Judith and Warren Kaplan Collection, Women's and Gender Studies

Judith was born in Bronx, New York, and lived there until her marriage to Warren Kaplan in 1958 when they moved to Jackson Heights, Queens New York. She attended Hunter College, earning her BA in Psychology in 1960. Her working career included positions as life Insurance Agent, stock broker (NYSE), venture capital/private placements, starting TIPEX, Inc., in partnership with Warren, which became the largest dealer in an aspect of philately (stamp collecting) called First Day Covers. Judith joined the National Organization for Women (NOW) in the late 1960s, was active in NOW-NY, the founding chapter of NOW, and acted as fundraiser and treasurer. In the late 1970s Judy started Action Packets, later named Action Products International. From 1976-1980 she designed, produced and marketed the Women'’s History Series of First Day Covers by NOW-NY. In 1985 Judith became one of the first women to bring the company she founded public via an IPO on NASDAQ. Judy had started collecting first day covers about women’'s achievements and then added almost anything documenting women in history: postcards, books, autographed letters, original documents, and ephemera.