Stamps ...
such memories! I was reminded of them
when Thomas MacEntee (on Facebook) posted a link to From the office: Stamp collecting and family history.
Back in the
day I used to collect stamps. Though my stamp collection has long been
donated to a philatelic society, I still love to look at stamps. I found
them such a fascinating glimpse into the countries around the world. How
detailed and intricate some were, how pretty others were, and how some honored
historical figures while others honored the head of state. And,
deciphering the language and correlating how a country called itself on a stamp
to what it was in English took me around the world many times. I also remember that as new countries were
created or countries assumed a new identity, my knowledge of the world was
updated, through my stamp collection.
For years, even decades, I would snag any “new-to-me” stamp that showed
up on an envelope to our house and I would also purchase inexpensive
collections to expand my horizons (literally and figuratively).
As stated
in this article ...
Unfortunately the collection turned out to be far less valuable than we supposed. Our stamp dealer scorned our page of penny reds and even our penny black was considered of little value due to it not being in mint condition. Our stamps from all over the world were clearly the wrong stamps from the wrong countries.
My
collection also was never valuable in terms of money and yet it provided such a
great education.
This jaunt down memory lane also reminded me to remember that stamps, post office, post marks, handwriting, addresses, and much more as connected to a simple piece of mail can tell you a lot about the parties involved!
As the
author concludes ...
Perhaps philatelists and family
historians have more in common than I had thought!
We are both collectors of history! And, stamps and the envelopes they are affixed
to, often contain correspondence or documents that are invaluable to our
genealogy research.
Are there other hobbies
which also relate to our ancestral research?
Editor’s Note: This Upfront with NGS post, The Death Of Family Heirloom -- Is it Exaggerated?, shows one of the few envelopes with a stamp, acquired from a family member, after I donated my stamp collection. So, I still have this one.
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