Crotty, David E. (2011). Canadian Postage Meter Stamps.

David E. Crotty’s “Canadian Postage Meter Stamps”, the 63rd volume in the BNAPS Exhibit Series, is the first to illustrate the wide variety of material that can be found in the often neglected field of the postal history of mail prepaid by postage meter impressions instead of by stamps. This exhibit was first shown in Canada at BNAPEX-2008-SEAWAYPEX in Kingston, Ontario where it received a Silver award, and then at ROYAL-2009-ROYALE in Windsor, Ontario where it received a Vermeil and the BNAPS BNA Research Award. Working under the rules of the American Philatelic Society’s “Display Class”, David has blended an amazing assortment of meter impressions with an equally impressive amount of contemporary advertisements produced by the manufacturers to promote their products. Far from distracting from the story, when shown in conjunction with examples of the pertinent meter impressions, the ads bring the whole process to life. Everyone is familiar with Pitney-Bowes and the impressions made by their machines. Readers will be surprised to learn that there are and have been several companies, mostly based in Europe, that have almost equally long records of success in the field. Of interest also is the fact that meter machines have progressed with modern technology, from the early mechanical units through the electronic counterparts to the digital versions in use today. For those who think that meters appear to look pretty much the same, this exhibit is a revelation.After obtaining B.S. and M.S. degrees in Chemistry, David Crotty taught high school chemistry and mathematics. He returned to university for a Ph.D. degree and then he worked as a research chemist, mostly in the electroplating field. A collector as a child, he became interested again and began saving postage meter impressions from mail at work. David retired in 2007 and has since spent a considerable amount of time in various philatelic pursuits. In addition to developing and showing his Postage Meter exhibit, he became interested in the aircraft that flew mail across the Pacific and later the Atlantic during the 1930s and 1940s and prepared an exhibit of Pan American Airways activity across the Pacific. Currently David is working with that group on the update of the Canadian Airmail Catalog. David also volunteered to help the American Air Mail Society with their catalogs and was assigned to work with the author of the AM and CAM sections to redraw maps. He has also written a number of articles on airmail subjects for the American Airmail Society Airpost Journal.