Organization Focuses on Seals

Question: Is there a society for collectors of Christmas seals? I’ve been saving these since World War II and would like to know more about them.--T.M.N.

Answer: The Christmas Seal and Charity Stamp Society, a nonprofit collector organization, was started in 1931 and has members across the United States and in more than a dozen foreign countries. For only $5 a year, you get a subscription to its bulletin (published 10 times annually), and you have membership access to the sales department and exchange service.

This society publishes various seal literature and sells, for example, the authoritative Green’s “Tuberculosis Seals of the World” catalogue for $30, and the latest edition of Mosbaugh’s “Red Cross Seals of the World” for $20. I might add that collecting Christmas seals is a popular sideline for some philatelists, and many old and rare seals sell for a fraction of what an equally scarce postage stamp might retail for.

For information about the Seal Society, send a stamped self-addressed envelope to Henry Irwin, 5825 Dorchester Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60637.

Q: While rummaging through an old trunk upstairs, I came across a bundle of old letters from my late father’s business associates. The postmarks date between 1920 and 1932. The adhesive stamps on them include a variety of issues, including higher values, such as 20 cents and 30 cents. Where can I have this material appraised?--S.C.

A: At any stamp shop, found in the telephone Yellow Pages under the heading “Stamps for Collectors.” From your description, I would say your covers are probably commercial mail of no great value, but it depends on the postmarks and the particular stamps used.

The 1920s were a booming time of relative economic prosperity before the Great Depression, and mail from that time period is not scarce, unless it has rare stamps attached.