Weekend stamp work

This weekend I tried to get some stamp work done each day. I soaked Great Britain commemoratives and a few bowlfuls of mixed worldwide kiloware and these stamps are in my drying books currently. I also sorted some of my many Machins, and have started identifying some of the more recent, higher value ones. I should be able to get an idea soon of what I have and what I need in the Machin issues of the last 5 years or so.
I have not yet found any of the postcard rate or foreign airmail rate Machins! I would be interested in purchasing used copies of these stamps if anyone has any, or better yet, if anyone can mail me covers/cards with these stamps on them, tell me what you want in exchange. : )

I also worked on separating and sorting South Africa stamps. I have a box full of South Africa bundleware that someone gave to me some time ago, and I have slowly been separating the bundles one by one and sorting the damaged stamps from the collectible stamps. This collection contains mainly definitives, in heavy duplication, although they are some commemoratives. They are from the 1960s and 70s for the most part. I have also been setting aside the readable postmarks. There are quite a lot of stamps in this box.
Does anyone know of any good references for South Africa stamps? I'd love to be able to study these stamps more thoroughly since I have so many of them. I used to have a very nice South Africa catalog, but I can no longer remember who published it.
If you are interested in stamps from South Africa, I can make up a packet of about 50 different stamps for anyone who might like to make a trade. You can email me if you are interested. I would be interested in stamps from any British Commonwealth country in exchange.

Regards,
Suzi
suziboyer@gmail.com

More GB kiloware

I have ordered 2 kilos of Great Britain mission mixture kiloware. Why? Good question! Well, although I need more kiloware like I need a hole in the head, I have made up some excuses to justify my purchase.

First of all, it is more recent than the mix I have, and I need recent Machins and GB stamps. Second, it was a very good bargain- the kind you can't pass up, and two of my favorite things are stamps and bargains. So if you put those two things together, well, it's hopeless- I can't resist. And lastly, it's being shipped via surface mail (aka, a slow-moving turtle), so I have 4-8 weeks to try to catch up with sorting and/or soaking the kiloware I have here already. HA! Let's see, 30 lbs. of kilware in 4 weeks, that 7.5 lbs. a week, hmmm, I could quit my job and sleep only 3 hours a night...that might do it.

Well, realistically, I'll probably soak all the other on-paper stamps EXCEPT the Machin mixture. I will then continue to work on sorting the Machins I have here until my new mixture arrives. I may need to find a more efficient soaking technique than my one bowl and my stack of Desert Magic drying books.
Anyone out there have any tips on safely soaking larger quantities of stamps at a time? Do you have experience with large quantities of kiloware? I'd love to hear your tips and stories if you do. : )
When I get the new mix, I'll put up a picture and let you know what I think of it. It is supposed to be completely unpicked and untouched.

Suzi
suziboyer@gmail.com

Washington 2006 World Philatelic Exhibition

I am making plans to attend Washington 2006, and have been wondering how many of you are doing the same. This Exhibition is taking place from May 27th through June 3rd this year in Washington, DC-- but I'm sure most of you already know that. There will be around 3800 frames of exhibits, so even if one is not interested in shopping at the bourse there will be plenty to see and learn about, and admission is free.

I am hoping to take my whole family, because my teenagers want to see the Smithsonian Institution, and my daughter is actually interested in the Philatelic Exhibition as well. However, it is pretty expensive to stay in a hotel in DC proper, so I will be staying about 40 minutes away.

Anyone else who is considering visiting this Exhibition and is wondering what their family might do if they are not interested in stamps need not worry. The Smithsonian Institution's museums can keep people of all interests occupied for a long time. They are definitely worth a visit, and admission there is also free, although you will need to pay to park in DC.
Here are some of the Smithsonian exhibits that will be open during the same dates as the Philatelic Exhibition:
--"Legendary Coins and Currency", at the Castle on Jefferson Avenue
--"BIG/small" at the African Art Museum
-- "Listening to Our Ancestors: The Art of Native Life along the North Pacific Coast", at the American Indian Museum
--"War Letters: Lost and Found", at the Postal Museum

This is the link to information about the Philatelic Exhibition. Their website includes all the information you need to plan a trip, including directions, accommodations, lists of participating dealers, floor plans, and more.

Please let me know if you are planning on attending. Perhaps we can arrange a meet-up?

Suzi

It finally worked....

Here is the cover and postcard that I have wanted to post here for so long.
To find out more about Pabay Island, check out the links on the right. There's some interesting information there.

Suzi

Publishing problems

Since March 15th I have been trying to publish pictures of the Pabay Island postcard and cover and it just won't work. I have temporarily given up and will move on to other things. Perhaps I will be able to post pictures at a later time today when the server is less busy.

I will post more later.

British Locals

I received last Friday, from a stamp friend and a reader of this blog named Jeff, a lovely cover enclosing some very useful information. Jeff sent me a cover posted from Pabay Island, and included inside this cover a beautiful postcard of the island, an article about the postal history of Pabay, and information about the stamps of Pabay. You can find out all about Pabay Island from the links on the right, where I have added both Jeff's website and his blog. I will try to remember to scan a pic of the cover as well as the postcard when I am at home and have a scanner. (at work now...)

Jeff has an interest in British local stamps, and I would love to be able to send him some, but alas-- I think the only one I have is on the cover which he posted to me. So, if anyone has any used British locals that you'd be willing to trade, let me know. I can either put you in touch with Jeff, or I will trade for them myself as I'd like to send him something to thank him for his kindness.

Jeff also sent me a copy of the most recent (I think) British Philatelic Bulletin, which was kind enough to review this blog in a not unfavorable light. I have received several emails advising me that this blog was mentioned in the Bulletin, and I thank you all, as I would have had no inkling of this fact if all of you hadn't been kind enough to pass this on.
I must also thank the writers/editors of the British Philatelic Bulletin. I appreciate the mention. It has encouraged me greatly.

Suzi

Interesting cancellations

Today I have more pictorial postmarks to show you.
A friend in Malaysia sent me some pix of interesting cancellations in response to my earlier discussion. Here are two which I found quite striking:




In looking through my huge boxes of Machins on paper, I found many interesting advertising slogans. The first ones that caught my eye intrigued me because USA entities are doing the advertising:


Diamond Walnuts, in California; and the state of Washington advertising their apples. It had never occurred to me that US companies might be placing advertisements on slogan cancellations in other countries. How interesting!




I searched further and realized that there are many interesting pictorial cancels in this mix, and many are advertising slogans. These are not quite as nicely struck as the little castle (Tower of London?) I found earlier but nice cancels nonetheless.
I think I will research this further and form a collection of these, with a special section for the US companies.

If anyone knows a good source of information in the area of modern British slogan cancels, please let me know. I will share your information if you like. I tried to do a quick Google on the topic without much luck. I haven't had a chance yet to devote a lot of time to searching so if anyone can help let me know.

Thanks.

Suzi
suziboyer@gmail.com

Trading

Today I received a comment from http://www.blogger.com/profile/9416399 in Malaysia, who has linked to this blog. I took a look at http://www.blogger.com/profile/9416399 blog, and she has created what is basically a simple trading page.

Using a blog in this manner is innovative. She is scanning items available for trade and inviting other collectors to email offers of what they have available in exchange. A neat and tidy way to post your trade items, and the blog format allows regular updates and the ability to post the details of successful trades if desired.

I have been wondering how everyone else keeps track of their trades. I am looking for a better system. My problem is knowing what I have already sent to someone. I just do not have the time to deal in want lists on a regular basis. Lately, I have been laying out the stamps out on a stock sheet and scanning the sheet as a record of what I have sent, so that if I trade with that partner again, I can take a look at the scans. I have been printing out the pages and putting the whole thing in a manila folder with the trader's name, address, collecting interests, wants, etc.

Recently, I began trading with a collector who exchanges only with others who can send scans of stamps. From those scans he selects only the ones he wants- sort of an approval via email. He then sends scans back to me, and I select the stamps I want. We are trading on a one to one basis, and it is a simple matter to just open Photoshop and circle or mark which ones I am interested in. I like this method of trading. Although it is more time consuming, it ensures that each person gets what they want in a trade. Also, the email correspondence is very enjoyable.

Tell us what YOU do for trading. How do you track your trades? Keep records of trading partners? Let's discuss this topic and share ideas.


Suzi
suziboyer@gmail.com

Stamps of days gone by, wantlists, and rambling

I just heard the bell of our break cart tinkling, which means I have a few moments to spend with all of you. Trying to make good on my promise to keep up with this blog more frequently, I am typing with my right eye closed currently. I have also been using the writer's trick of carrying a small notebook around into which I can jot thoughts about what I'd like to write about here, as such thoughts invariably occur when one is as far away from a computer as possible.

Today I am thinking about my poor orphaned stamps that my ex-husband took in our divorce. He swore up and down that he wanted to continue collecting and couldn't bear to have me take all of the stamp collections, especially the ones we had worked on together. So I divided up the stamps, keeping the collections that he gave me and trying my best to retain the ones I had worked on since childhood. Now today, many years later, he has not worked on those collections one little bit, and the stamps are still in the boxes, albums and stockbooks where I left them, with a hefty layer of dust added on top of them. But he will not give them to me, and I am afraid that if I try to buy them from him I could never afford his price; after all, the more you want something, the more value it has, and that is the way he thinks. I am consider asking anyway, though.

He has my complete collection of partially plated Canadian Map Stamps (Scott #s 85 & 86), along with all the research tools to go along with them, and many stamps I was still working on plating. I had most of the major re-entries, and was considering making a competitive exhibit of them. There were around 500 map stamps the last I remember counting. I truly enjoyed learning about them and plating them. And that is just a little bit of what he has.

Anyway, sorry to whine to you all. I will stop now.

I am also pondering what to work on next. I think I need to sort the recent GB I have around, and finish soaking the last of it this week. I am probably getting the most caught up on my Australia and Great Britain collections, but still have a LOOOONG way to go. I may be forced to make want lists, one of my most HATED philatelic activities. I try to avoid want lists as much as possible.

Never did get to do much identifying of the classic stuff I was stripping out of the International Junior album, just a little bit. A lot of them are in a pile needing soaking, also, as I simply used my scissors to cut out the ones that were stuck to the page and started filling a box with them.
I found a lot of Iran, even a few with catalog values of a few dollars, but most very common, as you would expect from such an album. If anyone reading this is interested in some rather common but older stamps, give me a yell and I'll let you know if I have the countries you are interested in. Some countries only are represented by a few stamps, though. Or if you want me to write more about them....well, I may do that anyway, as I had some questions in mind as I was trying to identify those Iran stamps.

Well, time to get back to work. Sorry for rambling on this morning.

Rambling on and on,

Suzi

suziboyer@gmail.com

Gibbons Elizabethan Catalog

Just a quick note for now---does anyone know anything about the Stanley Gibbons Elizabethan Catalog? I was on the Gibbons website, and I cannot find an entry for this catalogue.
I have a copy of the 1984 edition which I picked up used at a bourse a few years ago, and have been thinking that it would be nice to have a newer edition. It seems perhaps as if this catalogue is no longer published, which would be a shame. It is quite a useful addition to a philatelic library. I think I even remember one of you folks mentioning that it wasn't around anymore.

If anyone has any idea what the last year that the Elizabethan Catalogue was updated is, I'd love to know.

Oh! Almost forgot-- Thanks to Sheryl who responded to my request about trading philatelic literature. I am sending her a copy of the Boggs Canada Book, a booklet about Australia Postage Dues, and a very old copy of Australian Stamp News in exchange for some Gibbons Specialized catalogs and a Canada Unitrade catalog. I appreciate the trade very much.

I will try to discuss literature a bit more later--I have some interesting books of clippings that I picked up at an auction some time ago (as part of a literature and supplies lot) and I'm trying to decide what to do with them, and what I can do that is legal as far as sharing the info.



Building my philatelic library,

Suzi

Interesting cancel in my Machin mix

I was looking through one of my huge boxes of on-paper Machins /Christmas stuff, and I found an interesting and really cute cancel. Actually, it is only PART of a cancel, and I am wondering if anyone can tell me what the remainder of the cancellation was. It appears to be a slogan, but the only part that I have is the adorable little castle or gatehouse graphic that is nicely struck on a 16p Machin.
If you can tell me what the whole cancellation says, I will send you some of my Machin mixture, say around 1/4 lb. And I'll take it from the boxes that are upstairs which I haven't picked through at all yet.

This is not a new mix for the most part, and therefore not a new cancel. It could go back as far as the 1980s sometime, as some of the date stamps in that mix are from that period. Many are also from the 1990s.

Does anyone else here collect cancellations? There are some interesting ones in that mixture, especially if you are looking for slogans. Do you have a funny or interesting cancellation that you'd like to share? Or a puzzling one? Send a picture and I'll post it in a future article.

Suzi

suziboyer@gmail.com

Eye problems--more later

I really am not trying to ignore this blog, but I have been having severe uveitis flare-ups in my right eye in the last month and it is pretty bad at the moment. This is keeping me away from my computer, as my eye is in severe pain and also I can't see out of it.
However, I plan on dictating some stuff to my daughter and making her type it up for me this weekend. HA- that's what teenagers are for right? To help us old folks out!!

Suzi

PS- Dreya will also be helping me to strip some classic stamps out of an old International Junior Album and attempting to ID some of them. Most of these stamps are countries that I do NOT collect, so I am planning on trading them. If you'd like to see some of this material, let me know. I can post it here if there is interest...could be a good way to start some trades. : )