Austrian Collectors Feedback On My Pages

Hi, I made some progress on my Austrian pages, they are based on the Österreich Spezialkatalog 2015/16, I did up to 1907.

It's a work in progress, for now the denomination and colour are not added and also the layout is not finished yet

I made 2 versions

Simplified, All majors releases except for watermark and perforations and colour variations . ( more stamps than Scott Int. but less than Steiner's )

Specialised, Mainly all the stamps with the exception of colours variations. ( More stamps than Steiner'S but also a better presentation and grouping )

Please don't look at the website it's in progress, you can download the 2 version here:

http://www.stampspages.com/austria.html

Well, I don't collect Austria, but I like that you didn't include extra space for binding/binder holes on the side. Looks much better when I would just put them in page protectors anyway. And for those of us in the non-metric USA, the use of "letter" size pager is good.

Area66 - I collect Austria! I think your album pages are beautiful in it's very basic 'simplicity'. I find the layout very delicat, well done .

I'm looking at your 'Specialised' pages - and really like how you include all the perf varieties for the 1874/80 Emperor Franz Josef Fine Print. Such good fun to hunt for the different varieties So I am a bit puzzled - don't you want to continue the same approach for the later issues if the pages are supposed to be Specialised? In particular for the iconic 1883 Coat of arms issue, which in addition to the perf varities also have the different wmks.

Here's my pages for that particular issue of 6 'basic stamps' - with lot's of empty spaces still to fill! That's in my world the beauty of specialising - even one have the basic set, there are 'always' varities to look for

Hi, Blaamand, thanks for the comments I will include this series, but it's more problematic to choose witch one, I include a scan of the catalogue, you will see that it'S far more complex than Scott or Michel.

The 50 kr come in 9½ and 10 and the major stamps are in 10 not 9½

also you have 2 types of 9½, one of them called "irregular shapes" no idea what they means, may be it's your 9½ x 10½

Tonight I work, so I will add the 1883 missing stamps and also the denomination

As we can see we have perforations 9, 9½, 9½ irregular, 10, 10½, 11½, 12, 12½, 9:10-½, 10½:10 and they can be Brief-Marken or Zeitungs-Margen and most of them will but with unknown watermark.

That's very problematic, what do you do with an expensive 20kr with perforation 9 that you don't see the watermark (because the stamp is betwen watermark on the sheet ) ?

Finally, I think a specialised album can't be done, it need to be dynamic and not static, so if we take the catalogue example I show, someone can print a nice simplified album with only the 6 stamp in the example show on the pics and place all the stamps in the tables in a separate vario album. So this vario album will be adjusted with now stamps as you get them, can go as far as different cancels. The simplified album will be use to show a good representation of stamps issue by a country in order of release. The album will not be crowded and will be easy to fallow.

Area66 - yepp, it's always a bit difficult to decide how to organize the stamps. Should one include only the basics - include some variations - or all variations? When I see the very detailed 'Spezialkatalog' of yours, I very much understand one cannot set aside space for all variations



I definitely agree with you on having a dynamic page rather than static! That's why my pages exists only in digital - I can easily play around and shift should I need to include other stuff. The stamps are safely stored in stockbooks, which is also easy to shift around for a 'dynamic fit'.
I'm also thinking about shifting from stockbooks to Vario pages - could not get more dynamic than that, at last not for 'hardware' albums. The ultimate for specializing I believe to be digital albums, as it is simply a joy to change the set-up, with no needs for new special printing paper, removing hinges, add new hinges or mounts...

Lovely Page Blaamand !

My work is more pedestrian, I really like the marriage between the Scott Catalogue, and Steiner Pages.
When varieties occur, I make my own similar pages.

Nowhere near the sophistication of you guys, I like the feeling of being organised via Steiner.

Normal Steiner page.



Personal created page with mounts



Personal created page, basic hinged for used.

Have a look at the specialised now, far more complete . I put even few space in dot line for optional stamps .


http://www.stampspages.com/austria.html

will scan few stamps to add 1 sample of each design like Scott do

Thanks Rod. Your Steiner pages are absolutely lovely too. I think Steiner has achieved a simple yet classy-looking design. Your DIYS page for the Linz local issues is fabulous - Steiner-style still with your personal touch added by the write-up. Cool


Area66 - the dotted frames was a clever idea, think I might adopt that!
Don't you wanna include the "Zeitungs" wmk?

ok , check again: I have 41 pages now, I still to add denomination and review all of them, it's a work in progress not a final product

The Zeitungs..... well it'S too much problematic, on many stamps you can't see a watermark, or you don't know witch one it is, The best is to place 1 page in a protector leaving the back free for put quadrille pages where you can place watermark or colour shade

Or you print the pages twice and just add the watermark in the title, I will probably make both option, it's simple to do, but I have to make more work and place some stamps before.

the main problem is the catalogue group many different perforations for the same price if you look at F in the catalogue extract I post before, you will see 3 different perforations.

Yepp, I've been there too! Think I had about 2-300 of the coat of arms issue - and was only able to positively identify 1 single stamp as a 'Zeitung'. Then again, the feeling is good when eventually you find one.


Well, I don't understand why that's a problem - probably those perf varieties are then of about the same 'scarcity, don't you think? I think it's much worse for those catalogs that don't list all the different perfs at all - Scott sucks in that respect.

Ok, I work on it this morning, I make a modification on both simplified and specialised to make them work together

Simplified pages are marked page 1-9
Specialised pages are marked 1-9 but with added pages with letter a-n so example 4a

So someone can start with Simplified and just add the pages from specialised as he get more stamps , the system is really modular. Black page can be added for more varieies, covers or other things

The plan is as much possible to put only a series per page

I also made a spec addon files that contain only the additional pages to make the simplified a specialised one

Blaamand, your Austria pages are very elegant! May I ask what size pages these are? And where did you get the beautiful border you're using. One thing keeping me from using Steiner pages is the borders which I find too plain. Beautiful stamps should have a beautiful page to be mounted on.

DrewM - thanks . The page size is simply A4 (8.5' x 11' Letterhead) - border 'borrowed' from Scott speciality.