APS WEBSITE CHALLENGE! The APS has signed a contract for a new website by mid-2009. Our current site is packed with features and information --- but don't take our word for it. Take the APS Website Challenge! Find the answers to THESE TEN QUESTIONS on our website by August 18 and you could be one of four lucky winners of a $25 gift certificate good on any APS service or product!

CHRIS CALLE U.S. STAMP ALBUM At APS StampShow in Hartford August 14, Marshall Islands will issue Portraits of the Wild West stamps design by Connecticut's Chris Calle, who will spend time at the APS booth during the show. DOWNLOAD AND PRINT free color album pages for the U.S. stamps that Chris has designed.

AUTOGRAPHS AT STAMPSHOW Get autographs from the following prestigious philatelic personalities at APS StampShow: award-winning mystery novelist and                  Tiffany Dinner keynote speaker Lawrence Block philatelic author/Past APS President Janet Klug  philatelic author/stamp dealer Don Sundman Connecticut stamp designer Chris Calle More INFORMATION including times is available.

Buy NOW – THE SHIPPING'S ON US! As your APS Member's Special Offer this month, make any purchase using the online convenience of APS STAMPSTORE during August, and we pay the postage! And be sure to see our TIP OF THE MONTH below for a guide to finding what you're looking for at APS StampStore!

THINGS tO SEE AT STAMPSHOW Not a Time Machine to look into the future, but the next best thing! This PHOTO TOUR of highlights from APS StampShows past will give you a preview of some of the philatelic pleasures to look forward to at the big show August 14-17 in Hartford, Connecticut.

BACK IN STOCK! Robert Schoendorf's landmark Catalog of Classic American Airposts and Aeronautica 1784-1900, the definitive, illustrated study of U.S. balloon mail. A copy of this hardbound 99-page reference work is yours for $15 POSTPAID.

The GreaTEST SHOW OF 2008 APS STAMPSHOW is coming to the Hartford August 14-17, with three FIRST DAYS, 15,000 pages of PHILATELIC EXHIBITS, 100 LITERATURE ENTRIES, 180 stamp DEALERS, a live AUCTION, meetings, events and seminars (SEE A SCHEDULE).  The show will also include our first attempt to make sales circuits available on the road.

STAMP COLLECTING MONTH October — Stamp Collecting Month — will be here sooner than you think! Plan now to mark the month with a stamp celebration in your community. The APC has EVENTS to promote the hobby, and your club can easily arrange a SPECIAL CANCEL for this year's Great Lakes Dunes – Nature of America pane, which will be issued October 2.

JUST DROP IT OFF AT THE SHOW APS STAMPSHOW in Hartford is not only a great place to buy, sell, see the superb exhibits, and enjoy philatelic fellowship. It can also be a great opportunity to drop off material that you want to send to the APS: Circuit Sales books, material that you want to consign to StampStore, submissions for expertizing by APEX, as well as in-kind donations. Leave it with us and save the shipping cost!

Board agendas AVAILABLE  The APS Board meets August 13 in Hartford, a day before StampShow begins. SEE THE APS BOARD AGENDA The APS and American Philatelic Research Library Boards meet JOINTLY early Friday afternoon followed by the APRL BOARD meeting  The APS General Membership Meeting is Saturday at 9 a.m.  Members are invited to attend all of these meetings.

FINDING IT ON STAMPSTORE TIPS for making the most of your online visits to StampStore, your convenient stamp sales service that is open 24/7 on the Internet — available whenever you feel the urge to shop for stamps!

'When the Mail Goes to War' The 2008 Winton M. Blount Postal History Symposium jointly sponsored by the Smithsonian National Postal Museum and the APS will be held at the NPM on September 26 and 27, 2008. This will be the third annual national conference for academic scholars, philatelists, and industry experts to discuss their research into the history of postal organizations and systems. The theme for the 2008 Symposium is war and the mail, broadly interpreted to include everything related to defense and the postal system in all countries and eras. Postal topics are usually framed in peaceful terms: mail "binds the nation together" by enabling commerce and encouraging technological development, while stamps are "works of art in miniature" or "little paper ambassadors" of national culture and achievement. Often overlooked is the fact that when a nation goes to war, its stamps and postal system are always an integral part of the mobilization—and the relief effort. To learn more, visit THE SYMPOSIUM WEBSITE

NEW ON THE WEBSITE - STAMPSHOW Preview Tour FREE DOWNLOADS - Computer Wallpaper - Album Pages - APS Logo - APS Member Application - ISU Submission Form THE AMERICAN PHILATELIST - Online Features - President's Column - From the Executive Director - Table of Contents. SPONSOR A NEW MEMBER EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES - Sept. 26-27 Washington, DC - Oct. 24-25 Bellefonte, PA - Nov. 19-20 Chicago, IL APS SHOWS - Aug 14-17, 2008 Hartford, CT - Feb 20-22, 2009 Arlington, TX WSP (NATIONAL) SHOWS - Aug. 22-24, Falls Church, VA - Aug. 29-31, Hunt Valley, MD RESOURCE LINKS - Dealers - Show Calendar - Clubs - Affiliates - USPS New Issues APS STAMP TALK JUST FOR KIDS PRESS RELEASES - USPS First Days - Wild West Portraits - Vintage RFD Mail Wagon - 2008 Luff Award Winners - Autographs and Authors - U.S. Stamps of Chris Calle - Philately's Finest on Display - Stamp Collecting Month AWARDS NOMINATIONS NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE - May 2008 - June 2008 - July 2008