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Reprinted below is an article from Vatican Notes from 1959 which provides a glimpse back at a memorable Vatican stamp collecting event held almost 70 years ago. The exhibit commemorated the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Vatican City State, and was presented under the auspices of Francis Cardinal Spellman. Much of the material from the Chrysler Exhibit is curated at the Spellman Museum of Stamps and Postal History on the campus of Regis College in Weston, Massachusetts. The Vatican Philatelic Society was very fortunate to be able to display a lot of the material from this event at its Vatican Stamp Day held at the Spellman Museum in October of 2024. The slideshow of this material is available for viewing on the VPS website. Some of the items we were able to present are discussed in the article and have been inserted into the article. So take a look back to 1959:
 
<center><img src='http://vaticanstamps.org/cms/images/SpellmanChryslerExhibit.jpg' height=350px'></center>
 
"The above illustration shows Chrysler Vice-President John E. Brennan and His Eminence Cardinal Spellman examining the Sede Vacante stamp designs of last October [1958], signed by all cardinals to participate in the consistory. Among the signatures are those of the late Edward Cardinal Mooney of Detroit, which he affixed only hours before his sudden death, and that of Cardinal Roncalli, who became Pope John XXIII. Affixed on the very day of His Holiness' election, it is believed to be the last item he signed as a cardinal.
 
<center><img src='http://vaticanstamps.org/cms/images/ConclaveSigs1958.jpg' height=500px'></center> 
<center>From the collection of the Spellman Museum of Stamps and Postal History: 
Note the signatures of Cardinal Spellman (below the stamp image on the far left) 
and Cardinal Roncalli (to the right of Spellman's signature, under the "25" of the stamp)</center>
 
Henry Goodkind, editor of the Collectors Club Philatelist, made the remark, "Cardinal Spellman has given this philatelic display technique the Tiffany Touch."
 
Thus was summed up, in one sentence, one of the most remarkable stamp displays ever conceived. This was the exhibition sponsored by His Eminence Francis Cardinal Spellman commemorating the 30th Anniversary of the first Vatican City Stamps.
 
Exhibited at the Chrysler Automobile Salon, in New York City from April 6th to 17th, it was truly an event to remember.
 
The show was deliberately kept small but the 100 frames were filled with some of the most beautiful and philatelically exciting items ever put on public display.
 
The majority of the frames contained Cardinal Spellman's personal collection of Vatican Issues. Each parchment page's speckle edge was set against a scarlet 'backing sheet' to give it a setting that highlighted the exquisite medieval lettering that describes the stamps. The mounting style was created and done by VPS member Thomas Boland, of Haverhill, Mass., who devoted many months of labor to the Cardinal Spellman Collection at Regis College.
 
In addition to the regular collection, the show also included many of His Eminence's greatest historic philatelic treasures, all of which are unique. These were displayed in glass show cases. Among them is a pane of the Pontifical States stamp centennial issue, personally autographed by the late Pope Pius XII -- the only stamp ever signed by the late Pontiff.
 
<center><img src='http://vaticanstamps.org/cms/images/PiusXIISig.jpg' height=500px'></center> 
<center>From the collection of the Spellman Museum of Stamps and Postal History: 
1952 Centennial of First Pontifical States Stamps Souvenir Sheet, Signed by Pope Pius XII</center>
 
Among the celebrities present, for the opening ceremonies, were James O'Brien, representing Mayor Wagner, who was in Albany; the former Postmaster General James A. Farley; John Brennan, Vice-President of Chrysler Corporation, in Detroit; James Tynion, the Secretary of the Knights of Malta, Postmaster Robert K. Christenberry of New York; Howard Connen, Regional Director of the Post Office Department; G. Andreani, New York manager of Alitalia Airlines; former Postmaster Robert Schaffer; and E. O. Cocke, the Executive Vice-President of T.W.A.
 	
The Clergy and Philatelic personalities present, (with VPS members underlined), included Monsignori Broderick, Cooke, and Ahern of the cardinal's secretarial staff; Father Gannon, former president of Fordham University; Fathers Graham, Davis and Linz, of the 'America' editorial staff; Brothers Philipp and Camillus, of St. Francis College; George Turner of the Smithsonian Institution; Henry Goodkind of the Collectors Club; Edwin E. Elkins; Jacque Minkus, H. L. Lindquist, Bernard Davis, Herbert Rosen, Mrs. Margaret Hackett, of the A. T. A.; and William Wonneberger, President of the V.P.S.
 	
The show was mounted by Sister M. Fidelma, Curator of the Cardinal Spellman Collection, at Regis; Sister Mary Andrew, the noted illuminating artist who decorated Cardinal Spellman's greatest treasures; Father John Harrington, Librarian of St. Joseph's Seminary; Dr. Thomas Overskeft and Tom Boland, of the Cardinal's Philatelic Society; Mrs. Elkins, Mrs. Hackett, Bill Kieckan and Ernest Kehr."
 
Click <a href='https://vaticanstamps.org/vaticannotes/archives/VaticanNotes047.pdf'>HERE</a> to access the original article (Vatican Notes, Volume 7, Number 6, May - June 1959, Pages 7 & 8)

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The Chrysler ExhibitApril 6-17, 1959

The Chrysler Exhibit
April 6-17, 1959