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The Philatelist Redux
A stamp collector in my distant youth, when my father moved from his home he gave me a number of boxes containing things
my parents had saved from my childhood over the years. One of them contained almost all of my childhood collection. Some of
it had been collected by my grandfather, and some by me with a little help from my parents. They had provided guidance, the
occasional stamp, albums in which to put things, subscriptions to approval and FDC services - all with the understanding I could
buy whatever appealed to me as long as the money came from my allowance or earnings. They would not buy for me. The
collection and collecting gave me many happy hours, and I always remembered them as a great deal of fun.
My interest in collecting died down for the most part when I entered high school. There were too many other activities that I enjoyed
more. When I left for college, it stopped almost completely. I did buy some plate blocks from time to time, either from the post office
or from the occasional collector I came across while working summers and part time jobs. But when the U.S. Army drafted me, it put
an end to even that little bit of activity.
After I got out of the army, every now and then as the years went by I would add to the collection again - mostly the occasional plate block when I went to the
postoffice - but nothing serious or organized. Something always stopped me, usually financial considerations. Plate blocks really
started to get expensive when the Post Office Department started putting 10 plate numbers on one side of a sheet. When I started,
a plate block cost $0.12. Now they cost over $1.00 (this was before inflation), so I completely gave up collecting in the mid-70's. Then one day these boxes
showed up, I opened them, and all the old stamps and memories were in there, just waiting for me. So here I was, a stamp collector
reborn (as of February 1998), trying to understand what was in my collection, and what I wanted to collect, and how to go about it in
a modern, Internet-connected world.
On this site I have pages containing:
Generally, the whole site is "under construction", as is my entire collection. I try to update the site at least once every
three months. I keep buying stuff faster than I can mount it, which at least keeps my busy (if broke.) I have started selling off some of
the items I don't plan to keep, and some of my duplicates, so check out my For Sale page. Please check back occasionally to see
what's new, both with my efforts as the Philatelist Redux, and with what I'm offering and looking for.
Also, if any of my musings strike a chord (such as you are another "born again" collector or have questions like I had/have)
please send me an email. I enjoy hearing from others who have "returned to the fold" - we might even be able to set
up a mailing list for us Reduxers!
