Save the Date for ChicagoPEX November 19-21, 2021

The Germany Philatelic Society, the preeminent philatelic organization for Germany and German area collectors in North America, is pleased to hold our 2021 National Meeting at Chicagopex under the auspices of the Chicago Philatelic Society. We look forward to a great event with many German exhibits, seminars, and programs and the opportunity for philatelic fellowship with our fellow collectors. We will host a hospitality suite in the evenings and are planning on a dinner on Friday night. There will be a general membership meeting as well, where you will be able to meet the current leadership. We encourage all those interested in German philately to join us in Chicago this year. See the Chicagopex website, https://www.chicagopex.org/chicagopexcurrent.html, for more information, including information on exhibiting. We are also looking for members who would be interested in giving a talk or seminar at the show about their interests in German philately. Contact GPS Conventions Chair Ken Gilbert, at the GPS Contact Us Page if you are interested.

WELCOME MESSAGE FROM CHICAGOPEX CHAIRMAN

Greetings everyone!  As show chairman I’d like to welcome the Germany Philatelic Society and its many members to Chicagopex 2021.  It’s an honor to host you at this year’s show.  So please come and join us for three days of stamp fun and a really great time.  We are looking forward to having you with us this year. 

Sincerely,
Jerry Nylander
Show Chairman Chicagopex

Announcement: Auction House Ads to Appear on Webpage and in E-Mail Blasts

by Ken Gilbert, President, Germany Philatelic Society

The Board of Directors of the Germany Philatelic Society has decided to allow appropriate paid ads on our webpage and to allow the use of email blasts for significant auctions of interest to German collectors. We also are allowing some advertisers to use our printer/mailer to send out appropriate auction ads. These ads are and will be similar to the ads run in our journal to support the Society’s financial needs, as the Specialist runs at a considerable deficit, and to promote German collecting.

This will be done in a manner to completely protect the privacy of our members. NO mailing list will be given to any outside person or company. NO email addresses will be given out. This will be run through our printer and webmaster, just as the distribution of the Specialist is currently done. We will never sell your personal data. The first such ad will be for the collections of long tome member and part president of the Society, Bud Hennig, and will follow immediately upon posting of this President’s Note.

Ken

Zeppelin & Airship Catalog

The American Airmail Society and a team of zeppelin post experts will debut a new, free, illustrated, online Zeppelin & Airship Catalog during Boston 2026 World Expo. The new catalog will launch on September 1, 2026, on the AAMS website, www.americanairmailsociety.org, and will also be directly accessible at www.zeppelincatalog.org. The catalog will feature six categories: Pioneer Zeppelins, WWI Zeppelins & Airships, Reparation Zeppelins, LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin, LZ 129 Hindenburg, and LZ 130 Graf Zeppelin. The 3:00 p.m. May 29th debut at then convention center will demonstrate the catalog’s organization, high resolution imaging, comprehensive search features, and incorporation of key historical information. Jim Hill is leading the expert zeppelin team, which includes Cheryl Ganz, Sam Melamed, and Fred Reynolds. Charlie Giorgetti at AAMS is the lead on web design, whose objective is an easy-to-use, accessible catalog that allows users to expand their knowledge in this popular collecting area.

Contact: Cheryl Ganz cherylganz@yahoo.com.

Germany Philatelic Society Annual Meeting 2027: Cleveland, OH

The Board of Directors of the German Philatelic Society has decided to hold the 2027 General Meeting of the Germany Philatelic Society at the Garfield-Perry stamp show in suburban Cleveland. It will also host our 2027 exhibiting competition. This location is close to the airport and is in a hotel that will allow us to host a hospitality room. We’ll also be pretty close to a very nice German restaurant. Details to follow after the Boston show. We will still have a presence at GASS in Albuquerque for our members in the Southwest, but not a General Meeting.

President’s Message March/April 2026

Welcome to Boston 2026 and the 14th German American Salon! I have been really looking forward to this show, as this will be my first international show in the US since Interphil 76 in my home town of Philadelphia. For the second time running, the German-American Salon will take place at a full international show, the last being at IBRA 23. The first German-American Salon took place in Friedrichshafen, Germany, in 1990, and has been repeated every 2-4 years, alternating between the US and Germany. The last one in the US was in St. Louis in 2019.

This year, the Salon will take place from Tuesday, May 26th, through Friday, May 29th. A tentative schedule appears elsewhere in this journal. We’ll start with a reception Tuesday evening, at Alma Gaucha Prime Brazilian Steakhouse, across from the Convention Center. Registration is required for this event.

Wednesday morning, May 27, as is traditional for the Salon, we’ll have an excursion, a bus tour of Boston. Cost is $40, and registration is required.

There will be number of interesting talks and seminars. Some of the topics include KgU Propaganda Forgeries of the DDR by Oliver Wyrtki, The Complete Story of the 1934-1939 Deutsche Lufthansa Route between Germany and South America by Gary Loew, Allied Occupation of German East Africa 1914-1920 by Regis Hoffman, and Soccer Made in Germany: Germany and the World Cup by Ken Gilbert. There will be a General Meeting of the Society (on Thursday, May 28th), and the Third Reich Study Group and German Colonies Collectors Group will also hold meetings. One of the highlights will be a talk by Jan Berg, noted Samoa expert.

Exhibiting has always been a part of the Salon. In the past few years, we’ve settled on an interesting format: “Klein aber Fein” (“small but quality”), where smaller exhibits (mostly one or two frames) were shown. They haven’t been solely German exhibits. In fact, we’ve also had some topical and display exhibits as well as a number of US and Canadian ones. While the exhibits are non-competitive, exhibitors will be given show medals, one per exhibitor. We’ll have a tour of the exhibits on Friday morning, May 29, with an awards celebration afterward (registration required), to conclude the Salon.

The dealer bourse also promises some excellent opportunities to obtain that missing piece for your collection, and a number of postal agencies will also be making an appearance. The Germany Philatelic Society will also have a table at the show, shared with the Third Reich Study Group and German Colonies Collectors Group. Please stop by and say hello. We look forward to seeing as many members as possible.

Please keep your eyes on our webpage, www.germanyphilatelicsocietyusa.org, where we will post any updates and schedule changes after this issue is printed and mailed. The current tentative schedule as well as the salon registration form has been posted to our Conventions page on our website.

Thanks are given to Günther Korn, who has helped organize previous Salons, for his book Die IBRA 2023: Ein Rückblick (IBRA 2023: A Look Back) from which some of the history of the Salon was obtained.

Salon Updates: April 2026

This post is an update for the Salon. First, there is a Reservation Form for the Salon events. You must fill this out and send it in, so that we can get a good count. There are four events that require registration:

Tuesday May 26, 2026, 5:00 pm. Welcome Reception for the 14th German American Salon. Alma Gaucha Prime Brazilian Steakhouse. Food provided (across from Convention Center)

Wednesday, May 27, 2026, 9 am. City Tour of Boston
Planned departure from Convention Center (registration required) $40.

Friday, May 29, 2026, 10 am. Joint viewing of the exhibits in the 14th GermanAmerican Salon and tour of the exhibition. At the frames—Europe Pavilion.

Friday, May 29, 2026, 11 am. Salon Award Reception (with medals and certificates). Europe Pavilion Stage (registration required—refreshments provided).

The tentative Salon schedule may be found here.

Note that this registration does NOT register you for the main show. Just the salon. ALL other events and registrations must be done on the main Boston site.