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For many Baby Boomers, their main introduction to stamp collecting came from Boy’s Life magazine. Published since 1910, Boy’s Life is a publication of the Boy Scouts of America and the Cub Scouts of America. The magazine was sent for free to anyone who was a member of a Cub Scout pack or a Boy […]

That is the name of a wonderful book written in the 1960s by the famed philatelic writer and dealer Herman Herst, Jr. “Pat” Herst, as he was called, was a newspaper man and well educated stamp collector who evolved into a full time dealer the way many dealers found their profession. In the 1930s, employment

Two of the most famous literary creations are Jane Austen’s Elizabeth Bennett and Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes.  Everyone knows Holmes and nearly everyone Lizzy Bennett (the protagonist of Pride and Prejudice).  These two characters were not only well developed in their own right but have been further developed by scores of authors who have written

Among the most popular areas to collect are the stamps of the British Commonwealth of nations. Comprising hundreds of stamp issuing entities, these are all former British Colonies. British colonial stamps have always been popular not only with collectors residing in Great Britain.  Rather, they have been the second most popular collecting specialty in nearly

Unlike many hobbyists, philatelists strive for completion. Button collectors have the same feeling for the artistic quality of their buttons as stamp collectors do of their stamps. But only a few of the collecting hobbies have a canon of catalogs that you collect against and can offer the feeling that you have truly completed what

Very few modern African stamps have become rarities, but this set from Burundi is an exception. Increasingly, the stamps of post-independence Africa have become more and more popular, and there are many reasons for this.   First, the stamps are intrinsically rare. As of now, there are only a few thousand serious collectors of modern

Those of us who started in philately over thirty years ago remember H.E. Harris. Harris was the largest stamp dealer in the mid-twentieth century, growing rapidly during the Great Depression with the Captain Tim radio show. Harris was a leading  promoter of philately with album publishing and approvals, so that by 1975, Harris had tens of thousands of

The first three decades of the last century were popular years for the hobby of philately. Hundreds of stamp stores opened on Nassau St. (in lower Manhattan) alone. The United States Post Office was actively promoting the hobby with various issues in the late 1920’s, commemorating the sesquicentennial of various Revolutionary War themes. The so

The American Philatelic Society (APS) is the main stamp collector society in the United States. It has over thirty thousand members, puts out a wonderful magazine—The American Philatelist—runs sales circuits, offers inexpensive stamp insurance, and is an all around good membership value for philatelists, especially as they transition from novice to serious collector. Every stamp