Evening star., 1941-04-13
AMONG THE STAMP COLLECTORS
News of the Phateic World Its Interests and PeopeRevew of
the Stamp Press-List of Local Meetings
By James Waldo Fa,cceff.

august DlcbI Ol rtICilllOlluJ VcVCl
an philatelist well known in the
Nations Capital, has been award
ed the fourth Michael L. Eidsness,
jr., silver plate in recognition OF
helpful service to stamp collectors.
The trophy, it was announced on
Thursday, has been given in
recognition of a lifetime of study
of the postal history of the Con-
federate States of America-a
branch of research in which Mr..
Dietz has been an authority for
many years.
Col. Spencer Cosby. former Dis
trict Commissioner; Philip Simms
Warren, treasurer of the Washing
ton Philateic Society and A. E.
Geldhof, stamp editor of the Wash
ington Times Herald, constituted
Che jury charged with the RESPONSE
bility for making the award.
The formal presentation of the
plate, a memorial to the father
of the Philatelic Agency, has been
scheduled for a meeting of the
Washington Philatelic Society to
be held on Wednesday evening,
May 7.
Mr.. Dietz is a member of the
American Philatelic Society, the So
ciety of Philatelic Americans, the
Collectors Club of New York and
the Richmond Stamp Club. His
father was a stamp enthusiast, and
he has two grandsons who already
have embraced the hobby.
An art printer by profession, Mr..
DietZ during the past four decades
has been the publisher of series
of philatelic periodicals, including:
The Virginia Philatelist, the South
ern Philatenst, the New Southern
Philatelist, Stamp and Cover Col
lecting, the Stamp and Cover Col
lector's Review, and the Stamp and
Cover Collectors Quarterly. The
beautiful booklets and brochures
issued in relation to the restoration
of Williamsburg are products of his
press. He also is credited with the
artistry which characterizes many
cloth-bound volumes dealing with
the history of the Old South. The
antique type for these examples Of
his craftsmanship is hand-set.
In his role as an author Mr.. Dietz
is. famous for his Confederate
States Catalog and Handbook" and
The Postal Service of the Confed-
crate States Of America both ac-
knowledged classics. He likewise
has written study of the die proofs
of the general issues of the Confed-
crate States. One of his articles
on the postal emissions of the Con-
federacy appears in The Stamp
Collectors Round Table" edited by
Foster w. Loso, 1887.
Mr.. Dietz prepared a paper on
"ReScuing Our Postal History" for
the 1910 convention of the Ameri-
can Philatelic Society at Buffalo,
where he received one of the John
N. Luff awards for the encourage
ment of his work. Several years
previously he had been granted the
celebrated Lindenberg medal. Civ
en- by a jury representing British,
French, Italian and German COL
lectors. His current interest is the
counterfeits of Confederate stamps,
about which he is writing at regu-
lar intervals for Stamps Magazine,
New York.
The romance of Mr.. Dietz's career
Is reflected in children's novel en-
titled Lost Covers" by Edna Tur-
pin, published in 1887. His own
collection of philatelic material is
not limited to his speciality. The
stamps of South America and of
the German states still are attrac-
tive to him. A recent activity TO
which he is especially devoted is
the revival of the Southern Liter
ary Messenger, now edited by his
daughter. Miss Frieda Meredith
Dietz, in the tradition of Edgar Allan
Poe.
Mrs. Katherine Gantz is the win
ner of the grand prize in the first
Pan-American Stamp Exhibition,
now on display at the Pan-Ameri-
can Union Building, Seventeenth
street NV.
Other awards have been an
nounced as follows: Hunter Gra-
ham, first. stamps: r. E. Isham, sec
ond, stamps; Walter Fishel, first,
covers; D. H. Reichgut, second,
covers.
The judges. as reported last week,
are DR.. Enrique Lopez Herrarte,
DR.. Aristides Moll and DR.. T. S.
Palmer.
Open Monday to Friday, $50 to 4:
Saturday, $50 to 1890, and Sun
day, 10 to 4. the exhibition includes
more than $50 frames of interesting
philatelic material, much of which
never was shown on any previous
occasion.
1t is rumored that the postal au-
thorities of Canada may demone-
tie all stamps not currently being
manufactured.
Paul de Smeth. veteran Belgian
philatelist, died December 10, aged
So.
The British postal stations at
Tangiers and Tetuan, last of the
Morocco agencies, have been closed
by Spanish interference. Over
printed stamps of Great Britain
Jo1Lx,.c4,