US Stamps

How the Christmas Seal and Charity Stamp Society celebrated its 15th anniversary

Jan 17, 2017, 12 PM

A cinderella on a cinderella, this private souvenir sheet honoring the founder of the Red Cross was overprinted for the 15th anniversary (in 1963) of the Christmas Seal and Charity Stamp Society.

By John M. Hotchner

Founded in 1948, the Christmas Seal and Charity Stamp Society continues to prosper today, publishing an excellent quarterly all-color journal, in addition to Green’s Catalog of the Tuberculosis Seals of the World, for its more than 200 members.

The club celebrated its 15th anniversary in 1963 by overprinting a Red Cross centennial souvenir sheet honoring Henri Dunant (1828-1910), founder of the International Red Cross movement and first recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

The sheet itself is a cinderella, privately produced.

The sheet has no country name, but the stamplike label in the center is inscribed “San Abt.5.1911.”

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The overprint for the Christmas Seal and Charity Stamp Society anniversary was arranged by the Emily P. Bissell Chapter, based in Joplin, Mo. It is dated March 8, 1963.

The society is coming up on its 70th anniversary in 2018. I wonder how it will celebrate that milestone?

Membership is $20 per year. More information about the club can be found on its website, or obtained by writing to Secretary-Treasurer Lou Caprario, 91 Fairview Ave., West Orange, NJ 07052.