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 Since then some of the information may be out-of-date depending on how far back you're reading.

April 1999

Spring Potpourri

Winter has gone, and the sun is warm.  Breezes stir the earth and sky above, as Spring surges into view.  It's time to resurrect and renew all those things that matter --- personal, official, tangible or spiritual.  

It's a time of religious significance, a time of accounting and taxes, of planting and baseball's Opening Day.  It's also time for spring cleaning, one of our ancient human rituals, to clean out the old to make room for the new.

For centuries bonfires lit the night sky from the vernal equinox through midsummer's eve, consuming the old worn, discarded objects of ancient homes and gardens, and later the ashes rejuvenated the fields and gardens.

Now it's a known fact that stamps attract other stamps like magnets, so with pith helmet and compass I will descend into the depths of my accumulation of stamps, catalogs, covers, papers, letters, e-mail, files and objects I no longer can identify, and when I re-emerge, I'll plow the ashes back into my albums by having a garage sale, a venerable tradition of a somewhat more recent vintage.

Show and Tell

Remember kindergarten?  You showed your favorite toys to the class and told them about them.  Now you can do the same with your stamps on the Net.

Stamp collectors like to show and tell about their stamps, and collectors are sharing their favorites on the Net.  Each of the sites below has one or several interesting stamp stories to enjoy.

Catalogs classify and order stamps, and Jim Watson's one page article shows you how it's done.  Visitors get a guided tour of his Jamaican stamp collection as he makes comparison's of stamps that differ in only one characteristic.  This is a great place for newcomers to learn by example and a nice way to put a collection to work.

Distinguishing Characteristics of Postage Stamps at
http://www.geocities.com/capitolhill/8106/tab_exp3.htm

"Show and Tell" is the name of Matthew Liebson's stampsite for the many  illustrated articles he's put together.  These are good reading, crisp, clear and illustrated from his collection and very entertaining.  "A Penny Black for your Thoughts?" intoduces the peril of heat vents to philately.

Matthew Liebson's "Show and Tell" at
http://www.aracnet.com/~dliebson/lopez/show.htm

Likewise, Joann Lenz offers several essays on modern US postal history under the title of "Some Things I Find Interesting," and if you like the color purple, you'll love this site.

Some Things I Find Interesting at
http://123.net/~lenz/Joann/home.htm

The same presentation applies to Roy & Greg Weber's stampsite.  There's a close look at the postal rate increase of July 1, 1851 along with a look at private perforation.  All of the topics are well illustrated with covers and cancels.

July 1, 1853 postal rates at
http://home.att.net/~rpweber/stamps.htm

In addition many knowledgable stamp dealers post articles and insights into the hobby and their specialties on their sites.  Henry Gitner covers the issue of reperfs in two pieces under the title of the "Hall of Shame," and Carolina Stamp and Coin has several pieces on CSA postal history.

Henry Gitner
http://www.hgitner.com/feature.html

Carolina Coin & Stamp Inc
http://webcom.com/crumbley/

Meanwhile, Down Under and to the right, two of New Zealand's larger philatelic concerns, Auckland City Stamps and Campbell Paterson, share a lot of important Kiwi information with visitors to their Net shops.

Auckland City Stamps at
http://www.nzstamps.com/

Campbell Paterson at
http://www.cpnzstamps.co.nz/idxnws.htm

And you never know where you might find someone showing or telling about stamp collecting on the Net.  Hiding down at "The Island Sun" in the BVI is a nice online article about the British Virgin Islands Philatelic Society.  

BVIPS at the Island Sun at
http://www.islandsun.com/FEATURES/bviphil9198.html