The
Rochester Philatelic Association was founded on March 26, 1913 by
13 philatelists who first met in the lobby of the Hotel Rochester.
Some of these men were also members of the Rochester Numismatic Association,
which formed a year earlier, and early talks were to combine both
groups.
The
Rochester Philatelic Association had an especially active first 15
years. The RPA joined the American Philatelic Association (now the
American Philatelic Society) in September 1913. By the war years,
membership had trickled and the group talked about disbanding but
it came back with a vengeance. Two very active members began a club
collection of worldwide issues, combining their major collections
with other donations from RPA members. By December 1921, the Municipal
Collection housed at Exhibition Park was recognized as one of the
best in the world and remained in the RPA’s possession until
the 1960s.
Growth
continued through the following decades. It absorbed its major competitor,
the Genesee Valley Stamp Club, in 1933. At about the same time, the
RPA started a club newsletter, which continues to this day. Meetings
were held at the old Municipal Museum until the new Rochester Museum
of Arts and Science was built on East Avenue in 1942. Attendance often
topped 100 with meetings in the museum’s Hobby Room
The
golden era of the RPA surely came in 1963. The RPA’s 50th anniversary
party that April featured an international stamp exhibition lasting
50 straight hours. Additional shows have been hosted by the RPA since
then, including the 1968 APS Convention (originating the Champion
of Champions), the first ROPEX in 1971, and the American Topical Association’s
TOPEX in 1974.
Today,
the RPA is active as ever with some 140 members from throughout the
western New York region and beyond.
