(last updated .09-13-2020)
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This page displays cover scans and one complete scan of the small, 3-5/8" x 5-3/4", stamp and First Day Cover (FDC) "Collector's Handbook" sales catalogs published from the 1930's to the 1950's by Elmer R. (Reese) Long (12-07-1911 - 7-14-1965), 511 Seneca St. (19??-1936), 203 Market St. (1936-1946)**, 112 Market St. (1946-?) in Harrisburg, PA. I own nine (9) editions. See below for a complete scan of the 28th, 1947 edition. The rest of the catalog cover scans were found on the Web. Illustrations on the catalog covers and inside the catalogs were drawn by Cachetmaker John Coulthard (9-21-1903 - 9-24-1966). Except as noted by "{A}" (my personal collection), all other displays were found on the Web.
** = John Coulthard created a cachet about this address change for Elmer R. Long, and Long postal mailed these cacheted envelopes to his customers during November and December of 1946. Covers below: 1) is courtesy of
Naval Cover Museum: Cachet Maker John Coulthard, dated 12-06-1946, 2) is courtesy of the
Wichita Stamp Club [PDF] WSC Newsletter, Vol. 79, No.11, November, 2011, p. 8-9, dated 11-30-1946, and 3) was found on eBay and the scan is too small to decipher the posted date. So far, I have been unable to find out what, if anything, he mailed inside of these envelopes. I have not personally seen any of these three envelopes.
For more information, see the articles: 1) "California Cachet Maker: John Coulthard" by Elmer Koehler [FIRST DAYS #82, 14(5), 9-10/1969, p. 74-75], and 2) "A Study of John Coulthard, 1903-1966, Cachet Designer, Artist, Philatelist" by Clyde Carriker [American Philatelist, 98(9), 9/1984, p. 915-20]. Coulthard was member #802 of the Universal Ship Cancellation Society (USCS) [FIRST DAYS #175, 29(4), 5-15-1984, p. 548] and [#385, 55(6), 9-01-2010, p. 66-7]. For information about Long (AFDCS #2035) as a Cachetmaker, see: 3) "Artists of the Beautiful: Elmer R. Long" by Clark Heins [FIRST DAYS #168, 28(5), 7-01-1983, p. 810-11].
Note: There is no mention of the word "cachet" on pages 52-56 of the 28th, 1947 or the 30th, 1948 editions, so the sale prices presumably must be for all uncacheted First Day Covers.
Wanted: a 300 bpi / 600 pixel wide (or greater) .jpg scan of any Handbook cover with no year date listed, or those covers found on the Web and marked "***" which are too small to display sufficient detail. I would also like to know how many pages are in every Handbook, so that can be docuumented here.
Email it to: henkle@pobox.com
Subject for this page: Doug Henkle unlisted Elmer R. Long Handbooks
(an email with any other subject or with any other graphical format will be ignored IF it has an attachment)
As least for the covers I have seen so far, the 39th, ed., 1955 Catalog was the last original design Coulthard did for a Catalog cover. The 40th reused the 35th edition's design, the 42nd reused the 30th edition's design, and the 44th reused the 36th edition's design. However, the last original design might have been earlier, because the the 38th reused the 32nd edition's design. If you have any of the missing 21 covers I have not seen, please send a 600 pixel or larger .jpg scan of it along with how many pages are in that missing Catalog, and whether or not I can use your name as the source of the new scan. Thank you.
Page created by Douglas H. Henkle, henkle@pobox.com