Stamps-On-Piece Vs Stamps-Off-Piece

[peeve]

The term "postal history" - certainly a common usage - irks me.

I think it was invented by people who collect stamps off-piece to avoid the obvious duopoly:

- collecting "stamps-off-piece", which offers an obvious convenience,

- collecting "stamps-on-piece", which offers inumerable advantages.

It is not a matter of collecting 'with history' or 'without history', as there is plenty of "postal history" in stamps-off-piece, including:

- the issuing of stamps in new denominations,

- the issuing of stamps for new services ('par avion', special delivery, revenue collection), and

- in the evidence stamps bear of their usage (SOTN, bits of slogans, etc).

Rather, the distinction is between people who collect stamps, and people who, well, do something else.

Of pure, and impure.

In this age of gender-neutral language (etc), I think that the advent of 2016 is a good time to drop the exclusionary "postal history", and adopt the more accurate, more descriptive, and more inclusive "stamps-on-piece" vs "stamps-off-piece".

For folks who need convenient abbreviations, we could use:

- SOP = stamps-on-piece

- SSP = stamps-sans-piece

[/peeve]

May the best of your last year be the worst of your new year.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

I believe that you're setting your own parameters in the meaning of "postal history". PH has much more to it than stamps. Here are two definitions, one is from the National Postal Museum Website and the other is from the Postal History Society.

"An extension of the hobby of philately, including the study not only of stamps but of postal markings and covers, postage rates and postal routes, in fact of anything pertaining to the history and development of the postal services." (NPM).

"Postal history is the study of material carried by, and related to, official, local or private mails. It illustrates routes, rates, markings, usages and other postal aspects, services, functions and activities related to the history of the development of Postal Services." (PHS)

Slow day, ikey? Pondering the imponderable? If you put a self adhesive stamp on a piece of mail, but it falls off later in the Postal System will the postal "system" continue to process your mail or return it? How come mail with stamps are not cancelled by the post office, but mail with no stamps are not? Maybe tomorrow will have more challenges.

Ikey, have you ever wondered why the boxing is square and still called a ring?

ikeypikey, for your consideration...

'Postage history'..., stamps.
'Postal history'..., all other postal related items.

As said earlier it is a slow day for Ike

Postal history also includes all letters pre the penny black stamp carried in or outside of the post system back to 1638 and beyond. 16th century Vellums, land indentures , airship fabrics, transatlantic steamship mail and much much more. I think it would be mere impossible to abbreviate stamps-on-piece across the board of world wide postal history collectors, there are far to many folk who collect ph & stamps-on-piece. How on earth would you universally let everyone worldwide know stamps-on-piece = SOP?

Ahhh. Acronyms..... SOP = standard operating procedure. Sort of like NRA stands for National Rifle Association, National Restaurant Association, National Rehabilitation Association..........

I belonged to the NRA from 1973-1983, and again in 1990. Guess which one..... (hint: it's the NRA of professionals who work with medically disabled citizens).