Jefferson's capitol building in Richmond; once the
capital
of the Confederate States of America.
Who are these
fellas?
See the new historical photos of Confederate Stamp Alliance
luminaries on our CSA History Page.
About Confederate Philately Much
of the history of that short-lived
political experiment, the Confederate
States of America, was
reflected in its stamps, covers, and
other postal mementos. The bitter Civil
War spanned the entire life of the
Confederacy -- the four years from 1861
to 1865 -- and the marks and record of
that great struggle are nowhere found
more clearly than in the postal history
of the "Lost Cause." All collectors of
Confederate stamps come to realize this
very early in their pursuit, and this
fact has much to do with the fascination
that the Confederate collector
invariably experiences. There
are hundreds of varieties of
stampless,
Handstamp
Paid and Manuscript covers
as well as Provisional adhesive stamps
and envelopes used before the
Confederate government could issue
regular stamps. There are 17 major
varieties of regular issue Confederate
States stamps -- also minor varieties
and endless shades. There
are Prisoner-of-War and Flag-of-Truce
covers, Express Company markings,
Blockade-Run covers to
and from
Europe, College covers, Official
and Semi-Official envelopes, Packet and
Steamboat covers, Patriotic covers with
their war mottos, covers showing use of
United States stamps in the
Confederacy, and many interesting
letters. Nowhere
else in philately can one find such
strange usages, makeshifts and evidences
of desperate
shortages.
There are envelopes made of wallpaper,
envelopes used twice over, and
United States stamped envelopes
seized and overprinted for the use of
the Confederacy. Today
Confederate items are over 135 years old.
Some are scarce and hard to find, but
many are within reach of all. More
has been written about Confederate
stamps and covers --
and still is being written -- than
nearly any other specialized field.
Special Alert!
Four covers missing out of registered mail in transit through the
southern states during the summer of 2005.
Please review the photos of the covers
and their descriptions on the linked page. If you see any of
these covers or are offered them for sale, please immediately
contact Trish Kaufmann at trishkauf@comcast.net or 302-422-2656
New PDF Files From The
Confederate Philatelist available. We
are pleased to offer printable Adobe Acrobat PDF files of four
articles which originally appeared in The Confederate
Philatelist. Go to the CP Archives
page.
The History of the
Confederate Stamp Alliance. Click here to read about the
colorful history of our organization.
Announcing a new CSA
publication
Ready for Shipment NOW!
Special Mail Routes of the
American Civil War:
A Guide to Across-the-Lines
Postal History by Steven
C. Walske and Scott R. Trepel
Click Here for details on how to order this book.
Dr.
Hubert C. Skinner
We are
greatly saddened to report the passing of Hubert
Skinner on February 26th in New Orleans, La. We are
preparing a special biography of this great
Confederate collector, writer and editor and will
have it on our In Memoriam page soon.
Billy Matz passes away...
Please
see our special In Memoriam page
for details.
Introducing... We are now
updating our Confederate Philatelist archives
page which, in the future, will feature one or more
articles from each forthcoming issue of the CP.
However, to inaugurate this new feature, we have put
the entire 3rd Quarter 2008 (July-Sept) issue of our
journal into our site archives.
Feel
free to download it.
The
CSA Annual Convention
at the renowned FLOREX show in December.
December 4, 5 and 6, 2009 in Orlando, Florida
We can't think
of a more attractive locale and time of year for our
major meeting of the year. This World Series of
Philately exhibition
will be held in the Main Building of the Central
Florida Fairgrounds.
Watch for more details soon available, including
information on
the hotel and Southern Supper. Meanwhile, click to find
out more about
the show.
See the ad flyer for the show.
The NEW Confederate States of
America Catalog and Handbook
is
due to be published and released in 2010 in
conjunction with our 75th
Anniversary.
Find out more!
See Trish Kaufmann's
Report on the
CSA Annual Convention in Charlotte, N.C.
held on July 25-27, 2008 at CHARPEX
William A. Fox 1929-2008 A special
tribute to one of our legendary dealers and auctioneers
New In Memoriam Page
We now have a special memorial
page devoted to members of the CSA who have recently passed
away.
Join the
Confederate Stamp Alliance...
The
CONFEDERATE STAMP ALLIANCE is a non-sectional, non-political
organization for fraternity, research and cooperation among a choice
group of hundreds of collectors of Confederate stamps, covers, and
postal history. Its members' interests
cover all possible phases of the stamps and postal history of the
War Between the States, both North and South.
The
ALLIANCE'S official publication, THE CONFEDERATE PHILATELIST,
is published quarterly and sent to all members. It
contains original articles on Confederate philately as well as
news of the ALLIANCE and its members.
One
of the important services available to members of the CONFEDERATE
STAMP ALLIANCE is its Authentication
Committee. This panel of experts will issue a formal
written opinion on any item submitted by a member for a nominal
fee.
Each
year the CONFEDERATE STAMP ALLIANCE holds its
Annual Convention and Exhibition,
usually in conjunction with a national or regional show. Anyone
who is a student of the War for Southern Independence or who
collects or is interested in starting a collection of Confederate
or Civil War material in any form will find that membership in
Confederate philately's national society provides distinct
advantages.
Become A Member. Please
accept our cordial invitation to join the CONFEDERATE STAMP
ALLIANCE and participate in the many varied activities
in this
fascinating philatelic field. All are welcome.
If you are
interested in becoming a member of the CONFEDERATE
STAMP ALLIANCE, just access the Membership Application
Form below and print it out. The directions for filling out the
form and mailing it are self-explanatory. Use the back button to
return to this page. 19 JUN 2004 -- Current Membership
Stands at 643.
The Confederate
Stamp Primer OnlineThe Confederate Stamp Primer
Online by Patricia A. Kaufmann is a basic guide for those who
don't have access to classic philatelic literature on the
subject or for those who do, but would like a quick online
reference. You may view just the section in which you are
interested or read it systematically from one page to the next.
This primer deals only with stamps and not the vast area of
postal history covered by The Rebel Post. A section
called "Trouble Spots" is being added one treatise at a time to
cover such common problems as identifying #11 from #12, London
print from Local print, altered plate reprints and more.
