I have no data, but i would guess stamps trump covers in hobby by 10-1.
As you say, editors publish what is submitted. I suspect that covershave so many facets, there is just more to say, often about thingsnot specific to stamp or cover.
Note the continued prosegenerated by multiple people on the Uiver cover.
Just saying…
I know for sure that my favorite articles have always been about the background stories of the things shown on the stamps. There's so many pictures that just beg for the story to be told, even the ones that just show a particularly nice piece of scenery. There's a reason the subject was chosen, but that's often lost on someone that doesn't live in the particular country that issued the stamp.
-Allen
I concur with Father, I personally find many of the articles in these publications (and I only get AP, ASDA, and Kelleher's magazines - dropped Linn's/Scott long ago and never subscribed to any of the others) too long and too boring. Anything relating to the Civil War is an automatic skip. I think I got about a third way through Alex Harriman's article about the Boer War in this month's AP and realized how much more I had to go and skipped the rest.
I have to agree with you guys. I dropped out of the British Caribbean Philatelic Study Group many years ago because all they did was discuss covers. I had joined to learn about the stamps.
However, the magazine editors are begging for articles, so unless someone actually writes about stamps they won't be publishing any. So if you have something significant to present now is a good time to put it in writing and send it to the APS, or what ever publication you want to enhance.
Covers are more varied in origin and appearance than stamps, consequently covers offer more things to comment on and write about than stamps. It is just much easier to write an original article about covers than stamps.
DonSellos
For me, I think every stamp tells a short story, but every cover is a novel. If I have just a stamp in hand, I get a fair amount of enjoyment and information from the stamp and any cancel it might have. But if I have a cover in hand, I get an awful lot more enjoyment and information.
And one of the primary reasons I enjoy collecting is thinking about where a stamp has been, who bought it, where it may have been purchased and where it travelled. But unfortunately, many used stamps often have lost some of this if the information. I really enjoy the feeling I get when I hold a cover in my hand, it often makes me feel like I am somehow closer to history. Of course, the downside to collecting postal history as opposed to stamps is that they are more difficult and costly to mount, display and preserve than stamps.
But this being said, I try to always support whatever and however others in our hobby like to do. But I make what I think is a more important differentiation than lumping everyone into either ‘stamp’ or ‘postal history’ collectors. Instead, I think the line should be between a ‘casual’ collectors and ‘specialized’ collectors. So when I write articles, develop presentations, or make videos; I try to target a general audience. Specialized articles and presentations have their place but I have seen countless times when these totally lose general philatelic audiences. Hell, I have even seen ‘death by Power Point presentation’ even in front of specialized collectors. And I think this holds true for either ‘stamp’ or postal history’ segments. I have been bored by both specialized stamp and postal history articles and presentations.
Lastly and in my opinion, I think that it is easier to write articles and do presentations on postal history than it is on stamps. I think this is because the vast majority of stamps have already been well documented over the years. Covers tend to be far more unique and this makes better subjects for new articles and presentations.
Now for my soapbox. I think that everyone should be considerate of the time and effort others makes in writing and developing new philatelic content. I cannot tell you how demoralizing it is to have invested 20-50 hours into something like a presentation only to have some in audience be rude and disruptive by talking and ignoring the presentation. If you cannot sit quietly and be minimally respectful, then please leave the room. I have seen this happen dozens of times at stamp club and Zoom meetings. Not everything is for everyone and it can be challenging to sit through a long presentation that you have zero interest in, but please respect the effort that someone made in generating it.
Don
I have been the editor/publisher of my local stamp club for 15 years. Although I always implore our members to contribute articles, they rarely do and the bulk of the writing in the newsletter is done by me. The newsletter is published 5 times a year and each issue runs 18 pages. I heavily favor articles with stamps rather than covers and am very interested in the story behind the reason for the stamp and its design.
I wanted to upload a copy of the newsletter, but unfortunately, the pdf exceeds the file size allowed.
So I have uploaded several jpgs of selected pages from that newsletter. I hope you enjoy them.
Regards
Fred
(Agatha/Watson)
I had sent emails to the editor earlier this year that I found many of the articles (like the entire baseball theme issue) not interesting but that is just my opinion. I submitted feedback in at least 2 survey's as well. If 50% of new members are new to collecting, they are not being well served with the types of articles in the AP.
I like articles that go deeper than a catalog (expand the information) since I just collect stamps - no postal history. To use Don's website, stamp smarter.
APS did announce this that tries to fill in the gap.
BELLEFONTE, Pa., September 8, 2023 – The American Philatelic Society today announced plans to launch a free quarterly digital magazine in February 2024. Dubbed StampEd, the magazine invites the digital generation to connect with stamp collecting in new and exciting ways.
With the average age of stamp collectors on the rise, the longevity of the hobby is a significant concern for APS members. StampEd is one of many steps being taken by the APS to spark interest in collecting among younger generations and create a strong foundation for the hobby for decades to come.
“StampEd is not just a magazine, it will also become a community for the next generation of collectors,” said APS Executive Director Scott English. “If we’re serious about growing the hobby, we have to go meet these collectors where they are and stop waiting for them to come to us.”
StampEd engages beginner and non-traditional collectors with innovative philatelic content that enlightens and inspires. The magazine shares entry-level practical collecting advice and mentorship; explores the connections between stamp collecting and other interests; and celebrates the growing online community of active collectors.
"StampEd’s target audience, the digital generation, actually looks a lot like me,” said APS Editor-in-Chief Susanna Mills. ”We come to stamp collecting through different avenues than the average APS member. StampEd celebrates that, us, and everything we are: curious, artistic, energetic, crafty, (maybe a bit chronically online), and most of all, genuine. Did I mention that it’s free?"
I thought William of Occam meant his razor for explanations, not for circular reasoning like stamp collecting is the collecting of stamps, but apart from that I can somewhat get what sentiment lies behind the remark by mr. Lentini. However, I must say that I find most stamp publications utterly boring because most of the time they are filled with articles that are encyclopedia entries illustrated with stamp pictures. They have absolutely nothing to do with stamps and are often more a showcase of the writer's eloquence than philatelic news. I might as well go to the library and find a book on the subject that interests me. Or a general magazine dealing with this kind of stories. I appreciate and admire the fact that people get inspired by stamps to find out more about the subjects that are shown on stamps, but that should not lead to superfluous articles.
I want to read about the latest new stamps, practical things like where exhibitions and meetings are, curious facts such as a stamp made from old postal workers' uniforms or reviews of material every stamp collector uses. Matters such as is the latest catalogue issued by xxx worth getting, or if I need a stock book, what is the best one on the market. Even specialist stuff like what was the postage rate from the Netherlands to Mexico in 1915 or what is the significance of different types of cancels. That kind of useful information. Getting back to the question raised in the subject title: I'd rather read about postal history than a general story illustrated with some random stamp pictures, because somehow postal history feels more related to stamps.
Well, in the end it is of course each to their own.
Jan-Simon
Fred,
great job on your local stamp club. That IS ambitious for a local club. 100 pp per year is immense, especially if you're writing AND producing.
I edit a quarterly journal for one of the societies to which I belong (Seal News, for Christmas Seal and Charity Stamp Society), and know how blessed I am to receive manuscripts; we typically publish about 48 pp quarterly. Luckily, few of those are generated by me.
Our pages include seals (ie stamps), covers, history, ephemera (milk bottle caps, inserts, pins, organization correspondence), and interviews with those important to seals and/or the hobby.
David
Hi David,
I am also a member of the Christmas Seal and Charity Stamp Society and beginning with the November/December issue of our club newsletter a began a series on the National Christmas Seals from 1959 when the National Tuberculosis Association decided on having a national chairman for the Christmas Seal Campaign. I have attached the first part of that series.
Fred
Nice to meet you over here; funny how interconnected we can all be
I empathize — I really do! — with collectors who wish that covers and postal history didn't so dominate the pages of philatelic journals and stamp shows. For several years, I was one of the "Group of Five" members of the BC Philatelic Society who did virtually all of the work of our annual VANPEX show in Vancouver. During that period, our bourse dealers gradually shifted from stamps to postal history, postcards, and postal cards. As a "postal historian," I was delighted, and I scored some incredible covers/postal history. (What is the plural of postal history? Postal histories? I have a bunch of "postal histories" in a dozen ring books?)
Anyway, I have recently had a taste of the burgeoning commercial interest in postal history rather than stamps. I've been searching in various on-line sales venues for Indochinese stamps, not covers, but always have to plough through scads of covers. It's like searching for peanuts in a grocery store and having to push aside frozen lobster tails and porterhouse steaks and just to see the peanuts, much less buy them. And when I see stamps, they are mostly the kind that album stuffers stuff in albums — common, often in terrible condition, and overpriced.
At the same time, I wish every philatelist* would step back and recognize that stamps themselves are historical artifacts and not just pieces of paper that can be described and pigeonholed by referencing their perforations, watermarks, printing methods and varieties, types of paper, centring, gum, overprints, and flyspecks. There are many stamps which, if one will do just a bit of digging on line and/or in libraries, will reveal significant historical information that is scarcely available anywhere else (without looking). That information simply adds to — and doesn't detract from — the stamps' "philatelic" attributes. Postally used covers, and even some first-flight and first-day covers, sometimes are the only documents that reveal historical events or even episodes.
Bob
*Philatelist. That's a word that we need to change. I'm sure there are some politicians who immediately picture philatelists as guys lurking in trench coats near schoolyards.
The editor for most any philatelic group is likely the busiest person in the group and also the most important if the publication is the only means of communication. They are a disappearing breed as I know multiple clubs that are searching for an editor. This js more important for groups that do not meet physically.
Stamporama had a newsletter.
"
*Philatelist. That's a word that we need to change. I'm sure there are some politicians who immediately picture philatelists as guys lurking in trench coats near schoolyards.
"
And to answer the question. I am guilty of writing about covers! In my 55 years as a stamper I pretty much wore out stamps but there is always something interesting about covers I discover!
But per the message above, when attending stamp meetings I always listen and pay full attention to the presenter. There have been times I’ve prejudged and thought I didn’t want to hear about a topic, but learned I was wrong once I listened! I actually learned something!
APS magazine always seemed to me about stamp collecting in general, not a journal about stamps specifically. If you are interested in stamps specifically, a better journal would be something like the United States Stamp Society's "The United States Stamp Specialist" journal. I have a year's worth of issues stacking up. For everyone making a $5 contribution to SOR, I will send one of the back issues. PM me with your snail mail address and proof of contribution to SOR.
Postal history articles often lots of large size cover images as part of the article. I looked at the ad rates and if there was an opportunity cost associated with the images (meaning a trade off of editorial space vs business), the images would be using space priced at $480 or more for each image. It just puts value of space into a differents perspective.
In the Sept-Oct 2023 issue of The Circuit, editor, Father James Lentini, makes this comments about on articles about stamp articles in the American Philatelist.
"..When I get a copy of The American Philatelist (great magazine!) I count up how many images of stamps there are vs. things other than stamps. In a recent issue, I had to thumb through 17 pages before finding an image of a stamp (not a cover or a postcard… but an image of just a stamp). In fact, there were (excluding advertisements and any stamps on covers, etc.) about 38 images of stamps (souvenir sheets, blocks, count as one), vs. 67 images of covers/envelopes/letters/postcards (32 of those 67 items with nary a stamp to be seen). And this is in a magazine written for “stamp” collectors.
.....We need to refocus on the source of the hobby and define our hobby. If we can’t define what our hobby is — at its heart — we will lose it. Using Occam’s Razor, stamp collecting is perhaps best defined as a hobby of collecting stamps. Philatelically yours, Fr. James Lentini, Editor, The Circuit
I had joined the Society of Indochina Philatelists and the journal only seems to postal history articles so less of an interest. I joined to learn (not write) beyond the catalog so will let my membership lapse next year.
Of course, most groups rely on contributions so editors print what they get. The same can apply to what is posted on forums like SOR.
Thoughts?
re: Not enough articles on stamps rather than postal history in society publications?
I have no data, but i would guess stamps trump covers in hobby by 10-1.
As you say, editors publish what is submitted. I suspect that covershave so many facets, there is just more to say, often about thingsnot specific to stamp or cover.
Note the continued prosegenerated by multiple people on the Uiver cover.
Just saying…
re: Not enough articles on stamps rather than postal history in society publications?
I know for sure that my favorite articles have always been about the background stories of the things shown on the stamps. There's so many pictures that just beg for the story to be told, even the ones that just show a particularly nice piece of scenery. There's a reason the subject was chosen, but that's often lost on someone that doesn't live in the particular country that issued the stamp.
-Allen
re: Not enough articles on stamps rather than postal history in society publications?
I concur with Father, I personally find many of the articles in these publications (and I only get AP, ASDA, and Kelleher's magazines - dropped Linn's/Scott long ago and never subscribed to any of the others) too long and too boring. Anything relating to the Civil War is an automatic skip. I think I got about a third way through Alex Harriman's article about the Boer War in this month's AP and realized how much more I had to go and skipped the rest.
re: Not enough articles on stamps rather than postal history in society publications?
I have to agree with you guys. I dropped out of the British Caribbean Philatelic Study Group many years ago because all they did was discuss covers. I had joined to learn about the stamps.
However, the magazine editors are begging for articles, so unless someone actually writes about stamps they won't be publishing any. So if you have something significant to present now is a good time to put it in writing and send it to the APS, or what ever publication you want to enhance.
re: Not enough articles on stamps rather than postal history in society publications?
Covers are more varied in origin and appearance than stamps, consequently covers offer more things to comment on and write about than stamps. It is just much easier to write an original article about covers than stamps.
DonSellos
re: Not enough articles on stamps rather than postal history in society publications?
For me, I think every stamp tells a short story, but every cover is a novel. If I have just a stamp in hand, I get a fair amount of enjoyment and information from the stamp and any cancel it might have. But if I have a cover in hand, I get an awful lot more enjoyment and information.
And one of the primary reasons I enjoy collecting is thinking about where a stamp has been, who bought it, where it may have been purchased and where it travelled. But unfortunately, many used stamps often have lost some of this if the information. I really enjoy the feeling I get when I hold a cover in my hand, it often makes me feel like I am somehow closer to history. Of course, the downside to collecting postal history as opposed to stamps is that they are more difficult and costly to mount, display and preserve than stamps.
But this being said, I try to always support whatever and however others in our hobby like to do. But I make what I think is a more important differentiation than lumping everyone into either ‘stamp’ or ‘postal history’ collectors. Instead, I think the line should be between a ‘casual’ collectors and ‘specialized’ collectors. So when I write articles, develop presentations, or make videos; I try to target a general audience. Specialized articles and presentations have their place but I have seen countless times when these totally lose general philatelic audiences. Hell, I have even seen ‘death by Power Point presentation’ even in front of specialized collectors. And I think this holds true for either ‘stamp’ or postal history’ segments. I have been bored by both specialized stamp and postal history articles and presentations.
Lastly and in my opinion, I think that it is easier to write articles and do presentations on postal history than it is on stamps. I think this is because the vast majority of stamps have already been well documented over the years. Covers tend to be far more unique and this makes better subjects for new articles and presentations.
Now for my soapbox. I think that everyone should be considerate of the time and effort others makes in writing and developing new philatelic content. I cannot tell you how demoralizing it is to have invested 20-50 hours into something like a presentation only to have some in audience be rude and disruptive by talking and ignoring the presentation. If you cannot sit quietly and be minimally respectful, then please leave the room. I have seen this happen dozens of times at stamp club and Zoom meetings. Not everything is for everyone and it can be challenging to sit through a long presentation that you have zero interest in, but please respect the effort that someone made in generating it.
Don
re: Not enough articles on stamps rather than postal history in society publications?
I have been the editor/publisher of my local stamp club for 15 years. Although I always implore our members to contribute articles, they rarely do and the bulk of the writing in the newsletter is done by me. The newsletter is published 5 times a year and each issue runs 18 pages. I heavily favor articles with stamps rather than covers and am very interested in the story behind the reason for the stamp and its design.
I wanted to upload a copy of the newsletter, but unfortunately, the pdf exceeds the file size allowed.
So I have uploaded several jpgs of selected pages from that newsletter. I hope you enjoy them.
Regards
Fred
(Agatha/Watson)
re: Not enough articles on stamps rather than postal history in society publications?
I had sent emails to the editor earlier this year that I found many of the articles (like the entire baseball theme issue) not interesting but that is just my opinion. I submitted feedback in at least 2 survey's as well. If 50% of new members are new to collecting, they are not being well served with the types of articles in the AP.
I like articles that go deeper than a catalog (expand the information) since I just collect stamps - no postal history. To use Don's website, stamp smarter.
APS did announce this that tries to fill in the gap.
BELLEFONTE, Pa., September 8, 2023 – The American Philatelic Society today announced plans to launch a free quarterly digital magazine in February 2024. Dubbed StampEd, the magazine invites the digital generation to connect with stamp collecting in new and exciting ways.
With the average age of stamp collectors on the rise, the longevity of the hobby is a significant concern for APS members. StampEd is one of many steps being taken by the APS to spark interest in collecting among younger generations and create a strong foundation for the hobby for decades to come.
“StampEd is not just a magazine, it will also become a community for the next generation of collectors,” said APS Executive Director Scott English. “If we’re serious about growing the hobby, we have to go meet these collectors where they are and stop waiting for them to come to us.”
StampEd engages beginner and non-traditional collectors with innovative philatelic content that enlightens and inspires. The magazine shares entry-level practical collecting advice and mentorship; explores the connections between stamp collecting and other interests; and celebrates the growing online community of active collectors.
"StampEd’s target audience, the digital generation, actually looks a lot like me,” said APS Editor-in-Chief Susanna Mills. ”We come to stamp collecting through different avenues than the average APS member. StampEd celebrates that, us, and everything we are: curious, artistic, energetic, crafty, (maybe a bit chronically online), and most of all, genuine. Did I mention that it’s free?"
re: Not enough articles on stamps rather than postal history in society publications?
I thought William of Occam meant his razor for explanations, not for circular reasoning like stamp collecting is the collecting of stamps, but apart from that I can somewhat get what sentiment lies behind the remark by mr. Lentini. However, I must say that I find most stamp publications utterly boring because most of the time they are filled with articles that are encyclopedia entries illustrated with stamp pictures. They have absolutely nothing to do with stamps and are often more a showcase of the writer's eloquence than philatelic news. I might as well go to the library and find a book on the subject that interests me. Or a general magazine dealing with this kind of stories. I appreciate and admire the fact that people get inspired by stamps to find out more about the subjects that are shown on stamps, but that should not lead to superfluous articles.
I want to read about the latest new stamps, practical things like where exhibitions and meetings are, curious facts such as a stamp made from old postal workers' uniforms or reviews of material every stamp collector uses. Matters such as is the latest catalogue issued by xxx worth getting, or if I need a stock book, what is the best one on the market. Even specialist stuff like what was the postage rate from the Netherlands to Mexico in 1915 or what is the significance of different types of cancels. That kind of useful information. Getting back to the question raised in the subject title: I'd rather read about postal history than a general story illustrated with some random stamp pictures, because somehow postal history feels more related to stamps.
Well, in the end it is of course each to their own.
Jan-Simon
re: Not enough articles on stamps rather than postal history in society publications?
Fred,
great job on your local stamp club. That IS ambitious for a local club. 100 pp per year is immense, especially if you're writing AND producing.
I edit a quarterly journal for one of the societies to which I belong (Seal News, for Christmas Seal and Charity Stamp Society), and know how blessed I am to receive manuscripts; we typically publish about 48 pp quarterly. Luckily, few of those are generated by me.
Our pages include seals (ie stamps), covers, history, ephemera (milk bottle caps, inserts, pins, organization correspondence), and interviews with those important to seals and/or the hobby.
David
re: Not enough articles on stamps rather than postal history in society publications?
Hi David,
I am also a member of the Christmas Seal and Charity Stamp Society and beginning with the November/December issue of our club newsletter a began a series on the National Christmas Seals from 1959 when the National Tuberculosis Association decided on having a national chairman for the Christmas Seal Campaign. I have attached the first part of that series.
Fred
re: Not enough articles on stamps rather than postal history in society publications?
Nice to meet you over here; funny how interconnected we can all be
re: Not enough articles on stamps rather than postal history in society publications?
I empathize — I really do! — with collectors who wish that covers and postal history didn't so dominate the pages of philatelic journals and stamp shows. For several years, I was one of the "Group of Five" members of the BC Philatelic Society who did virtually all of the work of our annual VANPEX show in Vancouver. During that period, our bourse dealers gradually shifted from stamps to postal history, postcards, and postal cards. As a "postal historian," I was delighted, and I scored some incredible covers/postal history. (What is the plural of postal history? Postal histories? I have a bunch of "postal histories" in a dozen ring books?)
Anyway, I have recently had a taste of the burgeoning commercial interest in postal history rather than stamps. I've been searching in various on-line sales venues for Indochinese stamps, not covers, but always have to plough through scads of covers. It's like searching for peanuts in a grocery store and having to push aside frozen lobster tails and porterhouse steaks and just to see the peanuts, much less buy them. And when I see stamps, they are mostly the kind that album stuffers stuff in albums — common, often in terrible condition, and overpriced.
At the same time, I wish every philatelist* would step back and recognize that stamps themselves are historical artifacts and not just pieces of paper that can be described and pigeonholed by referencing their perforations, watermarks, printing methods and varieties, types of paper, centring, gum, overprints, and flyspecks. There are many stamps which, if one will do just a bit of digging on line and/or in libraries, will reveal significant historical information that is scarcely available anywhere else (without looking). That information simply adds to — and doesn't detract from — the stamps' "philatelic" attributes. Postally used covers, and even some first-flight and first-day covers, sometimes are the only documents that reveal historical events or even episodes.
Bob
*Philatelist. That's a word that we need to change. I'm sure there are some politicians who immediately picture philatelists as guys lurking in trench coats near schoolyards.
re: Not enough articles on stamps rather than postal history in society publications?
The editor for most any philatelic group is likely the busiest person in the group and also the most important if the publication is the only means of communication. They are a disappearing breed as I know multiple clubs that are searching for an editor. This js more important for groups that do not meet physically.
Stamporama had a newsletter.
re: Not enough articles on stamps rather than postal history in society publications?
"
*Philatelist. That's a word that we need to change. I'm sure there are some politicians who immediately picture philatelists as guys lurking in trench coats near schoolyards.
"
re: Not enough articles on stamps rather than postal history in society publications?
And to answer the question. I am guilty of writing about covers! In my 55 years as a stamper I pretty much wore out stamps but there is always something interesting about covers I discover!
But per the message above, when attending stamp meetings I always listen and pay full attention to the presenter. There have been times I’ve prejudged and thought I didn’t want to hear about a topic, but learned I was wrong once I listened! I actually learned something!
re: Not enough articles on stamps rather than postal history in society publications?
APS magazine always seemed to me about stamp collecting in general, not a journal about stamps specifically. If you are interested in stamps specifically, a better journal would be something like the United States Stamp Society's "The United States Stamp Specialist" journal. I have a year's worth of issues stacking up. For everyone making a $5 contribution to SOR, I will send one of the back issues. PM me with your snail mail address and proof of contribution to SOR.
re: Not enough articles on stamps rather than postal history in society publications?
Postal history articles often lots of large size cover images as part of the article. I looked at the ad rates and if there was an opportunity cost associated with the images (meaning a trade off of editorial space vs business), the images would be using space priced at $480 or more for each image. It just puts value of space into a differents perspective.