Our history
Bill Alexander teaches philately to youngsters in the 1960s.
Our origin story
The beginning of the Postal History Foundation (PHF) dates back to 1960 when Bill Alexander gathered together a group of interested stamp collectors. His idea was to establish an organization that studied and promoted research of Arizona and Western postal history. They also wanted to help children using stamps, The objectives of the proposed organization were to:
- Organize a youth educational program to stimulate stamp collecting among youth.
- Obtain and preserve postal history of all periods for all of the Western States.
- Gather a collection of historical objects related to the transportation and distribution of the mail.
- Foster the study and research of postal history.
- Organize a sponsoring society of philatelists, historians and others who have an interest in promoting and preserving these objectives for future generations.
The Rangers support us
The organizers then approached Dr. Ray Brandes, Assistant Director of the Arizona Pioneers Historical Society (now the Arizona Historical Society) with the idea of establishing a postal history department at the Society. Dr. Brandes agreed. Later, the department became the Western Postal History Museum (WPHM). In order to ensure a reliable source of funding to support the WPHM, the museum organizers formed a group to carry out fundraising activities – thus was born the Arizona Philatelic Rangers.
Dedicated to youth philately
From its earliest days a major focus of the WPHM was the encouragement and support of youth philately. In 1964, an the WPHM affiliated with the National Foundation for Asthmatic Children’s Sahuaro School in Tucson, establishing a youth philately program. This program became the basis for the comprehensive and expansive youth program we have today.
The organization grows
A number of significant donations over the years helped to enhance the collections of the WPHM as well as shape its future. First, a large donation was received in October 1960 from the Raymond H. Weill Co. of New Orleans, Louisiana. It contained many books along with a six volume general collection of stamps. Raymond Weill and his brother Roger continued to support the WPHM with several other substantial donations of material. Over the years, many individuals and organizations made significant donations to the WPHM. In 1978, Stephen D. Bechtel, Sr. donated a major collection of United States proof and essay stamps. The sale of this donation enabled the WPHM to purchase its own building, the current headquarters at 920 North First Avenue.
In 1996, the parents of Peggy Slusser donated $750,000 for the construction of the magnificent library which bears Peggy’s name, and stands today as one of the most outstanding philatelic libraries in the country. Peggy’s collection of books, including a substantial collection of material relating to the Civil War, greatly enhanced the Library’s holdings.
A name change to match a new vision
The evolution of the Western Postal History Museum into the Postal History Foundation occurred over several years, but was finalized with the official name change in 1990. The name was changed to reflect the broadening of activities that the PHF had undertaken over the years, to widen its base of support, and to allow for future program growth. We no longer focused solely on Western postal history, but opened up to worldwide collection and study.
Into the 21st century!
After 50 years, it is evident that the Postal History Foundation has succeeded beyond expectations to become one of the top philatelic organizations in the United States. By promoting education through stamps and the study of postal history, the PHF has supported not only its members, but the City of Tucson and stamp collectors and philatelists throughout the world.
