ASDA celebrates 100th year at Oct. 23-26 show

Ushering in its 65th anniversary National Postage Stamp Show, the American Stamp Dealers Association will unveil a new era in its fall New York event with an array of firsts.

The show is scheduled for Oct. 23-26 at the New York Hilton Hotel at 1335 Avenue of the Americas. Admission is free.

For the first time in more than 20 years, the show moves to midtown Manhattan in the ballroom of one of the city’s best known hotels.

Show hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

The bourse will feature more than 50 booths of dealers from the United States and other countries.

The event celebrates the 100th anniversary of the ASDA.

A special edition of the organization’s The American Stamp Dealer & Collector magazine will be distributed free and will feature the 16-page show program inside.

“Our chief goal in producing this historic edition of our annual fall show is to not only celebrate an important anniversary in our hobby, but to show off the excitement and vigorous health of our hobby,” said Mark Reasoner, president of the ASDA. “We are especially proud to introduce a unique kind of competitive international philatelic exhibition which, we trust, will set a serious precedent for the future.”

The U.S. Postal Service will issue four Winter Fun forever stamps and a Silver Bells forever stamp at the show with an 11 a.m. first-day ceremony Thursday, Oct. 23.

The United Nations Postal Administration and the Grenada Postal Corp. will issue souvenir sheets in honor of the ASDA anniversary.

The U.N. first-day ceremony is set for 1:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 23, and the Grenada event is scheduled for 1:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 24.

The show will host an international philatelic exhibition consisting of 234 frames of national and international gold medal exhibits that will test their competitive potential in preparation for World Stamp Show-NY 2016 to be held in New York City.

Exhibits co-chairmen Colin Fraser and Stanley Piller have gathered a high-level group of 37 exhibits that should appeal to a cross-section of showgoers.

The awards for this competition are specially mounted U.S. gold coins minted in 1914, the year the ASDA was founded.

The awards dinner will be held Saturday evening at the Scaletto Ristorante at 50 W. 77th St. Tickets for the dinner will be available at the ASDA booth on the show floor.

The Daniel F. Kelleher firm, official auctioneer of the show, will conduct three major auctions, taking place on all four days of the show. Pre-auction viewing of lots will take place at the firm’s booth.

For additional information on the auction, see the story on page 1 of this issue.

Philatelic societies will have booths at the show, including the American Philatelic Society, the Ebony Society of Philatelic Events and Reflections, the Machine Cancel Society, and the Postmark Collectors Club.

The show will include an area for young collectors, and “My Stamp Album” will be given to all young people who participate.

The ASDA will offer a souvenir card designed by Jim Roselle, a graphic artist and president of Colorano Silk Cachets. This souvenir card follows a show souvenir tradition set in 1949 when the National Postage Stamp Show was founded.

Mint souvenir cards will be available at the ASDA booth for $5 each. Cards bearing a block of four of the U.S. Winter Fun stamps postmarked with the show cancel will sell for $7.50 each.

Additional details are available from the ASDA by e-mail at info@americanstampdealer.com or at the association’s website www.AmericanStampDealer.com.