A Box Of Postage Stamps
08.31.06By Derek DahlsadThe stereotypical collector — whether in a book, film, or on TV — seems to hail from one of the following: Coin Collector, Comic Collector, Record Collector, Baseball Card Collector, or Stamp Collector. In my life, the only one of those I haven’t done is collect baseball cards…but the only collection that didn’t follow me into adulthood is the stamp collection. I’ve still got all the comics from my youth, my vinyl collection has expanded enormously, and I still check my pocket change for wheatstraw pennies, new state quarters, or old nickels. My stamp collection was all but forgotten until my parents discovered an abandoned 
shoebox of unorganized stamps in a closet. I don’t know what happened to the books I had filled with hinged stamps categorized by country and year. However, as a pack rat, I couldn’t just let these abandoned stamps go to the trash, so I brought them home.
Stamp Collecting has been around since the 17th century, as long as stamps have been used as postage. As tiny works of art, stamps benefited from the forgery-resistant fine printing quality reserved for money, but had the condition of being worthless once used. While the mail recipients didn’t need to feel bad about throwing out their stamps, collectors began to hold on to them, trying to obtain versions they’d never seen before and stamps from distant regions. In the 1800s, combined with quicker modes of travel and widespread colonialism, the hobby of stamp collecting grew more common. Mostly it was a fun pastime for children, but professional collectors began to join in the fun. As with other antiques and collectibles, an industry has developed devoted to producing price guides, printing catalogs that identify the rare from the mundane, and helping collectors keep their prized possessions in the highest quality condition as possible.
Today, postage stamp collecting is quite common and is often supported and encouraged by each country’s postal service. Without the hobby of stamp collecting, there would be little incentive for any post office to produce commemorative or creative postage stamps like the Favorite Children’s Book Animal set from earlier this year. Up until a recent remodeling, the main post office here in Fargo had a dedicated “Philatelic Window,” designed to look like a old-world post office window, especially to help collectors add to their cache of stamps. Both the USPS and the American Philatelic Society have children-focused programs to encourage new collectors.
Like many collections, stamp collecting can be either financially focused or recreationally focused. While it can be encouraging to find a rare and valuable stamp, many collectors focus on one country, type of stamp, or stamp subject matter. The wide variety of images placed on stamps across the world leaves nearly any subject open for collecting on a stamp: comic characters, authors, classic art, or any animal you can imagine have all been represented amongst others. Getting a stamp collection started requires little more than a scrapbook, some stamp hinges, and a pair of tweezers. Cancelled stamps, ones used to pay for a stamp’s transportation, arrive attached to an envelope and require a short bath in warm water to become separated from the paper. Tweezers are used to prevent the skin’s oils from staining the stamp, and hinges allow a stamp to be mounted in a scrapbook with minimal trouble or damage. Pre-printed scrapbooks are available for generalist collectors, and can be quite informative regarding other countries and their own various postage.
A collection can go quite a while relying entirely on the mail that enters the collector’s household, but after a point a collector will need to turn to outside sources for their stamps. Penpals are an obvious source for foreign stamps, and the Young Stamp Collectors of America offers a service for children to easily connect with distant fellow collectors. Trading events are a way to connect with other stamp collectors and get a closer look at a wider variety of stamps. eBay, of course, has a full section for stamp collectors at rather reasonable prices. Because so many people have collected stamps at some point in their lives, entire collections often turn up at auctions and estate sales.
I’m not sure if rediscovering these lost stamps rekindles my interest in a stamp collection, but I did enjoy digging through the tiny colorful bits of paper, remembering that “Magyar” means Hungary and that Karl Marx appeared prominently on German postage. I suppose I can’t let them be tossed back in the shoebox, can I? They may wait until one of our kids shows interest in stamp collecting. As a collection, stamps teach about geography, require little storage space, and do not require difficult skills. In the interest of encouraging children to collect, I can see why philatelic associations have such active children’s features. My interest may not have extended beyond childhood, but the art of collecting stamps had not faded in its appeal and charm.
