The France & Colonies Group was organized in 1941 by seventeen philatelists who were interested in the stamps and postal history of France and the French Community. Incorporated in 1961 as the FRANCE & COLONIES PHILATELIC SOCIETY, INC. (N.Y. Non-profit), the membership has grown to over 400 collectors throughout the American Continent and overseas. The Society's interest in French philately includes the Colonies, Offices Abroad, Monaco, Europa, Territories and New Independent Republics. Our goal is to add to your knowledge and pleasure of collecting through meetings, exhibits and publications.

MEMBERSHIP

The Society is non-profit and not commercial. Membership is open to anyone interested in this field, subject to acceptance by the Membership Committee.

Current dues are noted on the Membership Application Form. There are two membership categories: Resident Members for those residing within the Unites States; and Foreign Members for those residing in all other countries. The slightly higher membership fee for Foreign Members is to offset overseas mailing costs. Applications received prior to September 1 are treated as current year applications - such new members will receive back issues of the PHILATELIST for the year, and will be billed for the next year beginning January.

Informal meetings of the Society often are held, usually on the first Tuesday of the month (except July and August), at 8:00 PM at The Collectors Club, 22 East 35th Street, New York City. Programs usually consist of a display and discussion of some special phase of French philately by a member or guest authority. Some of these programs are now available in 35mm slide/tape cassette format for home study or use by your local stamp club. Other meetings of the Society are held at national level stamp shows and will be noted in the show literature and on the Society's website: http://www.fcpsonline.org.

SERVICES

Of major importance is the medal-winning quarterly journal FRANCE & COLONIES PHILATELIST , which is mailed free to all members. It contains illustrated articles by writers expert in their fields, news, notes of interest, and bibliographic reviews. It is the only English language publication in the United States devoted entirely to French area philately. No outside subscriptions are accepted. An INDEX for forty years of publication (1941-1980) is available (see our publications page for information). Members' Appeals, seeking needed stamps or other material, publications, or offerings for sale or exchange, are carried in the PHILATELIST at no charge to members.

PUBLICATIONS

Periodically the Society publishes books and pamphlets on original studies, catalogs on the philately and postal history of France and Colonies, and other related items. These may be ordered from the Corresponding Secretary using the Publication Order Form . In honor of the late Dr. Charles J. Vaurie, a charter member of the Society and the first editor of the PHILATELIST, the Vaurie Memorial Fund was established in 1976. The Fund is used to subsidize many of our publications. It is a revolving fund, with proceeds of the sale of current works used to subsidize future works. Publication No. 4 in this series, THE BORDEAUX ISSUE by Ruth and Gardner Brown, is our most ambitious effort to date. In addition to being the only major publication in English in this field, it summarizes all that is currently known about this most intriguing issue.

Additional information is available from the Membership Committee at 908-233-9318 or e-mail.

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