Blog archives (November 2020)

I have a new letter opener

As you may recall, my wife and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary earlier this year, and when she asked me what I’d like for an anniversary gift, my response was virtually immediate: a letter opener. And that’s exactly what she got for me!

Letter opener with buffalo horn handle — Letter opener

My new letter opener has a handle that the seller described as being made of buffalo horn. Whether that means bison or water buffalo, I don’t know, but it is most definitely more substantial than what it replaces, a cheap plastic letter opener that I got as a freebie at the National Association of Broadcasters convention in Philadelphia in 2003. I think that one came from the National Guard booth, but whatever lettering was on it has long since worn away, so I say it was time for an upgrade.

What do you use to open your incoming mail?

Special 2020 update for The Philosateleian

Although I have offered stamp album pages for United States hunting permit stamps for years, it wasn’t until August that I published the first pages for general revenue stamps for The Philosateleian U.S. Stamp Album. I realize that not everyone who uses The Philosateleian collects revneue stamps, but I wanted to expand my offering in case you do.

I’m pleased to share that, as of today, The Philosateleian also includes pages for proprietary stamps (1871–1919) and customs fee stamps (1887). I’ve released those as part of a Special 2020 supplement that’s now available for you to download and print at your convenience.

My hope is to be able to continue adding pages for different revenue stamps, so if there’s a particular category that you would like to see included, please let me know.