Unused 19th Century US Stamps
In Postal History, Every Stamp Tells a Story
By Maribeth Keane — I have a stamp collection, but I don’t consider myself a collector. I have a collection of my initials on stamps from Great Britain. I’ve been collecting those for a long time, but I’m a dealer and a consultant for postal history more than a stamp collector. My interest started with boy scouts when I was 12 years old. I needed a couple of merit badges to complete my eagle scout, so I borrowed some of my sister’s stamp collection and mounted them because I thought it would be an easy...
The New York Postmaster's Stamp of 1845
By James Brush Hatcher — The first American postmaster to take his cue from Great Britain's "Penny Black" of 1840 and issue an adhesive postage stamp for interurban mail was Robert H. Morris of New York. The year was 1845, and Morris had just been appointed by the newly inaugurated President James K. Polk. That was the year Florida became the 27th State, and Texas was annexed as the 28th. Mexico declared war on the United States. Andrew Jackson died at the Hermitage at 78. Annapolis acquired a school for naval...
Stamp Collector Bob Allen on Stamp Design and Production Techniques
By Maribeth Keane — Like many collectors, I collected when I was a child, and then I became interested again in the ‘90s. I think eBay and other Internet auction sales had a little bit to do with it. I just started playing with stamps and got interested again. Living in Hawaii, you don’t have the option of going to dealers all around the country, and a lot of the bigger ones are on the East Coast. There are a couple of stamp dealers in Hawaii, but not that many. Collectors Weekly: Do you specialize in specific...