Yeah, I would recommend Rod's pages, but I don't know if he provides matching binders and dustcases with his pages.
I have hingeless albums from over half-a-dozen manufacturers. Personally, if I have to have a hingeless album, I would prefer Lighthouse in general. For a country collection, I recommend getting it from a "local" manufacturer -- it will have fewer "mistakes" and will be more comprehensive. The problem with "local" manufacturers is that the cost/shipping to your "location" tends to be more expensive if the country you are collecting is not your own country, and it may not be in your native language.
I notice you stipulated basically first 100 years for GB and Australia. That will cut down expense considerably since the page volume is much smaller than for recent issues. However, it has been my experience that if you are going to focus on that time frame, then invariably you will get into a situation where you have acquired numerous varieties that have no pre-alloted spot in your hingeless album.
The fact is, many hingeless albums are far less comprehensive than the specialized non-hingeless albums. And even then, as your collection grows, you will have to make a decision of allowing the album to determine what you collect, or make your spot for the stamp on that page or using additional pages (both of the latter 2 can easily detract from the aesthetic beauty of the album if not done properly).
There are many additional solutions, but each will have its own special set of drawbacks. For instance, the SAFE album mentioned above is one solution, as by design it provides additional pockets. The drawback is that the separate foil design makes the albums much bulkier and heavier, and some collectors prefer the appearance of shaped-to-fit mounts instead of the array of pockets to insert stamps. Another thing I really didn't like (and was the killer for me in my decision to never get another SAFE hingeless album), was that sometimes I had to put a stamp in sideways for it to fit in the pocket -- in other words, not every foil has custom designed pockets to fit extra wide stamps and you end up having to rotate the stamp 90 degrees. This doesn't happen often, but it happened enough times for me to drop SAFE albums from my collection. But to each, his/her own preferences. If I have to have a double-page format hingeless album, I prefer Lindner (but again, it's bulky).
I think you have asked a very good question, and the variety of replies will assist you in making a final decision suitable for your needs.
Posted 12/12/2011 02:07 am
