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Reposted by History of Ornithology

History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

1/2) This 1933 postcard was sent to Waldo Lee McAtee (1883-1962) in his capacity as Treasurer of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU), a post he held for 18 years (1920-38). He had joined the Union in 1903, the same year he joined the Bureau of Biological Survey. #ornithology #philately

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

In my last article (see quoted post below) I featured a cover addressed to Willis Woodford Worthington. Here's another from the natural history dealer Charles Keller Reed. Enclosed in the beautifully illustrated envelope is a letter with an equally attractive letterhead. #ornithology #philately

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

In Jan 1884, Frank B. Webster of Pawtucket, R.I., took ownership of The Ornithologist and Oologist (O&O). This Jan 1885 postal card, signed by its editor Eaton Cliff, acknowledges $4.80 received for a bundled, discounted subscription to the O&O and Forest and Stream. #philately

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

My History of #Ornithology articles have moved and are now a part of my Substack: History in the Mail. A lack of interest no longer made it worthwhile putting so much time and effort into a dedicated site. My latest article is now here... stampden.substack.com/p/a-tale-of-two-oologists

stampden.substack.com

A Tale of Two Oologists

The Story of Two Amateur Oologists, George Washington Morse and Dr. Marsden Treutlen Cleckley

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

While postal slogans promoting local events became commonplace in Australia, often sought by organisers as a form of publicity, the 1938 Hobart Regatta Centenary slogan was never what its organisers had wanted. I explore that story here… stampden.substack.com/p/they-wante...

stampden.substack.com

Hobart Regatta Centenary 1938: The Stamp Tasmania Never Got

In 1938, Tasmania campaigned for a commemorative stamp for the Hobart Regatta Centenary. Discover the politics, history and postal slogan that marked the occasion.

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Used from 1957 to 1961, the Australian postal slogan SPONSOR A BRITISH MIGRANT belonged to an era of change in which British immigration was being actively promoted as the foundations of a more diverse migration policy were being laid. #philately tinyurl.com/2rxz653x

tinyurl.com

A Very British Australia

British Migration, National Identity, and the Changing Face of Australia

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

This Tuesday is Census Day 2026 in Australia, so here is a special double-barrelled Census edition of Slogan Shorts. In this history we highlight the only two Census campaigns promoted through Australian slogan cancellations: 1966 and 1976. tinyurl.com/aa8b8fm7 #philately

tinyurl.com

Every Person Counts

This Tuesday is Census Day 2026 in Australia, so here is a special double-barrelled Census Day edition of Slogan Shorts. In this history we highlight the only two Census campaigns promoted through Aus...

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Sebphilatelie @sebphilatelie.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Merci aux organisateurs d'ORAPEX de juger mon résumé pertinent, & aux orateurs de Stockholmia 2019 pour l'inspirante présentation sur la philatélie sociale. #philatélie #histoirepostale ORAPEX 2027 aura lieu les 1er et 2 mai à Ottawa, capitale du Canada. sebphilatelie.blogspot.com/2019/11/stoc...

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

The theme for ORAPEX 2027 is “Social Philately”, and I’m honoured to have my work listed among the recommended resources. A wonderful recognition of a growing area of philately that explores the stories, people, and communities behind the stamps and postal history. #philately

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

I once lived in the very vicarage to which this 1875 mourning cover was addressed. More than a 150 years later, that chance connection inspired an investigation that combined genealogy, social history, and postal history. tinyurl.com/2w2y4ep8 #philately

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

I've just released a new History of #Ornithology article on my Substack, about a cover from William Chapman Hewitson, author of British Oology, to his good friend, the renowned ornithologist and taxidermist John Hancock. It's all about Oology! tinyurl.com/3ztbvmhb #philately

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

For two weeks in July 1948, Australian mail carried a humanitarian message: GIVE A DAY UNITED NATIONS APPEAL FOR CHILDREN. This postal slogan promoted UNICEF’s first global fundraising campaign to help children impacted by WWII. Full story here... tinyurl.com/48bx7md2 #philately

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

I'm going to add another post to the many already on Bluesky lamenting the passing of Bill Oddie. Like many, I grew up watching The Goodies while reading his wonderful birding books, over and over again! RIP 🦤 share.google/IUctRLRTFvel...

share.google

Bill Oddie, naturalist and broadcaster, dies aged 85

Coming to fame in The Goodies, Oddie was later known for his wildlife expertise and presented BBC Springwatch

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Over on my Substack, I've released the second short history in my new series Slogan Shorts, in which I explore the social histories behind Australia's slogan cancels. #philately open.substack.com/pub/stampden...

open.substack.com

Victory Cancelled

How a postal slogan crossed enemy lines and met German resistance

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Reposted by History of Ornithology

Wilson Ornithological Society @wilsonornithsoc.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

📣 We are hiring a new Communications Specialist! This is a remote, flexible independent contractor role. We're seeking candidates with experience in science communication and familiarity with WordPress, social media tools, etc. Please share widely!

wilsonsociety.org

Job Opening: Communications Specialist (Contract)

Are you a science communicator interested in a flexible, remote, part-time role with an ornithological society? Read on!

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

1/3) This c.1949, philatelically-inspired cover from Niamey, Niger, addressed to Miss. Serle at 64 Strathearn Rd, Edinburgh, was likely sent by the Scottish doctor and ornithologist William Serle, who was listed at this address in 1950s editions of IBIS and the BOC Bulletin. #ornithology #philately

Philatelically-inspired airmail cover to Miss. Serle, 64 Strathearn Rd, Edinburgh, Scotland (Écosse); bearing stamps from the Afrique Occidentale Française (French West Africa) 1947 definitive series for a total of 50 French Francs; tied by Niamey R.P. / Niger circular date stamps, c.1949.

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

What can three old envelopes reveal? More than expected! Behind these covers lies a story of family, migration, ambition, and a woman who continually reinvented herself. Available at: tinyurl.com/dn2p6dw8 #philately

tinyurl.com

Three Covers: The Story of Lottie, Ingfrid, and the Prima Donna

How three envelopes revealed a story of migration, ambition, reinvention, and forgotten connections

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

1/3) The Cooper Ornithological Club (COC) was founded 133 years ago today, on 22 June 1893. One week later, this postal card was sent to William Otto Emerson (1856-1940), a founding member of the club, and of its forerunner, the California Ornithological Club. #ornithology #philately

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

1/3) #Ornithology and #philately collide with Danish ornithologist Peter Skovgaard. In 1920 he founded Dansk Ornithologisk Central (DOC) and the journal Danske Fugle, launching a bird-ringing scheme that eventually marked over 256,000 birds. He sent this 1943 DOC cover to his nephew Roland.

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

1/3) In 1852, a fifteen-year-old boy left Cornwall carrying a newly issued midshipman's ticket. His first voyage took place on the pioneering first official mail service between Britain and Australia by steamship. #philately #history #Australia

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

(1/3) It's May 10, so here's a 10 May 1905 cover sent by the natural history dealer Frank Haak Lattin to William H. Fisher at 1318 Bolton Street, Baltimore, Maryland. This was the stockbroker William Harmanus Fisher Sr., a pioneer Maryland ornithologist and bird photographer. #ornithology #philately

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

My essay this month looks at covers as traces of human thought. A 1938 Hong Kong cover forms a case study onto past lives. open.substack.com/pub/stampden... #philately #history

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

(1/3) This 3c postal stationery cover, postmarked Washington D.C., 21 May 1863, is addressed to Addison Emery Verrill at Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ). A Smithsonian Institution handstamp at top left marks it as a trace of MCZ efforts to build its collection. #ornithology #philately

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

(1/2) A 6 Dec 1926 cover from the Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union to Bradshaw Hall Swales (1875-1928), Honorary Assistant Curator of Birds at the U.S. National Museum. Swales became Honorary Custodian of birds’ eggs in 1918, advancing to his curatorial role in 1921. #ornithology #philately

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

In Nov 1883, Charles Aiken of Aiken's Free Museum in Colorado Springs, needed a taxidermist. In this podcast we explore his recruitment methods, the intersection between commerce & science, and how Aiken became a pioneer of #ornithology in Colorado. open.substack.com/pub/stampden... #philately

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

This article was based on my recent Display at Virtual Stampex 2026, which was just voted as joint Best Display. My humble thanks to everyone who voted! #philately

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

(1/3) In Dec 1926, this postcard travelled from Boston to the natural history dealers Angel & Cash in Providence, Rhode Island, signed by (or on behalf of) Edward Howe Forbush (1858-1929), Director of the Division of Ornithology at the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture. #ornithology #philately

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Reposted by History of Ornithology

𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚖𝚙𝙻𝚊𝚋 @stamplab.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

Philadelphia, 1848. I can hear the courier asking the sender what the closest cross street is, and then asking around for Rev. Williams. Goes to the a point in the Substack essay by @stampden.bsky.social about context and postal history. Philadelphia population in 1848 being 120,000 residents

D.O. Blood & Co., Type 6 Handstamp on Stampless 1848 Cover.

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

Another philatelic article is now available on my Substack. Inbetween my monthly written articles, I release social #philately podcasts. open.substack.com/pub/stampden...

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

(1/3) June 1897 cover sent to J. Parker Lewis, 723 Walnut St, Philadelphia, from natural history dealer Prof. Carl Braun of Bangor, Maine. The manuscript note on the front: “Re – Pine Grosbeaks" points to a very specific collecting transaction. #ornithology #philately

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

It's the 8 March, so let's celebrate this cover, sent 201 years ago today, to Rev. Bulwer, who discovered the petrel that still bears his name. #ornithology #philately

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

In case you weren't aware, my latest Substack article, From Description to Explanation: Why Social #Philately Matters, is now available. Link below.... open.substack.com/pub/stampden...

open.substack.com

From Description to Explanation: Why Social Philately Matters

March 2026

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

(1/3) Shown here: an 1884 Notice of Removal postal card bearing a handstamp for the "Bulletin of the Cooper Ornithological Club." The manuscript date “8/30/99” appears beside it. Not postally used, the card was likely used to test a new handstamp. #ornithology #philately

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

(1/3) When Frank Chapman published Color Key to North American Birds (1903), he insisted a bird be “in hand” to be identified. Field observations by amateurs carried little scientific weight; authority still rested with the gun and the specimen drawer. #ornithology #philately

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 14/02/2026

Kotokunuma (古徳沼) in Naka City, Ibaraki, Japan, is one of the leading wintering site for migratory swans (mainly Whooper Swans) in the Kanto region. The pictured signboard shows the annual count since S41 (Showa 41 = 1966). The numbers since H29 (2017) have been steadily increasing. #ornithology

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

(1/3) Registered cover dated 13 February 1922, sent from Papeete, Tahiti, to Robert Cushman Murphy at the American Museum of Natural History, New York. The envelope bears no sender’s name but is clearly connected to the Whitney South Sea Expedition. #ornithology #philately

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

(1/3) In 1921, the Director of the Colorado Museum of Natural History offered ornithologist Alfred Marshall Bailey (1894–1978), the U.S. Bureau of Biological Survey's first representative in Alaska, a job collecting birds and mammals for the museum north of the Arctic Circle. #ornithology #philately

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

(1/3) Another cover from Frank Blake Webster (see quoted thread), publisher of The Ornithologist and Oölogist. Here he has animated a plain envelope with six different handstamps applied front and back, then sealed it with a paper fox silhouette pasted over the rear flap. #philately #ornithology

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

A pleasant day at the Kasai Seaside Park Bird Sanctuary, Japan.

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

(1/2) In 1890, ornithological publisher, taxidermist, and natural history dealer Frank Blake Webster built a new Museum and Naturalists’ Supply Depot at Hyde Park, Massachusetts, 7 miles from Boston, after the firm’s existing Boston premises proved too small to accommodate its growth. #ornithology

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

(1/3) This March 1928 cover from mammalogist and field naturalist John Alden Loring (1871–1947) of Owego, New York, was sent to Thomas Calderwood Stephens (1876–1948), chair of biology at Morningside College, Sioux City (1906–46), and editor of The Wilson Bulletin. #ornithology #philately

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

(1/3) This Cooper Ornithological Club (COC) cover, postmarked Stanford University, 28 Sep 1904, was sent to Donald Wilby in Toronto, where it was redirected to a post office box in Edmonton, Alberta. The sender was COC Secretary Charles Sidney Thompson (1881–1960). #ornithology

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

(1/3) On 30 Dec 1910, Harry Burns McConnell (1867-1956) of Cadiz, Ohio, posted this reply card to vote for the 1911 officers of the Wilson Ornithological Club. A newspaperman, he worked for the "Cadiz Republican" from 1885 before becoming the owner in 1912. #ornithology

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 27/12/2025

(1/3) On 27 Dec 1910, Prof. Charles William Gustave Eifrig (1871-1949) received this reply card from Dr. Henry Harlow Skinner of Yakima, Washington, casting his vote in the election of the Wilson Ornithological Club’s 1911 officers. Eifrig was the appointed judge of the election. #ornithology

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History of Ornithology @stampden.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

Merry Christmas 🎁 (1/3) Today, a 19 Nov 1934 cover sent from Tahiti by ornithologist James Paul Chapin during the Templeton Crocker Pacific Expedition. It bears two 75c Établissements de l’Océanie stamps, paying the 1f50 foreign letter rate, and Chapin’s trademark hand-drawn birds. #ornithology

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