is a way to democratize the information and allow more people to enjoy the hobby as we do.
Do you have any stories about using the APRL and its resources?
To me, the most fun and rewarding way to use the APRL is by visiting in person and browsing the stacks, many of which are organized by collecting interest. For my collection, the Swiss section is most relevant, and even though the APRL’s catalog is online, sometimes I’ve made new discoveries through browsing and happenstance. But, I do not live close to Bellefonte so I’ve also borrowed Swiss reference books by mail (including once when I had misplaced my own copy – has that never happened to you?). And by telephone and email, Scott Tiffney and his team have quickly answered questions using the resources available on the spot.
Why should readers consider supporting the APRL and its missions?
We are fortunate to have generous members who have allowed the APS and APRL to complete the 20-year buildout of the American Philatelic Center and retire the related mortgage debt. So, we can occupy our society work, exhibit, and meeting spaces and the library “rent free.” That is a major accomplishment.
Now we must turn to the growth of the library’s endowment funds that will allow it to continue to serve the philatelic public in an economically sustainable way while keeping membership dues affordable for all.
Please share a few words about yourself, your philatelic involvement, etc.
My story may sound familiar. My Aunt Betty Pollock got me started with the gift of a children’s stamp collecting kit for my eighth birthday. My recollection is that the worldwide album had about 100 pages! In high school, I started a collection of Portugal and colonies stamps because they were attractive, exotic, and affordable. Later, after my first trip to Europe, I began a collection of Switzerland’s stamps because I had enjoyed visiting its mountain scenery and Swiss stamps are also quite attractive although less exotic, and in some instances, less affordable.
Since then, Switzerland has been my main focus but I never met a stamp I didn’t like so I maintain a short set of Blue Scott Internationals for “emergencies.” I enjoy my memberships in the APS and APRL and several local clubs and specialist societies. Following my professional retirement, I trade duplicates on eBay, HipStamp, and Delcampe with the mission “to help people get more fun out of collecting stamps and postal history artifacts.”
2021 - Bobby Liao
A Vooys membership is a pledge of support for the APRL. What does the library mean to you?
For more than 50 years, the APRL has successfully maintained and provided public access to a wealth of philatelic reference and resource materials. I would like to see APRL continue its mission to expand its collection, preserve history for future generations, and to make it even easier to access the knowledge online.
The APRL’s missions are to preserve philatelic research and literature, and make resources widely accessible through APRL digital. Why are these important to the future of philately?
Not only should the APRL make the resources digital and more widely accessible, but also encourage more historians and researchers to contribute their knowledge to the library and hence grow the knowledge base for the greater community. Furthermore, I could see the APRL provide an online forum for collaboration beyond published materials, and facilitate exchange and discussions among philatelists and historians.
Please share a few words about yourself, your philatelic involvement, etc.
As a volunteer and the chair of the APS Translation Committee, I have become acquainted with many philatelists with diverse interests. Through their dedication in doing research for an article or an exhibit, or to just simply document an item in their collection, I have gained a deeper appreciation of the philatelic community for their expertise and passion.
It’s not just those who have sent in requests and shared their findings, but also those who are volunteer translators that not only provided their generous time and linguistic assistance but also shared their additional insight and knowledge.
I enjoy and look forward to working with APS members with their philatelic translation requests and urge more volunteers to join us on the Translation Committee.
2022 - Brian Birch
Vooys membership is a pledge of support for the APRL. What does the library mean to you?
In the early 1970s I joined the Security Endorsement and Perfin Society (now the Perfin Society) and soon became its librarian. I soon realized that in order to grow the library I needed to know what had been published and what was currently being published. This led me to confine my literature interests to bibliography, indexes and other guides to the literature but not the monographs and handbooks as by then I had just about given up collecting stamps.
The first problem with bibliography is to determine what has been published – remember this is before the all-pervasive personal computer and the internet.
It seemed to me that the answer was to find which were the major philatelic libraries and, if possible, obtain copies of their library lists. Accordingly, I found and became a member of as many organizations with major libraries as possible. Although most of them replied to me in very friendly terms it was made clear that they had a librarian and a volunteer helper or two and could not provide a library service to anyone at a distance. The one shining star in this firmament was the American Philatelic Research Library, which actually had an employee to answer letters and provide photocopies (nowadays scans) to those too far away to visit.
Over the years I have ordered and received copies of hundreds of articles which were not easily available to me in the UK (now France). Without this assistance I would not have been able to complete as many articles as I have done. Without the assistance of the American Philatelic Research Library, my book The Fathers of Philately Inscribed on the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists, published by the Royal Philatelic Society London in 1999, would be missing quite a number of its 2,000 or so references.
The American Philatelic Research Library’s missions are to preserve philatelic research and literature, and make resources widely accessible through APRL Digital. Why are these important to the future of philately?
Preserving the literature and archives of philately and making them available to researchers like myself is absolutely essential. However, I have not found that American Philatelic Research Library Digital is a useful facility for making them available.
For example, I have subscribed to the Philatelic Literature Review for slightly less than 50 years and have all of the issues back to No. 1 of 1942 as a bound run. However, since I moved to France, I no longer have easy access to my binder in the UK and the volumes from 2014 are not bound.
Earlier this year I needed an issue from the unbound volumes and naturally that one was missing (i.e. misplaced) from my bookcase. My need being urgent, and following an abortive search through the piles on my desk, I decided to seek the information I required using APRL Digital. A search of the Philatelic Literature Review brought me an information overload of useless references, not the list of digitized copies of the Philatelic Literature Review I expected. After further abortive attempts I simply gave up as I don’t have time to waste on trying to learn the system. Instead, I simply ordered a copy of the missing issue from research assistant Marsha Garman. Perhaps those younger than I will have more patience and luck than I have.
Do you have any stories about using the APRL and its resources?
For many years I sent my ad hoc want lists to the APRL and received many of the items back quite quickly. I kept lists on paper of the items I required and ticked them off on receipt and re-listed the items that were not provided for sourcing elsewhere. Eventually, I became overloaded with paper and decided that future lists would be sent digitally and to further make my life easy, the lists would be numbered. I am now up to list number 81. Given that my lists generally contain between 10 and 20 items, it is easy to see just how many items I have ordered from the APRL, generally with a success rate of well greater than 50 percent.
Why should readers consider supporting the APRL and its missions?
Most philatelic libraries are run on a shoestring. Even the city of Munich has recently slashed the budget of its philatelic section and given its librarian additional duties. Philatelic societies are in a worse situation as they generally have to provide the funds for their libraries from the subscription income. Any philatelist who professes to carry out research needs the support of the APRL and has a responsibility to ensure that its services are available for future generations of philatelists.
Please share a few words about yourself, your philatelic involvement, etc.
I began to collect stamps at the age of 9 when our father gave my older brother and me a stamp album and a packet of stamps each. However, it was not for another 10 years or so, in the early 1970s, that I became interested in philatelic literature. It took me another 10 years before I realized that it was impossible for me to collect every single piece of literature. Thereafter, I specialized in bibliography, indexes and other guides to the literature but not the monographs and handbooks as by then I had given up collecting stamps.
By this time, I was busy working in a metal heat treatment company some 180 miles away from the only two major libraries in London (National Philatelic Society and Royal Philatelic Society London), I nevertheless joined both societies and visited them whenever I could.
I bought bulk lots of literature and donated the unwanted items by the boxload to the National Philatelic Society. Eventually this became untenable as the librarian required that I send a list so that he could pick and choose what he wanted. This multiple handling was simply too much work and I moved my donations to the Royal Philatelic Society London, which had no such strictures. (I can’t help but observe that the APRL has just introduced this rule – it obviously doesn’t want any donations from me.) Whenever I was in London I used to help out in the library as much as I could to the extent that in the mid-1990s I was co-opted onto the Library Committee. So, for the next 25 years I helped out at the library during the two or three weeks a year I could make it to the library. This only ended in 2018 when I moved permanently to France.
Fortunately, having built up a good working relationship with each new librarian and the head of the archives, I was allowed to take work home to complete there. In this way I transcribed the Sir Edward Denny Bacon and the Anthony Buck Creeke Jr. indexes as well as the correspondence for the archives.
To learn more about Vooys Fellowship and the APRL's missions, contact Scott English at [email protected] or by phone at (814) 933-3803 (ext. 219).
