New member introduction: Xavier from France

Hello all,

I was led to this forum by a colleague of mine, who you know here as Beryllium Guy. I have been collecting stamps since I was 7 years old (i.e. some 40 years ago), and never stopped. I saw in the signature of another post a quote that a stamp collection is the most demanding of mistresses, and I would tend to agree (and so would my wife!).

My collection has two slants, countries and themes. From the country point of view, I collect Africa (all countries), France (and all French territories), Germany (and most German territories), Canada, the US, the UN (all 3 administrations), and Guatemala. Thematically, I am also interested in stamps about science, Nobel Prize winners, stamps on stamps, currency on stamps, maps, flags, Europa issues, my home city of Montreal, Jules Verne, as well as "unusual" stamps made with non-traditional shapes and/or materials.

I've been lucky enough to inherit various stamp collections from family members, and I feel I am keeping a "family tradition" of stamp collecting alive. I would consider myself more of a "generalist" stamp collector. I do not necessarily seek to find stamp issues of the best quality, but more to fill in holes in my holdings. I tend to prefer to keep my stamps in stockbooks rather than albums because I enjoy re-organizing them from time to time and also because I'd rather spend the money on the stamps themselves than the albums.

This is my first time on a stamp forum (although I have belonged to stamp clubs before) so I'm eager to find out how it can enrich my collecting experience.

Philatelically yours,

Xavier.