Topical - Yourself

I've been toying with the idea of collecting postal history addressed to me. Well, actually, addressed to people with the name Peter MacDonald.

Is that a legitimate topical, or do topicals always have to be actual stamps?

What about the collection of postal history cancelled on a particular date? Could that be the basis for a topical collection?

Or, in both cases above, are they more properly called themes?

Peter

Peter:

Postal history cancelled on a given date is a great idea!

David

David - it's much harder than one might imagine. My goal is to get a then-current single definitive stamp paying proper rate on each of my birthdays: September 29, starting with the day I took my first breath outside in 1965. It really shoudl be an inexpensive pursuit, but I bet it'll take me a very long time to get them all. I am already resigned to failure, since some of the days obviously fell on Sundays when there would have been no postal service.

But back to my question...and I ask because I truly do not know...is "topical" collecting about stamps only, or can it be about postal history?

Peter

p.s. I just might make it to the next level at my rate of posting tonight! What's after "valued"? Is it, "dearly loved"?

A topical collection can be as specific or broad as you want it to be. For instance, I topically collect Abraham Lincoln on stamps, cachets, postmarks, precancels, etc. I an not an expert in way on anything but I think your collecting of covers with your namesake or date of birth postmark would fall under postal history. However, I am not sure if it it topical, thematic, or something else all together.

Good luck on your hunt!

BTW,
I have put together a list of US stamps that were issued on my birthday, my wife's, my son's, and our wedding anniversary. Now I just need to start looking for those FDC's. I also commemorate my son's birthday every year with a cover hand canceled at local PO's.

It never crossed my mind to look for stamps issued on my birthdate. That would be a really fun worldwide collection - perhaps my first venture into ww stamps and/or covers. Great suggestion, stamperdude.

Peter

I find the more difficult the hunt the more satisfied you feel when you have found another piece of the puzzle in a way.

And the hunting always leads you off in strange directions you would not have thought of at the start, to places and dates and knowledge that are linked in some way to what you are hunting for and shed some light on some part of it.

When you seemingly run into a wall you start following the little side paths.

From the American Topical association

Topical vs. Thematic

No recognized difference between terms

•Both involved acquisition and arrangement of stamps and other philatelic materials
•Then, various topical organizations began to refine arrangement methods
Two types of collections identified:

•Subject
•Thematic


Become a great Thematic collector, and you may find yourself on a stamp


Frans de Troyer

As a thematic collector and exhibitor, Frans De Troyer was the first to meet with great successes. Thanks to him thematic philately entered the "Palmares" pages with the golden medals. He was the first to appoint thematic philately into a respectable philatelic class. With his first collection with a theme on Madonna he became famous to all philatelic circles of his age. He won a gold medal in the International exhibitions of Buenos Ayres (1961) and Washington(1966), and many more "golds" in great philately exhibit organizations.

His second collection, "The History of Church", may preserve an unbeatable record. In its first appearance made an exquisite impression and won gold medal in International Exhibition ROMA '70.

Peter:

Do not despair about Sunday birthdays... it's not a holiday in Israel, for example. You could proboably find a Sunday birthday on an Israeli cover... keep thinking and you'll figure out how/what to collect about yourself.

David

This is great food for thought, I am off to research how I can put together a collection for my kids, their birthdays, and maybe postmarks from their namesake places? Charlotte (e.g. Queen Charlotte islands?) and Douglas (Douglas, Isle of Man?) - there must be others. I already found some postmarks for Lorne in Australia, one of my son's middle names.

Postmarks from Charlotte, Charlottesville, a German stamp of Charlottenberg castle...tons of options.

There's a Port Charlotte on the Scottish Island of Islay, which is pretty close to where I live, so no excuses there! There also seem to be a number of Douglas Counties in various US States. May be a task for the long dark (scottish) winter evenings.

And theres the big city of Charlotte, North Carolina..its the modern South..i hope us Yankees don't have to go down and teach them a lesson again !

stampgal welcome

Thankyou everyone for your kind welcomes and comments- there is so much interesting stuff going on on this forum, and even a total newcomer like me can get stuck in straight away. Thanyou for being so friendly and encouraging.