Alton A Weigel
(Published: February, 2026, Volume 24, Number 1, Issue #55) (Table Of Contents)(Author: Brian Valentine)
Alton A Weigel designed many cachets for ABC (Boerger) and Artopages.
Here's an article about him from the Canadian Stamp News December 11-24, 2018 (Pages 11 & 19):
The genesis of the Artopages general-purpose cachets traces back to the work of Alton Weigel, a former engineer whose initiation into the \philatelic business came through designing pages for stamp albums. Weigel's early philatelic work drew the attention of Alfred Boerger, a Toledo, Ohio stamp dealer, who suggested he draw some designs for first-day covers (FDCs). Weigel started doing so for U.S. stamps in 1960. Soon after, Boerger began publishing cachets for Canadian stamp issues too.
Another article about Weigel is from the First Impressions Newsletter Issue #35 April-June 2018 pages 4-7:
The brand name Artopages, derived from a contraction of Art Topic Pages, has been present on First Day Covers (FDCs) for Canadian stamp issues since 1967. The firm, consisting of a partnership between Alton Weigel and Jim Novotny, was established in 1964 to produce pages for American stamp albums, but diversified to include FDCs for U.S. stamps in 1966 and Canadian issues the following year. The Artopage Covers firm published special and general purpose cachets for Canadian stamps from 1967 until 1977 when Alton Weigel had to stop his involvement for health reasons, and he died in 1980. General purpose cachets suitable for use with any Canadian stamp issue were made by antecedent companies long before the Artopages brand existed, beginning with Alfred Boerger and his A.B.C. (Alfred Boerger Covers) cachets.
Alton Weigel has a very distinctive design template and he designed many of the FDC's included in the Handbook.
US 1194 FDC Signed Weigel
US 1193 FDC Signed Weigel
Cover Addressed To Weigel
Here's an article about him from the Canadian Stamp News December 11-24, 2018 (Pages 11 & 19):
The genesis of the Artopages general-purpose cachets traces back to the work of Alton Weigel, a former engineer whose initiation into the \philatelic business came through designing pages for stamp albums. Weigel's early philatelic work drew the attention of Alfred Boerger, a Toledo, Ohio stamp dealer, who suggested he draw some designs for first-day covers (FDCs). Weigel started doing so for U.S. stamps in 1960. Soon after, Boerger began publishing cachets for Canadian stamp issues too.
Another article about Weigel is from the First Impressions Newsletter Issue #35 April-June 2018 pages 4-7:
The brand name Artopages, derived from a contraction of Art Topic Pages, has been present on First Day Covers (FDCs) for Canadian stamp issues since 1967. The firm, consisting of a partnership between Alton Weigel and Jim Novotny, was established in 1964 to produce pages for American stamp albums, but diversified to include FDCs for U.S. stamps in 1966 and Canadian issues the following year. The Artopage Covers firm published special and general purpose cachets for Canadian stamps from 1967 until 1977 when Alton Weigel had to stop his involvement for health reasons, and he died in 1980. General purpose cachets suitable for use with any Canadian stamp issue were made by antecedent companies long before the Artopages brand existed, beginning with Alfred Boerger and his A.B.C. (Alfred Boerger Covers) cachets.
Alton Weigel has a very distinctive design template and he designed many of the FDC's included in the Handbook.
US 1194 FDC Signed Weigel
US 1193 FDC Signed Weigel
Cover Addressed To Weigel