Kupiec-Weglinski, de Vries, Kaufmann receive 2023 APS Luff awards

By Linn’s Staff

The American Philatelic Society has announced the 2023 recipients of the society’s Luff awards. Jerzy W. Kupiec-Weglinski is being honored with the Luff award for distinguished philatelic research, Lloyd A. de Vries is being recognized with the Luff award for exceptional contributions to philately, and Patricia A. “Trish” Kaufmann is to receive the Luff award for outstanding service to the APS.

Kupiec-Weglinski’s focus as a collector, researcher and exhibitor is the postal history of airmail services in his native Poland.

His exhibit Airmail in the Polish Territories (1914-1939) received an international large gold medal at three International Federation of Philately exhibitions: World Stamp Show-New York 2016, Bangkok 2018 and London 2022. The exhibit was featured in the championship class at the Ibra 2023 exhibition in Essen, Germany.

At national shows in the United States, Kupiec-Weglinski’s exhibits have won several gold, large gold and grand awards. He has participated in the APS Champion of Champions competition four times: 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2015.

Kupiec-Weglinski has published more than 100 philatelic articles, most of which are based on original research.

Among his many literary awards are the 2012 Barbara R. Mueller award for the best article published in the American Philatelist, and the 2011 and 2012 Walter R. McCoy awards for the best article published in the Congress Book of the American Philatelic Congress.

He has also published works in the London Philatelist, Collectors Club Philatelist and Philatelic Literature Review.

Kupiec-Weglinski’s magnum opus, The History of Airmail in Poland and Its Contribution to Airmail Services of Europe (1914-1939), which came to fruition after decades of research, was published in 2021 by the Collectors Club of Chicago.

This volume is considered the key reference work in its field and has received many awards, including the 2021 Diane D. Boehret award of the American Philatelic Congress for the best philatelic publication.

Kupiec-Weglinski is a fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society London and a member of the APS since 2004. He is also a member of the American Air Mail Society, Collectors Club of Chicago, Collectors Club (in New York City) and Polonus Philatelic Society.

De Vries has written a monthly column about first-day covers for Linn’s Stamp News since 1997.

For two decades, de Vries produced a weekly radio feature about stamp collecting for CBS News. Since 1993, he has operated online stamp collecting forums that collectively became the Virtual Stamp Club.

Since 2010, de Vries has been president of the American First Day Cover Society while also serving in various other posts. He is the president of the APS Writers Unit 30 and a member of many other stamp societies, including the APS, which he joined in 1982.

From 1997 to 2005, de Vries served on the APS board, first as a director-at-large and then as secretary. In 2009, he received the Nicholas G. Carter national volunteer recognition award.

The AFDCS presented its distinguished service award to de Vries in 2008, and in 2022 he was named one of Linn’s 76 most influential philatelists.

De Vries has produced his Dragon Cards line of cacheted FDCs since 1983.

Kaufmann, a full-time professional philatelist since 1973, was introduced to Confederate States postal history in 1965 and quickly became engrossed in exhibiting, researching and writing on the subject. She is best known as one of the leading experts on the stamps and postal history of the Confederate States.

She was chair of the APS board of vice presidents from 2016-22 and was the first woman to serve on the board of the American Philatelic Research Library (1983-89).

From 2010 to 2013, Kaufmann served on the council of philatelists of the Smithsonian National Postal Museum. She has been on the board of the Philatelic Foundation since 2021.

Kaufmann has contributed to the Civil War Philatelic Society in almost every role: writing and editing extensively for the society’s journal (the Civil War Philatelist) and books, organizing its conventions, and leading its efforts in 2020 to rebrand from the Confederate Stamp Alliance by broadening the society’s scope and relevance, and attracting new members. She edited the Civil War Philatelist for a record 17½ years from 1970 to 1987.

She was editor-in-chief of the award-winning Confederate States of America Catalog and Handbook of Stamps and Postal History, published in 2012, which won the literature grand award at the 2013 APS Stampshow.

In 2019, she was named a distinguished philatelist by the U.S. Philatelic Classics Society.

On Jan. 11 of this year, the Collectors Club awarded Kaufmann its Alfred F. Lichtenstein memorial award for distinguished service to philately.

On May 26, Kaufmann and four other renowned philatelists (Pradip Jain of India, Damian Lage of Switzerland, Jesus Sitja Prats of Spain and Turhan Turgut of Turkey) added their names to the prestigious Roll of Distinguished Philatelists, considered one of the hobby’s most significant honors. She is also a fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society London.

Kaufmann, one of Linn’s most influential philatelists, was inducted into the APS Writers’ Unit 30 hall of fame in 2018.

She continues to research and write extensively. Her articles appear regularly in the American Philatelist, American Stamp Collector & Dealer, La Posta, Kelleher’s Stamp Collector’s Quarterly and Civil War Philatelist, among others.

The Luff award was established in memory of John N. Luff, APS president from 1907 to 1909, who was considered the most prominent American philatelist of his era.

Recipients sign the Luff award scroll and are presented with engraved rings. The 2023 Luff award winners will join a distinguished group of 154 prominent philatelists. The Luff award is the most prestigious recognition presented by the APS to a living philatelist.

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