Title Pages For Countries

I am a worldwide collector that occasionally buys collections to integrate into mine. I recently bought a collection of stamps from Colombia, and I was very impressed with the title page created for this album which looks to me like a hand painted watercolor:




Now I have this desire to have similarly wonderful pages created for all the countries, but I don't have the talent, and am thinking about commissioning an artist to create pages for me, but of course that will be costly.

If anyone has any title pages they are particularly happy with please share what you did and how you created them.

Easy: search "watercolor [name of country]". Scroll through the hundreds of images you find, pick one. Use program of your choice to size/adjust said picture, then print.

You do not really need to be a painter, just some software skills. For example, here is a cover page I did in less than 5 minutes using software (with no copyright issues). Simply get a good representative image online then use one of several graphics apps to change the image into a 'painting' using filters. Add a font or two that appeals to you. Bingo, customized page that no one else in teh world has.

Don

Edit: Same image filter but using a 'colored pencil' filter

You could find attractive, vintage postcards to go on your title page. Or construct a collage of images printed from the web, perhaps incorporating a map of the territory in the centre.

I like the postcard idea. It would give you an opportunity to broaden your philatelic horizons too, perhaps by visiting a postcard show if one exists in your area. Stampers seem wary of postcard shows even though we really do inhabit the same collecting sphere

All good ideas. I'm not consistent with my title pages. I use maps, postcards, stamp image from the country and a lot of old travel posters.

Thank you everyone for all your, input it is inspiring. After reading this I have been researching postcards and travel posters, and I think I have a way forward. I will probably go that route and then apply some of the software Don mentioned to tweak it how I would like it to look.

I love the Belgian Congo page it looks great!

I do not do "Countries" -- my collecting focus is US Airmail and aviation topical -- but I do have my collection organized in a particular way, and this thread gave me some ideas about creating cover pages for the way I have created it.

Nice thread.

I was always captivated by the stamp album title pages that were created by Arthur Szyk. Stamp dealer K. Bileski commissioned Szyk to create 12 stamp album country title pages. unfortunately, Szyk was only able to create 10 pages before his untimely death. Copies of the lithograph art are offered on eBay and Hip Stamp, or just Google 'ARTHUR SZYK STAMP ALBUM TITLE PAGES'. For 'blcjr', I am also an airmail collector and I have the "Vision of Flight" Szyk title page at the front of my collection.

The 10 Szyk pages are:
Airmail
Canada
China
France
Great Britain
Israel
Poland
Switzerland
USA
USSR

As examples, here are the pages for Airmail and Canada:




(The pages are slightly oversized at 10x11.5 with a printed area of 6.5x8. I must admit I have cut a couple of these down to 8.5x11 so they fit a more standard page.)

Mine are simple - no art.

"I don't know about art, but I know what I hate", in the words of Montgomery Burns.