Our original intention was to have this issue in your hands around the middle of February. However, it seems like an entire year has been packed into the past two and a half months. January was one of the busiest months that we have experienced which left little time for writing. The first week in February was spent in New York City attending the first Lake Shore Essay and Proof Sale. Then we shifted gears to prepare for four shows in four weeks. It has been over ten years since we have had four major shows in a row. This issue is being polished off during a two day break between the New York show and The March Party. Once the 14th of March rolls around we will have six weeks to recover before the Plymouth show. It will be a great joy to finally come up for air and not have to eat restaurant food every day.

The results of the first three shows exceeded my projections by 35%. The APS winter show in Atlanta had very strong and active out of town attendance. I think this is the result of the Atlanta airline hub. I found collectors from allover the Midwest and South in attendance. Another factor was the superb job Ken Martin did in staging and managing the show for the APS.

The St. Louis Stamp Expo was just average this year. The show lacked a strong society. However, the auction drew record crowds and record prices. The auction definitely sucked a lot of oxygen out of the show.

The ASDA Mega-Event in New York City was a barn burner. There were decent crowds all four days. The out of town traffic was on an up tick. Both buying and selling were outstanding.

In just 14 months the philatelic world will gather in Washington, DC for Washington 2006. From what I am hearing this show will be on a par with Ameripex '86. Don't wait to make your hotel reservations for the close in hotels are filling up.

We will have a corner booth on the main aisle of the show. In addition to essays, proofs, and postal history we will have over 50 cartons of philatelic literature. My younger son, Adam, will be handling the literature at the booth. He has had years of experience in the literature end of our business. Adam is a junior, majoring in English literature and education at the University of Montana. This will undoubtedly be the last international show that I am able to con one of my sons to work. Jason, my older son, handled the literature at Pacific '97.

We are accepting collections for consignment or outright purchase for this show. If you have something that you were thinking of selling now is the time.

This issue features two new titles: The Pony Express - A Postal History and the new edition of United States Post Offices Vol. 7 - The Lower Mississippi.

You will also find a wide assortment of postal history including: Civil War, Confederate, Blackjacks, and some odd and unusual covers as well. There is also a wide range of essay and proof material including several very scarce pieces.

Rumor has it that several individuals are thinking about compiling and writing a book about the late New York auctioneer and dealer John A. Fox and his forgeries of countless 19th century U.S. postal history covers. It's a book that could read like a good mystery novel. If anyone is interested in contributing to this story, drop us a line.