Thinking that having a catalog contemporary with the "Blue" would have some advantages, I earlier had tried the 1941 edition. This didn't work out quite as well as I had hoped, so I've been on the lookout for the 1943 edition as this is the one that Scott specifically mentions on the original album title page (albeit just in conjunction with the US pages). I can now confirm that the 1943 edition does indeed do the trick--covering all of the issues in the "Blue" plus issues for 1941 and some of 1942. The only disadvantage is that the 1943 edition was published in two volumes: Volume 1 covered The Americas and the British Commonwealth of Nations; Volume II comprised the Stamps of Europe, Africa, Asia and their colonies. So the geographically challenged such as myself may have to look in two places for some of the lesser known colonies (now just who "owned" Montserrat, W.I.?), this is a small inconvenience. And, who knows, I just might learn something from the exercise.
Apropos the Brown Internationals, an advertisement in the back specifically says the series is to be "discontinued due to the recent trend towards specialization." The final volume is No. 5 through Aug., 1938. Unlike the 1941 catalog, the 1943 does not mention the "Annual Albums" which might have completed the decade if they were ever published.
The famous stamp collector Josiah Lilly said that there were 100,000 postage stamps he wanted for his collection and he succeeded in acquiring 77,000. My considerably easier target is 35,000 of the more common stamps from 1840-1940 contained in the Scott Blue International Album Volume 1. This blog will record my progress, provide general information about Classic era philately and hopefully encourage other "Blue" collectors.
