In the course of doing some spring cleaning this year, I ran across a couple of stamp collecting books that, although helpful to me when I was younger, I haven’t referenced in quite some time. I no longer have a use for them, so I’m giving them away!
The books are Stamp Collecting: The Complete, Easy Guide to the World’s Most Popular Hobby by Charles Adams and H.E. Harris & Company’s How to Collect Stamps. As the titles may suggest, these volumes are geared toward the beginning collector, giving suggestions on how to build a collection and defining plenty of terms that are specific to philately.
Stamp collecting books
If you’ve just finished putting together a specialized exhibit on Peruvian airmail stamps, these probably are not the books for you, but if you’re still finding your philatelic footing, you might find them useful. If you’re interested, leave a comment below to identify which book you want, then contact me via email so I have your mailing address.
Update: both books have been claimed, and I’ll be preparing them for shipment to the recipients. Thank you for your interest!
First Coast Spring Stamp Show scheduled for April 18
I received a flyer in the mail this week announcing that the annual First Coast Spring Stamp Show in Jacksonville, Florida, is scheduled for this coming Saturday, April 18. The show is being held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Northeast Florida Safety Council Building at 1725 Art Museum Drive.
If you plan to attend the show, the Jacksonville Stamp Collectors Club has a Facebook page set up for the event.
Unfortunately, I won’t be able to attend because I have church commitments on Saturday. I’ve written to the club a couple of times in the past suggesting a Sunday show because I would love to go, but my inquiries have gone unanswered. Maybe Saturdays work better for dealers and a lot of other collectors in the area; for now, I’ll keep holding out hope that one day it will work out for me to attend.
Each spring, my wife and I go through our humble abode top to bottom on a cleaning quest, removing any leavening we can find. Our tradition is based primarily on our religious beliefs, but there’s also a certain amount of satisfaction that comes with cleaning out old junk and things no longer needed and just tidying up in general.
We’ve been working on this project for several weekends now, and should be able to finish the dining area and patio this Sunday. And after that? Well, most likely another diaper change and feeding; the little one is approaching six months old. But after that? Stamps, I hope! It’s time to put together another issue of the Philosateleian Post Horn, and I owe several individuals letters.
I’m eager to get on to some of that, plus do some more writing for this blog. I realize I haven’t been terribly prolific over the past couple of weeks, but I appreciate your patience as we’ve been taking care of “real world” duties.
Gemini 3 astronauts have right stuff for Purgatory Post’s newest stamps
Purgatory Post’s Scott A. is at it again! His latest cover showed up in my mailbox last week, and the stamps on it pay homage to the astronauts of Gemini 3.
Purgatory Post Gemini 3 cover
Gemini 3 was the first manned mission in the United States of America’s Gemini space program. The mission’s crew was comprised of Gus Grissom and John Young. Grissom, of course, died during a test of the Apollo Command Module; Young, however, went on to fly the Apollo 10 and Apollo 16 missions, and later flew on the space shuttle.
Purgatory Post Gemini 3 stamps
Scott tells me that he has several more Gemini stamps planned, so we’ll look forward to seeing those as the year progresses.
A couple of weeks ago, I received a letter from a Mr. Alan B. of Essex, England. Alan began his letter by explaining explained that he is a member of the Letter Writers Alliance and a “stamp-fancier.” Seeing that we have some mutual interests, I read on.
In addition to his other pursuits, Alan enjoys letterpress printing and creating “stamps” for his Kingdom of Adanaland and related territories. He sent samples of his work, a few of which I wanted to share here.
Adanaland stamp
It’s more than a little unusual to see cinderella revenue stamps:
Adanaland revenue stamp
And then there’s Alan’s Expanded Egyptian Territories, identified on this stamp as an Adanaland Protectorate. Note that the face value of this stamp is in picas; the pica, of course, is a unit of measurement used by printers.
Expanded Egyptian Territories stamp
Although Alan’s stamps are not necessarily as colorful as those created by some other stamp-issuing entities, the printing is incredibly sharp—a result, I suppose, of the printing method, and a testament to his skill at operating letterpress equipment. I’m impressed by what he has done, and look forward to seeing more of his work in the future!
