Stampless Cover Storage

I know this could probably fit in the Philatelic Software category, but seeing as covers are a whole new genre for me...... I purchased an 1845 cover from my old hometown and am thinking about how I will store this, and the inevitable follow-on purchases. Do they make special album pages for them as they do for FDCs? Or do they usually get stored in boxes? Any recommended sources? Of course, I had to pick up a reference ... a dirt cheap 1971 copy of the American Stampless Covers Catalog, I understand that is awaitng a re-print. Any other worthy references in relation to early covers?Thanks.
John

There are cover albums that can hold two to four covers per album page. I would suggest you browse the supplies at Subway Stamps to see many of the options for sizes, page and binder types.

I just use regular stamp pages which I make up myself. The standard printer-friendly size here in Australia is A4, acid-free paper is a must & I use generic ink, I'm not going to be around in 100 years to see if my ink has faded.

For cheapy postcards I use whatever corner mounts I can find but for any decent covers/cards only use Transparol made by HERMA, they are the best, no argument. Prices vary a bit, a quick google shows this to be a good price, I'm sure there are other sources.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HERMA-TRANS...130897691385

I use 3 mounts per item, both bottom & top left, this way the stamp area, top right, is clear. This makes it easier to remove the cover if needed & 3 mounts hold the item very securely

If there's anything on the reverse I want to show I scan it, trim it if it's just a postmark (Irfanview is an easy free proggy that will do this), put a border around it, then bring it into my Desktop Publisher, which in my case is the free version of Serif Page Plus

Here's an example of one of my pages

Or my personal favorite method the Vario "system" Lighthouse binder and slipcase (not necessary but recommended) Vario 2S pages. Clear (or my personal favorite) black. Never use hinges on these documents if you can a all help it. Treat them as you would as historical documents. Hometown stuff is addictive isn't it?

Becareful with corner mounts as I've seen what that have done to covers and postcards in older collections. Some can cause uneven toning, leave impressions in the paper or even become affixed to the corners and difficult to remove (especially the lick and stick kinds). If you do use corner mounts, use something that is archival quality, not Wal-mart quality.

BTW: Irfanview is an excellent free photo file management program as well as editor. It's great for bulk renaming, stitching photos, quickest cropping I've ever seen, etc.

There are a number of different commercial albums that are designed for storing covers in an attractive way. My favorite are the Lighthouse First Day Cover Albums - model number LH-CLFDC2GREEN which house regular number 6 envelopes. They also make them to fit the legal size number 10 envelopes. These do not use corner hinges or anything - the cover just slips in from the inside edge so they are safe and untouched. They hold 50 covers, but if you would like to see both sides of a cover you can take out the divider in a page that lets you have a cover on each side of the page and now you can see both sides without having to remove it.

I have nothing to do with this company or any company that sells them - I am just a collector and this is what I have found to be the best solution for what I need.

Thanks for the advise, I will be looking for something like the Lighthouse binders...not being an FDC collector, I wasn't sure if the pockets for those would be correctly sized for the "average" cover/envelope. My ultimate holy grail of sorts will be to find a cover from Terryville, NY.....which existed for only 7 months from July 1832-Jan 1833 in Tompkins County. My Great-Great-Great Grandfather, Willet Terry was the Post Master. Odds are very remote that I'll ever stumble across a cover...... The office was moved 5 miles away to Motts Corners because (a) my Whig forebear was the victm of Democratic patronage <family story>, or (b) Mr. Mott claimed Willet was usually too inebriated to perform his postal duties <town of Caroline history>. I think of the Mayor of Toronto and remember that history has a way of repeatig itself.... John