Philosateleian Post mail volume declines, but still high
With 2022 in the record books, I’m taking a look back at the numbers for Philosateleian Post, and although mail volume was down from 2021, my local post stamps still carried a bunch of mail last year.
The total number of outgoing mailpieces carried by Philosateleian Post in 2022 was 481. That’s a decline of more than 8% from 2021; however, keep in mind that 2021 was a record-setting year for Philosateleian Post. In fact, last year’s numbers nearly equaled those recorded in 2019, making 2021 my third-busiest year of local posting.
Domestic letters and business mail made up 78% of Philosateleian Post’s mail volume, with international mail, postcards, and packages accounting for most of the rest. Truly “local” mail—envelopes that I hand-delivered rather than mailing via USPS—made up approximately 3% of the overall total.
As for why Philosateleian Post’s mail volume was down last year compared to 2021, I’m going to say that my family’s move had a significant impact. There were some late nights leading up to and in the weeks following that, and it took me a while to get back to normal correspondence, stamp and cover sales, and other activities that would have generated additional outgoing mail. We’ll see how things go in 2023!
The standard update track for The Philosateleian requires quarterly updates in March, June, September, and December. If you still print your updates on that schedule, you do not need the annual supplement as you’ve already received the updates as they were released.
Thank you for your interest in The Philosateleian, and many thanks to my supporters who continue to make it possible for me to offer free stamp album pages.
Animals adorn American Parkinson Disease Foundation envelope
Now that we’re in the last couple of weeks of 2022, the flow of incoming mail has slowed significantly as it normally does at this time of year. A mailing I received just last week from the American Parkinson Disease Foundation, however, did include something worth mentioning: another business reply envelope with preprinted faux “stamps.”
This BRE has three images featuring animals in winter scenes: a squirrel, a pair of penguins, and a songbird sitting on a snow-covered branch.
American Parkinson Diseases Association business reply envelope with animal images
Although the designs are printed directly on the envelope rather than being independent labels, the simulated printed perforations do give them a stamp-like appearance. Interestingly, the orientation of the images on this envelope is identical to those on BREs I received from the same nonprofit in September and October, though the images themselves are different.
New Hampshire-based Purgatory Post earlier this month issued the last in its series of local post stamps commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo space program flights. Two 17-sola stamps picturing the crew of Apollo 17 and their spacecraft were released on December 7.
Purgatory Post Apollo 17 stamps
The first stamp pictures astronauts Harrison Schmitt, Ronald Evans, and Gene Cernan along with Apollo 17’s launch on December 7, 1973, while the second stamp features a photo of Cernan on the Moon’s surface plus the official mission emblem.
Although this month’s stamps are the last for the Apollo program, Purgatory Post operator Scott A. tells me he plans to release stamps next year to mark the 50th anniversaries of the Skylab missions of 1973.
Philosateleian Post introduces First-Class, Nonmachinable labels
On December 5, Philosateleian Post introduced a blue First-Class Mail International label for use on mail bound for destinations outside the United States. On December 12, two additional labels were placed into use: a red label for domestic first-class mail, and a purple one for nonmachinable items.
Philosateleian Post First-Class Mail & Nonmachinable labels
The First-Class Mail label is intended for use on small parcels or other items where I might feel a need to indicate the specific rate that applies, while the Nonmachinable label is for standard envelopes that have odd dimensions or are too rigid for regular mail processing.
I don’t anticipate using either of these a great deal, but they’re nice to have handy when the need arises.
If you would like mint copies of Philosateleian Post’s new First-Class Mail and Nonmachinable labels, send either $2 or a self-addressed stamped envelope and your request to:
Kevin Blackston
Philosateleian Post
PO Box 217
Floresville TX 78114-0217
United States of America
