New York is experiencing a nostalgic moment this year with the Javits show just around the corner. We are all reminded of the roaring trade on Nassau Street and the Bowery, and that New York was the original home to this show that comes around only once a decade. It debuted in New York in 1936, returned in 1956, and hits the Big Apple for a third time 28 May - 4 June 2016, when it will be the biggest stamp show in the world, with 350,000 - 400,000 visitors expected to flock to 11th Avenue to the big glass house near the Hudson River, aka the Jacob Javits Center.
Not willing to wait several months for the big bang, most collectors are finding other shows, and also regular dealers, such as Cafe Koshka (Cat Cafe in Russian, how this relates to stamps I am at a loss to tell but maybe there are feline philatelists?) - which sets up on weekends, weather permitting, oustide both at the Chelsea Market on 25th St. between B'way & 6th, and also, with more extensive stock, at Hells Kitchen Market, 39th St. between 9th & 10th. Koshka stocks worldwide: Commonwealth, French Colonies, EU, China, Asia, Latin America, and of course the good ol' USA. Stamps, covers, some supplies, at rock bottom prices, sometimes selling to dealers. It came along less than two years ago, just about the time the garage indoor weekend market closed and Terry, the dealer from Pennsylvania, had enough of NY and parking tickets. The force behind it all is a long time philatelist who started his collecting right here in NY in the '60s, and is a member of a number of clubs, including the International Stamp Club, the Collectors Club and the China Stamp Society. There is an email so one can send in want lists etc. - nycphilatelic@gmail.com so this is more than just a fair weather weekend dealer.
This month an ASDA show is coming up also, it can be hard to find at the Hilton which puts it sometimes on the 2nd, sometimes on the 3rd floor at the back, and concierges are not always aware of its existence so patrons can get turned away or fail to find it. So if you go be persistent and head for the elevator at the back (near side entrance on 54th Street). Below are details:
ASDA New York Fall Postage Stamp Show 2015
October 23-25, 2015
The Hilton
1335 Avenue of the Americas6th Avenue and West 53rd Street
New York NYHotel Reservations: ASDA Block Rate $325 plus tax
Show HoursFriday 10am - 6pm, Saturday10am - 6pm
Sunday 10-4
