tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3749098825907573686.post5807888233613973169..comments2023-10-06T13:49:59.091-04:00Comments on Filling Spaces: Random Jottings about MarginaliaBobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04111329068221289436noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3749098825907573686.post-43639137098396112712012-02-09T14:36:10.654-05:002012-02-09T14:36:10.654-05:00Drew, thanks for your perspective. On your last po...Drew, thanks for your perspective. On your last point, I have been using a #2 0.55mm mechanical pencil and haven't noticed my pencil marks transferring, but then I haven't been looking for that. I will now! I wonder if glassine interleaving is more resistant to picking up pencil marks?Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04111329068221289436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3749098825907573686.post-24701014441502111282012-02-08T22:50:04.136-05:002012-02-08T22:50:04.136-05:00Writing prices in albums is sometimes done by lot ...Writing prices in albums is sometimes done by lot evaluators at stamp companies whose job it is to come up with a selling price for the album (while removing any particularly valuable stamps, I imagine). If it's in pencil, it can be erased, but what a pain! I suppose they are not expecting sellers to reuse the pages but to remount the stamps elsewhere and throw away the pages. <br /><br />If the writing is done by a collector, it may just be a kind of simple accounting system -- "I bought this stamp for this price." Maybe that helps them keep track of expenses or allows them to grab a bargain when they find a similar stamp more cheaply. Or maybe they're just bragging to themselves! <br /><br />But whatever the causes, it's pretty annoying to buy an album where you want to reuse pages and find them covered in pencil. I don't suppose anyone with an album gives much thought to someone else using it someday, though. I certainly never did until I began buying used albums because new albums were so expensive. And ink is worse -- right up there with scotch tape, in my book. <br /><br />So I try to mark only underneath where a stamp is mounted, for the most part, or write neatly and always in pencil elsewhere the particularly important information I need to remember. But if someone wanted to do otherwise, it's only a stamp album for goodness' sake, and they ought to write whatever makes them feel happy. Until I buy that album used, and then I get to be mad at them! And it has to be in pencil. I won't ever buy pages marked in ink. <br /><br />On two-sided pages, it's possible for the pencil to transfer to a stamp on the other page when the album is closed. For this reason, I'd use hard lead, not soft, and write fairly lightly. Not sure what number lead that would be, but something like a mechanical pencil might be best. At least the stray marks could be erased, though.DrewMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08082601555760640397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3749098825907573686.post-75338989300369752032012-02-03T19:31:26.955-05:002012-02-03T19:31:26.955-05:00Bud, I like the idea of an "r" for "...Bud, I like the idea of an "r" for "Replace" which I think I will adopt. <br /><br />My worst experience with the prices issue was an album I scored for a great price on eBay, but where the seller had written in hundreds of values in ink in a perfectly useable album. Sheesh!Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04111329068221289436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3749098825907573686.post-28252105487684656722012-02-02T23:19:17.380-05:002012-02-02T23:19:17.380-05:00Generally I keep marginalia to a minimum, marking ...Generally I keep marginalia to a minimum, marking only and "r" by those stamps that have less-than-apparent flaws so, when the opportunity presents itself, I can replace them. Sometimes I write a note under the stamp if I attach some significance to it, say for the stamp that completed a country's entries. The marginalia that I find most annoying are the prices that the former owners of albums I purchase enter, largely for vanity's sake, I suppose.Budhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18202098671443782842noreply@blogger.com