Thoughts On Big Blue Album (New Vs. Used) And Steiner Pages.

Thanks, Jim. I understand now. I thought maybe you were somehow adding Steiner pages to Big Blue.

1840to1940 (Bob)- The classic look of the Brown/Vintage pages is highly attractive indeed.

One caveat with the Vintage reproductions...or at least it was a caveat I experienced from editions printed in the 1990s. I still have some of the pages left for some countries and I used to include before the first page a map of the country printed on a blank album page. After a couple years the ink from the vintage reproduction page began to stick to the back of the map page, to such a degree that you would think the pages were glued together along the edges where the page border is on the vintage pages. I don't know if this remains a problem with the Vintage reproduction pages now, but the ones I bought in 1996 (or was it 1997, somewhere in the mid-90s) are doing this.

When I was a young collector, I used the blue international part I. Coming back at it for specific countries 20 years later, I have gone over to Steiner for the countries that interest me due to frustration with the packed-in nature of the blue pages and the frequency of short sets and weird omissions. I'm not offended by blank spaces, so Steiner was the way to go for me, especially since I can just print countries as I am ready to deal with them.

And since a picture is worth 1000 words, here is a visual to show what I mean about the Vintage pages





First image shows the back side of the map cover page I made that was affected by the printing on the first page of the album sticking to it. Second is the first page of India in the Vintage Reproduction v. 1. I still have the albums for most of the countries of the world. Sold the stamps but kept the pages thinking who knows I might go back to collecting. I have, but now I use Lighthouse vario stockpages, which are much more flexible and allow me to include varieties listed in other catalogs (for ex Maury for the French colonial empire, my current collecting focus). And the page images are not cropped, I trimmed the right edge off the pages so I could fit them in standard 3 ring binders, since back in the 1990s Scott binders only came 2-post with metal slider rods, which were a PITA to deal with to add pages or move pages around.

DJCMHOH, interesting. Thanks for posting. I only have the Vintage Reproduction pages for the 19th century, Afghanistan through Mecklenburg Schwerin. I've been leafing through these after reading your messages, and haven't found anything as serious as you describe. However, I do notice a very faint smudge on most back pages that appears to come from the bottom right border ornament on the facing pages. Also, when I rub my finger over a page, on some pages I can feel a raised surface for some cuts and descriptions. However, on none of these do I notice anything on the facing page that has rubbed off.

So, considering the cost of the Vintage Reproductions, I suppose it would be prudent for potential buyers to ask the dealer what their return policy is should you discover printing defects that might cause problems in the future.

After using Steiner pages for the last couple years, I don't think I could go back to the crowded pages of Big Blue or some of the older Harris albums. And I use hinges. I can't imagine how crowded those pages would be if one used mounts.

1840to1940 - the page I have shows is after at least 15 years of the pages being together in a binder. I don't know how long you have had your pages, but if you are starting to notice -smudging- on the backs from the bottom right corner ornament, then you might see more as time goes by. IIRC it took a few years before it became noticable to me. A shame really, because they are wonderful (and yes EXPENSIVE) pages so there is no real reason there should be offset like after less than 20 years. The one good thing is that since the pages are one-sided it will not affect stamps on the opposite page, since there are no spaces depicted, and when I did have stamps in the album they were all in Scott mounts, which should in theory protect the stamps against any offset from the description box underneath that might occur.

Just curious if anyone else who has the Vintage pages for an extended period has seen this happen. It's a moot point for me now, I sold the collection that these pages house back in the mid-200s, and this time around I am now using Lighthouse vario stock pages to house my collections.

DJCMHOH-----There are two reasons that could of cause your problem .First you used a cheap refill of ink in your printer. Second you must of layed the album on its side with other binders on top for a extended period of time .Both mistakes or one of them would cause that type of issue, especially in a warm storage area.

Floortrader, I think DJCMHOH is referring to Scott Brown pages (Vintage Reproductions) that he purchased more than 15 years ago, rather than to self-printed pages. Even if improperly stored as you describe, commercially printed pages really ought not stick to each other in this way.

OK-Hieronymus ......than the printer used cheap ink ,the pages were printed and shipped the same week or printed on demand .But storage would still be a factor with weight on top and a warm environment.....maybe just my guess ?

Thanks for all of the feedback. There certainly is a lot of good information here to help me make up my mind.

As I review my current Steiner pages, I am realizing that I actually don't dislike them at all. I am certainly swayed by the arguments about crowded pages. (this too was one of my original reasons for going the Steiner route.)

The other thing I am reminded is that a large chunk of my collection is from date ranges after 1940. So I did contemplate purchasing volumes other than Part I, but I must say that I am drawn to the classic period.

So, I think the decision I am coming down to is the go ahead and purchase a new Part I International album, but also keep other parts of my collection that reach into the 1960s in the Steiner pages. But this will allow me to add some focus to my collecting habits, and will redirect my current focus into the Classic period.

So in a way, it is almost like starting a new collection. This will also give me a focus to perhaps remove some stamps from my collection that really don't fit into the classic period, nor one of the countries where I have a substantial numbers that go beyond 1940.

Floortrader - I am quite impressed with your stamp cabinet. Mine is much more modest.

1840to1940 - who gave a succinct answer about the differences between the current publication of the Part I vs some of the older editions. Certainly countries starting on new pages is a great feature, as well as the archival paper.

JkJblue - thanks for your great posts on this thread, and your blog. I have been checking out several of the countries where I already have Classic stamps to see what I should expect if/when I do order a new International album.


-Craig

floortrader - as hieronymous stated the problem is not with the pages I printed (which was only a frontice-piece page the printing on which would not have come in contact with any other pages), but rather the offset coming from the Vintage pages themselves. And as far as storage is concerned, the albums have always been stored in a proper vertical positions (one of the basics my father taught me about the hobby back when he introduced me to it as a kid) and they have been in a well-controlled environment...my apartment has good air conditioning in the summer (vital for a North Country New Yorker transplanted to the humid sweatbox of Ohio) and if anything I may keep the apartment too dry as a result. So storage wise the albums were properly maintained, the problem is with the Vintage pages from that era. My hope is that the pages Subway prints today are less prone to this issue than the ones I bought in the mid 1990s.

In the end though for me the issue is now moot since I am not using album pages this time around for my collections, but rather Lighthouse Vario pages, properly stored in 3-ring binders in a well-controlled climate vertically on bookshelves.