Collecting A Single Stamp

The most recent issue of "The Canadian Philatelist" has an interesting article by Kimber Wald who writes about his/her collection of Unitrade Canada #202, the 1933 5 cent dark blue UPU stamp depicting the Chateau Laurier Hotel and the Canadian Parliament buildings viewed from across the Ottawa River.

He goes on to describe how he has assembled what must be an exhibition quality collection of this single stamp, starting with the essays and proofs, plate varieties, single used copies postmarked in each Canadian province, first day covers, multiples, perfins, covers mailed overseas with additional stamps to make up the correct postage, etc., etc.

I was most impressed and wonder if any of our members have attempted something similar or, if not, is there a stamp that you like so much or has such a varied postal history, that it might make you want to try this.

I know a local collector who is working on reconstructing a plate of the penny blacks but Mr. Wald's approach seems to me to be a more interesting specialization.

I believe that I posted in another thread, but worth showing again here. One member of my local stamp club is enamored with US Scott #11 (and the more expensive #10). So much so, that he collected and was able to accumulate enough single stamps to build an entire year calendar. It took him about 15 years to get copies that were good enough to display. During his search he accumulated many other copies ... he may be willing to part with them for another person willing to give it a try.

See the "Calendar" here. Extra points ... guess which one stamp was the most difficult to acquire.

http://s330633628.onlinehome.us/185...calendar.pdf

Parttime thanks for the link. I like collection very much.
Quite patients and efforts to collect, worth admiration.

tikithindi

February the 29th ?

Correct! It happened only twice during the stamps official release dates. You win ... My congratulations ...

I am doing a "single" stamp collection with the Guatemala SG222/Scott RA02 "1927 Obligatory Tax GPO Rebuilding Fund" stamp - this has a number of different overprints that make for a nice little collection

One of my primary collections/exhibits is of a single stamp, the U.S. Czechoslovakia Overrun Nations issue (Sc 910). It has been one of the most enjoyable projects of my entire collecting experience (pushing 60 years). The collection/exhibit is in three main sections: the stamps, FDCs, and postal use.

The stamps section includes printing information, plate & printing varieties and flaws, flag misregistrations, etc.

The FDC section includes cachets (only Czech or Overrun Nations related), unofficials, EFOs, international destinations, interesting & significant recipients, and rates & markings.

The postal use section includes domestic rates & markings, U.S. territorial destinations, use on significant dates (e.g., VE Day), military mail (rates & markings, overseas destinations), and international use (rates & destinations).

I also have a collection/exhibit of the U.S. Certified Mail stamp (Sc FA1). This has also been a phenomenally satisfying effort.

I have a couple of other small single stamp collections. Nothing significant or expensive, but a lot of fun. They give me odds 'n' ends to hunt for in dollar boxes.

I've found single stamp collecting/exhibiting to be great fun and an important part of my philatelic pursuits. Highly recommended.

rugface
Wow; I am impressed! It sounds, though, that this is just part of your collection and that your interests are much broader. That was one of the questions that intrigued me when I read the Wald article. One would think that once you reached a certain stage in the pursuit of the single stamp, additions to the collection would start getting fewer and farther between and interest would wane. Perhaps you could elaborate on what else you do?

nbstamper:

Thanks! Like, I think, most collectors, my interests are pretty eclectic. The vast majority of my collections and/or exhibits are in some way related to World War II. I'm a baby boomer and have always been interested in WWII.

Your comment regarding reaching a certain stage with a single stamp collection where it becomes harder and harder to find additional items is certainly valid. But I think it applies to ALL of our collections, whether a single stamp, a specific topic/theme, a country, a time period, etc. Unless one has unlimited financial resources, we will undoubtedly eventually run into that challenge. Once we get beyond the common and/or inexpensive/moderate value items, it becomes more of a challenge developing the collection; the thrill of the hunt and all that. The journey is more exciting than arriving at the destination.

My main current collection/exhibit is the 12-stamp 1943 Germany Wehrmacht issue (Scott B218-B229; Michel 831-842). Not much different than a single stamp pursuit but as a complete set. The same basic principles but applied to a complete issue.

My first significant and most important collection/exhibit is "The Murder of Lidice". http://www.japhila.cz/hof/0171/index0171a.htm It's been sometime (probably 2-3 years) since I've found an important/interesting philatelic item for it. But today, on ebay, I purchased a very interesting item. Again, the thrill of the hunt. If you don't keep looking, you won't find.

Again, I'm impressed. I don't believe you are the only collector interested in Lidice. I've seen another philatelic exhibit online about this horrible massacre, but maybe it was yours? But it doesn't look the same as (I recollect) the other, so I'm assuming not. I was in the Czech Republic in the fall of 2012. I visited St. Cyril & St. Methodius Church in Prague where the reprisals for Heydrich's murder started and saw the preserved bullet scars on the external walls and actually filmed part of a service in the church. As with most trips, one never gets to see everything of interest; would love to go back; visit Lidice and Theresienstadt and several other locations between Vienna and Prague.

I looked up Michel 831-842 and it is a set I purchased last fall along with many other Third Reich stamps. They are propaganda stamps but the set presents itself very well. I expect it would be difficult to acquire a lot of postally used copies and covers, so it will be very interesting to see what you do with it. I will watch for items you might find of interest.

I have a single-stamp collection of US envelope cut square U373. I have been buying these, when I can afford them, for the last 30 years. http://home.roadrunner.com/~adrion/cutsq.html By good fortune, I added 3 more in December but I have not gotten them in the mail yet. I hope to have the web page updated by end of month.

Lidice was probably the most significant single event in WWII Czechoslovakia. A heart rending story. Lidice is a short (20-25 minute) bus ride from Prague. The museum is well done and the grounds are inspiring. The monument to the children brings me to tears every time I'm there. St. Cyril & St. Methodius Church is also a sobering visit.

I'm not sure that I would call the 1943 Germany Wehrmacht set "propaganda stamps". Like virtually all of Nazi Germany's stamps, there is certainly a propaganda element to them but they were widely used for franking letters and cards. I don't know how many covers I have (probably a couple hundred) but I have over 50 different rates in my collection/exhibit. My emphasis recently has been on expanding the number of different rates not just adding covers. I started developing this project several years ago. Finding covers from dealers at large U.S. shows used to be relatively common; now, I rarely see any, let alone anything I can add to my holdings. Recent acquisitions have been mostly from Germany.

You don't have to go way back to very expensive material to establish and maintain a single stamp collection. Take a modern stamp with known varieties (colour shifts, perf and plate variations etc) and fill your boots! You can augment your collection by buying right from the post office - select what's interesting and use the rejects for postage. Benefits include possibly becoming an expert in that issue at little cost but with some deep philatelic work.