Czur Aura Book Scanner

UPDATE: Numerous delays but the ship containing my unit will arrive in LA by the end of May and presumably I will have the scanner in early June 2019.

Although I no longer have the need I once did, I continue to be fascinated by inexpensive, non-destructive approaches to book scanning. On paper at least (no pun intended), the Czur Aura scanner looks like a viable solution. It is still a crowd funding project, but 50x the amount needed has been raised, and shipping is projected for December 2018.

According to the website, the scanner will:

* Digitize books without unbinding them;
* Convert them to PDF, editable Word (2.5sec/page);
* Scan a wide range of documents and objects up to A3 size (i.e., what the US calls tabloid);
* Double as a versatile lamp with 4 light settings.

The company estimates that a 300 page book can be scanned in 30 minutes if saved as jpeg images. (There is foot operated button included for speeding up the process.)

You can buy the scanner at the moment for $179 (shipping extra). A battery powered version is $30 more for those wanting to take this portable device to libraries and other locations.

Lots of information can be found at https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/aura-speeds-simplifies-all-your-scanning-needs#/

I have ordered the scanner and will report back on the results of scanning pages in the Blue Volume One as well as other philatelic materials.

2019 Scott Classic Catalogue

Right on schedule is the November release of the 2019 Scott Classic Specialized Catalogue Of Stamps And Covers 1840-1940. One new thing about the Amos Website is that they are finally showing some actual examples of pages and listings. Here is a summary of what Scott thinks are the most important aspects of the 2019 edition. This is an abbreviated version of what is given on the Amos website:

    Classic Germany received a complete review this year, resulting in more than 1,900 value changes, with a mix of increases and decreases. Increases are especially notable among never-hinged and on-cover values.
    Collectors of Portugal and its colonies should pay special attention to Mozambique Company. The listings from Scott 1 through 104 have been completely reorganized by the paper on which the stamps were printed, and by perforation gauge. More than 160 value changes were made
    Almost 1,200 value changes were made to the listings of the Colombian States of Antioquia, Bolivar, Boyaca, Cundinamarca, Santander, and Tolima.
    Significant value increases are found among the listings of Transvaal.
    A complete examination of Australia resulted in more than 700 value changes, with more decreases than increases
    New never-hinged listings have been added to Jordan, Kuwait, and Lebanon
    Almost 770 value changes were recorded for Italian Offices Abroad in Aegean Islands.

As a reminder, you can type "Classic catalogue" in the search box in the upper left hand corner of this page to see changes in earlier editions. I had access to the actual catalogs until recently, so my comments for many of these are rather more detailed.