Entrusted With Collection, What To Do!

I was given a collection started by a dear friend's father in 1919. Lots of U.S. stamps dating back as far as 1897, so far. I have only had the collection in my possession for a few days, so this is all new to me! I would like to know more about what to look for, how to preserve it, and how in the world do I go about categorizing all the loose stamps?! Total in the collection is around 4000+ both world and U.S./Canada. Any comments are welcome, thanks!

Judging by how the albums are laid out, I bet there is more order to this collection than you think.

First thing, don't accept any monetary offers from anyone wanting to 'help you out' without learning more about these stamps.

Do you think you might start by telling us which countries are represented in a significant way? Most collectors end up having special interests.

It doesn't sound to me like they are looking to sell.

There really is so much I am overwhelmed! A lot of world stamps, Germany is very prominent. US stamps are also quite prevalent. A good number of the stamps came from family members who traveled. There are 3 books alone that are completely filled, each containing 900 stamps from around the world. There are covers, gifts given as groups for birthdays X-mas etc, cut corners, mail order glassine envelopes, etc. The loose stamps I have no idea where some of them are from, and the ages of US stamps I have no idea. Regardless of value, I think they are beautiful and worthy of preserving!

It's heartwarming to hear your enthusiasm and appreciation for these stamps. Many of us who belong to this forum are retired and will not mind at all helping you sort through things. If you want to provide photos, we can do a lot over the Internet in identifying stamps.

Otherwise, preserve the stamps as you would prized letters or books. Try to keep the stamps out of direct sunlight, humid surroundings, and the like.

The collection looks like it is mostly pre-1960s, common issues.

I would try to find a nice inexpensive worldwide album that is circa 1960s and use that.

Harris makes a number of nice inexpensive albums if you want new.... Ambassador, Statesmen, Senior Statesmen, Citation, etc.

Otherwise you can go on ebay and find any number of inexpensive used worldwide albums that probably would even have a few stamps along with it.

Statesman Album - currently $13.50: http://www.ebay.com/itm/STATESMAN-D...em35f061d814

Citation Album - currently $19.99: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Citation-St...em5b17e5fd20

Or create your own stamp album by printing Steiner pages for the countries you have: http://www.stampalbums.com/

Thank you all so much! Do I hinge the stamps into an album, or do I use the little paper & poly covers and then place those in an album? I have read that hinging is not the best idea for old stamps as it can damage the gum on the back of them. Also, are there any stamps I should look for in this collection so that they are preserved right away? This new adventure is intriguing to say the least, as I have gotten to know this dear old lady very well, and have heard many stories about her father and grandfather who both contributed to this collection that she was given to continue in 1953. Again, thank you, I will post a new photo a little later!

Looks like most are hinged into sales booklets already.

I would just use hinges to put in an album.

I typically try to get them off the sale booklet page with the hinge mostly in tact. Then I tear off the bottom portion that was used to glue the stamp to the booklet and reuse the remaining hinge remnant thereby not having to remove the old hinge from the stamp.

People used to hinge stamps all the time. At some point, however, the 'hobby' decided that hinges reduced the value of a stamp and the practice has pretty much faded away, at least for mint (unused) stamps.

EDIT: oldguy always gives good advice. I wish I'd seen his last post before I stepped in. If the stamps are already hinged, by all means, try what oldguy recommends!