I received this delightfully-franked envelope from the American Philatelic Society in the mail yesterday:
American Philatelic Society cover
There are 10 stamps on here, which is no small feat! The envelope even caught my wife’s eye; she recognized Whistler’s Mother on the purple 3¢ stamp.
At any rate, the envelope contained a letter from the Young Friends of the American Philatelic Society, which is made up of collectors ages 20–49. The group is planning activities for the 2015 Ameristamp Expo being held in Riverside, California, February 13–15, and the organizers are trying to get a feel for how many people in that age bracket are planning to attend.
If you’re part of the under-50 crowd but you missed out on previous news about the Young Friends of the APS, let me know. I’ll be happy to put you in touch with the folks in charge.
Last week, I received a package from my mail art friend Marguerite K. She mailed a children’s book for Hadassah to us, and as usual, did so with great style!
Package wrapping paper
I have no idea where Marguerite came up with this wrapping paper, but it is perfect for a collector like me. Cool stuff!
Last month I wrote about how the Penny Black would be the subject for World Local Post Day 2015. I can finally release details about Philosateleian Post’s contribution to the event: a 1-stamp stamp based on the Penny Black design!
Penny Black’s 175th Anniversary stamp
Although I’ve perforated some Hadassah stamps since my antique perforator arrived last week, the Penny Black commemorative will be my first stamp to be perforated from the day I begin using it.
Would you like a copy of the new stamp for your personal collection? Check out Philosateleian Post’s Penny Black press release for details on how to get one.
In the December issue of the Philosateleian Post Horn, I asked readers to name their favorite United States stamp of 2014. The most popular issue? Circus posters!
“Most of my friends would be shocked since I am a huge comic book collector and I was at Comicon for the Batman release,” says Isaac K., “but my vote goes to the circus posters.”
Linda W. agrees. “I’ve had so much fun using the circus theme for my mail art envies, and the look was perfect when I’d use one of the circus postage stamps,” she writes.
My personal favorite? As a landscapes collector, the Hudson River School issue gets my vote, although I have to concede that those stamps would have been more impressive in a larger format like the size used for the Civil War stamps.
What was your favorite new stamp of 2014? Leave a comment below.
Since early this year, I’ve been keeping track of antique stamp perforator sales on the Internet. I’d long had a dream of one day owning my own perforator to use in making my Philosateleian Post local post stamps, but the right situation had just never arisen.
Finally, however, after nearly a year of searching, I do own a perforator. It arrived yesterday, and I am thrilled!
Antique postage stamp perforator
The quest
Although I had been keeping an eye open for available perforators for a long time, my search truly began in earnest this past spring. I blogged in March about how I was looking for an antique stamp perforator; I searched on eBay and Google; I posted want ads on Craigslist and philatelic bulletin boards. I found listings for a few perforators, but they were almost all full-size machines located in the Northeast—far from me, and too heavy to ship economically.
My search was put on hold for a few weeks around the birth of Sarah’s and my daughter, Hadassah, this fall. Finally, though, after things quieted down again, I got around to posting a classified ad on a site frequented by letterpress operators and hobby printers, and it was that ad that caught the attention of Stephen Nelson, the owner of Antyke in Scituate, Rhode Island.
Stephen wrote to me near the end of October and said a tabletop stamp perforator would be arriving at his shop in the near future. He offered to send photos if I was interested, to which I replied with an emphatic “Yes!” Over the course of the next month, we traded messages, and after the machine was cleaned up we reached a deal that sent it on its way to Florida.
(As an aside, Stephen packaged the perforator very securely for its journey, and it arrived in fine condition. I can’t promise he will run across any more antique perforators, but based on my experience, I can certainly recommend dealing with him if he does have some piece of antique equipment or art in which you are interested.)
The machine
My newly-acquired perforator is only 18 inches long and less than six inches deep, but it is a heavy piece of equipment weighing in at nearly 45 pounds. The really crazy part? The base is hollow. This thing was built to last a long, long time, and it will probably still be here well after I’ve rusted away. There are several gold and red ornamental designs painted on each side of the perforator; they are obviously purely decorative, but maybe stamp perforator purchasers back in the day expected their perforators to be pretty in addition to functional.
Gold and red ornamental design on perforator
The perforator has holes for 150 pins which create a pattern measuring perf. 12 on a perforation gauge. When counting from the “open” end of the perforator, pins 10, 12, and 20 are too short to perforate the paper; I presume they’re broken. In addition, pins 1–2 and 142–150 are missing entirely. Even with those minor issues, the machine can still create an uninterrupted line of perforations approximately eight inches long.
Stamp perforator pins
The pins are apparently somewhat worn as they tend to leave behind quite a few hanging chads. (2000 U.S. presidential election, anyone?) I read previously that this can be mitigated somewhat by placing a second sheet of paper under the sheet that is actually being perforated, and that does appear to be the case. I’m pleased with the results.
Philosateleian Post Princess Hadassah stamp with perforations
So far, I have been unable to locate any markings that might indicate who manufactured the perforator, so I’m not sure exactly when it was built. My guess is early 20th century. The front of the perforator does bear a metal oval reading “128,” which I presume is a serial number.
Serial number on perforator
My plans
Well, the perforator is not going to just sit there looking pretty, that’s for sure! I’ve already begun perforating Philosateleian Post stamps, and the first of those went on a couple of pieces of mail I sent today.
I also have ideas for some other “cinderella” items that could be a lot of fun. And finally, I may be able to offer some perforating services to other local post operators and artistamp producers. If you think you would be interested in this, please let me know.
I still can hardly believe I finally own a stamp perforator—especially one of the tabletop models that seem like they’re scarcer than hens’ teeth! Even after collecting stamps for close to 20 years, this is easily one of the most memorable purchases I’ve ever made, and one of the coolest items I’ve had the privilege of owning. I think I’m going to have a great deal of fun with it!
