Questions On The Newer Scott International Album Pages......

Hi,
I'm considering getting a late 1990s edition of the Scott's International Album pages for the classic era (1840-1940). My collection is currently housed in a 1947 edition of Part 1.

This is obviously a big expenditure and I'm lining myself up for an awful lot of work in transferring my collection. So I need to get your input before I jump into this.

I understand that the newer editions are on better paper (stronger, acid resistant, etc). But I'm not certain of their other benefits.

Do they have more stamp identification?
Do the pages blend into "Part 2" more easily?
Are countries more separated (i.e. not 2 on a page)?
What are the other features?

Thank you all!!

Sounds like you may be looking at the set I currently have listed on ebay!

1991 , 1840-1940 = 2 parts, some countries still start on the back of pages and some on same page.
1997 , 1840-1940 = 4 parts, All country, Semipostals, airmails and other BOB start on a new page.

Both have less stamps than the 1947 edition you own

The paper is way more thicker and the holes are a little bit more far than the edge, so the old pages will be more out of the album. Very anoying when you want to turn pages and they are mix betwen editions.

Do they have more stamp identification?-No
Do the pages blend into "Part 2" more easily?-Yes
Are countries more separated (i.e. not 2 on a page)?-Yes

The album pages for the International Part I are sold as four sub-parts (IA1,IA2,IB1,IB2) by Scott/Amos. It is "on-demand" printing, and the paper is ~65 pounds- thicker,and heavier than before. (I believe it is also the case for Part II.)

It is based on the '97 edition, which is essentially based on the '69 edition, except each subsection (postage dues etc) for a country begins on its own page- more spread out.

The '47 edition (and earlier 40s editions) have the most countries, as the '69 editors removed some smaller ones- but the '69 editors did add additional spaces in some cases for those countries they retained.

For more specifics....

Bob Skinner's blog "Filling Spaces".....
http://globalstamps.blogspot.com/

My blog "Big Blue 1840-1940"....
http://bigblue1840-1940.blogspot.com/

Hi!
I never like to leave things hanging.............. I actually won the auction (actually offered by fellow member Stamps1962). When they arrive, I'll be giving a lot of thought about using them. Frankly, I've got a good 16k stamps in the current Part 1 and the thought of moving them is a challenge. But, doing so would allow me to (I think) integrate them with the Part 2 plus pages. Right now the part 1 is in a Jumbo Big Blue, and the pages for parts 2-4 are correlated in country order from 1940-1960.

Yikes, I just thought of something..... I'll need to pick up another 16 or so packs of Dennison hinges off ebay..........

Congrats.

Transferring the stamps and being able to integrate Part I and Part II will be worth it down the line.

Here is my set of the four volume pre-1940 Internationals

Hi again...........
So let me take this thing a step further. I've got (rather the USPS has) the newer Part 1, with the plan of integrating it in my existing Parts 2, 3, & 4. But these editions are all from the 60s, so there are merging problems with them too. Sooo, I am "assuming" that I really should eventually get the newer parts 2-4 that will promote the smoother merging of the whole collection.

Is this a good assumption? Or ???

Perhaps

I think each subsequent part (1940-49,then 1949-55 etc), the way they were originally published, makes it easier and easier to integrate pages with a different part.

I'll look at my older part II and III albums today, and get back to you with more specific information.

Edit: O.K., You already reported merging problems with Part II,III,IV, so I guess you might want to get the "newer" pages. I'm fairly certain the "new" part II pages that are sold do make it easier to integrate.

Well, the box arrived at noon today. While the box was a bit beat up, the contents were in perfect condition! I've gone through each of the 4 sections and done various comparisons and ended up with a big smile........
- The countries are in true alphabetical order! Sounds like a no brainer, but my 1947 issue has several countries out of sync.
- I checked thru for the missing countries, and frankly found none that are meaningful to me. This might be an issue for others.
- As you all indicated, each grouping of stamps ends on its own page. Be it regular issue, or "whatever", there are no pages where two types of stamps appear together.
- There are obviously more illustrations - at least compared to my older part 1.
- The paper itself is heavier, better quality, and the holes are punched a bit further from the edge.

I confess I wasn't all that certain if I would end up using these or not. But now that I've got them, I know that I will.

Congrats - you made a wise choice- not least because of the much better paper.

Are you sure the pages have more illustrations? I've always found that they were the same for various editions, provided the coverage for the country had not changed.

Yes, the one the stuck out is Russia (which I'm currently focused upon). While my volume 1 has a copywrite of 1947, there is a possibility that when I put it together that some pages came from one of the other editions I was working at that time.

Said another way, I bought a number of "part 1s", and pieced together the best quality pages for a final album. I know that one of the albums was a 1943 - but the other 3 were 1947.

I checked my '43 and my '69 and my'92 BB editions, and they are all identical in illustration layout. I note Russia does have a lot of illustrations, though, in all three editions.

If you could name some pages and issues for Russia, I could scan the '69 page(s), and upload them here, and you could tell me if your edition is indeed different.

Jkjblue,
Well, I just went through the Russian (and Romanian) pages and cannot find a difference in illustrations. I likely got some pages mixed up in the comparison. So without proof, it looks like I was wrong about that..........

Please don't let my Wife know I said I made a mistake - she will never forget it!

mobilman44- Well, enjoy your newer Part I.

And as far as your wife, mum's the word.

I don't remember finding any instances of illustrations in newer editions replacing a description that was in earlier editions. But if anyone does find some, I hope you will post that info here.

I've wondered why countries such as Russia seem to have more illustrations. My working theory is that Scott gave preference to providing cuts for face different stamps. Stamps with designs that just differed in color or had overprints, not so much. But, and I don't think I'm going out on a limb here, the International is not known for editorial consistency.