Mounting Stamp Mounts.

Whenever these archival related conversations arise I contemplate how all of those amazing classic and semi-classic stamps that cross Siegel's auction block and are peddled by dealers made it through the environmental tempests over the years, pre-air conditioning and humidifiers and "archival" paper/mount claims (actually pre-mounts; hinges only, sometimes horse glue and paper). Of course we are only talking a century or so. Who knows what would be left in 500 years. Is it practical to ask? Not an unworthy goal to preserve but at what point impractical. Should C3a's be suspended in an atmosphere of inert gas at 53% humidity and who will be responsible.

Whenever a century old album of the grand and beautiful type is discovered and "picked" are we not destroying an original slice of philatelic history or are we "preserving"?

And what about "restoration" which in philately causes endless consternation when it entails hydrogen peroxide, reperforating, regumming, cleaning, thin filling and other unforgivable "sins" committed in the name of making something more aesthetically pleasing (and more valuable). Are these activities not really just helping the cause by reversing poor stewardship.

Sometimes I wish I collected rocks.

Good post, rogdcam.

I choose to believe that most modern philatelic materials are better for our stamps than those from years past. I do think it approaches 'miracle' that the stamps that we currently curate are in as such good condition as they are. Since the oldest stamps are now on the order of 175 years old, I gotta wonder what their condition will be, say, 200/300/400+ years from now. What is a reasonable expectation for the survivable-ness of stamps over periods measured in multiple centuries?

I want to edit my response from yesterday concerning the glue pen I use. The directions state it can be used for temporary mounting (NOT permanent) By letting the glue dry first before attaching the mount to the page.

The main components are acrylic emulsion and water. I searched the internet for any information on the archival use of and effects on paper but I found nothing.
I did find an interesting booklet put out by Gaylord Archival. Lots of general information on handling various collectables including paper. Here is a link for a free download.
https://www.gaylord.com/resources/g...ections-care

I have used Elmer's Craft Bond Repositionable Glue Stick for 2 years now. It is sold with all the usual buzz words - photo safe, acid free, non-toxic. Your mileage may vary.

https://goscf.com/t/69040

Strangely enough, I shan't be conducting rigorous investigation and tests, although I'm at least confident that the Pritt stick will contain fewer traces of Virginia tobacco, vin de Bourgogne and caffeine than my saliva. My collection has got, what, another ten years in my possession at most? I'm comfortable with any minor risk over that period. Philatelic angst is not for me.

I think that no matter how many times I try to explain that this is a public forum that welcomes all opinions but we also need to communicate that our personal experiments may not be good stewardship and carry risk; there will those who want to make being good caretakers sound like it is an extreme position.

I also think that good stewardship means we strive to do 'no harm' over the time we possess our collectables and historical items. I do not understand why these threads always seem to turn out this way. Why is there push back for even just mentioning good stewardship issues? Other hobbies communicate good steward all the time. For example, go into our sister forum and tell them that you are 'cleaning' your coins to make them look more like they did when they were newly minted. Or go into an antique forum and tell them that you are going to improve the look of your Chippendale Side chair. Or go into a collectable gun forum and tell them that you are going to make your rare rifle more presentable by improving the stock. The feedback would be the same, good stewardship means 'doing no harm'.

Are using glue sticks doing harm? None of us knows. And some of us don't care, so let's just move on.
Don