Newbie Here With Wartime Stamps Interest

Hi Ceclticveil. I also enjoy collecting military mail (Canada and US) and sometimes use the vario pages, but they can get expensive. For my cover collection in general I create pages, usually with a write-up of some sort, about the postage, sender or recipient (google is a great stamp collecting tool) then I mount the cover on the page using clear photo mounts, available at most craft stores. May not be the proper way to do it, but I like the result and it's affordable.

Here's an example of one of my cover pages, posted previously. Not a military cover, but my research uncovered the recipients civil war record. That was kind of cool.

edit - I should note, that when I say 'my research', it was actually with some amazing help from several members of SCF. Credit where credit is due!

Thats a cool presentation piece. Are photo mounts archival safe? My biggest fear is the mounting background contaminating the stamp/paper after it's been mounted for some time. I'd like to create as long-lasting a collection as possible.

Thanks, celticveil.
According to the box, the corners I'm using are acid free. Plus they're self adhesive, so there's no unsightly licking (I grossed my daughters out once by licking the back of a mount).
I use acid free paper as well.

Just for interest sake, here's a one page display I did last month for my stamp club, featuring Canadian War Tax stamps from the First World War (kind of a thing of mine)

I was a photojournalist with the army until recently. Part of my job was printing, layout and design. I must say I'm impressed with your setup, very well done, professional and readable. What program do you use when designing these sheets?

I'm a fairly sarcastic person in real life, so I'm thinking of writing intros to each section of my stamp archives (and maybe intermittent loose-leaf inserts for special sets and rarities, to help point out historical aspects)in a humorous aspect. I'm also considering adding tiny yet significant details to the historical notes, such as how Stalin was insistent to Washington that Hitler wasn't dead by suicide yet had escaped somewhere. Things like that intrigue me, whether real or fictitious, and I would enjoy writing mini-essays about these topics while on a historical journey via stamps. Might educate someone down the line or at least give them a little chuckle.

I've had this in my misc. box for years. It is a wartime cover, censor envelop from British forces to England. I know Scott does not identify most foreign stationary items so is there anyone with an idea as to Catalog # (ID Catalog) and any value??

I can't tell you anything about it myself. However I can say you should put that in some sort of protector. Historical items like this need to be preserved, especially since they're vulnerable to the passage of time.

Celticveil: I have it in a glassline and it lies flat in the misc. box. It was sent to me in a bundle of old covers from Hollywood movie studios. The bundle contained unclaimed letters to movie stars. How got mixed in with those I haven't a clue. I recognized it as something special so I took it out of the pack and placed it where I could gaze upon it every once in a while.

Just a thought. You can buy albums at Wal-Mart's pretty reasonable. Some pretty nice ones. Also up by one of the Cash Registers are packages of clear sleeves for archiving papers. They are Acid Free PC free so they are good protectors. They come in a package of 50 for about $4.95 a package. I store my sheet stamps in those sleeves. Been doing it for five years and I haven't had any problems with them. Just a thought.

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I used Indesign. I know mac programs are expensive, but they are what I use for my work. Having said that, I worked in magazines for about a dozen years or so as an art director and illustrator. So my hobby has really become an extension of my work.

Glad you like it, thanks.

I'm familiar with the PC version of InDesign. I hated Microsoft Publisher though. It was all sorts of irritating to use.

When I get my printer back from overseas I'll look into designing stamp layout pages. In the meantime I'm using special cardstock and photo corner mounts to hold my on-paper cancellations (inserted into an archival quality sheet protector with an added cardstock at back for rigidity). Does it matter if I use an inkjet printer vs. a laser printer? I already have a very nice inkjet photo copier/printer/fax/scanner combo I got specifically for it's glossy reproductions and high-quality scanning capabilities.

In other news I purchased the set of Medal of Honor stamps on the special folder. I may purchase a second so I can have one displaying front, the other displaying back. If there was a way to display the inside of the folder, that'd be great too, but the piece is so big when unfolded that it's not feasible at present.

Thanks lordenning for the information. I can now properly catalog this piece of history into my collection.

-this post moved to its own thread for clarity in conversation-

I think it would be best as a stand-alone for future readers.