Choosing a Stamp Album (1911)

This article by Chas. E. Jenney originally appeared in Mekeel’s Stamp Weekly in 1911.

In the days of my early collecting, when the period arrived for graduation from blank book and from the small 1,000 space album, there was no necessity for deliberating in the selection of an album. There was only one, the International, and that was not a very fat book, either. It contained spaces for all the regularly issued stamps of the world and satisfied all the demands of the advancing collector.

Today a similar album, including all countries and all stamps, has to be issued in two volumes, either of which is larger than the old one. It is divided into the ninteenth century and the 20th century albums. Here the necessity for a choice arises, and is often puzzling to the collector and even to his older advisers. They each cost about the same and as a rule he cannot afford both at once, and even if he could they are rather too much for him at one time. Which shall he choose?

He naturally wants to get the album that will have spaces for the greater number of stamps he is apt to get; and finds that while the greater part of what he has goes in the older album, perhaps the larger number of what he is picking up from day to day are current issues and belong in the 20th century volume. The question is one for considerable deliberation. If he takes the later volume, he will naturally lose to considerable extent the interest in obtaining the older issues; if he takes the older volume, the new issues will have little interest for him and when he begins to find it difficult to obtain the older ones his interest lapses altogether.

In both cases there are disadvantages, for the interest in stamp collecting can-not be well separated by an abrupt break in the middle.

The best way seems to be this; let the collector buy the 19th century album, and treasure therein his old issues. But let him not on that account discard all newer issues. His blank book can still serve him for them, until such time as they make a large accumulation and he can afford a 20th century album. Or better still, sheets of some stiff blank paper of uniform size can be ruled into squares, using one sheet for each country; and these sheets kept loosely, arranged in alphabetical order, between stiff board covers, with a rubber band around. This will serve as a temporary album, and then when the proper time arrives, they can be transferred to a new printed album; or if he has advanced sufficiently, they will serve as the nucleus of the blank album to which all advanced collectors arrive at length.