Philip H. Ward, Jr. Memorial Award
For Excellence in First Day Cover Literature


Sponsored by the AFDCS, the Philip H. Ward competition is open to all authors of FDC articles which have appeared in a recognized philatelic publication during a calendar year, or books published during that year. Articles published in First Days are automatically considered. Others may be submitted to the Ward Award Committee chair, Mark Goodson, 315 E. Dewey Dr., Ellettsville, IN 47429, bgdsn@comcast.net.

Philip H. Ward, Jr. of Philadelphia (1886-1963), for whom the memorial award is named, was a prominent, world-famous philatelist. It was due to his pioneering and imaginative spirit that the field of First Day Covers received its initial impetus during the early part of the 20th century. His contributions are unparalleled in the history of the hobby.

YEAR
AUTHOR(S)
CITED WORK
1964
Stan Hamilton
"Canal Zone First Day Covers"
1965
Curtis B. Patterson and Marge Finger
"Official Cachets on U. S. First Day Covers” series of articles
1966
David J. Simmons
“Israel First Day Covers”
1967
Richard H. Thompson
 "Six Cent Airmail (C19) First Day"
1968
Herbert S. Halm
"First Day Covers of Uruguay"
1969
Adam K. Bert
“Counterfeit First Day Covers” series of articles
1970
Jack V. Harvey
"Earliest Known Date of '22 Two-Cent Use”
1971
Jack V. Harvey
"Four New First Day Cities for the 15c Rotary Special Delivery" as well as his continuing series on FDCs of the Kansas-Nebraska issues
1972
Felix D. Bertalanffy
"The Special Cancellations and First Day Covers of Japan”
1973
Curtis B. Patterson
Series of articles on early cachet makers and servicers
1974
David R. Whitesell
"Yorktown: Anatomy of a First Day"
1975
Barry Newton
For numerous features on both classic and contemporary material which appeared in First Days during 1975
1976
Pat and Ed Siskin
Five-part series on the Valley Forge commemorative of 1928
1977
Henry B. Scheuer
Multi-part series on the Jamestown Commemorative Issue of 1907
1978
Edward Siskin and Henry B. Scheuer
“Designated First Day Dates,” multi-part series on pre-1922 FDCs
1979
Dr. Melvin L. Baron
Multi-part series on the FDCs of the Canadian postal issues of 1930-40
1980
Jack A. Harlan
"Hobart Schacht's Cachets"
1981
Dr. Leon Cheris
Continuing series, "Postal History: Experimental Tagged First Day Covers 1963-1973”
1982
Dr. Leon Cheris
Continuing series, "Postal History: Experimental Tagged First Day Covers 1963-1973”
1983
Marshall Ackerman
Feature column, "The Simple Pleasures of First Day Cover Collecting"
1984
Richard A. Monty
"Prof. Earl G. Planty: The Dean of First Day Cover Collecting"
1985
Donald E. Sabo
"An Illustrated Catalog of the William G. Windhurst Sc. 610 FDCs: With a Critique on his September 1, 1923, Marion Statistics Report"
1986
Douglas H. Henkle
"U.S. Virgin Islands: Part 2 Sc. 799-802 Laird Cachet Varieties"
1987
Larry S. Weiss
"First Day Covers of Sc. 331a and 332a”
1988
Joe D. Hough
Continuing series of articles on First Day Covers of the Virginia Dare commemorative stamp of 1937
1989
Five authors contributing to a FDC symposium in The United States Specialist
"Evolving First Day Fashions" by Ken Lawrence; "What is a First Day Cover?" by George W. Brett; "A PNC Dealer's View" by Ed Denson; "Thoughts on the Legitimacy of Contemporary First Day Covers" by Allison W. Cusick; and “PNC First Day Covers Still Can Be Faked" by Dr. Robert Rabinowitz
1990
Melvin L. Baron and Stan Lum
A series of articles on classic First Day Covers of Canada
1991
Monte Eiserman
"Conversations with Ludwig W. Staehle” series of articles
1992
G. R. "Dick" Danielson
Two-part article "Vincennes and George Rogers Clark 1779-1929"
1993
Robert Colby
"A Study of Sc. C19, 6¢ Airmail June 30, 1934 FDCs"
1994
Tom O'Hagan
"Bill Olvey and K.M.C. Venture Cachets"
1995
Dr. Michael Rosenthal and Dr. Marvin Speer
Ken Boll Cachet Catalogue
1996
Ken Lawrence
Three-part series "First Day Covers in Earliest Usages"
1997
Herb Trenchard
Series of articles on first day ceremonies of the 1940 Famous American stamps
1998
Lloyd de Vries
"How to Service Quantities of First Day Covers"
1999
Tris Fall
Series of articles "On the Trail of That Elusive Cachet"
2000
Alan Berkun and Wilson Hulme
“Aristocrats of US FDCs - July 1, 1851 3¢ George Washington"
2001
Bruce Perkins
"The International Demise of Private Cachetmaking Part II, Canada Post Office Cachets"
2002
Jerry A. Katz
“FDCs of the Special Delivery Issue of 1922"
2003
Barry N. Kaplan and Michael R. Rosenthal
"The House of Farnam Story"
2004
Alan Berkun
"The 1868 Regular Production D, E, and F Grill EDUs"
2005
Eliot A. Landau
"The 1866 15-cent Black Lincoln"
2006
Ralph H. Nafziger
"Fakes and Forgeries on FDCs and Earliest Documented Usages”
2007
Robert Lewin
"The Magnificent Covers of Ejgil J.S. Halvorsen"
2008
Charles Deaton
"The Philatelic Legacy of the Artistic Edmiston Family: The Story of Gladys Adler & Florence Edmiston"
2009
E. Lee Howard
"Jesse Graham Holland, Pioneer Cachetmaker"
2010
Mark Lerner
“Charles R. Chickering Cachetmaker”
2011
David Zubatsky
“Norbert C. Waldau: A Biography and Catalog of his Handpainted First Day Covers”
2012
Jerry A. Katz
“Henry Hammelman: Pioneer Servicer, Dealer, and Exhibitor”
2013
David Zubatsky
“Walter M. Stawuszewski: Philatelic Artist and Collector”; “Dorothea ‘Dottie’ Bundy and Her Handpainted Cachets”; and “Frank J. Ulrich: Designer of Handdrawn Watercolor Cachets”
2014
Harry F. Themal
“Jackie Kennedy’s ArtCraft Cachet”
2015
Douglas S. Weisz
Dorothy Knapp: Philately and Family
2016
Henry B. Scheuer
“Kansas-Nebraska Overprint Stamps: Why, When and Where They Were Initially Sold”
2017
no award

2018
David Zubatsky
For his ongoing bibliographic series in First Days
2019
Ken Lawrence
"Which Items Franked with 1913 Parcel Post Stamps Are Authentic U.S. First Day Covers?”
2020
Kris McIntosh
"The Fight for the Women’s Right To Vote"
2021
Susan Bahnick Jones
Carol Gordon: Unconventional Cachetmaker
2022 (tie)
Henry B. Scheuer
"How the Earliest Collectors Sought Out First Days"
2022 (tie)
Peter J. LaPlaca and Anthony F. Dewey
The Connecticut Tercentennary Issue of 1935

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