Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
I have returned to some of my topical collections as a means of escaping the routine of regular country collecting. Also, as your country collections reach the avance stage, it is harder and harder to find the stamps you are looking for (at the prices you can afford).
Topical collections offer a change of pace. They tend to be more limited in scope and offer lots more creative display potential. They make you travel virtually worldwide.
Topically, I collect a number of UN related worldwide campaigns (1960 World Refugee Year, UN 1963 Freedom from Hunger campaign, UN 1962 WHO Malaria Eradication campaign, UN 1964 Save the monuments of Nubia....and I have just began to collect the International Women's Year (1975). )
And of course EUROPA (stopped in 2000, with 24 2 inch binders...talk about saturating, but I still miss a few hard to find stamps and covers!)
For a change of pace for my regular country collections, I try to collect the stamps in both Used and Mint form, S/S and possibly blocks, and the FDC associated. This can prove to be a good chalenge, especially for the FDC, but above all it is a different way of collecting, displaying, and commenting on a subject. It is also a different way of thinking about a collection, and I find my brain works differently.
It is a change in pace.
From the many topical collectors here, I am looking for ideas about displaying your collections. Do you include descriptive text? How do you go about it, How limited is your range of collecting, etc... etc..
Given the wide range of Topical subjects, there must be many ways of approaching it. Here are a few pages from my topical collections, but I could use some ideas from others who specialize in Topicals, or just have fun with it.
rrr....
From my topical collections:
IWY (2 scans)
Save the Nubia
WHO Malaria Eradication
IRY
FFH
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Of course every collector will have their own ideas on displaying a topical or thematic collection. For me the descriptive text would be important. In fact I'm going the whole hog with my DC-3 collection which will be a book illustrated with postage stamps. (Mind you if I don't get it finished this year I doubt it will ever be done.)
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rrraphy,
The illustration on the Swiss cover.... are those supposed to be printing press rollers? Or did someone really celebrate the "International Women's Year" with a cover depicting three kitchen rolling pins?
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Tom (partsguy) excellent observation. 
The Swiss are showing a bit of Machismo, or sexual bias...LOL
I had nor noticed!
rrr....
For a few of these topics, I have been helped by the existence of specialty pages, in particular from White Ace. I have used their page design to fashion blanks for my extra pages...as I collect used, mint and FDC for topical. Although I am not in color as this started before color printers and copiers.
But I am now hitting subjects (International Year of Women - 1975) where I have not found a suitable design. I am looking for ideas from what some of you have done with your own designs.
I am looking for more topics of a similar nature, as topical is a real mental change of pace from regular collections. Maybe next, 1968 International Human Rights Year? I have to open my eyes for seed collections to get me started.
rrr...
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This is a late posting on an interesting topic , if your collecting a topic get away from the idea of the pages being in a county or year listing order and this means breaking up sets if they don,t suit the topic . For example if I get 4 stamps of musical instrument in 1975 from Viet nam I won't put them in a book in this order. I put the drum stamp on a drum page the fiddle on a fiddle page etc. the country and year are unimportant the subject is what rules the display . A good book about the subject your collecting in a catalog form would go a long way to help, for example,"The world of mammals" if the book classified mammals in families the way zooligist see them could be a basis to organize a collection. Find a book on the topic you want to collect Do you like the order the book used to explain the topic? is there another book that does it better ?. Can the book give you ideas ? The best rule of thumb for topical collecting is to be really interested in the subject , a passing interest will not sustain . Bob Forrest musical instruments on stamps
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Hi Ralph,
In 2020 the American Topical Association published ATA Handbook No. 168 – Topical Adventures: A Guide to Topical and Thematic Stamp Collecting. It is a 192-page, 8 1/2 x 11 inch full-color softcover book that covers just about everything about topical/thematic collecting including storing and displaying topical collections. It is still available on the ATA website (americantopical.org) at $49.50 for nonmembers ($44.50 for ATA members).
I have a few copies of that book that I purchased to give to several of our local libraries, but the pandemic through a wrench into that. I would be happy to send you a copy for the postage cost which for your zone would be $15.70 by USPS Ground Advantage.
I just listed on eBay a 5-volume set of ATA handbooks: Women on Stamps as well as several other out-of-print ATA handbooks. These are wonderful resources for topical collectors and can be brought up to date with an ATA Checklist (now over 1500 different topics). ATA checklists are a members-only benefit.
I did post these handbooks on Stamporama in the past, but had no takers.
Regards,
Fred (AgathaWatson)
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Fred. How very generous of you, and yes, I would love to get this book. Ultimately I will donate my reference ressources to the Western Philatelic Library, but I would love to look at it and maybe get some inspiration for my next topical collection. I do find it a great change of pace from the more traditional country collecting.
I will message you for the details.
Rrr...
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Seldom covered here as a topic of discussion, I wish to reopen this subject.
I have returned to some of my topical collections as a means of escaping the routine of regular country collecting. Also, as your country collections reach the avance stage, it is harder and harder to find the stamps you are looking for (at the prices you can afford).
Topical collections offer a change of pace. They tend to be more limited in scope and offer lots more creative display potential. They make you travel virtually worldwide.
Topically, I collect a number of UN related worldwide campaigns (1960 World Refugee Year, UN 1963 Freedom from Hunger campaign, UN 1962 WHO Malaria Eradication campaign, UN 1964 Save the monuments of Nubia....and I have just began to collect the International Women's Year (1975). )
And of course EUROPA (stopped in 2000, with 24 2 inch binders...talk about saturating, but I still miss a few hard to find stamps and covers!)
For a change of pace for my regular country collections, I try to collect the stamps in both Used and Mint form, S/S and possibly blocks, and the FDC associated. This can prove to be a good chalenge, especially for the FDC, but above all it is a different way of collecting, displaying, and commenting on a subject. It is also a different way of thinking about a collection, and I find my brain works differently.
It is a change in pace.
From the many topical collectors here, I am looking for ideas about displaying your collections. Do you include descriptive text? How do you go about it, How limited is your range of collecting, etc... etc..
Given the wide range of Topical subjects, there must be many ways of approaching it. Here are a few pages from my topical collections, but I could use some ideas from others who specialize in Topicals, or just have fun with it.
rrr....
From my topical collections:
IWY (2 scans)
Save the Nubia
WHO Malaria Eradication
IRY
FFH
Login to Like
this post
re: Topical Collections...Display ideas?
Of course every collector will have their own ideas on displaying a topical or thematic collection. For me the descriptive text would be important. In fact I'm going the whole hog with my DC-3 collection which will be a book illustrated with postage stamps. (Mind you if I don't get it finished this year I doubt it will ever be done.)
Login to Like
this post
re: Topical Collections...Display ideas?
rrraphy,
The illustration on the Swiss cover.... are those supposed to be printing press rollers? Or did someone really celebrate the "International Women's Year" with a cover depicting three kitchen rolling pins?
Login to Like
this post
Approvals
re: Topical Collections...Display ideas?
Tom (partsguy) excellent observation. The Swiss are showing a bit of Machismo, or sexual bias...LOL
I had nor noticed!
rrr....
For a few of these topics, I have been helped by the existence of specialty pages, in particular from White Ace. I have used their page design to fashion blanks for my extra pages...as I collect used, mint and FDC for topical. Although I am not in color as this started before color printers and copiers.
But I am now hitting subjects (International Year of Women - 1975) where I have not found a suitable design. I am looking for ideas from what some of you have done with your own designs.
I am looking for more topics of a similar nature, as topical is a real mental change of pace from regular collections. Maybe next, 1968 International Human Rights Year? I have to open my eyes for seed collections to get me started.
rrr...
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likes this post.
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re: Topical Collections...Display ideas?
This is a late posting on an interesting topic , if your collecting a topic get away from the idea of the pages being in a county or year listing order and this means breaking up sets if they don,t suit the topic . For example if I get 4 stamps of musical instrument in 1975 from Viet nam I won't put them in a book in this order. I put the drum stamp on a drum page the fiddle on a fiddle page etc. the country and year are unimportant the subject is what rules the display . A good book about the subject your collecting in a catalog form would go a long way to help, for example,"The world of mammals" if the book classified mammals in families the way zooligist see them could be a basis to organize a collection. Find a book on the topic you want to collect Do you like the order the book used to explain the topic? is there another book that does it better ?. Can the book give you ideas ? The best rule of thumb for topical collecting is to be really interested in the subject , a passing interest will not sustain . Bob Forrest musical instruments on stamps
Login to Like
this post
Approvals
re: Topical Collections...Display ideas?
Hi Ralph,
In 2020 the American Topical Association published ATA Handbook No. 168 – Topical Adventures: A Guide to Topical and Thematic Stamp Collecting. It is a 192-page, 8 1/2 x 11 inch full-color softcover book that covers just about everything about topical/thematic collecting including storing and displaying topical collections. It is still available on the ATA website (americantopical.org) at $49.50 for nonmembers ($44.50 for ATA members).
I have a few copies of that book that I purchased to give to several of our local libraries, but the pandemic through a wrench into that. I would be happy to send you a copy for the postage cost which for your zone would be $15.70 by USPS Ground Advantage.
I just listed on eBay a 5-volume set of ATA handbooks: Women on Stamps as well as several other out-of-print ATA handbooks. These are wonderful resources for topical collectors and can be brought up to date with an ATA Checklist (now over 1500 different topics). ATA checklists are a members-only benefit.
I did post these handbooks on Stamporama in the past, but had no takers.
Regards,
Fred (AgathaWatson)
Login to Like
this post
Approvals
re: Topical Collections...Display ideas?
Fred. How very generous of you, and yes, I would love to get this book. Ultimately I will donate my reference ressources to the Western Philatelic Library, but I would love to look at it and maybe get some inspiration for my next topical collection. I do find it a great change of pace from the more traditional country collecting.
I will message you for the details.
Rrr...
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