Which direction have you taken?

I have told my story several times over since I joined this site back in the spring of 2021. I started collecting world wide as a kid probably around 10 years old. My father was a collector and got most of us interested but I was the only one that seed seemed to take long term. In my early teens I was spending my paper route and odd jobs money on stamps. From my late teens till late 30's my interest was minimal but never parted with my 2 large world wide albums that went up to 1965. I have kept my world wide to the same 1965 cut off.

At some point early on I had enough Canada that I was given a Minkus Canada album (that now goes up to 1990). I think I may have bought my Harris USA album myself around 1980 because that is how far it goes. I am not really searching for additions to the USA but maybe one day I will. I have some pretty good classics and rate my collection as important. Through the 1990's my father started gifting me his collections that I merged into mine. The one other area I have become focused on was his Scott British America album that goes up to 1965. He also had a Scott British Europe and Oceana that runs to 1965. I have done very little with that. My United Kingdom, Australia along with the states and New Zealand outgrew my World Wide albums so I created old school quad ruled pages in spring back albums for them. I do not go out of the way to add to them but they are substantial collections. 

I have yet to sell off any of my collections and doubt I will till the time comes that I cannot enjoy them anymore. The pandemic cut my travel way back leaving me with surplus funds so the last 2 years I have been acquiring many stamps I thought I would never own. I may take a time out from that as I have been a bit out of control and I have started booking travel. 

Interesting thought Terri philatelia . I never really paused to look closely at my Collecting “ road map” until a couple of hours ago reading this thread.

On reflection the path I drifted along over 70 years has of course gone off on side tracks , dead ends and even the occasional “U” turn. I just sketched it out on paper as a time line with branches. Once a dedicated stamp collector, I hardly buy individual stamps these days, only seeking infrequent examples of my early classics having been converted to social and postal history some 10-15 years ago.


1947 1st albumWorld wide_____1955 concentrating on GB USA Virgin Islands——- 1960-1969 Marriage, work, overseas, collection stored then sold.

1974 started again GB Victoria —- 1976 -2010 serious specialist collection of Denmark 1851-64., exhibited internationally ( 2000, 2010)With sideline collections of Faroes, Volcanoes started then disposed of)

1990 to date. After return visit to Samoa .serious specialist collection , stamps and postal history . Exhibited Nationally
1990 to 2018 a Dictionary of Philately illustrated , 1000s of odd and unusual items to illustrate all the terms used in collecting 
2005 collection of a late friend started a topical social theme on Tobacco and Anti-smoking. (Again exhibited internationally 2010, 2915)

2015 Denmark sold , started a Postal history collection “How Wars impact on the mail “. 1800- 1950 which is still current

2018 to date “Tobacco” dormant not much added, Samoa only looking for 1877 issues, Wartime postal history Active , and started accumulating Europe classic No1s and the triangles of Cape of Good Hope (2020)


so where am I now ?    At least 10 collections started and abandoned , sold or dispersed,   Two large collections which are current but very hard to add to , leaving one Classic stamp collection and one huge topical,postal history collection actively pursued.

I posted this recently as an introduction at another forum. Might as well recycle and not let those pixels go to waste.

...

I can remember my first stamp approvals nearly 70 years ago, the first time I saw a  US 3c green banknote stamp, trying to talk my mother out of another dime so I could buy 10 additional penny approval stamps.



Since then I have gone from hinging stamps in a Harris worldwide album, moving to a Scott National, cutting black strip mounts with a razor blade, watermarking stamps with carbon tetrachloride, my first trip to a stamp shop, joining a specialist BNA society, learning how to exhibit, making it to a Capex in Toronto and exhibiting there, becoming an accredited APS judge, meeting lots of interesting collectors far more advanced than I, moving my interests to postal history with several national exhibits and a couple golds, becoming a part-time "stamp" dealer, taking tables at shows not too far distant, discovering the thrills and pitfalls of eBay, and reluctantly tendering my APS judging accreditation as I could see and feel my age showing its effects.



Currently I have several US postal history interests, also a love-affair with my "Oranges and Other Citrus Fruit" collections, along with a new-found interest in Cape triangles, a dabble in Texas cinderellas, and still keeping my dealer interests alive on eBay.



I've met online so many wonderful collectors whom several are participants here.



As you travel the many paths that philately offers I hope that you have as much fun as I have had.

This is a fascinating thread. I always enjoy hearing how others have come to philately and what that looks like now. Thanks to everyone for sharing your stories! I'm in my late fifties and began a collection when I was about ten years old, in 1975 or 1976. I remember the years because there was a deluge of American bicentennial issues (both US and worldwide) and that captured my attention at the time. Other than stamps relatives saved from their incoming mail, my first mail order approvals were from H. E. Harris. It was exciting to await the newest arrivals every month or so, even though I had very little disposable income to spend.

Our family was fortunate to have a neighbor my parents' age who had been a lifelong stamp collector. He showed me his plate blocks, duck stamps and Zeps (even though at the time I had no idea their value). His grandfather was a well-known philatelist (although I forget his name now) and passed to him the love for collecting. It was this neighbor who brought by his Linn's Stamp News for me to read after he was done with them, and I was entranced by the many advertisers and opportunities. (So many more in the 1970s than there are in the current issues of Linn's). I ordered approvals, focusing at that time on US commemoratives and definitives for my Scott Minuteman Album. (It is my oldest, most ragged album, and I keep it for nostalgic reasons, as most of the stamps in it are of little monetary value).

At that time I was focused on US stamps as I found world wide collecting too overwhelming. Like many, my later high school and college years found me laying aside my tongs, although there were some new issues I purchased and filed way because they garnered my attention. By my late 20s I was ready to collect again, but moved more in the direction of exchanging worldwide covers. This was the era of "new nations" rising in the former Soviet bloc, and of British colonialism giving way to independent states, and I enjoyed receiving contemporary covers from newly arising political entities. It was in my late 20s when I became a member of the APS, wondering how I could justify the annual dues with my meager personal budget. This year I will celebrate 31 years of continuous membership. I eagerly and happily renew each year, now recognizing how important APS has been to my philatelic meanderings.

By the time of marriage and children more than 25 years ago I began collecting countries I had visited or had interest in, so Great Britain, Jamaica, Mexico and Canada received my attention. Now that my wife and I are "technical" empty nesters, I have allowed myself the pleasure of expanding my collecting interests. Some at this stage of life focus on particular areas, but I now embrace the world, especially enjoying British Commonwealth, the Caribbean and African nations. While I've always collected used and spurned mint, in the past three years I have come to find joy in pristine MNH British Commonwealth.

There are no family members interested in my collecting activities, although they know their dad, grandfather and husband is a collector, and they graciously allow me time to "play with my stamps" as they call it. In the year ahead I'd like to engaged in more quality exchanges by getting my numerous acquisitions more orderly (so I know what duplicates I actually have). I anticipate collecting through my remaining working years into retirement. While this is not my only source of "bliss," it certainly does occupy many corners of my life!

Stage 1: I was given a thin kid's album when I was 6 along with a few stamps. For the next few birthdays and Christmases I would get some kiloware, and a pile of stamped cards asking for reprints of scientific articles. My father and my mom's father were scientists, and in those pre-internet days, scholars around the world would send in requests for copies of their articles. I wish I did not soak the stamps off: imagine the exhibit on that fragment of postal history!

Stage 2: My father went on sabbatical to Nancy, France. He was a geologist, and in Nancy there was a laboratory that would help him figure out the rocks that had just been brought back from the moon. I was enrolled in a French public school without any clue about French, so flunked just about everything except math, but picked up some history from a French point of view (the US became independent in 1783, when France recognized it, but at least I learned which Louis was which). I found a stamp shop just off Place Stanislas and spent my allowance there. I later learned that its owner had a crush on my mother. I was a just a geeky kid with buck teeth and thick glasses. I built up the start of a French collection, and sought out stamps from every country. I felt very naughty as an 11 year old American in 1973 buying stamps from Cuba, Red China, North Vietnam, and North Korea. If only I had the sense to spend my entire allowance on red China...

Stage 3: I went back to Europe as a hitchhiker/railpasser in 1979. I bought a few more stamps from post offices, and somehow found some packages with vintage colis postes. But I was no longer so engaged with stamping.

When I arrived in Liechtenstein on an Easter Monday, all was closed except souvenir stands. I was hungry but all that was on sale were postage stamps and other inedible products of that tiny country (ok, there were some chocolate bars,which save me!). Starving, I renounced stamp collecting for the next couple of decades. Worse: I did not know German, so did not understand the fine print in the railroad station informing me that while Liechtenstein ran on Swiss time, the trains ran on Austrian time, so I was exactly one hour late to the train that would have taken me to Innsbruck and, more importantly, food.

Stage 4: My step-grandfather died and left his stamp collection. The important part of the US material needed division among branches of the family. I kept the more iconic stamps and the other side got the coils and anything mint. I got his childhood stamps, cheap in 1913 and still cheap, but captured my imagination. Bosnia! Horta! Nyassa!

Stage 5: Around the millenium there was a family crisis when I needed to be around but out of the way. I went through several generations of basic albums and re-assembled a collection. I went on ebay for countries I did not have yet.

Stage 6: I got carried away, and through brute force almost finished the US and France to the millenium aside from the really expensive stuff. Collecting became my way of life. I found stamp clubs where I could learn from the old heads, even though I needed to bite my tongue if conversation veered into politics. I hit stamp shows regularly and got to know some dealers, and began to specialize.

Stage 7 has been mostly played out on the stage of this site.

I do share the same feelings as REL1948 and believe it is appropriate and interesting to read the posted members's stories. My face does not appear on Facebook, just my #1 CANADA Beaver (avatar), for personal reasons. I am reluctant to share my "story" even though it matches many already posted but I understand the "security aspect" of our Forum.

René

I started collecting while in Mauritania at age 7 because I really liked how pretty their stamps were. My mother, who had collected herself, encouraged it and made sure a lot of letters from hers and my father's professional abodes came my way for me to soak. My paternal grand-mother also started sending me the current French issues, which she was also doing for a few of my cousins at the time. As soon as I had any allowance (by which time I was living in Cameroon), I would spend it at a department store near my school that had a stamp corner. When we settled back in Canada, I found a few like-minded philatelists at my school and did trades with them, and then started spending my allowance money on approval lots from a couple of dealers from Montreal, Québec City, and the US. Within a few years, I had a pretty complete Canadian collection and a decent US one. I also started to specialize somewhat by dropping Eastern Europe countries and concentrating more on African countries plus a few others. My maternal grand-father passed away, as which time I was given his old stamp albums (a hinged worldwide collection in Harris albums, to which my mother has added her own, and covering mostly from the 1940s to the 1960s, with very complete France and Canada pages). There were also many almost full panes of Canadian stamps that he had used for his professional practice. And a 1938 worldwide catalog from Yvert & Tellier I still use today.

I never stopped collecting during my college years, but money was tight so I mostly just maintained by buying the new USA and Canada issues, for the most part, plus what my relatives were accumulating for me. Continuing to buy from Canadian dealers became increasingly difficult. Once I had my first real paying job in Boston, I bought enough to make my US collection respectably complete.

I then moved to Germany and joined a local stamp club in my town, and became more interested in German stamps (but staying shy about the former Eastern part, as per my earlier specialization decision), and found some German dealers with whom I do business still. My German collection is now very extensive, within these parameters. After a few years, I moved to France and started expanding into the French territories, plus Monaco and Andorra. Again, for most of these I have now reached quite a satisfactory completion level. I dabbled for a while in Greenland and the Channel Islands, but found their issues to be of lesser interest to me after a bit. I also started specializing more in some topical issues.

More recently, I decided to stop most of my subscriptions and only get post-2020 issues if they meet a thematic interest of mine. I joined TSF, of course, under the tutelage of Beryllium Guy , and that has been my main source of non-dealer material through trades and giveaways. I would not quite say that I have reached my philatelic goals (many African countries still have large gaps), but I'm close enough to feel quite happy about how far I've gotten.  

Stage 1: US but was getting expensive for earlier material
Stage 2: Was traveling to far east on business, so started Malayasia/Singapore
stage 3: Expanded to British Commonwealth
Stage 4: Expanded to French Indochina
Stage 5: Interested in collecting a stamp  from every country (interest in numbers 1, etc) after I saw a ASFEC album by John (source code on AlbumEasy website) but purchased the hardcopy off amazon.

Each phase started by buying collection lots of ebay.

Focus range is usually 1900 to 1980.

I would rather than a collection of lots of common stamps than a collection of fewer expensive stamps.

Whoa....ask and ye shall receive!

I started collecting at the age of ten, 53 years ago.  My grandfather (and three uncles) in Germany got me started, I had often watched my "Opa" hunched over peering with his poor eyesight to view his little bits of paper.  Turns out my grandfather started collecting when HE was ten, in 1912, and had built up quite a nice collection but lost it when he was forced to move from Poland (his wife's--my grandmother's birthplace) back to Germany.  Seems the madman in power,  A. Hitler, was planning his wartime invasion in 1939. Opa had quite an extensive collection--he always said he had a "Blue Mauritius" but since evacuating was considered temporary he left the bulk of his chest of stamps in rural Poland.  He told me he brought a few rare stamps including, Opa claimed, a copy of the famous Blue Mauritius to Berlin, where he began his career as editor of a German stamp publication.  Somehow I never caught the stamp publisher's name....Opa's name was Wilhelm Denner (1902-1988) and I always check 1930's-1950's German stamp publications for evidence of his name.  Opa was more the editor type--although I know he did write some stamp related articles, ending around 1961 when he fled communist East Germany.  

Sadly, Opa fled without a single stamp from his collection.  Literally just the shirt on his back.  I assume he wore trousers as well, to avoid suspicion.  The more valuable stamps, such as his Blue Mauritius, he carefully sold or traded early on, to avoid suspicion from the East German secret police.

Anyway, years later his sons-in-law (my uncles) had amassed full sheets "Post Office Fresh!" Bundesrepublik issues of the 1960's and 1970's.  Those sheets (they had hundreds!) are even less value than 1950's-1980's US commemoratives.  The Deutsche Mark denominated stamps were bought with hard-earned money, my uncles thinking they would retire in philatelic riches.  As most modern day collectors now realize, their holdings bring back a TINY FRACTION of their face value.  The pre-Euro German stamps have all been demonetized, and remain totally invalid for any postage!  Wisely, my Opa had always told me, a stamp is not really a stamp, until it has been USED for its intended purpose.  

I received by mail all the "Post Office Fresh!" issues of Germany and West Berlin from my uncles/grandfather when we moved to the States in 1972--by then I considered myself an intermediate collector, as I had expanded my worldwide "collection" to include a total of three (!) 16-page Lighthouse type albums.  Every New Years, until about 1985, I would count all my face different worldwide stamps.  In 1970 I had reached 1,000 different worldwide stamps; by 1979 I had amassed 10,000 and I gave up counting when I reached about twelve albums (probably around 12,000-15,000 face different).

By the time I could mow lawns and babysit I spent every last nickel (or D-Mark) I had on stamps.  My mailbox was filling with approvals mainly, from US dealers named Viking Stamps, Earnest Schlesinger (giant manila envelopes of worldwide stamps for 2 to 5 cents each, what fun!) B. Schulz from Canada, and Harris & Jamestown Stamp Companies--those two even then I could tell were pushing "Sand Dunes" and I quickly discontinued receiving their "exciting offers".

In 1974, and again in the 1980's I flew back as a teenager/young collector and road the rails throughout Western Europe when I wasn't trading stamps with uncles or grandfather.  Stamp stores in exotic European towns were always a thrill to find.  They were all to happy to relieve me of my hard-earned money, often for new issues and even the popular First Day Covers.  (Cringe!) Flea markets and antique shops as well, where I always found exciting worldwide stuff to fill my expanding collection.  Also in the mid 1970's I had "Standing Orders" from several philatelic agencies.  I could send US$20 and get about a year or two's worth of new issues.  United Nations, Liechtenstein, Israel, all the popular stamp issuing entities.  

My collecting interests by then outgrew the new issue and even the expensive stamps--even the pricey USA "Zeps" didn't interest me, as everyone seemed to have them, or wanted to sell me theirs, at a stiff price!  My focus turned to covers, no more FDC's please!!!! Postal History, German Inflation, POW, Censored mail, Registered and early Advertising and Mourning Covers, early Poster Stamps (Cinderellas) on cover; and anything with a lot of auxiliary markings up to around 1950 got me (and still get me) really excited.

Living in Florida, around 1975 I became the youngest member of the Hollywood Stamp Club, where I was member #1255 and remained a member until about 2005 after I moved out of state.  Around that time I met many retired NY area stamp dealers; Violet Montalto (her Nassau Street cover dealer husband died in the 1960's), Bill Macy (I think was his name), Carl Lipton, a US Duck Hunting stamp dealer, and the illustrious, by then wheel-chair bound Pat (Herman) Herst, among many others.   Pat and I had similar, eclectic tastes, but he was NOT HAPPY when I dared to outbid him.  "You young no good whippersnapper!" was one of the less derogatory names he sometimes used.  I was never sure he wasn't teasing or even trying to intimidate me.  Mostly when we were both bidding on the same cheap junk box at the weekly club stamp auctions!

It was only years later I read, and became a fan, of Pat Herst's prolific stamp writings--he eventually became friendlier to me, especially when I let him rummage through an odd auction lot I'd win for a few bucks.  Always good deals to be had at the well-attended club meetings!  I would call the "HSN" Hollywood Stamp Club "Nassau Street South", as Florida was well known for retiring New York dealers.  Pat had a great influence on my collecting interests; we were both eclectic, Cinderella collectors with an eye toward the unusual.  Pat passed away in 1999 ate age 89, still avidly collecting, I heard.  A Shout Out, and thanks again, to berylliumguy (Chris) who gifted me one of Pat Herst's books!

To this day I keep in contact with some HSN members;  I also know a couple of retired dealers who sometimes still attend HSN meetings (held EVERY Tuesday, rain or shine even when Tuesday fell on a holiday). Michael Rogers being one I know, and bought from, through HSN, indirectly, many years later.

==============================================================

Oh my, I guess I will have to conclude with my collecting history up to about 1995.  More to come, post 1995, when I get a chance, if you readers haven't slept through this lengthy post....

--Jim

Hi

I started collecting at about 10 years old.  When we went to visit relatives in New York my aunt took me to Minkus in Gimbels.  She bought me a Minkus album and a Israel 9 stamp.  My aunt was in the millinary business and got mail from all over the world.  She used to bring a bag of stamps whenever she came to visit.  Thus started a WW collection.  I used the Minkus WW and a Scott US.  In school I joined the stamp club.  Eventually we moved to Maine.  There was a stamp dealer in town that taught kids all about stamp collecting.  He also was the school stamp club advisor.  On Saturdays, those collecting stamps, had a "study group" at his home.  He also had little packedts of WW stamps for each one.  We bought stamps at huge discounts.  He also advised us to use blank quadrille pages and not use printed albums.  To this day my entire collection is on quadrille pages in binders.

I had current US, Israel and French collections.  After high school I joined the USAF.  The military sent me to French Morocco.  In the city, Rabat, I found a stamp dealer and we formed a bond.  I would supply US stamps, which I purchased at the base post office, and received Israel and French stamps in return.

Years later, after the military and while going to college,  I worked in an office next door to Friedl expert comittee run by Alex Rendon and Herb Bloch.  I went in one day to ask Alex about a  stamp.  Herb said "why collect that junk?".  I asked what I should collect.  Alex, an expert on Colombia, said Colombia and gave me some stamps to take home and look at.  I took them home and showed my wife, who is Colombian.  She then said that's my house in Tunja, that's an aunt, etc..  Thus started a Colombia collection.  I sold my French collection to fund the Colombian collection beginning.  Eventually I added Ecuador (where my sister-in-law lived) and Venezuela.  

The stamp that started my Colombia collection. My wife's house in Tunja, Boyaca, Colombia (Scott C247). 



Jerry B

My grandmother collected stamps and when all her girl grandchildren were between 12-14 she bought us all a traveler world album and packet of stamps. My sister and I sat for hours taping our stamps to our albums. This is what we did because this is how grandmother did it and how she showed us. We both still have these albums but do not use them, good thing there was no valuable stamps we taped down. At this same time one of my cousins who was a bit older received Mint stamps from grandmother instead of the used packets the rest of us received. I was so mad she got the beautiful stamps and I got ugly used stamps. I still do not like used stamp but appreciate used stamps and the job they have done. There truly are some awesome cancels out there some I even keep. I thought I would like collecting WW stamps and continued to collect WW used for a while but found I really did not like that big of a collection so I started collecting USA - Mint of course. I was about 17 and found I could not afford very many mint stamps but I surely was not going to have those ugly used stamps so my collection grew very very slowly. Fast forward a few years marriage and 2 children not much time or money for stamps. At about 38-40ish I started collecting a bit more again and added Princess Diana, Triangles, Disney and JFK to my interests along with my MNH USA collection. In the last year I have added postcards and Maxi cards to my collection. One of the greatest things I added was that my sister finally opened up her WW album grandmother gave her and she started collecting again. The WW we do together and have bought new albums to put the WW collection in. It is used and mint. We catalog the stamps together and she puts in the used stamps and I put in the mint stamps. I am getting to where used stamps may just one day be as beautiful as mint but it gives us a good laugh when we do stamps together. I love the time together and was so happy when she got back into stamps. The sad part is Princess Diana, triangles, Disney and JFK stamps do not get the attention they deserve.