This article by Paul M. Holland recently appeared in the September 20, 2021 issue of Linn's (pp 103-108) and is a succinct and entertaining introduction to collecting the world. My only complaint is that Linn's didn't include a warning that some of the author's photos may cause album envy.
To someone unfamiliar with the lack of interest, even bias against worldwide collecting after WW II, the article might seem as unremarkable as it is informative. But when I began my blog in 2007, nothing like this piece existed in print. Basic information such as the difference between the current edition of the "Blue" Volume one and the many editions found on eBay or at auction wasn't available. And pragmatic articles like Hollands that showed collecting the world was really possible, practically non-existent.*
For the record, here are some other periodical articles about the Internationals or worldwide collecting that I found useful:
Block, Lawrence. "Generally Speaking," 33 columns in Linn's beginning with the November 29, 2010 issue. These columns were reprinted in the book Generally Speaking: All 33 columns, plus a few philatelic words from Keller. A Lawrence Block Production, 2019.
Ewell, Albert H. "Hails & Farewells: The Story of the Scott Specialty Albums." Philatelic Literature Review, 3rd Qtr, 2003. pp 222 - 226
Gorney, Cynthia. "They Collected the World: The Herculean Effort for a Grand Total of 195,219 Stamps | In a Herculean Effort, They Collected the World." Special to The Washington Post. Apr 26, 1978, B1-[B2?] (in the "STYLE Entertainment People Comics" section). Reprinted in Scott's Monthly Stamp Journal, July 1978. pp 16-17, 20-21.
Thompson, Rick. "Judging an Album by Its Cover." American Philatelist, October 2010. pp 915-918.
Turner, George T. "A Century, 1868-1968, Scott's Albums." Scott's Monthly Journal, March 1968. pp 1-3, 6-7, 10-11, 14-15, 18-19, 22, 34.
*For completeness sake, there is an article that I missed when I was first researching and have not seen: Lawrence Januz's "General Worldwide Collecting Still Alluring," Linn's, January 25, 1999, p. 30.
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.
Thursday, September 16, 2021
"If you want to collect the world, find a way to make it work for you"
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11 comments:
Great minds think alike. ;-)
Bob, I was coming over to your blog site to suggest you do a review of Holland's Linn's Stamp News article, but I see you have already done it. Thanks!
I wish, though, in the age of the internet, he might have suggested some resources for those who would like to start a WW collection - perhaps including your site (Filling Spaces) and my site (Bigblue 1840-1940). :-)
Jim Jackson
Somewhat interestingly I am finding it notably difficult to locate the mentioned resources as none appear to be available online as far as I can tell. :(
I very much agree that adding some pointers to online resources relating to world wide collecting would have been a worthwhile addition!
I suggest that you google this: "collect the world" stamps.
You'll find many helpful sites, such as:
An article by Janet Klug:
https://www.linns.com/insights/a-world-of-fun--worldwide-stamp-collecting.html
An interesting discussion on the Stamp Community website:
https://www.stampcommunity.org/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=77409&whichpage=1&
Thanks for the additional links. I checked both out and enjoyed the discussions.
I am continuing to make some progress on my International 1840-1963 collection and managed to locate a partial International part V collection at a local stamp dealer which had selected A to H coountries with both Part V and VA pages in a VA binder with a good number of stamps for me to select some mint/unused additions for my collection and have now passed 42% completion for the Part 5 1960 to 1963 album for a milestone of 4 of every 10 stamps in that album. Just need about 20 more stamps to reach 5,000 different in my Part V album. Still have the H countries to check so between Haiti and Hungary I should complete that additional milestone. I am hoping to have a chance to check for some new additions for my album tomorrow afternoon!
On a side note, I have made a lot of progress on Scott Specialty album collections for France and Great Britain over the past few months and have purchased two additions for my Finland collection which leaves me with less than ten stamps to go for that collection. I have ended up with six used stamps for that collection plus a very small number of mint no gum stamps with #36 being the most notable. Just need #'s 1, 11, 20-24, and the two highest value Aunus overprints since 14 and 15 have been deprecated in the Scott catalog.
Albumfilling, thanks for the update. It is nice to see someone persevere (unlike me).
The article “If you want to collect the world, find a way to make it work for you” from Linn’s Stamp News, September 20, 2021 is now posted on the website of SESCAL’s Literature exhibit as a flipbook and free PDF download at:
https://sescal.org/literature-exhibit/
Scroll down to find it under 2022 Competitive Exhibits.
Best Regards,
InforaPenny
InforaPenny, thanks so much for sending this link.
Here's link to the "They Collected the World" Article from the Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1978/04/26/they-collected-the-world/6d47cda7-bb03-4ea4-9514-97dacf6ac4dc/
Thanks for posting the Washington Post story!
InforaPenny
I'm bit late from the party (kept a break of few years from stamps), but thanks for lifting this (and other good stuff) up.
Keijo
Keijo, sorry I didn't reply immediately, but it is wonderful that you are back. I wonder if there are any collectors for whom life didn't get in the way at some point?
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