The philatelic gum collectors are very well entitled to their form of collecting; after all, no one in the stamp collecting world has laid greater emphasis on the right to collect what you choose than I have. If a collector desires stamps hinged only once or never hinged that is his privilege and most stamp dealers will honor his wishes. He is not a problem when he carefully indicates his requirements.

On the other hand, there is a large group of people who, perhaps thoughtlessly, order stamps from lists or auction catalogs wherein condition is definitely described and defined, but either refuse to take the time to read the definitions before ordering or hopefully chance getting material with qualities different than described.

The majority of stamp dealers secure their stock of all but current issues through the purchase of stamp collections. It was and still is the custom of millions of collectors to use stamp hinges. When properly used good hinges do not, and I emphasize “do not,” harm stamps. It is virtually impossible to make a collection of any kind of unused stamps issues prior to 1940 and achieve completion unless previously hinged stamps are acceptable. The only alternative is to spend a lot of money buying stamps that have been regummed to mislead the great number of people who cannot tell original from regummed stamps.

The purpose of this editorial is two-fold. First, to ask that you please do not mislead your dealer by ordering in such as way that he is unaware of your requirement, and two, that you give reasonable thought to the matter of whether the stamp or its glue is what you are collecting.