10. Displays

The Society holds a full collection of the annual syllabus’s. Appropriately the first evening display on the 14th September 1948 was ‘Great Britain’ by Mr G Arridge. This was followed by a members night “A dozen stamps I should not care to part with”. The manner of the display is recorded and makes interesting reading “It was felt that the sheets for display should be exhibited on the table prior to the commencement of the meeting. Each sheet to receive a number. These numbers would then be drawn in rotation. When the owner of the number is drawn they would get up and give their talk.”

Thus the Society displays commenced. Other displays in the first year were the Dominican Republic; USA; Sarawak; Norway and Italy. 100 copies of the first syllabus were printed.

The opening meeting of the 1949/50 season was a display on the 20th September on the Postal Union given by Mr W J F Gosling of Bradford. So from the early days, guest speakers were invited to display, a practice that has continued throughout the years.

An interesting item appears in the 1950/51 syllabus for the 12th September. “The Postal History Society’s 6th Annual Conference – to be held in York”. No further comment appears in the committee minutes. Can anyone throw any light on this meeting?

From the syllabus’s it is apparent that the Society has received from both members and guest speakers, wide and varied displays covering all the continents of the world and most of the stamp issuing countries plus, of course, thematic displays. The production of stamps (9th June 1953); GPO films (8th February 1954); Philately and Photography (8th April 1958) are early examples of the expansion of philatelic interest that have continued throughout the years.

Visits to and from many Yorkshire Society’s have taken place throughout the years. The first was from the Hull Society’s (yes, Society’s not Society) on the 12th June 1956. The second Society to visit was Harrogate on the 11th November 1957. The first visit made by the York Society was to Scarborough on the 6th July 1959 and again on the 4th July 1968.

The Society has also received presentations from a number of well known Yorkshire philatelists – to name four: Mr J K Sidebottom OBE from Leeds; Mr E Buckly of Sheffield; Dr G S Richee of Harrogate; and Mr T Yates of Hull.

From London, Mr K F Chapman, Editor of Stamp Collecting; Mr A Bodsworth of Robson Lowe; and Mr James Grimwood-Taylor of Cavendish Philatelic Auctions.

Annual competition evenings have been a feature of the Society but are dealt with under a separate heading below.

The Chairman’s night was first held on the 11th October 1955 and changed to President’s evening on the 14th February 1978 and from 2000 has included an excellent buffet.

A number of evenings have been held of a non-philatelic nature – What else do you collect? In December 1965; a talk at the Castle Museum on the 8th October 1963; and Postcards of York in April 1977.

The above are just a random selection from some 700 meetings.