The National Philatelic Exhibitions of Washington, DC, Inc. (NAPEX) is very pleased to announce Mr. Roy Weber's participation in a one-hour slide presentation on "A Study of the 11-E2 Essay" at NAPEX 2004.  Mr. Weber's talk will take place on Saturday, June 5, 2004 from 1 pm-2 pm, at the McLean Hilton Hotel, Tysons Corner, Virginia.  Following this presentation, he will respond to questions from the audience.

Roy Weber is an avid collector of U.S. Three Cent 1851/1857 postal history.  His major focus is on postal markings and the changing laws and regulations that gave rise to them.  He credits Stanley Piller, Wilson Hulme, Dick Celler, Bill Amonette, and Frank Mandel with getting him addicted to this hobby.  Roy is a Director of the United States Philatelic Classics Society.  He retired from AT&T Labs in 2002 as a Director of Research.  He holds a PhD from Cornell University in Computer Science, has 65 patents, is a Bell Labs Fellow, and is a member of the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame.

Mr. Weber discovered the 11-E2 stage 2 hand engraved steel die on eBay, led a consortium of 13 collectors in its purchase, and now heads a study group researching its origin and history.  His talk will expand on the news published last August on the consortium donation of the die to the Smithsonian National Postal Museum (NPM).  Since then, the study group has conducted extensive investigations on the stages of the die, determined a chain of wills, and established an ownership chain dating back to 1851.

The heart of the mystery lies within an extended family of printers and engravers in a small area of downtown Philadelphia.  The study group has challenged the current Scott listing which "attributes" to the firm of Rawdon, Wright, Hatch, & Edson the engraving of the die and the submitting of the design as part of a bid to the Postmaster General.  Their ongoing analysis and preliminary findings will be disclosed at NAPEX 2004.  Be prepared for surprises!