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 Since then some of the information may be out-of-date depending on how far back you're reading.

March 2003

Not to be overlooked is the glossary of philatelic terms from accessories to ZIP code, and a handy list of what all those Scott prefixes mean.

This is all part of ADB Stamps run by Arin "Dean" Brown up in Michigan, and is a great educational resource for stamp collecting beginners and philatelists. Give it a bookmark and make it a link.

ADB Stamps
http://www.artforwildhearts.com/nstamphomepage1.html

Brown's want list is also onsite, just another example of philatelists reaching out by sharing.

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Stop 'em

Though no one knows from whence they came, no one thinks they'll ever leave. They're one of the compromises we make to pay for websites we like. The trouble comes when we wander into a site that throws four or five popups at us, and another one or two of them at us when we click out.

Popups have spawned another batch of software, just as malicious hackers were midwives to anti-virus programs, and likewise, they come in a wide variety of chrome and price.

If you're annoyed and want to try out a simple popup killer, Panicware offers a freeware version of Pop Up Stopper that's simple and effective for most common annoyances.

When active, Pop Up Stopper sits in the system tray killing off pop ups. There are a few simple preference choices and a link to online help. Run it and surf for a few days, and a non-intrusive sound will indicate when a pop up has gone to heaven (or hell, if that's your opinion).

Pop Up Stopper
http://www.panicware.com/popupstopper.html

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FDC's

A few philatelists have found that, if they want to meet others who share the passion for their postal niche, all they have to do is share a little of what they know on the Web, and they will come like bears to honey.

Over the years Glenn Estus has accumulated a lot of knowledge, and over at his website there's a wide array of in depth information that anyone with an interest postal history and FDC topics will want to read.

Estus is a collector whose learning through meeting and sharing, and he's assembled an impressive array of pages and material ranging from US postal rates of 1792-1855 and 1937 Canada Coronation Flag Cancels and FDCs, to the 1939 Royal Visit of H.M. George VI and H.M. Elizabeth, and Tasco booklets of the '40s and '50s.

Each subject is reachable through Estus' main page, and each topic is handled in depth. The '37 Cornation and '39 Royal Visit FDC and cachet pages are very detailed, and there's material on the Royal Train Postmarks of '39.

Also covered in detail on the site are the US 2c Lake Placid Stamp,
2c Navy, 3c Vermont Statehood Sesquicentennial, 3c Fort Ticonderoga, and 3c Olympic Winter Games.


Glenn Estus Interests
http://users.westelcom.com/gestus/interests.htm