Evening star., 1933-01-29
BY JAMES WALDO FAWCETT.

DI JAMES WALDO fAWSEl1.
The Washington Stamp Club of the
Air is the latest development of philately
in the Capital. 1t will be inaugurated
over Station VOL this afternoon at
LIS O'Clock, and Albert F. KunZe, pres
ident of the Washington Philatelic So
ciety. will be the leader.
The club has evolved from series of
81 lectures en- The Romance of
Stamps" given by Mr.. Kunze since jan
uary, 1881. 1t is Endorsed by stamp
club advisers of the public schools, the
District of Columbia Congress of Parents
and Teachers, the Washington branch
of the Boy Scouts of America and the
philatelic secretary Of the Smithsonian
Institution.
Mr.. Kunze Is an attorney who has
been collecting stamps, studying stamps,
and writing and lecturing about stamps
for many years. A native of New Jer-
sey. he had the advantage of long
residence in Europe when a boy Re-
turning to America, he attended the
University Of Chicago and Northwestern
University, graduating from the latter
In 1914 with the degree of LII. B.
He practiced law in Illinois until the
United States entered the World War
when he enlisted in the Infantry and
was assigned to duty on the Mexican
border At that post he had occasional
opportunity to study the stamps of Mex
leo and the story of the early transmits
SIGN OF mail in the Southwestern States.
After the armistice he was trans
ferred to the civilian personnel Of the
Ordnance War Claims Board at Chi
cago. In 1925 he was called to Wash
1ngton as special assistant to the At
torney General, and assigned to the War
Transaction Section of the Department
OF Justice. A year later he went to the
Department Of State for legal work
with the United States Mexican Claims
Commission. He argued with success
cases before the international court.
Mr.. Kunze's interest in stamps traces
back to boyhood. Beginning with some
specimens presented by his father, he
collected through his high school and
college career The mere accumulating
OF stamps, however, was not enough to
satisfy his instinct. He made it a special
routine to write up" his acquisitions as
they came into his possession Each
stamp, In his view, is entitled to study
My theory" he says, lin stamp COL
lectlng is to associate at least one story
with each stamp. I am far less inter-
tested in the money value of a stamu
than I am in what can be learned by
looking through the stamp and seeing
the story behind it."
Today Mr.. Kurze has one Of the most
interesting collections in WASHINGTON,
and one OF the best annotated.
He joined the Washington Philatelic
Society about five years ago, and was
second vice president for one year. vice
president for one year and is now sery-
ing his second term es president. He is
regular contributor to the philatelic
press His radio talks on stamps have
been popular with both children and
adults.
Mr.. Kunze speaks of the idea Of the
Washington Stamp Club Of the Air as
having originated from a suggestion
made by Miss Sybil Baker, director OF
Fairgrounds, who asked him to aid in
establishing stamp club at each of the
seve.al playground centers of the city
Il realized the difficulty" he says,
"of finding a trained stamp guide or
leader for each playground. It seemed
to me that program broadcast from q
central point might act as a stimulus
and help for the individual playground
directors and school teachers in man.
aging their clubs. I discussed the plan
with educational authorities and with
representatives of the various civic or
ganizations. The idea was accepted by
Station VOL. Its purpose, of course, is
purely educational, and it has no adver-
tising connections. The club is for both
children and grown-upS."
As outlined by Mr.. Kunze, the plan
OF the club "contemplates the building
Of stamp collection along educational
lines, combining the stamps. mounted
in a logical, historical sequence, with
the vivid and dramatic stories de-
picted
The subject matter of these annota
tions will be broadcast by the club
during the course of its various meet
ings and may be summarized or ex-
panded to suit the taste of the collector
The actiYitieS of the club will omen with