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An old cousin contacted me this week. She had been researching the play “Mauritius” which has a stamp component in its plot for her husband’s amateur theatrical group and she came upon my name on the Internet. We had not been in touch in many years. She’s a bit older than I am and had […]

One of the most popular stamp issuing areas is the Falkland Islands. This popularity must be the result of the charm and the mystery of the place as with an average population over the last 150 years of under two thousand residents, the stamps are not valuable as a result of domestic demand. The stamps

There are three main stamp magazines in the United States. Linns Stamp News is a weekly, and the American Philatelist and the American Stamp Dealer and Collector are monthlies. Linns has been around nearly 100 years. It is published weekly and in the days before EBAY and the Internet, it was an ad rag, often

Much has been written on the first United States Postage Stamp. Most of the important modern information has been posted by Scott Trepel of the Siegal Auction Galleries and it makes great reading.  While research on use of this stamp has been intense, what hasn’t seen much print (pixels?) is the history of the collecting of

One of the most fascinating collecting areas is India and States. Part British Colony, part Third World nation, part of the developing world, the philately of India has much to offer. And, an added bonus for Americans is that most of the good philatelic literature and writing about this area is in English. Indian philately

As a young stamp dealer I left every APS convention amazed at how old the average attendee was. I felt as if I had been working in a geriatric ward. It’s nice to report that the membership doesn’t seem to be getting any older. Most people now seem to be about my age. Cynics have

All businesses have been affected by the Internet and modern technology but none more so than the trade press. For over 100 years thousands of weekly and monthly trade journals were printed to keep people in each field up to date with the latest news, views and gossip in their field. Some trade papers such

Let’s start with a postulate: The American Philatelic Society is worth saving and membership in the APS is worth having and worth the $45 or so that it costs. The question then is how to save the society because certainly the membership losses, the demographic makeup of the society, and the declining revenues don’t bode

The pinnacle of philately’s popularity was the 1930’s. Stamp collecting was an inexpensive hobby and the Great Depression resulted in a lot of people with time on their hands. There was no television or Internet to compete as entertainment. And two of the world’s most beloved and popular leaders, Franklin Roosevelt and King George VI