Over the past three months, the USPS has issued over 60 new stamps! The Summer 2011 Supplement (317 KB, 6 files, 14 pages) for The Philosateleian U.S. Stamp Album includes spaces for all of those stamps, and it’s now available for download. I hope you enjoy.
If you’ve missed any previous supplements, visit the updates & supplements page. You can download all the pages that have changed since you last updated your album.
I’m working on the ongoing project of updating Philosateleia’s layout, and in the process discovered this week that Philosateleia’s search engine wasn’t doing all it should have been doing. A new back end is now in place, and you should find Philosateleia’s search feature to be greatly improved.
It seems Philosateleia’s existing search provider was not returning full result sets for searches. For example, a query for “American Indian” was returning only 16 results. Following the switch to the new search engine, that same query now returns over 200 results.
If you’ve tried searching Philosateleia in the past and couldn’t find the information you needed, please try again. I appreciate any feedback you offer.
A few months ago, I was searching for a binder and dustcase to house my American Indian stamp collection. I don’t have easy access to a local stamp shop where I could do a “hands-on” inspection, so I spent some time searching online for information about the various binder and dustcase combos available to me.
My main criteria were price and compatibility with stock pages I already own. Specifically, I wanted to stick with a three-ring binder system. After doing a good bit of research, I ended up purchasing G&K’s “Prince” binder with matching dustcase in black.
Let me note that this is not a paid review, nor did I get the product for free. I paid for it out of my own stamp budget.
Although the Prince falls on the lower end of the price spectrum for binders with dustcases, it’s not exactly an inexpensive item. I ordered from Subway Stamp Shop, paying roughly $30 plus shipping.
The dustcase itself is solid and fairly well constructed, if otherwise unremarkable. The color matches the binder, the outside of which is nicely padded and covered in imitation leather. To me, the binder feels like it could break if much pressure was applied, but I don’t know that your average discount binder from an office supply store would fare any better.
A small plastic sleeve at the bottom of the binder on the outer edge will hold a small label identifying the binder’s contents.
One interesting feature about the Prince binder is that it does not have the usual metal “tabs” at the top and bottom of the metal spine. Instead, you have to actually pull the rings open to insert or remove pages. This is nice because you don’t have to risk damage to the corners of your pages due to contact with the tabs.
The binder measures 10¼×12¾ inches, which easily accomodates normal 8½×11 inch pages, and even sheets slightly wider than that. The binder is 1½ inches thick; Subway suggests a capacity of 40–50 sheets, but your mileage will vary based on the thickness of the paper or stock sheets you’re placing in it.
Naturally, you’re not going to fit full sheets of stamps into this, but that’s not what it’s designed for.
Overall, I’m satisfied with my purchase. I think the Prince binder is a bit on the pricey side considering what you get for your money. Nevertheless, there aren’t a lot binders with dustcases on the market, and the Prince is less expensive than options available from other manufacturers.
Would I buy this item again? Yes, for a small collection that I feel needs the extra protection of a dustcover. For a larger collection of inexpensive stamps and covers, I’ll probably stick with less expensive binders I can buy for a few dollars each.
Have you used the G&K Prince binder? What’s your impression of it?
I’m in the process of creating pages for my landscape stamp collection, and each page bears the name of the natural feature depicted on the stamp(s) it holds. That works just fine until I run across a stamp with a scene I can’t identify.
Such was the case with this 45¢ airmail stamp issued by the U.S. in 1990. It’s obviously a tropical island—but where?
For an answer, I contacted Mark Hess, the designer of this stamp and several others. I asked whether he had a specific location in mind when he created the design, or if it was intended to be a generic piece.
Mark was nice enough to respond, and wrote:
“The tropical image was a conceptualized idea of Columbus’ first visits to the continent; i.e., the tropical islands of the Caribbean. My initial painting included more palms and banana plants, however expert ‘checkers’ reported that many of these seemingly indigenous plants were actually transplants brought to the islands for commercial reasons and so were removed…
“So, in answer to your question, the tropical scene was intended to be the Caribbean, but in a generic way.”
That’s good enough for me. For my album page, I went with the heading “Tropical Coast, Caribbean Sea.”
Collectors using most stamp albums won’t have spaces for 2011 stamps until sometime next year, but if you use The Philosateleian, you can mount your newest acquisitions now!
The Spring 2011 Supplement (201 KB, 4 files, 5 pages) is available and ready for download. I think I caught all the mistakes, but if you see any problems I missed, please let me know.
Finally, if you like these pages and haven’t made a contribution before, please consider supporting Philosateleia. Thanks for using The Philosateleian, and happy collecting!