"Stamp Beauty Contest":

From the Philatelic Almanac 1936-HL Lindquist Publisher.

img]https://www.stampcommunity.org/uplo...9_img155.jpg[/img]

A more readable scan:

I can't disagree with #1 and #2 (perhaps in reverse order); after that, well, uh, some interesting choices and order.

While I wouldn't call the 1869 90¢ Lincoln stamp ugly I wouldn't vote for it in a beauty contest. None of the Columbian stamps are particularly inspiring to me, though I agree the 4-cent stamp is the best.

I have actually been toying with an idea for a collection based simply on stamps which are most appealing to me.

A 1936 article. I wonder what would be the results asked today? Doesn't Linn's do a "favorite stamp of the year" context each year? Wouldn't that qualify as a "beauty contest?" It might be interesting to do a survey that limits the choices to the Linn's annual "most favorite" for a selected period of time. And that is just for U.S. stamps, right? Doesn't seem fair to not include foreign stamps.

And since "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" I will bet that a lot of choices will be biased toward one type or production process or another. Is it fair to pit off engraved stamps against the more modern photographical stamps? I can think of examples of each that I might find to be the "most beautiful."

Is this really a very meaningful exercise?

I find some of the choices pretty funny. They definitely reflect a time and a place. 122, most beautiful stamp? lol I'm a US collector, but I suspect a vote on this forum would have few if any US in it.

Is the US Scott 210 really listed in a beauty contest? Or are the last 5 the worst looking? I would have tossed in one or 2 commonwealth nations since they had some very nice engraved designs and colors. How about the Great Britain Seahorse or the £1 PUC? This one has always been one of my favorites.

No, I don't think those last 5 are intended to be the worst looking according to this contest. I think the last 5 are just the continuation of the "beauty" list - with the "1" cropped on the left from 11,12,13,14,15.

stallzer - nice one!

I would second stallzer's thoughts. I have seen some awesome stamps amidst the Commonwealth zone.

My favorite is the one below - I have always admired the way the lines contour the stamp

I'm a sucker for the true classics: