"and not collect every country under the sun, which is borderline insane"
Totally susceptible to that illness!
I have been trying to take a "cure" to this worldwide collector insanity, by deliberately restricting my worldwide collection to a smaller world.
My medicine of choice is to restrict what I collect, so no more GB and British related (with a few exceptions, but that is a big chunk), or Africa (except non British colonial) or the very Far East Asia (China, Japan etc..)..and I am still looking for a few more areas to eliminate.
Problem is, it takes as much time to get rid of stuff as it takes to collect, and one gets less satisfaction! And you still have to organize what you want to get rid of.
If I had the storage space, I don't think I would get rid of anything. But as I grow my collection in the limited areas of personal interest, I have to make room! I wish I could just hand over, country at a time, all areas I have less interest in that I wish to dispose off.
Lots of the pleasure now also arises from reorganizing albums into more eye pleasing and attractive books with better stamps, mounts and varieties, and often it means spacing standard album pages more generously..ie custom pages, ie more pages, ie more books...IT NEVER ENDS!
Doing the culling and disposing with nephews and relatives and even some friends, but worldwide is a big endeavor so I am encouraging all to restrict their interests at first. But I am still stuck with my lack of storage problem.
Insanity no matter how you look at it Michael!
rrr...
Not to worry, guys ... sounds like a mild psychosis, resulting in a mental disorder in which thought and emotions are so impaired that contact is lost with external reality.
It does seem to be a bit contagious, so be careful out there.
In the last couple of weeks, I have
e worked on:
Malaysian States
Straits Settlements
UNNY, Geneva and Vienna
Thailand
France
Bechuanaland
Sweden
Macao
Japan
Jamaica
Gibraltar
Aland
Fr Poly
Estonia
Germany - Semis
Monaco
and I haVe three glassines full of Channel Islands here on the desk to sort out. I starteD to work on a collection of Israel but forgot it was in a Minkus album and it therefore went back on the shelf for a day when I have more patience. I do not care for the set up of regulars, semis , airs, etc all being in order through the album. It makes it so difficult to go back and forth. Anymore, I try to avoid buying Minkus albums.
In addition, I just went through a dealer list and selected two british lots, one Australian, one Danish, two Vatican, one French Africa and one Afghanistan.
I'm infected bad and could be contagious. Even reading this post could make you feel the urge to go worldwide. DON'T FIGHT IT - GIVE IN. The force is all powerful.
Stampmanjack
"You don't know the POWER...of the world-wide side....
Vader"
"I'll NEVER turn to the world-wide side....
Luke"
"Let GO of your desire...and make your journey to the world-wide COMPLETE....
Palpatine"
If the price is right YES YES !
The trouble is that the price is almost always right. I was at a bourse in Oskaloosa, Iowa in a mall . I was looking at a box lot and didn't think there was enough in it and said so to the dealer. He pulled out a wad of glassines and started throwing them in the box and said "stop me when there is enough". I finally ot embarrassed and stopped him. I'm not sure how much longer he would have gone. I was looking at a box of postal stationery marked $35 and decided not to get it whereupon the dealer said "would it look better at $25?" Unfortunately, it did.
Half a dozen times a year, I take a table at a show and almost always put a sign up that says "Reasonable offers accepted, Unreasonable offers considered. If I haven't made cost, on the second day, those unreasonable offers sometimes look reasonable. As we used to say in the service, "a four becomes a nine at closing time".
Jack
" I was looking at a box of postal stationery marked $35 and decided not to get it whereupon the dealer said "would it look better at $25?" Unfortunately, it did."
Yea..I asked my wife... Please honey just one more country... Wham Bam...
where did you get the picture of my wife???
My wife said, "No problem baby, Go for it!"
When we were first married, we went up to Chicago and I took her with me to one of my favorite auction houses. They don't do it anymore but at that time, all of the unsold lots were available for purchase at the minimum bid. I always bought whenever I went to Chicago. This time I picked out two big piles of lots and then asked my wife which one I should take. She said, " I don't care", so I took both of them. Since then she has an opinion.
I finally called about the list I got in the mail. I go two of the eight lots I picked out but when I had finished he said go through once more and take 40% of of any lots you want. I found 6 more at that price of which three were still available. I ended up adding some Ireland and some Norway for me and a batch of British aerograms for a friend. I'm not sure I need the Ireland, but a friend does and it will make either a good trade or a gift for New Year's.
Today I mounted a small lot of Channel Islands and started to work onArgentina. Next up is a Minkus (boo) album of Italian Colonies
Jack
Ten months ago I returned to stamps, after a decades long hiatus. My desire was to do it "right" this time and not collect every country under the sun, which is borderline insane. So Great Britain it was. Until Australia reared its lovely head, and then the Australian States, because that's Australia too -- only earlier, and how could I ignore Tasmania?
A few months later I started collecting US, because I had a fairly useful start there from my misbegotten youth. And last month it got worse. My step daughter, who was vacationing in Hawaii, thought it would be nice to get me a Hawaiian stamp at the Post Office in Oahu. She stepped right up and asked for Hawaiian stamps God bless her. They straightened her out and sent her on her way, but it did get me thinking about Hawaiian stamps. So of course that led to buying an album for United States Possessions. So now I am buying Hawaii, Guam, Puerto Rico, Danish West Indies, Cuba, Phillipines, and Ryuku Islands. Oh my. A few more missteps like this and I will be an (insane) worldwide collector.
The story of how the Kingdom of Hawaii was stolen by rich American plantation owners and lawyers is too deep for tears. God bless you Queen Liliuokalani
Incidentally, the stamp depicted, of Lili, is the first stamp to depict a butterfly. Hawaii, Scott 52, 1890.
Merry Christmas All
Eric
re: Just one more country...right?
"and not collect every country under the sun, which is borderline insane"
re: Just one more country...right?
Totally susceptible to that illness!
re: Just one more country...right?
I have been trying to take a "cure" to this worldwide collector insanity, by deliberately restricting my worldwide collection to a smaller world.
My medicine of choice is to restrict what I collect, so no more GB and British related (with a few exceptions, but that is a big chunk), or Africa (except non British colonial) or the very Far East Asia (China, Japan etc..)..and I am still looking for a few more areas to eliminate.
Problem is, it takes as much time to get rid of stuff as it takes to collect, and one gets less satisfaction! And you still have to organize what you want to get rid of.
If I had the storage space, I don't think I would get rid of anything. But as I grow my collection in the limited areas of personal interest, I have to make room! I wish I could just hand over, country at a time, all areas I have less interest in that I wish to dispose off.
Lots of the pleasure now also arises from reorganizing albums into more eye pleasing and attractive books with better stamps, mounts and varieties, and often it means spacing standard album pages more generously..ie custom pages, ie more pages, ie more books...IT NEVER ENDS!
Doing the culling and disposing with nephews and relatives and even some friends, but worldwide is a big endeavor so I am encouraging all to restrict their interests at first. But I am still stuck with my lack of storage problem.
Insanity no matter how you look at it Michael!
rrr...
re: Just one more country...right?
Not to worry, guys ... sounds like a mild psychosis, resulting in a mental disorder in which thought and emotions are so impaired that contact is lost with external reality.
It does seem to be a bit contagious, so be careful out there.
re: Just one more country...right?
In the last couple of weeks, I have
e worked on:
Malaysian States
Straits Settlements
UNNY, Geneva and Vienna
Thailand
France
Bechuanaland
Sweden
Macao
Japan
Jamaica
Gibraltar
Aland
Fr Poly
Estonia
Germany - Semis
Monaco
and I haVe three glassines full of Channel Islands here on the desk to sort out. I starteD to work on a collection of Israel but forgot it was in a Minkus album and it therefore went back on the shelf for a day when I have more patience. I do not care for the set up of regulars, semis , airs, etc all being in order through the album. It makes it so difficult to go back and forth. Anymore, I try to avoid buying Minkus albums.
In addition, I just went through a dealer list and selected two british lots, one Australian, one Danish, two Vatican, one French Africa and one Afghanistan.
I'm infected bad and could be contagious. Even reading this post could make you feel the urge to go worldwide. DON'T FIGHT IT - GIVE IN. The force is all powerful.
Stampmanjack
re: Just one more country...right?
"You don't know the POWER...of the world-wide side....
Vader"
"I'll NEVER turn to the world-wide side....
Luke"
"Let GO of your desire...and make your journey to the world-wide COMPLETE....
Palpatine"
re: Just one more country...right?
If the price is right YES YES !
re: Just one more country...right?
The trouble is that the price is almost always right. I was at a bourse in Oskaloosa, Iowa in a mall . I was looking at a box lot and didn't think there was enough in it and said so to the dealer. He pulled out a wad of glassines and started throwing them in the box and said "stop me when there is enough". I finally ot embarrassed and stopped him. I'm not sure how much longer he would have gone. I was looking at a box of postal stationery marked $35 and decided not to get it whereupon the dealer said "would it look better at $25?" Unfortunately, it did.
Half a dozen times a year, I take a table at a show and almost always put a sign up that says "Reasonable offers accepted, Unreasonable offers considered. If I haven't made cost, on the second day, those unreasonable offers sometimes look reasonable. As we used to say in the service, "a four becomes a nine at closing time".
Jack
re: Just one more country...right?
" I was looking at a box of postal stationery marked $35 and decided not to get it whereupon the dealer said "would it look better at $25?" Unfortunately, it did."
re: Just one more country...right?
Yea..I asked my wife... Please honey just one more country... Wham Bam...
re: Just one more country...right?
where did you get the picture of my wife???
re: Just one more country...right?
My wife said, "No problem baby, Go for it!"
re: Just one more country...right?
When we were first married, we went up to Chicago and I took her with me to one of my favorite auction houses. They don't do it anymore but at that time, all of the unsold lots were available for purchase at the minimum bid. I always bought whenever I went to Chicago. This time I picked out two big piles of lots and then asked my wife which one I should take. She said, " I don't care", so I took both of them. Since then she has an opinion.
I finally called about the list I got in the mail. I go two of the eight lots I picked out but when I had finished he said go through once more and take 40% of of any lots you want. I found 6 more at that price of which three were still available. I ended up adding some Ireland and some Norway for me and a batch of British aerograms for a friend. I'm not sure I need the Ireland, but a friend does and it will make either a good trade or a gift for New Year's.
Today I mounted a small lot of Channel Islands and started to work onArgentina. Next up is a Minkus (boo) album of Italian Colonies
Jack