The Postal Label Study Group, formed in England in March 1976, continuing until March 1979. The Group was reactivated in 1985 in Los Angeles with seventeen members listed in the first PLSG Bulletin (September 1985): William H Lyons served as President and Bulletin Editor and Charles H Smith served as Vice-president, Secretary-Treasurer and Catalog Editor aided by Board member, Edith Linsky.
In the By-laws of January 10, 1997, the purpose of the organization was stated thusly:
The purpose of the organization shall be to bring together collectors of Postal Labels (including but not limited to Registration Labels; Airmail Labels; Express Labels: Priority Labels; Certified Mail Labels; Postal Insurance Labels; Parcel Post Labels; Mail Routing Labels; etc.) for the exchange of information, material and services of mutual interest.
The second issue (January 1986) included a 4-page article on registration labels in general. This began our tradition of disseminating significant information, much of it work-in-progress, later to become definitive. This resulted in the Group’s publication of various catalogs: registration, airmail etiquettes, express labels and priority labels. We have tried to keep them as current as possible.
Also in the second issue, the Group’s first auction appeared. Over the years, the auctions have been an important part of the Group’s activities and an important members-only benefit.
To date, there have been 150 issues of the Bulletin which first appeared in color in July 1998. Bill Lyons was Editor until mid-2004 (Issue #79), followed by Art Groten until Bas Kee of the Netherlands took over in the summer of 2012 (Issue #106). We are justly proud of our work.
We have maintained a website (www.postal-label-study-group.info) since 2009 and have tried to keep it current. Further details about our Group may be found there.
Due to a lack of volunteers to replace ageing officers, the PLSG has merged with the Auxiliary Markings Club. All current PLSG members will receive a year’s dues for 2027 and the AMC bulletin by e-mail. The treasury will be turned over to the AMC. The PLSG web-site and all it contains will be merged into the web site of the AMC: https://www.postal-markings.org/.
It is an honor and a pleasure to merge with the Auxiliary Markings Club, expanding the scope of our joint interest in directional (and other) markings to include labels, both official and private.
Art Groten, President PLSG
