it began with the arrival of a letter when i was seven years old
with stamp on it that looked different from any i had ever seen
so beautiful and very exotic
and it came from my nana
who lived far away from michigan, in the exotic land of florida.
i thought that it was beautiful
and i decided then and there to become a stamp collector.
i cut that stamp from the envelope and glued it into a notebook.
not long after
i saw an offer to join a monthly stamp collecting club
in my archie comic book
and i noticed, as i went to send in the offer
that a parent had to sign it
so i asked my dad to give me his autograph on a piece of scrap paper
cut it out and glued it onto the form
(an early foray into my ill-fated attempts at a criminal career)
added in 99 cents from my piggy bank
and i was off to the races.
i eagerly awaited the day my first stamps would arrive
i had chosen some beauties and i ran home every day
hoping to find them in the mail
and on one glorious day – they were waiting for me!
i tore open the envelope
excitedly looked through them
licked them and placed them in my book
already looking forward to the next month’s arrival.
no one in my family was a collector
so i was taken by surprise when i showed them off to my friend’s older sister
who told me that real collectors only put them in cases
never touch them, and would never, ever lick them
– or they would instantly be made worthless!
i was quite taken aback
as it had never occurred to me that
this would be the reason people collected them
i had thought of them more as a collection of tiny beautiful pictures,
pieces of art, from places far away –
new guinea, finland, new zealand and even the legendary land of canada
i had chosen flowers, and children, and animals, and pretty designs
with no interest at all in old president’s heads, history, nor with any regard for value.
my version of ‘stamp collecting’ was simply collecting my favorites
and keeping them all in one place, in my special notebook.
i have always loved a mix of patterns and colors and collages of things.
the other thing i had not considered at all
was that i had no income
and would have to continue to pay in order to continue to receive stamps
the next month, when my new set arrived
i gathered more change together, put it in an envelope,
and of course it was never received.
they sent a new batch of stamps along with a due bill and i was panicked
still without any source of income
always waiting for them to show up at the door to tell my parents and to collect.
by the third month,
i simply collected envelopes that came from them
affixed with boring american stamps,
filled with letters, asking me to pay up
and my stamp collecting hobby fell by the wayside.
though i still have a great appreciation for beautiful stamps
and love licking them to put on handwritten letters that i send to places all over the world.
—
“synonyms for collectable postage stamps: “sticky treasures,”
“collection of paper heads,” “pretty bits of paper,” and “colorful scraps.”
-alan brandley – The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
I remember stamp collecting as a kid. I didn’t have the patience to do much, but we would buy boxes full at yard sales… then we would start to sort the, I’d get bored, and we would just have boxes full.
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yes, so you were about my level. without the criminal element )
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You are an adorable child grown up. Collecting, appreciating, for the beauty was your value. Is your value.
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thanks, it was, and is, you are right.
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sweet hours of happinness for you I guess!
My box of stamps was full of dreams of then impossible places to go – I guess they were the web of my childhood, the possibility of browsing those small coloured pieces of paper and the touch and smell each one of them had – the ultimate internet surfer’s dream!
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oh, yes – i get that )
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I think your version of collecting–not the “criminal” part, but the doing it for beauty and what you like–make so much more sense (to me) than collecting only for value.
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i agree and good thing the criminal part didn’t work out )
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Hahaha, yes!
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Beth, you may have been hacked. This is what I got this morning.
Sarah
Sent from my iPad
>
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?
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Fun!
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yes )
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Your version of stamp collecting was/is quite wonderful, Beth. Except for the overdue bill part …
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thanks, mark. and except for that…and the forgery maybe -)
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Good for you. I don’t understand people who have hobbies where they don’t actually get to enjoy the things that they collect. I open all of my action figures
>
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i totally agree and you are an outlier ! )
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Oh, I love this! I just heard a story from Vicki Robin (“Your Money or Your Life”) about how she went to a toy store as a little girl and stacked up boxes of doll clothes and walked out with them, because she didn’t realize you had to pay for things. Part of me wishes we could stay those girls who lick the stamps and walk out of the store with whatever we want. Maybe we can!
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oh, i love that. yes, i wish that do, and perhaps i do things just for the joy of it from time to time and that’s a good thing. when she was young, my middle daughter once got in the car with a new pair of shoes that we had not purchased. as we were walking back in to apologize and to trade them back for her shoes that she had left in their place, i asked her why. she answered, ‘i think they look better with my outfit.’
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HA!
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How cute. And you remind me of that taste of licking a stamp. Hated it but now nostalgically miss it. ☺️
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yes, there is something about that familiar taste –
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Collecting for the aesthetic pleasure, not the value…the right way to do it!
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i think so too, sue –
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Too funny..I collected as a kid as well..had the book and the tweezers..used to trade them on the bus ride to and from school…HAHAHA..remember the triangle stamps?
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you were good at it and yes, i loved the triangle stamps )
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I used to save special things in a scrapbook! I sold my book to an antique store man. It had all the TV Guide covers, Betsy McCall and her baby sister and I throw stamps from places in almost every drawer but just cut them off the envelopes. They were pretty but have been stamped as routed through the post office.
I like your saving the pretty ones like miniature paintings. ❤️
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i think collecting was a big thing then and we each had our things )
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Yes, all of my friends had strange and simple collections, Beth. One collected sugar packets which told the restaurant’s names on them. Her Mom used to freak, worrying there would be ants crawling out of her album! 🐜🐜🐜
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So funny)
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I used to laugh at this one, too! 😀 😂
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As far as I’m concerned, you were the REAL stamp collector – appreciating each one for its beauty – not its worth. And yes, I create return labels through a site I found, flowers and gorgeous scenery with my name and address circled ’round the round label, and then I buy stamps that match the colors. Even my postal clerk mentions how pretty my envelopes look when I mail them. :–)
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i suppose we each have our own motivations for why we do things, and yes, i certainly was a collector, though not in any traditional sense. my packages and letters always have a bit of embellishment and i can appreciate your ‘works of art.’ )
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🙂 xo
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A beautiful story of art, family, memories, bravery, and collecting – all from stamps. Wonderful!
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who knew? thank you, jennie –
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You’re welcome, Beth. 🙂
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Cute. 🙂
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thanks )
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Great post.
I am just about to start collecting stamps….probably (I am conflicted) but your post helped seal the deal. Thank you.
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great, anthony, i hope you enjoy it )
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Pingback: where hobbies, hijinks, and capers go bad = my childhood #1 — I didn’t have my glasses on…. – Stamp and Coin Collectors Blog
ty )
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