Selvage - Save It Or Trash It

I would leave it exactly as it is,
depends what you can handle personally.
I guess that sort of thing can really irk some people.

The things I would not do under any circumstance
is to fold it, or cut it in any way.
I'd suggest they are a valuable piece of US postal history.

You can observe, that people in the past have left it as is,
so there is some continuity.
People seem to like everything pristine, there are other ways.

History and good husbandry is in your hands .

Sage advice Rod, thanks. I guess I should have stated the option "leave it alone" in my original post.

Sage advice perhaps, Western 1688
but still learned.
I would acknowledge Mr. Jay Carrigan and our own
Tony Mac on SCF, as collectors who have offered me advice,
advice that seemed to fit philately, and fit my sense of what was
sustainable in the long term of the hobby.
There is no right or wrong really, it is just a hobby after all,
but some opinions just make you feel that what you are doing
is OK.

Shakespeare (in fact, writing about losing one's good name) wrote:
Who steals my purse steals trash; 'tis something, nothing;
'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands;
My stamps aren't trash, but they are mine, will be someone else's, and have belonged to who knows how many before me. As their current owner, I do of course have a perfect right to treat them in any way I choose - including trimming their margins. But I feel I have a responsibility to the collectors who came before me, and who will come after me, to pass the stamps on in the best condition I can. Others have enjoyed them, I enjoy them, and others will enjoy them after I'm dead and gone, and I don't want to break that chain.

But more specifically, in the case of your pair: remove the margin, and it may no longer be clear that they came from the margin, and perhaps that particular position in the sheet. That information may not mean anything to you (or it may - I hope it does), but it may be very meaningful to another collector. How many owners before you have looked at that margin, and decided to leave it intact?

If that pair were mine, I'd look hard at the pencil markings, and try to decide if I could erase them without wrecking the stamps. If I could do it without damaging the stamps, I'd have the markings off. (All the while cursing the ignorant fool who wrote that there.)

I value both your opinions and am struck by the caretaker notion of stamp collecting, along with potentially losing the sheet position. I really never thought of that. Much appreciated. I will leave it as purchased.
If I were to try removing the pencil marks can anyone recommend a type of eraser?

I'd look closely at the pencil marks. If they were made with a soft pencil, they should come off without too much damage. Use the softest, mildest eraser you can find, and proceed as gently as you can. If you can't get rid of the marks, so be it. Better leave them than do more lasting damage to the stamps.

And, western1688, if you're more familiar with modern stamps, of course you wouldn't think of the importance of the margins in plating the stamps. That's completely natural - perfectly understandable. You need to spend your days among stamps where every stamp in the sheet can be plated Have a look at this sheet of the 1904 1 Anna stamps of Jaipur State:



Every one drawn separately onto the lithographic stone, and so having sheet margin attached makes plating them soooo much easier

As for our role as custodians of our stamps: which do you think looks better? This sheet, or 12 single stamps, without margins?



I'm really delighted than Rod222 and I have won you over to seeing things this way. Congratulations!

I have a bunch of these UN stamps with what I call commemorative labels on the selvage. Putting together my UN album I was trying to decide how to show them, so I figure they'll get a page of their own.



A couple close up.



Thought these might be an interesting addition to this discussion about selvage...love it or loose it.

I have actually had a change of opinion about this topic. I would never remove the selvedge anymore. I have in the past on the more modern ones (post 50's) but never would I think of removing anything from a classic. There were words about being custodians of the stamps that really reached out to me and it clicked like a light. Thanks-

I don't pay more for plain selvage (I have paid more for informational selvage.) But if I reach for a stamp of equal quality and price from my dealer, I take the one with the blank selvage attached. I guess I feel it is more unique.

I_Love_Stamps, it's posts like yours that make me feel it's all worthwhile.

My sincerest congratulations on being big enough to say in print that you've changed your mind. Not many of us would do that

Australia Bush Babies 2011.

I very much like the modern corner margins.

Thank you. It's true you know. I hadn't ever really stopped and gave thought to the other collectors before me that had left it be, so why should I then?. It just made sense. I'm learning from all of you every day thank you all for your patience with me.

After going through this thread, how can anyone argue that we philatelists are nothing but a bunch of romantic people?
I'm also very touched by the idea that we don't actually own our stamps, just preserve them for the future.

I'm a newbie here, but I also like the idea that we are custodians of the stamps. I personally never remove anything from a stamp, because I'm too scared I might do damage to it.

Karen

I guess I'm the oddball here. I remove all selvage from stamps that are to go into my American Heirloom Album and use the Scott Mounts and Mystic Mounts for my all Mint Stamps only that are to go into the album. This is my for own personal collection. The only exception is if the Stamp/Stamps have the numbers in the selvage. Then I leave it on. The reason being is they don't fit good in the margins of the album and to me it makes the album pages look like crap. I have come to the conclusion the stamps are not worth much more than face value anyway. So I'm not going to get rich selling them. Really nobody much sees my personal Stamp collection much but me. So I just prefer that nice clean look. I do appreciate the thoughts of everyone (which seems unanimous) to leave the selvege on the stamps however.