 Presidential topical collections in general are not very popular largely because there is so little philatelic material that has been issued for most Presidents (quick- name three stamps that have Garfield or the current Presidential flavor-Coolidge- on them or imagine any postal history with a Taft twist). The exceptions are Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, FDR and of […]
Presidential Thematic Collecting Read More »
The kids today didn’t invent status symbols. Even nerdy stamp collectors have their hierarchies and when I was a young collector in the 1960’s status in collecting was acted out in the kind of stamp album that you had (or that your parents bought for you). We all had Harris albums in my stamp club. Scott albums
First Stamp Album Read More »
There is probably no activity more of an antidote to ignorance than philately. Ignorance is more than stupidity or incuriousness. It is deliberately lacking respect for learning and understanding as being valuable activities in a complex world. With every hour with his stamps and covers, a philatelist is cultivating curiosity. This comes to mind when working
Curiosity and Philately Read More »
Printing technology was sophisticated enough for stamps to have been issued hundreds of years before 1840. But, philatelists are fortunate that stamps have been around for only 150 years. As it is now we have issues from nearly 2000 different political-philatelic subdivisions as recognized by Scott (and hundreds of more that are listed by world wide specialty catalogs).
Peace of Westphalia Read More »
There are two main types of stamp collectors- I call them call goal collectors and process collectors. Goal collectors are more visible in the hobby as they are one who are actively out there buying and selling stamps, getting new things for their collections, and exhibiting. Goal collectors always know the next stamp that they need and
Two Types of Collectors Read More »
History is best understood on a continuum. WW II was not an isolated occurrence in world history but was the latest conflagration of centuries of territorial and tribal expansion across Europe. Beginning with the Gothic tribes pressing against the Roman Empire in the Second Century through German unification and the Franco Prussian War and WW
Stamps and Information Technology Read More »
Thematic stamp collecting along conceptual lines  has never really caught hold. There was a great gold medal collection making the rounds of the APS Champion of Champion shows well over a decade ago entitled “Murder” where the collector sought to portray how murder was shown on stamps from individual murderers to genocide (such as the Holocaust).
In the 1970s Public Auctions were much more frequent (and there were far more philatelic auction companies) and there was no Internet. Auction firms sent out a thousand or so auction catalogs to their best customers and mainly solicited bids by mail. There was no email or fax machines, few phone bids and no live computer bidding Because
Lucky Auction Purchase Read More »
The stamps of Newfoundland have always been a favorite with philatelists. The internal demand in Newfoundland itself is small because the population of that province is small but the philately of Newfoundland is interesting and has always attracted Canadian collectors, British Commonwealth collectors and US collectors. The stamps are interesting and well engraved. The first