Time For Another Stamp Manifesto

I have had some other life issues that have curtailed my stamp time greatly the past year but I am getting back in the game again and about ready to do another of my personal Stamp Manifestos. I literally take stock of my collecting and write down a list of where I want to go with the collection - what areas don't hold the interest for me any longer - where I want to focus - how I want to store my collection - and a dozen other thoughts. I put the list on my bulletin board to remind me of steps I wanted to take to simplify and enjoy my hobby more. My list would surely be different than yours but the point is to make it more enjoyable for me of course. For example:

1. Quit trying to remove self adhesive stamps - just trim them.
2. Focus on stamps older than me

To be continued.

Hi Scouter

Welcome back. And a great idea, mine would have:

Don't buy modern self-adhesive stamps.
Buy stamps older than me.
Don't be a slave to the catalogue-collect only what appeals to me.

Terry

.No stamp manifesto here -------just keep adding pages of interesting stamps to my collection . More variety with perfs. , watermarks ,special cancelations ,shade or different printings .Working on it for 50 years and still got another 20 years to go-----enjoying it .I seen some Black Flag Republic stamps at auction last month and can't get it out of mind .So want to add that country to my collection .Simple Manifesto ----To have more stamps from more places than any collector in history , not a very difficult goal because none of the great collectors of years past ever deal with the break up of Africa ,the breakup of the Soviet Union and all the Sand Dune countries . Sounds like huge boasting on this board but its not at all that difficult to say "MY COLLECTION IS BIGGER THAN ALL THE GREAT PHILATELIST OF THE PAST" ,if you put the idea that none of them were around to experience what we seen with all the countries that came to be in our life time .

Welcome back Scouter

Dianne

Hello, Scouter! My evolving manifesto seems to be: get away from the stamp, and into the space (as they say nowadays) where the stamp intersects real life; more cards, more covers, more ephemera. Thus: an advertising cover, and the same company/product magazine advertisement and, perhaps, a postally-used plate block / coil line pair / perfin / precancel of the stamp that was on the cover.

/s/ ikeyPikey

I hear you there ikey - that would be on my list also as I have enjoyed advertising covers with history.

Great idea scouter. Keeping it manageable is the key. Too much can scatter the brain and make it less appealing, also time is a factor, many on here seem to have tons of time, others like me have just a little time.

For me I am a minimalist and collect stamps. That is an oxymoron if there ever was one. lol. The two should not go together. I really try to keep my stock down to the bare minimum

I think mine would have to include "know when to say when". I have to realize I can't really collect everything, and trying only reduces the amount of time I can put into the areas I really like.