Don Peterson courtesy call to the Philpost officials

Business Processing Office , Manila Central Post Office ,Liwasang Bonifacio – Ermita , Manila -Philippines

Mrs. Amelita Cunanan , Mr. Nemi Miranda and Mr. Don Peterson

Mr. Don Peterson started collecting stamps at the age of ten by the influence of an uncle who is an avid stamp collector . Don’s increased interest in stamp collection, soon earned him the presidency  through a merger of the  Stamp Collectors Club of Washington (founded 1927) and the Washington Philatelic Society (founded 1905). Then in 2006 , saw the  birth of the Washington Stamp Collectors’ Club in 2006.

L-R Mr. Nemi Miranda , Mr. Rey Ong de Jesus , Mrs. Amelita Cunanan, Mr. Don Peterson , Mr. Emmanuel Encarnacion , APMG-Operations Mama S, Lalanto al haj

Mr. Don and the rare few, were the founders of this noble organization and was honored to be its first president.

group picture with the rest of the stamp advisory committee members , Philpost officials and Philippine Philatelic Federation members

Aside from WSCB, He is an active member of many philatelic societies; One of such stamp clubs  is the  International Philippine Philatelic Society ( IPPS ) which was incorporated in 1974 .  The organization had an approximate  300 worldwide members  of stamp collectors ( philatelists ) who are serious in collecting Philippine issued stamps and even postcards.

L-R APMG-Operations Mama S. Lalanto al haj , Mr. Dojie Lutera, Ms. Franz Ruiz , Mrs. Elsie Loyola , Mrs. Josefina T. Cura , Mr. Don Peterson ,  Mr. Rey Ong de Jesus and  National Historical Commission of the Philippines representative

Due to his vast stamp collection and expertise , He is an active member of the  American Philatelic Society and had garnered numerous award-winning exhibits  at both national  and international exhibitions .

L-R Mr. Dojie Lutera , Mr. Don Peterson and Mr. Emmanuel Encarnacion

Spanish -Philippines issues

The Philippines is the first country in Asia to issue postage stamps, according to Mr. Peterson , There are two levels of difficulty which captivated his interest and they both formed the basis of his successful collection.

L-R Postmaster General- Hon. Maria Josefina dela Cruz, Mrs. Josefina T. Cura , Mrs. Elsie Loyola , Ms. Franz Ruiz and Mr. Dojie Lutera

For his Spanish- Philippines collection, He received the position of an international authority on stamps and postal history. In his own right, He is a regular contributor  writer to several stamp magazines , IPPS journal and on-line sites . He has authored over three hundred philatelic articles on topics of the Spanish- Philippines era .

Postmaster General and CEO of the Philippine Postal Corporation – Honorable Maria Josefina dela Cruz and Mr. Don Peterson

One of the highly sought after book entitled, “Postal History of the Spanish Philippines”, 1556-1898, had won several  awards as an international philatelic literature.

During his courtesy call to the Philippine Postal Corporation officials led by Postmaster General and CEO Mrs.Maria Josefina dela Cruz , APMG Mama S. Lalanto al haj , Stamp Advisory Committee members and Philippine Philatelic Federation  members –   He likes Philippine stamps because of the simplicity of the designs and beautiful works of arts .

He also presented an IPPS Journal to Mrs. Maria Josefina dela Cruz during the courtesy call and was given an opportunity by the stamp advisory committee to speak some insights of his experiences in collecting Philippine stamps .  Mr. Peterson will be having a hectic schedule in his visit to the country. He will be visiting key cities like Cebu  City and Ozamiz  in Mindanao where he will be meeting old friends and acquaintance .

DC Stamp Club: http://www.dcstampclub.org/pdfs/WSCCnewsletter024.pdf

International Philippine Philatelic Society : http://www.theipps.info/sitemap.htm

Philippine Daily Inquirer: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/135391/hobbyists-offer-view-of-the-personal-plus-history-through-stamps

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Mr. Mario Feir Filipinana Books and other collections

Unit 11-A One McKinley Place , 26th Street Crescent Park West
Fort Bonifacio Global city , Taguig City -Philippines

Mr. Mario Feir together with his collection of Philippine books

I have known Mr. Mario Feir as a stamp collector ( philatelist ) rather than a book collector . We would occasionally bumped with each other during stamp club meetings , Bayanihan Collectors’ Club meetings once in a while . I would also notice had he would also bid for old books and postcards too!

an array of doll collection from different Asian countries like Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam from his trips abroad

Until one of our postal heritage tour participant,  an employee of NCCA told me that Mr. Feir and Mr. Stephen Feldman ( His best friend and also  an avid book collector)  had an extensive collection of Philippine books ( Filipinana)- The term is used by book collectors who specializes in Philippine published books. Normally the quantity of Philippine publication is not that big . While some local published books are meant for students ( mostly textbooks ) which are printed in recycled papers  meant to cater the students and masses.

part of his book collection  and a painting

A  Bibliophile ( technical term for book lover and collector) , Mr. Feir left New York about eight- years ago to return to the Philippines for good . He brought with him his growing Filipiniana collection, which, after settling into his Fort Bonifacio condominium unit , He decided to opened to students, researchers, collectors, readers. The library also includes ephemera like old postcards, posters, stamps, antique maps and prints, all of which Mr. Feir was kind enough to show to me during my visit. His book collection is about 10,000 volumes and still counting !

Rizaliana collection

The library had a good collection of Jose Rizal title books – aptly called Rizaliana ( Dr. Jose Rizal his life story and works ),  locally published literary works like Noli Me Tangere , El Filibusterismo among others.

old Philippine map

Mr. Mario had quite a good collection of Philippine maps and prints –Cartography Greek term khartes = papyrus (paper) and graphein = to write) The Yuchengco Museum in Makati would also invite him to their exhibit sometime last year . ( Old Philippine maps)

Fort William Mckinley postcards ( during the American regime ) now Bonifacio Global City

Mr. Mario Feir shows off his collection of rare stamps on covers

Collection :

Sir Mario Feir is an avid stamp collector, He started collecting stamps when he was still in his elementary days and still collecting Philippine and various stamps from all over the world. It is safe to assume that he had been a collector of stamps for more than 50 years !

 Spanish -Philippines stamps which dates back to 1854

He had some Spanish -Philippines stamp issued  in 1854.  For serious Philippine stamp collectors ( Spanish era stamps) are considered creme’ dela creme .

certificate of authenticity

With a certificate of authenticity from Comision de Expertos de Madrid this is a private group which are the experts in stamps issued by Spain and her colonies.  He also had a special de-humidifier devise installed in the air-conditioning units just to maintain the collection.

old document with beautiful  hand writing during the Aguinaldo revolutionary period

Feature:

He was also featured in one of Tulay fortnightly digest about 3 years ago , several bloggers , bibliophile , newspapers like Philippine Star ,  and glossy magazines  featured him on several occasions.

Visitors:

Mr. Mario Feir library  have it share of  visitors from various schools , universities , associations , book lovers, heritage advocates, history buff s ,  well-known personalities like Mrs. Imelda R. Marcos , Mr. Butch Dalisay ,  Chef Claude Tayag , NCCA employees, Malacanan Palace-Media communication staffs, stamp collectors among others.   Due to lack of space , He cannot accommodate  big group of people to his condominium unit. On a monthly basis , The library would get 15 to 20 visitors on an average .

Mr. Mario Feir and the author

Anyone who wanted to make research, study or just some time to chat with Mr. Mario Feir must make an apportionment .   Soft-spoken and warm, His eyes brightened up as he proudly showed me his Filipiniana collection and other stuffs  like  various DVD’s movies which numbered a few thousand of pieces, newspaper clippings  ,several art works and a balcony  garden  .  It seems that time flies so fast that it was almost sundown . I told Tito Mario and Sir Stephen  that i will be coming back for more in-depth research and perhaps a quick chit-chat probably in the near future .  Might tag along some fellow history and heritage buffs .  I must commend these people for sharing  their  time ,  home and their extensive knowledge about culture, history, heritage and art !

Contact Information 

Unit 11-A One McKinley Place
26th Street Crescent Park West
Fort Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City- Philippines

Phone: (02)856-0957
Please try to call during office hours, Monday-Friday

Website: http://www.asianrarebooks.net/

Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/mariofeir.filipinianalibrary

Winners of PhilPEX 2012

Categories:

A: Postal History                                   Exhibitor                          Award

1. China- Pre- UPU 1778-1872           MR. Robert Tan                 Gold

2. Postal History of the Philippine – Cordillera Mr. Dojie Lutera  Vermiel

B. Traditional Philately                           Exhibitor                               Award

1. Philippines – Pre Philatelic era            Mr. Robert Tan                          Gold

2. Philippines – Japanese Occupation  Mr. Robert Tan                      Large Vermiel

3. Philippines slogans                                 Mr. Hans Becker                   Large Vermiel

4. Philippine Postal system under Japanese Mr. Roberto Jacinto      Vermiel

5. Postage of the Phil. under the Spanish Dominion C.H. Severino D. Bajar M.D. Vermiel

6. Phil. Paquebot markings under the US admin . Mr. Reynaldo Ong de Jesus  Vermiel

7. Phil. Postal System under the US Administration Mr. Roberto Jacinto   Silver

C. Thematic Philately                       Exhibitor                                    Award

1. Hologram                                         Mr. Nilo Dizon                                Large Vermiel

2. Philatelic Terms using Worldwide Birds  Mrs. Paulina Calinawan        Silver

3. Engineering and Architectural Structures   Ms. Ligaya Callejo              Silver

4. Stamp Collecting . The Hobby of A Lifetime  Ms.  Rebecca Go                Silver

5. Painting of the Renaissance Period           Mr. Rouel R. Sevelleno          Silver

6. Jose Rizal                                                             Mr. Allan Mirhan                      Silver

7. Extra Ordinary Stamps                          Mr. Jerson Danseco              Silver- Bronze

8. Pope Benedict XVI                                Msgr. Ramon Tiama                Silver – Bronze

9. Joint Issues                                              Mr.  Gero Zyo Danseco           Silver- Bronze

10. Blessed John Paul 2 . Making of a Saint  Ms. Penafrancia Ruiz   Silver- Bronze

11. Living Animals                                 Mr. Max Dexter Go                     Silver- Bronze

12. The History of Painting              Ms. Penafrancia Ruiz                    Silver-Bronze

13. World War II in the Philippines Mr. Allan Mirhan                        Silver- Bronze

14. Philippine Educational System  Ms. Eden Sepagan                       Silver- Bronze

15. Pass the Message                           Ms. Maria Lourdes Watiwat     Silver-Bronze

16. Transport Machines                   Ms. Aurora Malundas                  Silver-Bronze

17. President  Manuel L. Quezon Commonwealth & Republic Issues

( Quezon Philatelic Society )        Bronze

18. Agrikultura , Pangisdaan at Bundok   Mr. Guillermo James Argosino  Bronze

19.  Philippines -Unique Nation   Mr. Norberto Hererra                        Bronze

20. Mga Bayani at Dakilang Pilipino       Guillermo James Argosino    Bronze

21. Philippine Birds                      Mrs. Paulina Calinawan                            Bronze

22. Friends Never Die , They Just Pass Away   Mr. Dionisio Taeza     Bronze

23. Quezon , Philatelically           Msgr. Ramon Tiama                                Bronze

24. Vertebrate Diversity             Mr. Gary Rosales                               Certificate

25. Chinese Zodiac                     Ms. Leslie Tanengsy-Uy Matiao   Certificate

26. Olympic Games                    Mr. Allan Bennet Uy- Matiao         Certificate

27. Philippine Culture               Mr. Allan Bennet Uy- Matiao        Certificate

D. Youth Philately

1.  The World of Music       Ms. Reena de Jesus                                       Vermiel

2. Outer Space -Link for Mankind         Mr. Rainier de Jesus             Silver

3. The Time Giants Ruled the World   Ms. Joanna Argosino            Silver

4. It’s Cat Meow                        Ms. Collie Marquez                                    Silver

5. Tropical Butterfly                Jally Marquez                                             Silver

6. A Story in Stamps             Mr.  Chris Brandon Go                                Silver- Bronze

7. The Summer Olympic Games  Mr. Chris Brandon Go                     Silver – Bronze