Stamp Column Archives

The Glassine Surfer Column Archive

This column originally appeared in the American Philatelic Society's monthly magazine, "The American Philatelist." Since then some of the information may be out-of-date depending on how far back you're reading.

February 1999

Pairings

Way back in ancient Rome, boys and girls led separate lives, and the Feast of Lupercalia, which began on February 15th, was one of the few times that they mixed and mingled.  Things got rolling the day before, on a day honoring Juno, the queen of the gods, when a boy picked a girl's name from a vase.  The boy and girl then were paired together for the festival's activities and sometimes they were later wed for Juno was also the goddess of women and marriage.

Today we celebrate the pairings as St. Valentine's Day.  Afterall, it's only natural, and whether they're people or things, when entities merge the results can be dynamite.

Net Catalogs: Net-Logs

Brian and Robert Cannon operate a philatelic information service on the Net for Canadian definitives.  Their stated "goal is to provide the most extensive and detailed listings on the Internet."  

They are a father-son team, and the team effort shows.  Father Brian collects Canadian definitives with a passion, and his son Robert is an accomplished webmaster.  

The presentation, dare I say virtual exhibition, is fast-loading and easy-to-use, and the content is deep and wide.  It is a superior Net stamp site and a definitive must-see.  It's what the Net can and ought to be.

BRC Canadian Definitive Stamps
http://web.radiant.net/brc/main.htm

If others created some companion sites for Canadian airs, commemoratives, Admirals and back-of-the-book material, they could link together and Canadian philately could have a global online catalog.  

With such resources available at every keyboard, it would be easy to become a knowledgeable collector, and linking dealer prices and/or auction results to them would be a great way to put beginners on the right track.

In the same rich vein, Martin Peterson's "United States Postal Cards Collector's Page" lists everything from UX1 through 1999 with nice scans and factual text.  

United States Postal Cards Collector's Page at
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Crete/9404/post4.html

Stamp Books via Net: Phil-E-books

Not all philatelic resources were built for stamp collectors, and one of the Net's biggest advantages is the ease with which it can match buyer and seller.  

What volunteer genealogists have done for hobbies, booksellers have done for retail sales.  Books are flying out the virtual doors, and not just the new ones.  

Used, rare and out-of-print books are enjoying their web presence, too.  A small bookseller can list his inventory with any one several networks, and when a surfer finds that obscure object of their desire, the buyer and seller can shake e-hands.

Two such networks are A Libris and Advanced Book Exchange.  At each site you can either search or browse the e-racks, and both offer email notification of requested titles.

Type in a title, and the network shows a list of all the copies from all the booksellers along with descriptions and prices.    This gives the buyer a chance to see a wide range of prices and conditions.  Of course, you then can email the sellers for clarifications, etc.

So, if you have a hankering for an obscure philatelic book, check out these two booksellers' networks.

A Libris (was Interloc) at
http://www.alibris.com

Advanced Book Exchange at
http://www.abebook.com

Spurrious Progeny

Now if the booksellers' network were paired with philately, not only would they be some very heavy stamps, but the progeny would be the Stamp Finder site.

Stamp Finder is what its name says it does.  Dealers list their inventory, and buyers enter a stamp catalog number.  Then up pops a selection of grades and prices from the listed dealers, allowing buyers to pick and choose from a wider selection on the same screen.