Which Ww Album Should I Use?

I want to collect a few WW stamps. My main interest is U.S. stamps and I have no intention of trying to fill a Big Blue Scott International album. However, I was able to get Parts I & II off ebay for a reasonable price some time ago, but I had no idea how huge they are! Should I go with a small Traveller album or maybe the Statesman 2 volume? I'm only interested in getting older, used WW stamps. I will only be hinging these (no mounts). Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

My collecting interests are apparently similar to yours. I use an older HE Harris Statesman (single volume) album for my worldwide material and (like you) they are hinged. Specialty worldwide material of a higher value that requires more protection (i.e. hinges v. mounts) and better display, I wind up using Vario-type pages for in a conventional loose leaf album.

Of course, the HE Harris Statesman album is a bit oversized and has the old-style two post page mounting system, but for a worldwide album I find it quite adequate.

Today's (updated) HE Harris Statesman album is in two volumes at $49.99 apiece, as shown at this link. At least shipping is free for orders over $50:

https://www.whitman.com/store/Inven...plies/page/2

If you don't mind a used album, there are a number available on ebay, etc., but when you start adding in shipping costs, all of a sudden they are not as good a value as they first seem to be.

leoh

Welcome to classical WW stamp collecting, even if you say you will only collect a few stamps.

Since you have part I & part II of the Scott Internationals, why not use them?

If you take the long term view, and think about the next 10 years, an accumulation of 500-1000 stamps/year will get you into the 5- 10 thousand range, and Big Blue could be already 1/3 full.

There are literally thousands of classical era stamps at minimum catalogue value- all of which you might collect eventually.

Don't sell your album capacity short at the outset.

I use a Harris Citation. It's simplified, but has more illustrations than the Traveler. My Citation ends in 1977, so I'm buying yearly updates.

Yeah, If you have a part 1 and 2 I would stick with those... Maybe look for a Pt 3 to get you up to when the QEII issues start. This is a natural break for people.

The pages in the Part I & II albums that I have (published 1955 & 1950, respectively) are yellowing and seem to be on the thin side. Does anyone know if the new ones from Amos Publishing are better paper in terms of thickness? Also, are the news ones as complete as the older albums?

The album pages for the International Part I are sold as four sub-parts (IA1,IA2,IB1,IB2) by Scott/Amos. It is "on-demand" printing, and the paper is ~65 pounds- thicker,and heavier than before. (I believe it is also the case for Part II.)

It is based on the '97 edition, which is essentially based on the '69 edition, except each subsection (postage dues etc) for a country begins on its own page- more spread out.

The '47 edition (and earlier 40s editions) have the most countries, as the '69 editors removed some smaller ones- but the '69 editors did add additional spaces in some cases for those countries they retained.

(The "Filling Spaces" blog http://globalstamps.blogspot.com/ has specifics, as does mine.. )

http://bigblue1840-1940.blogspot.com/

leoh, I have a never-used Harris Statesman Deluxe (the 1-volume) that I picked up on ebay a while back then decided it wasn't what I was looking for. If you're interested, send me an e-mail. There's a good possibility we can work something out without the need for shipping charges. ;D

Zuzu, thanks so much for the offer, neighbor! And thanks to all the others for your input. I have decided on using the Scott Internationals. They are quite nice with all the illustrations. I wrote to a dealer and found that the publisher has, over the years, tried to keep the page paper about the same, so new ones are not in my future. Jkjblue, nice blog; really like the checklists. landoquakes, I think a Part III is a great idea, too.

Have fun!

Enjoy those Scott albums, leoh. =) For now I'm just holding on to the Statesman Deluxe... may end up letting my girls have it if they continue to show interest in collecting.

Be careful getting a Part III though, you may find yourself looking for part XXIII in a couple of years! To ZuZu: Harris is still the cheapest way to collect modern worldwide through the supplements I use their binders and pages quite a bit too. I am always amazed how collectors can neatly fit thousands of stamps in those Harris albums!

landoquakes, I know! While I was getting Part III the guy said, "I've got a whole set of them. Want to take a look at Part IV?" I was so tempted!
Zuzu, Harris was always my first choice for years. I'm still tempted by them. I think I'm getting into this mode of collecting albums rather than stamps... I guess anything is collectible.

Does anyone know of good binders that are 3 ring and will hold the Scott International pages? They are 9 1/4 x 11 1/4. I know there are binders out there, but can anyone recommend one? I like the original binders except the pages won't lay flat. Of course, I'll have to get the pages drilled for three holes but there's a place locally that does that. Thanks.

You could use the Lighthouse Grande binders which hold 9 1/2 x 12 1/4 pages. I'm using them for my custom-designed pages. They aren't super cheap, but there is a good dealer on ebay (Mit_63) that sells them as cheap as they come (~$29). They also have slipcases, which is one of my requirements.

Wonderful albums (if price is not an issue):
http://www.exposuresonline.com/shop...photo-albums
The oversized albums appear to hold photos that are 12" tall and 10" wide, plus the inch or so for the holes.
They also have 12x12 albums and "regular" 3-ring binders (if you can call 3-ring binders that can cost up to $545 each as "regular).
C.