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The cornucopia of philatelic literature fifty years ago was so plentiful that there were many philatelic niche publications. Today’s stamp magazines struggle to get enough readership to survive, but magazines of the 1950s and 1960s could afford to cast a much narrower net. Many were more labors of love than profit making ventures, and if the magazine could find enough advertising it could survive. One of the most interesting and well received magazines of this era was the bi-weekly Stamp Wholesaler. Published and edited by Lucius Jackson, the Stamp Wholesaler was devoted just to stamp dealers and largely consisted of articles designed to help dealers manage inventory, know where and how to buy, and market their stamps. The tone of the writing was what made it so fun. Looking back, Jackson must have been a careful editor (or wrote most of the articles himself under pseudonyms). The tone was remarkably consistent, wry and warm and accepting of the trials and tribulations of stamp dealing. The advertisements were for companies that made and supplied stamp packets (remember them) or stamp mounts or albums. When stamp shops died out thirty years ago, the dealers to whom these ads were pitched went out of business, and the Stamp Wholesaler lost its economic base and ceased publication.
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There was one writer who wrote for the Stamp Wholesaler who deserves a hat tip. His name was Ken Lake, and he was a British stamp dealer who wrote for the Stamp Wholesaler under the nom de plume of Mentor. Few people today have heard of Ken, but in his day he was as good a writer as there was, combining charm and wit and good advice. For his Stamp Wholesaler writing, Ken used “Mentor” and his real name was always trade secret (although why he wanted anonymity is hard to say. He said it was because he could then say what he wanted without fear of repercussions, but I think it was more just personal reticence). If you can find some old copies of the Stamp Wholesaler I am sure you would enjoy them. And Ken Lake (Mentor) is really on a par with Pat Hearst as one of the top two or three writers that our hobby has produced.