Maybe A Nit Picky Question?

I may nitpicking a bit here, but here goes. I am organizing two old stamp collections I have inherited and learning a lot along the way. So far, I am organizing them in glassine envelopes in boxes. My question is, is it harmful to store a stamp on its corner in an envelope vs. flat edge down (see pics?) I have noticed corner damage on some stamps, maybe bc they are picked up by the corners with tongs, and I don't want to contribute to that. Does it really matter?

Not something I have given a lot of thought to, but I see what you mean. Obviously a stamp coming into first contact with something by a corner must be liable to sustain more damage than if an impact is spread all alomg an edge. I find more bent corners on stamps than bent edges or fp;ds along the stamp. If the package is flatter then there is less chance of the stamp trying to move in three dimensions with more risk of getting bent. If the stamp has gum on it then if the air is humid there is more danger of it stickng. A stamp will almost always move around in it.s packet so it might go corner on to the package. theoretically there would be less danger putting a stamp in a glassine packet so the stamp is paralell to the envelope edge but in practice it will be hard to keep it that way. Nearly all these musing are theory. I think it would think that it would be best practice if only one or two stamps are kept
in each envelopes, the envelopes are only a little larger than the stamps so they can't move around. Keep the stamps in a dry atmosphere. Don't throw around or shake the box with the envelopes in. sometimes the stamps are so numerous and appear to be common sorts that they do get dropped in a grocery bag prior to careful sorting. most stamps in the grocery bag survive ok.

I personally am a big believer that stamps, especially when shipped through the mail, can easily develop bent corners if not stored squarely against the bottom of the holder. I have seen this problem literally dozens of times, yet when I report to sellers about this problem they generally respond, "I've never had a problem before." Whatever. Trust me, it IS a problem. And it sucks to see great collectible stamps damaged by laziness and indifference.

For stamps in storage, I would think you can get away with it if the boxes aren't moved. But I think it's worth the extra step to square the stamp against the bottom of the glassine or stock card.