a href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bTvISTq6I5I/S50M8yauCJI/AAAAAAAAD_0/39uf_158nMw/s1600-h/2collectors.jpg”img style=”float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 250px; height: 275px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bTvISTq6I5I/S50M8yauCJI/AAAAAAAAD_0/39uf_158nMw/s320/2collectors.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”"id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448525362653694098″ //aVijay Nagaswami writes on India’s emDeccan Herald/em website, “Collectors collect a wide range of things, from the relatively common place stamps and coins to obscure and exotic things that would astonish the non-collector, such as elephant toenails, which are not, as one may imagine, collected by being intrepid enough to find a pachyderm in need of a pedicure, but a type of American knife of very early 20th century vintage (which one can buy off the Net).”br /br /In an article titled “Collectors Anonymous,” Vijay scribes, “Most of us tend to collect something or the other in our lives, even if not completely consciously and sometimes when we shift residence we cannot understand for what purpose we have an impressive collection of unused shoelaces or rolls of ribbons of different colours.”br /br /He goes on to say, “But this does not make us collectors, for we are not subject to the most important aspects of collecting: The joy of the hunt, the exhilaration of object ownership and the joy of seeing it regularly amongst one’s possessions. Also evident is the pain experienced by the collector when a coveted object is misplaced, carelessly handled, broken or unobtainable for whatever reason, as well as the increasing quantities of time that are devoted to the collection, even at the risk of neglecting other priority domains in the collector’s life.”br /br /”The mindset of a collector is best summed up in the following statement that appeared a few years ago on the website of ‘The Card Collector’s Company’: “A Card Collection is a magic carpet that takes you away from work-a-day cares to havens of relaxing quietude where you can relive the pleasures of a past time brought to life in vivid picture and prose. This is history from an original source.”br /br /a href=”http://www.deccanherald.com/content/57918/collectors-anonymous.html”Click here/a to read the entire article.div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11420717-7212304907685008102?l=stampcollectingroundup.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

a href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bTvISTq6I5I/S5vg069M8-I/AAAAAAAAD_s/HJ26YvYhpz4/s1600-h/untitled.bmp”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 178px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bTvISTq6I5I/S5vg069M8-I/AAAAAAAAD_s/HJ26YvYhpz4/s400/untitled.bmp” border=”0″ alt=”"id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448195374018524130″ //aCanada’s emTelegraph Journal/em reports, “Canada Post was more than confident that one of our country’s athletes would win the first Olympic gold medal on Canadian soil at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games. It secretly went ahead and printed some five million stamps in advance of the games to commemorate the event.”br /br /The piece by columnist David Williams goes on to say, ” So, when freestyle skier Alexandre Bilodeau did a back double full on the first jump and then a back iron cross to win Canada’s first home-earned gold medal on the third day of the games – Sunday, Feb. 14 – Canada Post issued a previously unannounced stamp that was available immediately on line, then in post offices in Vancouver the next day and across Canada starting Feb. 16.br /br /”It was the first time in Canada Post’s history that the company commemorated an event the day it occurred. Previously, the stamp had been one of the best kept secrets ever at the post office. An initiative of this magnitude would have been unheard of only a few years ago.”br /br /According to David, “As bold as Canada Post’s surprise gold medal stamp was, the move wasn’t nearly as dramatic as some other postal administrations around the world, such as Australia, Austria and Croatia. Those countries put a close-up photo of every individual gold medal winner on their stamps. Canada Post put an illustration of a gold medal on its stamp, not a photo of Bilodeau himself. The nearest our post office could come to that was to use a small, distant shot of skier Chandra Crawford, gold medal winner in Torino in 2006, on one side of one of the two Olympic spirit stamps.”br /br /Shown above, Olympic Gold souvenir sheet issued by Canada Post. The stamp, designed by Naomi Broudo and Violet Finvers of the Vancouver-based firm Tandem Design, shows a Vancouver 2010 Olympic gold medal. Gold maple leaves are scattered around on the booklets of 10 stamps and souvenir sheets of two stamps.br /br /To read the entire article, a href=”http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/escapade/article/982092″click here/a.div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11420717-3691014795132328820?l=stampcollectingroundup.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

a href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bTvISTq6I5I/S5pod9TFIbI/AAAAAAAAD-c/wDCEEUM_5Ac/s1600-h/press-release.jpg”img style=”float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 264px; height: 320px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bTvISTq6I5I/S5pod9TFIbI/AAAAAAAAD-c/wDCEEUM_5Ac/s320/press-release.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”"id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447781563138122162″ //abr /emThe Hill /emwebsite reports the head of the U.S. Postal Service said that his organization’s business model is as outdated as the newspaper industry’s.br /br /According to reporter Drew Wheatley, “John Potter, United States Postmaster General, cited changes in technology and channels of communication as justification for a revamp of the Postal Service’s delivery schedule and pricing system.”br /br /Potter is quoted as saying, “”Twenty years ago we would laugh at the notion that a newspaper would ever embrace the idea that maybe the channel of the future is electronic and that you may have to change your business model.br /br /He went on to say, ” “Likewise, the postal service is in a situation where the behavior of America is changing and we have to fix and change our business model to adapt to it.”br /br /To read the entire article and the interesting comments, a href=”http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/86265-postal-service-chief-our-business-model-as-outdated-as-the-newspaper-industrys”click here/a.br /br /How Would You Fix the Post Office? a href=”http://blogs.bnet.com/intercom/?p=2913″Click here/a.div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11420717-8691255497360098983?l=stampcollectingroundup.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

a href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bTvISTq6I5I/S5UfaYMsnRI/AAAAAAAAD9M/xSqo1D19QwM/s1600-h/2d_blue_1d_red_threehapenny.jpg”img style=”float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 258px; height: 320px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bTvISTq6I5I/S5UfaYMsnRI/AAAAAAAAD9M/xSqo1D19QwM/s320/2d_blue_1d_red_threehapenny.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”"id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446293862407249170″ //aBritain’s emSun/em newspaper reports a young woman has been jailed for “secretly plundering one of Britain’s biggest stamp collections — to blow it on drugs.”br / br /According to reporter Richard Moriarty, the woman along with her boyfriend stole her stepfather’s collection while he was in the hospital. Up to 80 Penny Blacks, 600 Penny reds and 400 Penny blues, worth more than £46,000, were taken to pay for illegal drugs. br /br /”A court heard the pair are both heroin addicts and most of the stamps have never been recovered,” according to the article. br /br /The woman was jailed for two years and her boyfriend jailed for nine months. br /br /The judge told them: “You took full advantage of this gentleman’s hospitality to steal a significant part of his much-prized stamp collection. br /br /”It means much more to him than its monetary value – it is a life-long hobby to which he was devoted.” br /br /Shown above, Penny Reds and Penny Blues.br /br /To read the entire article, a href=”http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2883456/Stamp-thief-druggie-jailed.html”click here/a.div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11420717-3460288259407945816?l=stampcollectingroundup.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

a href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bTvISTq6I5I/S5Psresb0jI/AAAAAAAAD88/4Fbsl1Svo9U/s1600-h/6a01157147ecba970c01310f2ef007970c-500wi.jpg”img style=”float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bTvISTq6I5I/S5Psresb0jI/AAAAAAAAD88/4Fbsl1Svo9U/s320/6a01157147ecba970c01310f2ef007970c-500wi.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”"id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445956606139028018″ //aLast month, Curtis Roosevelt toured emDelivering Hope: FDR Stamps of the Great Depression/em with National Postal Museum Director Allen Kane and exhibit curators Cheryl Ganz and Daniel Piazza. br /br /According to a post on the NPM website, “The oldest grandson of FDR and Eleanor, Curtis Roosevelt lived with his grandparents in the White House from 1933 until the president’s death. Though Roosevelt now lives in France, he was back in the U.S. on a six-week tour to promote his book, emToo Close to the Sun: Growing up in the Shadow of my Grandparents, Franklin and Eleanor/em.”br /br /The post goes on to say, “Curtis Roosevelt shared personal remembrances of FDR’s stamp collecting activities, and said that his grandfather tried (unsuccessfully) to interest him in the hobby. Roosevelt said that his grandfather’s collection made him a better informed president. During wartime briefings, FDR rarely needed much background information on faraway islands and places; he already knew their location, history, and resources from their stamps.”br /br /Shown above, Curtis Roosevelt views the auction catalogues from the sales of his grandfather’s stamp collection. He said that he and other members of the family regretted the estate’s decision to break up the president’s collection as lacking an appreciation for heritage. Pictured with Roosevelt is NPM curator Daniel Piazza.br /br /To view the entire post, a href=”http://postalmuseumblog.si.edu/2010/02/fdrs-grandson-views-delivering-hope.html”click here/a.div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11420717-8982722582401097135?l=stampcollectingroundup.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

a href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bTvISTq6I5I/S5UaT1n1CbI/AAAAAAAAD9E/XIeIolwj6A8/s1600-h/postmaster-3-4.jpg”img style=”float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 275px; height: 225px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bTvISTq6I5I/S5UaT1n1CbI/AAAAAAAAD9E/XIeIolwj6A8/s200/postmaster-3-4.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”"id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446288252488452530″ //aAn article on the New Canaan, Connecticut emAdvertiser/em website leads with, “With a quarter of a century of United States Postal Service experience under her belt, Nancy Cornelio is ready to be the first female postmaster at the New Canaan post office since the position was first created in 1818.” br /br /Reporter Carrie Schmelkin pens, “In addition to her daily tasks of overseeing retail windows, customer services and day-to-day operations, Cornelio said she is ready to continue to build on the relationship between the office and the community by creating weekly and monthly traditions.”br /br /According to Carrie, “At the top of her list is holding Wednesday Philatelic Days, where residents can learn the art of stamp collecting as well as monthly seminars about the importance of businesses using direct mail as opposed to e-mail announcements.”br /br /Shown above, New Canaan post office’s new postmaster, Nancy Cornelio, greeting a customer.br /br /To read the entire article, a href=”http://www.acorn-online.com/joomla15/ncadvertiser/news/localnews/51405-at-the-post-office-town-welcomes-permanent-postmaster.html”click here/a.div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11420717-3508407415319572139?l=stampcollectingroundup.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

Sometimes I find myself writing these notes add very odd hours. This time I’m dealing with the “pleasures of child family” as stomach flu has hit few of my kids and I’ve been awake for few hours already.
Anyway, I don’t know if there exists any stamp promoting proper washing of hands (and [...]

a href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bTvISTq6I5I/S5VZIUfBI-I/AAAAAAAAD9U/Om-WYHZlrxo/s1600-h/untitled.bmp”img style=”float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 175px; height: 225px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bTvISTq6I5I/S5VZIUfBI-I/AAAAAAAAD9U/Om-WYHZlrxo/s320/untitled.bmp” border=”0″ alt=”"id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446357323847115746″ //aPostmaster General John Potter announced yesterday the appointment of Janet Klug, the former president and current member of the board of directors of the American Philatelic Society, to serve on the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC). br /br /According to a a href=”http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/2010/pr10_023.htm”USPS press release/a, Janet, a lifelong stamp collector who says she “never met a stamp she didn’t like,” is the current chair of the New Initiatives Committee on the Smithsonian National Postal Museum’s Council of Philatelists.br /br /Postmaster Potter is quoted as saying, “Janet brings a wealth of expertise and knowledge to the committee. She represents one of the many voices of the stamp collecting community and we welcome her to CSAC.”br /br /Janet writes regular columns about stamp collecting for emLinn’s Stamp News/em and emScott Stamp Monthly/em, and her work has also appeared in American Philatelistem, Stamp Collector and Global Stamp News/em. br /br /Her recent publications include emGuide to Stamp Collecting /em(2008) and em100Greatest American Stamps/em (2007), which she co-authored with Donald Sundman. br /br /Members of the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee are appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Postmaster General. The committee, established in 1957, is composed of 15 members, whose backgrounds reflect a wide range of educational, artistic, historical and professional expertise. All share an interest in philately and fulfilling the needs of postal customers.br /br /Janet will join the committee in April.br /br /To read an interesting interview with Janet about her stamp collecting interests, a href=”http://www.gbstamps.com/gbcc/gbcc_klug_intvw1.html”click here/a.div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11420717-6668035701944008088?l=stampcollectingroundup.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

As some of my single country collections have lately reached over 50% completion level, I’m beginning to approach the situation where I have to start making some major decisions about the final storage and output of these collections. Should I continue to keep them on stock book, or transfer them to pre-printed stamp [...]

a href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bTvISTq6I5I/S5PpabxwrEI/AAAAAAAAD80/78t8dMzFZys/s1600-h/doc4b93c989a4c164822003863.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 250px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bTvISTq6I5I/S5PpabxwrEI/AAAAAAAAD80/78t8dMzFZys/s400/doc4b93c989a4c164822003863.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”"id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445953014763400258″ //abr /”Plane crashes are today’s headlines, but train wrecks were the major newsmakers 100 years ago,” writes reporter Matt Surtel on New York’s emDaily News/em website.br /br /According to Matt, local resident Mark Milcarek came across four old postcards that documented a train wreck that happened more than a hundred years ago.br /br /”The resulting impact was horrific. It left locomotives, train cars and wreckage strewn over the countryside. Photographs taken the next morning were quickly made into postcards,” pens Matt.br /br /Mark, who found the images online, is quoted as saying, “I just came across them and because they had a date and some information with them, they were something you could trace.”br /br /After buying the postcards, Mark began researching the accident looking through old newspapers and learned that the wreck occurred in early January 1907 after a northbound Buffalo, Rochester Pittsburgh coal train lost its air brakes heading north in the town of Gainesville.br /br /Ken Wilson writes on his a href=”http://www.ken-wilson.com/postcardhistorylinks.html”Postards [sic] – A Brief History of Postcards Postcard Collecting website/a, “The use of postcards exploded in the early 1900s. They were the “e-mail” of their day.Cards included advertising, artwork, and documentation of current events, and places.”br /br /To read the entire train wreck postcards article and see additional pictures, a href=”http://www.thedailynewsonline.com/articles/2010/03/07/news/doc4b93c989a4c16482200386.txt”click here/a.div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11420717-2079693689385959438?l=stampcollectingroundup.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div