The U.S. Regular Issues of 1922–31 were a series of 27 U.S. postage stamps issued for general everyday use by the U.S. Post office. Unlike the definitives previously in use, which presented only the Washington or Franklin images, each of these definitive stamps illustrated a different president or other subject relevant to the nation. Washington and Franklin were confined to a single denomination.

The Presidential Issue, nicknamed the "Prexies" by collectors, was the series of 32 definitive postage stamps issued in the United States in 1938 that featured all 29 U.S. presidents who were in office between 1789 and 1928, from George Washington to Calvin Coolidge.

These two historical covers, mailed by stamp collector Olga Parreiter of Chicago, include examples from both the United States Regular Issues and the Presidential Issues, the Prexies.

The first cover has 15 examples of the stamps. The second, 12 including the dollar denominations. The total cost of the first was On dollar and one half cent. The cost of the second, 10 dollars and ten cents. The paid special delivery fee on the second cover, 20 cents. The total, 11 dollars, thirty and one half cent.

The covers, mailed from Chicago, Illinois to Berlin, Germany on June 16th, 1939, were sent to Leo Wojakowski two and one half months before Hitler's invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, the date of the beginning of the Second World War.

It is believed that the airmail cover contained funds for Mr.Wojakowski to provide for his escape from Germany.

The consensus among mid-south philatelists is that Leo Wojakowski, most likely of Polish descent, escaped the tyranny of Nazi Germany thanks to these two remarkable covers. As they were discoverd in the United States, I believe that he made safe passage to our shores, thank God.

I own them.

 No Drama ....Time to enjoy life .....

 -David-

Thank you, Memphis Stamp Collectors Society, for honoring me with the Marshall Trophy.

A Q&A with David Saks

For Release: March 6, 2019 Originally posted at the University of Memphis https://www.memphis.edu/wumr/features/feature_qandawithsaks.php
For more information, visit: David Saks's Profile

What years did you attend the U of M?
I began as a volunteer at The University of Memphis' (former known as Memphis State University) campus radio station, WTGR (TGR for Tiger Radio) in 1969 just prior to the beginning of my senior year in high school.

My first classes at Memphis State University were in the summer of 1970. I was a music major.

My elected minor was psychology and I worked as an assistant in the psychology labs along with Dr. Middleton, Lupfer, Kenny, and others. I've had the privilege to do some research with Dr. Joseph Krisak. I was enrolled from 1970 until I left for the Middle East in 1974 to serve in Israel with students from throughout the world.

I lived in the Middle East in Haifa, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Bethlehem and the Jordanian / Israeli border as an American volunteer in 1974. I spent a couple of months in Scotland and England.

How did you get your start in radio?
Radio and the associative technological aspect of it has always fascinated me.

I began as a shortwave listener at the age of six and had one of the first callsigns for my hobby radio station issued by Popular Electronics to their readers in the early 1960's. WPE4IVK (the "PE" in the prefix stood for Popular Electronics).

I started experimenting as a seven year old child by placing two tube receivers together, given to me by my great grandmother, and I listened for heterodynes, a method of combining a radio frequency wave with a locally generated wave of a different frequency to produce a new frequency equal to the sum or the difference between the two from spurious local emissions generated by each receiver. After combining radio frequency waves with locally generated waves of a different frequency produced by the faint emissions of the adjacent receiver, I could produce new frequencies equal to the sum or difference between the combined frequencies. The adjacent differing tuning capacitors and the emissions from them served as a window to an emission form known as single side band with the harmonics generated from the chassis of each receiver. When I discovered heterodyning from the local oscillations of the two receivers it opened the world of Morse code and amateur radio to me. I had created what would be known as a crude beat frequency oscillator with the two receivers.

I was an Explorer Scout with emphasis on amateur radio as a young teenager. I began receiving Morse code training from the Navy at the age of thirteen in a special class for Scouts in 1965 located at the Naval Reserve Facility on Avery Road in Memphis. I was awarded a merit badge by the Chickasaw Council of The Boy Scouts of America for being the fastest code receiver in my class. They clocked me at over thirty words a minute before my fourteenth birthday. It helped being a musician because timing is everything with Morse code. My amateur radio license, WK2B, is still active and I'm licensed as "Extra Class" with the Federal Communications Commission,

I've had the privilege and honor of serving as a civilian trustee for the Millington Naval Air Stations' Amateur Radio Station, W4ODR, and flown with general aviation pilots from the Naval Air Station flight club.

I've completed three years of ROTC and served as a lieutenant in the Civil Air Patrol. I attended their Leadership Training Academy in the late 1970's.

Can you talk a little about the early days of WUMR/WTGR and how different things are now?
WTGR was the beginning of college radio for me.

We were a ten watt radio station when I arrived in 1969 to work with Richard Hiller, our engineer, faculty members Dr. David Yellin, Dr. Marvin Bensman, and others long before Dr. Richard Ranta arrived to supervise what would become a jazz station. I was still a senior in high school when I arrived.

You had to park your car under the window of the radio station to hear the show back then. If you lived on the campus, then we used a transmission principle known as "carrier current," a method of low power AM radio transmission that uses AC electrical wiring to propagate an AM signal to a small area such as a college dormitory. You could plug your table top radio into any wall receptacle on the campus and hear the station clearly.

It all changed when our station license was approved by the Federal Communications Commission which included an effective radiating power increase.

We were an all-album station in 1969 which meant that you could play an album in its entirety rather than just a selected cut here and there from the vinyl.

The broadcast equipment was quite primitive by today's standards and consisted of early analog equipment, circuits and devices having an output proportional to its input as opposed to the digital technology we have today which, simply put, is a circuit or device representing magnitudes in digits. The fundamental difference between the analog and today's digital signal is that an analog signal is represented by sine waves, a wave whose waveform resembles a sine curve, or the ratio of the opposite side to the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle, whereas, the digital signal is represented by a square wave which we all know to be a plane rectangle with four equal sides and four right angles. In digital technology, the analog wave is sampled at some interval, and then turned into numbers that are stored in the digital device. On a CD, the sampling rate is 44,000 samples per second. On a CD, there are 44,000 numbers stored per second of music. This is what we hear today, and even better than ever.

Students received academic credit for participating. Not so today. I hope that will change for our scholars.

What type of jazz do you play on your WUMR show? Whats your favorite music genre?
I play music from the period between bebop and the 1960s' and focus on music that blends jazz elements with other musical styles, such as funk, soul, electronic dance music, and free improvisation. Bebop is a favorite with it's fast tempo, instrumental virtuosity, improvisation and interesting harmonic structure that focuses on the melody.

Jazz fusion is popular and combines elements of jazz and rock with it's electronic instruments and long, creative solos. Latin jazz is always in the mix and draws heavily on salsa and merengue influences with its heavy use of percussion, congas, timbales, bongos, and more. The big bands of the 40's and swing are a hit.

There's so much in the jazz spectrum that I love, but when it comes to my favorite musical style its stride piano.

Stride is nearly a lost art form and very difficult to master. The greatest of the stride pianists played in a wide range of highly rhythmic tempos with great emphasis on improvisation. Stride is fantastic!

What other stations have you worked at?
I assisted with the construction of WLYX, Southwestern at Memphis, now Rhodes College, in 1971 along with station manager George McClintock and Mrs. Betty Ruffin from CBC. WLYX was destroyed by a construction accident in 1991. I was the last person on the air the day it occurred. An earth mover plowing the field near the transmitter shack ran over the transmission line and destroyed the transmitter.

CBC and WREC radio, 600AM, donated much of the equipment to Southwestern. As Christian Brothers is focused on engineering, there were plenty of enthusiastic electrical engineering students and amateur radio operators ready to lend a hand and equipment.

Christian Brothers College, now Christian Brothers University, operated WCBC at that time on the AM bands. I filled in during the weekends in addition to my other air shift responsibilities. WCBC's antenna was a satellite tower for the Military Affiliate Radio Station known as MARS, passing "good and welfare" traffic to combat soldiers in Viet Nam and elsewhere. I had my amateur radio license at that time, as I still do, and I'm licensed to pass traffic with MARS.

I was employed by WKNO-FM from January 1972 until January 1974 at which time I volunteered to work in Israel and the middle east for a year with other students. WKNO's now retired chief engineer, Pat Lane, is one of my oldest pals.

I assisted with the construction of WEVL with engineers Jim Maxwell and Doug Hirsch in 1976, its first year of operation. WEVL was located in an old house on Court Avenue at the time. WEVL's present location is in an old building in the 500 block of South Main Street that once belonged to my relatives.

I served Rock 103 from 2002 until 2004. I was part of the Wake Up Crew with Tim Spencer, Bev Hart and the late, great John "Bad Dog" McCormack. I had been a frequent guest on their program for several years prior to being invited to become a regular part of the show. In addition to the great fun of working there, we had a serious mission. The Wake Up Crew raised millions of dollars for local charities. The most important aspect of radio is its power to do that which is good for our city, our neighbors and the well-being of all. That was our mission.

What musical instrument do you play?
I'm a pianist.

As musician and composer, two of my songs, "In Memphis" and "One Last Bridge", were adopted by the Memphis City Council as "Official Songs of Memphis" in 1990 and 1991.

My music manuscripts and works for piano "Impressions of Memphis" are in the Library of Congress.

Are you still working in real estate and addressing fair housing and predatory lending?
I retired my broker's license in 2015.

I served the Fair Housing Committee for the Memphis Area Association of Realtors.

I dedicated two decades of my life to researching real estate fraud, predatory lending and fair housing.

I researched and reported on real estate fraud for several years for the real estate community.

Discuss a little about your stamp collecting and how you came to be honored with the first officially cancelled Elvis Presley first-day cover.
I began collecting stamps when I was five years old. My grandfather had lived in Pretoria, Johannesburg and Durban, South Africa. When he arrived in Memphis, in the very early twentieth century, he still had relatives in South Africa that corresponded with him. I was fascinated by the flora and fauna, the ships and landscape on the stamps on the envelopes. He removed the stamps from the envelopes and gave them to me to study. It was a way for me to learn about the world as a child.

I'm chapter ambassador to the American Philatelic Society for the Memphis Stamp Collectors Society. I've been a member of the American Philatelic Society for three decades. I'm the philatelic crossword puzzle author for Linn's Stamp Weekly magazine and create the philatelic-themed crosswords monthly.

As for the Elvis Presley first day of issue cover, I was the first in line to have my envelope cancelled by Graceland. It was a magical evening and the greatest event in the history of stamp collecting!

I have two letters from Graceland recognizing the January 8, 1993 Elvis Presley stamp-adorned envelope as the "First to be cancelled by Graceland."

The envelope is signed by dignitaries who attended the event including Priscilla Presley.

The temperature on Graceland Plaza was around 30 to 35 degrees with light drizzle from sundown on that day. No one cared about the bad weather. Something seemed to say that Memphis was awaiting a grand arrival. Elvis couldn't have gotten a finer reception from his hometown. While the bands were playing and the dignitaries were making their speeches and presentations, the crowds grew. Nobody appeared to be impatient. This was a real family show that special evening and the cast of characters was one of which everyone in attendance could have been proud of.

At every corner of Graceland Plaza, cables twisted and turned, microwave dishes towered over the heads of the crowds, and nervous production crews checked their lists to make sure that everything had consistency and coherence with clockwork precision. This would be the grandest event of the year for Memphis and the grandest event for stamp collecting ever seen. To say that something like the Elvis stamp event will never occur in my lifetime again would be safe.

Memphis is my home and native soil. The music is the language of many in my Tennessee town. The river flows through this town like a stream of notes from a guitar on Beale Street. Two bridges span the muddy water like strings across the bridge of a piano. That's my Memphis. And on that day, January 7, 1993, it was as though we were all waiting for Elvis to come home. The rich, the poor, black and white, men, women and children, young and old alike, all came to Memphis that day for Elvis.

Through the many busy hours we prepared for this homecoming not fully realizing the impact it would have on the rest of the world, but at the same curiously wondering if we would ever do this again.

The countdown to the release of the stamp began on June 4, 1992 with the unveiling of the Elvis stamp design chosen by his fans. The choice for the illustration had been made under the leadership of United States Postmaster General Anthony Frank, who also signed the cover. Postmaster General Frank's tireless efforts to honor Elvis should never be forgotten as Memphis remains grateful to him.

Plans were also being made for Elvis' fifty eighth birthday celebration to coincide with the release of the stamp. A gigantic cake with 58 candles on it had been created. A cake big enough to feed hundreds of fans and stamp collectors! In the Graceland party room on the south side of the plaza local bakeries were delivering truckloads of beautifully decorated birthday cakes with confection designs of the Elvis stamp ready to be perforated by the chefs with their bakers' knives.

Balloons were everywhere with streamers and other colorful decorations adorning the ceilings and walls. The months of preparation and the hundreds of media hours were about to pay off in a big way.

In the tent across the street from Graceland Mansion national media representatives from every corner of North America readied the moment to pay homage to the King of Rock and Roll.

In addition to our local friends, the English, the Irish, Scottish, the Germans, Austrians, Norwegians, Russians, Australians, Canadians, Mexicans, Japanese, Israelis, Finns and South Africans made the pilgrimage to Memphis with their stamp collectors to honor the greatest rock and roller in history.

There was certainly enough cake to go around and even some peanut butter and banana sandwiches, Elvis' favorite snack.

The celebration went on well through the night and into the wee hours of January 8, 1993 even after all the dignitaries had spoken and all the cake had been eaten.

The lines around the postal station had grown very long, winding around Graceland Plaza all night. Faithful Elvis fans patiently waited for their stamps which went on sale at exactly 12:15 A.M. on the early morning of January 8, 1993 at the command of Graceland's executives.

I stood first in line and watched my first day cover fly through the cancellation machine on command, when Governor Ned McWherter finished his address, making my Elvis stamp the very first one to be canceled by the Graceland contract postal station. One Elvis stamp had been removed from a full sheet of forty stamps about five minutes prior to midnight. I was dazzled by the surrounding excitement and I recall the postal clerk asking me if I was going to pay her. I fidgeted nervously for the twenty-nine-cent cost of the stamp and pulled a quarter and a nickel out of my pocket and handed the change to the clerk. The clerk took a penny from her cash drawer and gave it to me.

Adrenaline was flowing while we waited for the order from Graceland executives Laura Ferguson and Shelly Evans standing next to the cancellation machine. I handed Laura my envelope with stamp on it. She placed it on the machine's tray and at that moment I realized my stamp would be the first one to be postmarked by Graceland. The fireworks display stopped, and Shelly gave the order for Laura to postmark my stamp.

Graceland honored me with two letters attesting the authenticity of the stamp.

On August 12, 2015, I obtained the first Elvis Forever stamp at Graceland, as well.

Stamp collecting is the greatest hobby in the world.

 Rhodes College inspires me every waking moment of my life.

Rhodes is a vital component in my dreams, my existence and a reason for being.

Rhodes is where my heart is.

Rhodes In The Fall
David Saks
August 16, 1991
===================

Find understanding,
Open your eyes.
You'll see the truth
Beneath God's blue skies.

And together we'll find love,
And learn as we grow.
When the seasons change
That's when you'll know,

My friend, till I see you again
Within these hallowed halls,
My heart will be in Memphis
At Rhodes in the fall.

The past is behind us,
Listen to the future call.
We'll be together in Memphis
At Rhodes in the fall.

If one wish can come true,
If your dreams are mine,
My science, my ethics,
Your music, your rhyme,

The trees on North Parkway
Stand tall as we adjourn.
This promise I'll keep you,
While I wait for your return.

My friend, till I see you again,
Within these hallowed halls,
My heart will be in Memphis
At Rhodes in the fall.

The past is behind us,
Listen to the future call,
We'll be together in Memphis
At Rhodes in the fall.

The year was 1907.

The M.T.Sheahan postcard company was located in Boston, Massachusettes.

"Sheahan's Good Mottos make the world brighter", as it says on the card.

I believe that Miss Nora Thomas had a brighter day because of the 1906 picture of "Sunshine and Shadow" on the other side of the postcard.

This beautiful card was sent from Sheman, Texas to Shreveport, Louisiana.

The Jamestown Exposition commemorative stamp honoring Captain John Smith, Scott Catalog #328, was issued the same year on April 26th. It is perforated 12 with the 191 watermark. The duplex circular date stamp, postmarked July 3 3:30 PM, and 1907 shoeprint cancel, cancels the stamp.

Unbelievably, the card arrived in Shreveport, Louisiana at 6:30 AM the next day on the Fourth of July, 1907.

I wish that I could have been there to see Nora smile..

I know that she had a beautiful, bright day because of Sunshine and Shadow.

Somehow, I can see and feel her smile when I hold the card in my hands

Any questions ?

George  Klein passed away February 5, 2019. Arrangements have been entrusted to Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetary, 5668 Poplar Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee 38119 phone (901) 767-8930.

George was one of Elvis Presley's friends and a friend of my family for many years.

I attended an event at Graceland, Elvis' home, with George in the early 1990's.

George worked with me to promote the Elvis Presley Stamp in 1992.

Here's a link to the radio show that we did together :

Here's a photo from the Graceland event.

 David Saks & George Klein at Graceland

My son, Dennis with his children, my granddaughters, Millie, Mollie and Tessie and their best friend.

I love all of my children.

Teng Keng, Ch'en Ying Shih, Chu Chih-hsin, Sung Chiao-jen, Huang Hsing and Liao Chung-kai are the Martyrs Stamps of China.

They honor six men who died in the 1911 revolution led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen.

The use of these stamps in various forms spans approximately a 17-year period from 1932 to 1949.

One of the stamps on this approval sheet is inverted in relation to the other 18. These stamps were printed between 1940 and 1941. Another set was issued in 1932.

Do you know why these are different from the issues of 1932-1934 ?  

Do you know why Chu Chih-hsin is inverted in relation to the other 18 stamps ?

Here's a hint !

If you know the answer send me an email.

If you're the first to answer correctly you'll win 100 dollars and dinner with me. 

Good luck ! 

One of my favorite bands on Memphis television in the late 50's and early 60's was Slim Rhodes.

I found this old picture of Slim tonight a box I had almost forgotten.

I'm glad I found this great picture of Slim with his guitar, and from left to right, Slim's brother Dusty on the fiddle, Tiny Dixon on rhythm guitar, Slim, brother (and great comedian) Speck Rhodes on the stand up bass, and seated at the pedal steel guitar, the unforgettable Rocky Rhodes.

Slim and the band were at Stanley's By-Ryt Grocery Store on Macon Road playing the parking lot that day for lots of Stanley's customers.

Slim and the band autographed the back of the photo.

Slim Rhodes and his Mountaineers were a popular act in Memphis going back to the 1930s. So much so, that Sam Phillips and Sun Record company signed them to a recording contract in the 1950s.

The group got its start back in 1932, when Slim and two of his brothers formed a group while they were in high school and played country fairs.

In a 1946 letter to the editor of the Commercial Appeal attributed to Slim Rhodes, he mentions they were on WMC in Memphis, Tennessee at 11:30am each day as well as the Central Quality Network, sponsored by Mother's Best Flour. Slim said they had been with their sponsor for seven years at that time.

Speck Rhodes played the bass fiddle then and did comedy. Later in his career, he was part of Porter Wagoner's band. Slim, Dusty and Speck were brothers.

Slim Rhodes and his Mountaineers had a weekly Saturday show over WMCT in Memphis, from 12:00 to 12:30. They also had a 30-minute show over KATV in ine Bluff, Arkansas every Tuesday. I watched them everday that I could when I was a little boy.

I'm very proud to have this picture of Slim and the band

I cherish it. 

Here's a scan of one of the "Jenny" covers that I bought. Examples of the nation's first three airmail stamps, Scott #'s C1, C2 and C3, mailed in 1918 to New Britain, Connecticut, frank the letter. I believe that it may have been sent from New York City as indicated by the faint lettering in the early wavy-line machine cancellation. The three "Jenny's" on cover are rare.

She's a beauty !

Turner Broadcasting, the Adult Swim & Cartoon Network, The William Street Swap Shop and great host Zach White along with his great technicians, Jackson, Jay and Eddie, honored me with a week-long celebration of my birthday that included three one hour live broadcasts seen throughout the world.

On the front page, Zach, me, Jackson and Jay (Eddie is with us on the side) !

The first, a live one hour interview from my home on the phone on August 1st.

The second, a live one hour visit in my home on August 8th.

I played the piano and sang for viewers. Zach is talking with me about stamp collecting in the photo below.

Thank you, Jackson, for the fantastic Memphis T-Shirt (I'm wearing it) that you designed for me. It was the best birthday surprise ever !

Finally a visit downtown that I arranged for Zach and his great crew prior to their departure from Memphis.

I took the Swap Shop crew on a tour of Memphis after I had dinner with them at Blues City Cafe on Beale Street.

Thank you Johnny Stinson, Lonnie Hammer, James Alexander and Boo Mitchell for accepting my invitation to participate.

I also want to thank Johnny and Cathy Stinson and all of my beautiful friends who made it to the surprise birthday party for me at Lafayette's Music Hall in Overton Square ! It was an unforgettable evening ! Much love to all !

The Williams Street Swap Shop is seen by millions of viewers daily at 5pm Eastern, 4pm Central

Thank you Zach White, Matthew Hutchinson, Jackson, Jay, Eddie, Turner Broadcasting, AdultSwim, the Cartoon Network and The Williams Street Swap Shop, Blues City Cafe and The Hard Rock Cafe Memphis for "The Deal on Beale", and for my making my birthday a very special one.

Zach promised that he'll be back very soon to do another special with me.

Stay tuned !

 Austria's campaign against drug abuse 1973

Never forget !

Drugs Are Death !

I don't know who this man is, but one thing is for sure.

He has a contagious smile.

I discovered his photo in a box of stamps.

My guess is that the picture was taken sixty of seventy years ago.

Try to think of anything evil when you look at that smile.

I'll bet you can't do it !

What do you think his occupation was ?

Did he run an optical dispensory ? Sell shoes ? Gynecologist ?

Let me know what you think ?

This was the marquee at the Holiday Inn diner at Union Avenue and McLean where I played the piano in the 1990's.

I had lots of fun there.