Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
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Phil, I think you need a holiday !!
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Mr Bus, true our last trip outside of North America was 2010...i am a creature of habit,don't like change..but i will like it once i get there !
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Yea Phil, but he who dies with the most stamps... still dies! 
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I wonder sometimes too!! I admire and think, wow, I wish I had 300 albums, or could fill in a nice classic worldwide collection on 6500 album pages. I don't think I can do it. Sometimes I think if I distilled it down to one album of primo stuff, I would be just as happy.
of course I'm having these thoughts now that my wife is pregnant with our third child!
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When we had 3 kids at home i was spending like $1.35 on stamps..the grocery bill is a lot smaller now and meat is not that much a portion of my diet...so stamps !!!
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i think i would prefer to die with quality rather than quantity !
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In sooth, I koow not why I am so sad.
It worries me; you say it worries you;
But how I caught it, found it , or came by it,
What stuff 't is made of, whereof it is born,
I am to learn:
And such a want-wit, sadness makes of me,
That I have much ado to know myself.
Merchant of Venice
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Poor old Antonio... but I'm not sure you should substitute 'worries' for the first quarto's 'wearies' (unless you take the view that Elizabethan English would have sounded a bit like modern American, in which case the words are a bit closer). Soon afterwards he confesses that "my merchandise makes me not sad", so it's not the fate of his collection of argosies that causes his mood - that, in modern times, is usually recognised as having other causes.
The fate of our collections, the virtual certainty that they will outlive us, and the probability that they will not be as prized by our successors as by us must always give us greybeards pause. Actually there are stockbooks and envelopes full of stuff in my room which I would gladly give away tomorrow to anyone I thought would enjoy them. My son, who started his collection at the age of 8 and passed it on to me for safeguarding only a few years later, may return to the hobby decades from now, as I did. I suppose that's why I haven't packed up my GB collection or all those other stamps I have accumulated over the years and sent them off to a worthy cause. But what will he (or his daughters) make of my proper collections - which probably won't convert to the price of a family week on the Costa Brava!
So, although I don't share the Merchant's (supposed) problems, I too look at my albums, and wonder.
"My proper collections"
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Guthrum, your collection looks very concise compared to my rambling one..the line between collections and accumulations can become blurred in my case. At least someone can relate !
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I should have brought these in from the living room. The 3rd Reich album is properly mounted, though on pre-printed pages I took from the internet; the French Colonies and British Commonwealth more or less complete, on Vario pages; but the major collection (WW2 commem.) remains to be properly assembled into sub-themes and written up in albums. You can see the sole completed one next to the mint 3rd Reich album on the shelf - it is the 'Holocaust' collection. Remaining accumulations are upstairs awaiting oblivion!
That really is all - the fruits of the past 20 years since I resumed collecting!
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"of course I'm having these thoughts now that my wife is pregnant with our third child!"
Don,
Congratulations...sounds like you are collecting children as well as stamps
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My oldest son has a Lego robot kit. It has various motors and sensors, plus a programmable cube controller. He can build 5 different robots and program them to do certain tasks. He can even alter the programming to make the robot do whatever he wants (within the robot's capabilities, of course). When he's done with one robot, he takes it all apart and puts all the Lego pieces back in their bins and starts building a different robot from scratch.
That made me think that my stamp collection is like a huge Lego piece of art. When I die, all of the parts will be separated and placed into bins for the next generation of artists to use to create their own masterpieces. I don't mind that they will be cast to several different collectors or even that my carefully matched set of Zeppelins will likely be broken up to meet the different esthetic needs of future collectors. I don't even mind that a lot of the modern mint may be used for postage. The stamps I am most fond of will be used again and again by future collectors and have been used multiple times by prior collectors.
Creating my own personal masterpiece is what appeals to me. The fact that future artists will carve up my masterpiece to create their own works of art is more satisfying than having it collect dust somewhere.
Lars
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i belong to a small International society of Guatemala collectors..though the group is small the Guatemala material they hold is fantastic. When a member passes his material usually ends up in the society auction and realizes a really fair price from the members. If my instructions are heeded..perhaps my Guatemala collection and accumulation of early 19th century covers and postcards will go there. You can lead a horse to water !
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I am the same as all of the above. I have a room in the basement which has three walls of material in Rubber Maid bins that stand head high to break down yet and one wall of bins that go to shows with me.. I have a second room on the main floor which holds my collection (foreign one whole wall - about 300 1 inch notebooks, a corner double sided desk piled with collections and tools, a three shelve smaller shelf full of collections to break down and I have--without asking--set up another five shelf bookcase across the hall in my bedroom which is half full with US. I started dealing part time a number of years ago with the idea--so I told my wife--of getting rid of a lot of this. I now take 12 large bins to shows and invariably come home with 13. My wife commented just the other day that she thought I did not remember my reason for the shows. All I know is I have a ball at the shows. I improve my collection and talk stamps all day. At the shows I have made friends with three to four dealers that I feel very comfortable with and have told my wife that when I die, to call each of them and take the best offer. My collection is not big auction house quality. It is rather more like the ad I saw from a major dealer once in Linn's where they had a small rental moving truck filled to the roof with boxes and albums and you could buy the entire truck for $28,000. If I had the money I would buy that over a single country collection for the same price.
Jack
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Murphy's Law of Philately: Stamp, postal stationary and postcard collections grow to fill all available space and then some. These items are genetically engineered to grow. There is nothing you can do about it so enjoy your hobby.
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Several years ago, as I contemplated retirement, I had a dream. Not quite like Martin Luther King's dream, but a dream nevertheless: I would dedicate my remaining time to creating web pages about my collections of stamps, covers, and collateral items.
Offhand I could think of at least 20 web pages that were waiting in the wings — all I needed was time to work on them. I certainly didn't need to buy any more material! I would have enough money, that would no longer go to my collection, to start shopping in actual stores rather than the local thrift store. I would no longer have to collect beer and pop cans from gutters, and I'd never again have to panhandle in front of the government liquor store. (Ah, the government! They know at least one of my weaknesses!)
Then retirement came. In a few days my MasterCard bill will arrive. I sure hope I can pay it! Maybe the bank will increase my line of credit. Maybe I'll find a $1,000 bill in the ditch outside my tent. Because, you see, my dream didn't come true! Damn! On a daily basis I am confronted with stamps, covers and collateral items that I can't live without. It's not my fault, though.
I never intended to start collecting philatelic material from the Algerian War. It just happened, rather like encountering a message in a bottle on the beach. Nor did I go looking for occupation stamps and covers from the Channel Islands. They just appeared on my computer display, and if I didn't buy them someone else might have, and then I wouldn't have them! And since I had them, I had to learn more about them, and that required at least looking on eBay. It's not my fault that various dealers here and there offered other fascinating Channel Islands stuff. I am blameless, really! It's other people who created items that I am forced to buy, and scan, and learn about, and write about. I didn't write the books about the Channel Islands that I am now forced to buy. That's just evolution in action.
Now I have another dream. Where in hell am I going to find a postally used Guernsey Bradshaw Advice Card? I desperately need one to complete my collection. (Well, actually, that wouldn't complete my collection. I would still need the Nazi overprints and essays. Maybe I can win the lottery and make that dream come true! The essays are now available on eBay for only US $5,000. I'd better start picking up cans again….)
boB
P.S. I know, you're wondering how I can have a computer if I live in a tent by a ditch. I use the computers in the library!
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I look at the shelves and bookcases of stockbooks and albums and cover albums and think, what the ? i can only study on page of stamps or one cover at a time !
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re: I look at the shelves and bookcases and wonder about it all !
Phil, I think you need a holiday !!
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re: I look at the shelves and bookcases and wonder about it all !
Mr Bus, true our last trip outside of North America was 2010...i am a creature of habit,don't like change..but i will like it once i get there !
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re: I look at the shelves and bookcases and wonder about it all !
Yea Phil, but he who dies with the most stamps... still dies!
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re: I look at the shelves and bookcases and wonder about it all !
I wonder sometimes too!! I admire and think, wow, I wish I had 300 albums, or could fill in a nice classic worldwide collection on 6500 album pages. I don't think I can do it. Sometimes I think if I distilled it down to one album of primo stuff, I would be just as happy.
of course I'm having these thoughts now that my wife is pregnant with our third child!
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this post
re: I look at the shelves and bookcases and wonder about it all !
When we had 3 kids at home i was spending like $1.35 on stamps..the grocery bill is a lot smaller now and meat is not that much a portion of my diet...so stamps !!!
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re: I look at the shelves and bookcases and wonder about it all !
i think i would prefer to die with quality rather than quantity !
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re: I look at the shelves and bookcases and wonder about it all !
In sooth, I koow not why I am so sad.
It worries me; you say it worries you;
But how I caught it, found it , or came by it,
What stuff 't is made of, whereof it is born,
I am to learn:
And such a want-wit, sadness makes of me,
That I have much ado to know myself.
Merchant of Venice
Login to Like
this post
re: I look at the shelves and bookcases and wonder about it all !
Poor old Antonio... but I'm not sure you should substitute 'worries' for the first quarto's 'wearies' (unless you take the view that Elizabethan English would have sounded a bit like modern American, in which case the words are a bit closer). Soon afterwards he confesses that "my merchandise makes me not sad", so it's not the fate of his collection of argosies that causes his mood - that, in modern times, is usually recognised as having other causes.
The fate of our collections, the virtual certainty that they will outlive us, and the probability that they will not be as prized by our successors as by us must always give us greybeards pause. Actually there are stockbooks and envelopes full of stuff in my room which I would gladly give away tomorrow to anyone I thought would enjoy them. My son, who started his collection at the age of 8 and passed it on to me for safeguarding only a few years later, may return to the hobby decades from now, as I did. I suppose that's why I haven't packed up my GB collection or all those other stamps I have accumulated over the years and sent them off to a worthy cause. But what will he (or his daughters) make of my proper collections - which probably won't convert to the price of a family week on the Costa Brava!
So, although I don't share the Merchant's (supposed) problems, I too look at my albums, and wonder.
"My proper collections"
Login to Like
this post
re: I look at the shelves and bookcases and wonder about it all !
Guthrum, your collection looks very concise compared to my rambling one..the line between collections and accumulations can become blurred in my case. At least someone can relate !
Login to Like
this post
re: I look at the shelves and bookcases and wonder about it all !
I should have brought these in from the living room. The 3rd Reich album is properly mounted, though on pre-printed pages I took from the internet; the French Colonies and British Commonwealth more or less complete, on Vario pages; but the major collection (WW2 commem.) remains to be properly assembled into sub-themes and written up in albums. You can see the sole completed one next to the mint 3rd Reich album on the shelf - it is the 'Holocaust' collection. Remaining accumulations are upstairs awaiting oblivion!
That really is all - the fruits of the past 20 years since I resumed collecting!
Login to Like
this post
re: I look at the shelves and bookcases and wonder about it all !
"of course I'm having these thoughts now that my wife is pregnant with our third child!"
Don,
Congratulations...sounds like you are collecting children as well as stamps
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re: I look at the shelves and bookcases and wonder about it all !
My oldest son has a Lego robot kit. It has various motors and sensors, plus a programmable cube controller. He can build 5 different robots and program them to do certain tasks. He can even alter the programming to make the robot do whatever he wants (within the robot's capabilities, of course). When he's done with one robot, he takes it all apart and puts all the Lego pieces back in their bins and starts building a different robot from scratch.
That made me think that my stamp collection is like a huge Lego piece of art. When I die, all of the parts will be separated and placed into bins for the next generation of artists to use to create their own masterpieces. I don't mind that they will be cast to several different collectors or even that my carefully matched set of Zeppelins will likely be broken up to meet the different esthetic needs of future collectors. I don't even mind that a lot of the modern mint may be used for postage. The stamps I am most fond of will be used again and again by future collectors and have been used multiple times by prior collectors.
Creating my own personal masterpiece is what appeals to me. The fact that future artists will carve up my masterpiece to create their own works of art is more satisfying than having it collect dust somewhere.
Lars
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: I look at the shelves and bookcases and wonder about it all !
i belong to a small International society of Guatemala collectors..though the group is small the Guatemala material they hold is fantastic. When a member passes his material usually ends up in the society auction and realizes a really fair price from the members. If my instructions are heeded..perhaps my Guatemala collection and accumulation of early 19th century covers and postcards will go there. You can lead a horse to water !
1 Member
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Login to Like.
11:58:34pm
re: I look at the shelves and bookcases and wonder about it all !
I am the same as all of the above. I have a room in the basement which has three walls of material in Rubber Maid bins that stand head high to break down yet and one wall of bins that go to shows with me.. I have a second room on the main floor which holds my collection (foreign one whole wall - about 300 1 inch notebooks, a corner double sided desk piled with collections and tools, a three shelve smaller shelf full of collections to break down and I have--without asking--set up another five shelf bookcase across the hall in my bedroom which is half full with US. I started dealing part time a number of years ago with the idea--so I told my wife--of getting rid of a lot of this. I now take 12 large bins to shows and invariably come home with 13. My wife commented just the other day that she thought I did not remember my reason for the shows. All I know is I have a ball at the shows. I improve my collection and talk stamps all day. At the shows I have made friends with three to four dealers that I feel very comfortable with and have told my wife that when I die, to call each of them and take the best offer. My collection is not big auction house quality. It is rather more like the ad I saw from a major dealer once in Linn's where they had a small rental moving truck filled to the roof with boxes and albums and you could buy the entire truck for $28,000. If I had the money I would buy that over a single country collection for the same price.
Jack
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re: I look at the shelves and bookcases and wonder about it all !
Murphy's Law of Philately: Stamp, postal stationary and postcard collections grow to fill all available space and then some. These items are genetically engineered to grow. There is nothing you can do about it so enjoy your hobby.
Login to Like
this post
re: I look at the shelves and bookcases and wonder about it all !
Several years ago, as I contemplated retirement, I had a dream. Not quite like Martin Luther King's dream, but a dream nevertheless: I would dedicate my remaining time to creating web pages about my collections of stamps, covers, and collateral items.
Offhand I could think of at least 20 web pages that were waiting in the wings — all I needed was time to work on them. I certainly didn't need to buy any more material! I would have enough money, that would no longer go to my collection, to start shopping in actual stores rather than the local thrift store. I would no longer have to collect beer and pop cans from gutters, and I'd never again have to panhandle in front of the government liquor store. (Ah, the government! They know at least one of my weaknesses!)
Then retirement came. In a few days my MasterCard bill will arrive. I sure hope I can pay it! Maybe the bank will increase my line of credit. Maybe I'll find a $1,000 bill in the ditch outside my tent. Because, you see, my dream didn't come true! Damn! On a daily basis I am confronted with stamps, covers and collateral items that I can't live without. It's not my fault, though.
I never intended to start collecting philatelic material from the Algerian War. It just happened, rather like encountering a message in a bottle on the beach. Nor did I go looking for occupation stamps and covers from the Channel Islands. They just appeared on my computer display, and if I didn't buy them someone else might have, and then I wouldn't have them! And since I had them, I had to learn more about them, and that required at least looking on eBay. It's not my fault that various dealers here and there offered other fascinating Channel Islands stuff. I am blameless, really! It's other people who created items that I am forced to buy, and scan, and learn about, and write about. I didn't write the books about the Channel Islands that I am now forced to buy. That's just evolution in action.
Now I have another dream. Where in hell am I going to find a postally used Guernsey Bradshaw Advice Card? I desperately need one to complete my collection. (Well, actually, that wouldn't complete my collection. I would still need the Nazi overprints and essays. Maybe I can win the lottery and make that dream come true! The essays are now available on eBay for only US $5,000. I'd better start picking up cans again….)
boB
P.S. I know, you're wondering how I can have a computer if I live in a tent by a ditch. I use the computers in the library!
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