Conferences

Diane DeBlois, Robert Dalton Harris Earn the Maurice Rickards Award

When they were presented with the Society's Maurice Rickards Award during Ephemera/28, it became clear that it would almost be easier to list the things Diane DeBlois and Robert Dalton Harris haven't done to improve the world of ephemera than what they have.

The notes that Board of Directors member Richard Sheaff had compiled filled two single-spaced pages. They have, Sheaff said, "done everything desirable in a Rickards Award candidate."

"Diane and Robert have spent decades exploring meanings, relationships, and insights gathered from information found on pieces of paper," Sheaff began. "They have done important research. They have published. They have helped others build collections, and they have always shared their knowledge and insights most willingly—and they have done it all with warm smiles upon their faces. They are special people."

The couple met when Diane's car broke down and Robert happened to be the good Samaritan who stopped to help. While the car was being repaired, she learned about his passion for learning everything he could about 18th-century American postal routes. After she returned to her native Canada, in thanks she sent him a family journal of the Indian War. He refused to keep anything so valuable, and, perhaps because he know so much about the mails, insisted on delivering it in person.

As Sheaff said, a partnership was born.

As researching dealers for nearly 30 years, they have worked with institutions such as the Smithsonian and National Gallery of Art. They published the quarterly PS for 15 years, and participated in symposia for the Smithsonian, The Business History Conference, The International Economic History Conference, the French Post Office, the American Library Association, and others.

They've contributed regular columns and articles to the Postal History Journal (which they co-edit), the Journal of Empire State Postal History, Book Source Monthly, Bookman's Weekly, the American Philatelist, Scott's Stamp Monthly, U.S. Stamp News, and many others. They've also edited or contributed to the Society's Ephemera News and Ephemera Journal.

Each has worked hard for the Society and has manned a booth at all 28 of the Society's annual conferences and paper fairs. They also have arranged the programs for several conferences, including the one just past. And when they offer a presentation of their own, they use an almost seamless back and forth dialogue—the same "format" they chose to accept this year's Maurice Rickards Award.

"We feel both humble and proud to join the group of Rickards medalists—the writers of the definitive books, the builders, curators, exhibitors of the great collections," they said. "But we're especially pleased to join our mentors as dealers: Sam Murray and Rocky Gardiner.

Did you miss a conference? Read more about what happened:

• Conference & Fair EPHEMERA/27 March 9-11, 2007
• Conference & Fair EPHEMERA/26 March 10-12, 2006
• Conference & Fair EPHEMERA/25 March 18-20, 2005
• Conference & Fair EPHEMERA/24 March 19-21, 2004
• Conference & Fair EPHEMERA/23 March 14-16, 2003
• Conference & Fair EPHEMERA/22 March 15-17, 2002
• Conference & Fair EPHEMERA/21 March 16-18, 2001
• Conference & Fair EPHEMERA/20 March 3-5, 2000
• Conference & Fair EPHEMERA/19 March 12-14, 1999
• Conference & Fair EPHEMERA/18 March 20-22, 1998
• Conference & Fair EPHEMERA/17 March 14-16, 1997