Stamps Headlines
- Stamp Collectors Lead Interesting Lives January 31, 2012I dealt with some of the changes in the stamp collecting world in Top U.S. Stamp Stories 2011. For such a relaxing and sedate hobby there is certainly a lot going on, especially as clubs and their publications, not to mention stamp dealers, migrate to the Internet. It almost makes one think of that curse people would throw at enemies: "May you live in i […]
- Philatelic Q & A: In Search of a Vanishing American Icon January 30, 2012Looking at the new USPS international rate stamp picturing an Amish horse and cart on a road in Lancaster County, PA I noticed something in the background. A closer look showed me that they were cars and vans, parked near the barn-like structure. I was struck by the randomness of that. Most stamps are thought out to the extent that there is nothing extraneo […]
- Lawrence Block's Not-so-Hardboiled Philately January 29, 2012Are you up for some philatelic adventure? If you like philately in literature to play a large role in your vicarious fictional reading adventures, look to the exciting hard-boiled fiction of Lawrence Block. His character Keller is a philatelist and Block's stamp knowledge comes through in the stampish touches he puts in his novels. It is a great way for […]
- Delivering Mail: National Postal Museum Wants You to Know What It Takes January 29, 2012The National Postal Museum wants us to be aware of what it takes to move the mail from here to there. Their new exhibit is titled "Systems at Work." It's filled with hands-on attractions that allow visitors to virtually cancel stamps from various eras with ever changing canceling devices; sort and scan, to get a feel for what a postal job feel […]
- Quick Take on Stamps -- The Amish Airmail January 29, 2012The new international rate stamp features an Amish carriage, the very antithesis of the speed of delivery we attribute to airmail. Is the USPS trying to slip us a subliminal message about their recent press item that service will be slowing down? After all, it was many, many years ago that mail traveled roads such as the one the stamp shows the Amish cart […]
- Bond Stamps to Add Some Zest to Royal Mail Offerings January 23, 2012Some philatelists are getting their tongs all twisted over the coming James Bond stamps from the the U.K.'s Royal Mail. But if you're a Bond fan you might want to get involved in the excitement of commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the exciting films by going here and voting for your favorite Bond posters. A stamp-size design of the ten mos […]
- Special Delivery is Guaranteed with Due Date Postmark January 23, 2012As some parents-to-be play classical music near the mother's belly, hoping to create a great composer; or read great literature into the abdominal bulge, as if the belly button is a microphone to send messages to create the next Charles Dickens, perhaps there is a way to influence your coming family member to be a philatelist....Read Full Post […]
- Stamps That Go Bump in the Night January 23, 2012"He was a stamp collector. Both of us -- philatelists." -- Writer Harlan Ellison on horror writer Robert Bloch, speaking during an appearance at Cinefamily, Jan. 19, 2012. Film buffs may know Bloch as the writer of the novel Psycho, that became one of Alfred Hitchcock's signature films. Mr. Ellison was convincing the crowd that Bloch was a ki […]
- VSC Offers Easy Access to Info on 2012 USPS Stamp Program January 16, 2012Kudos to admin Lloyd de Vries and the folks that help him keep The Virtual Stamp Club on top of the news of the philatelic world: they've got a one stop spot to learn all about the USPS's 2012 stamp program, including those being issued for the new rates coming this month....Read Full Post […]
- Stamp Insider is a Fine Philatelic Publication January 14, 2012If you haven't checked out Stamp Insider yet, do it now. This is simply a good stamp club publication, covering a broad range of topics from eBay to youth philately to deltiology to patriotic covers and on and on. It is produced by the members of the Federation of N.Y. Philatelic Societies, Inc. Al Starkweather is editor. It is an entirely digital publi […]