You probably wonder why collect stamps from a country that normally doesn’t make headline news in any newspaper except in the country of Romania itself. But I have something to share with you in something I found at a local stamp show.

I was looking for odd items to add to my collection of stamps of the world and I caught the attention of an elderly man who was selling stamps to the public.  I started a small conversation on what I was looking for and he showed me an old cardboard box of folders, large envelopes with country names and all sorts of odd-shaped things.  As I looked harder I noted one selection that in all my days of collecting, was that item you just had to have. I immediately took the envelope and looked into what I will always remember, how each page was hand made, written in ink, fine details and what looked like someone’s attempt in making a collection worthy of selling.  In my imagination I could see an elderly gentleman laboring over his collection of gems that he wanted to show off and he did a darn good job at it.

I grasped the envelope and couldn’t let it go, and I asked the salesman how much would he would like for it. To my utter amazement a low price was given and I leaped at him with the money.  I had to sit down later to look into the envelope of hand-made stamp album pages and thank my maker that I got them. I felt blessed by the beauty of the collection, some pages had nothing on them, some had stamps removed for value sake, but the pages graced me with their beauty and simplicity.

I will always cherish those moments of the discovery of this wonderful find and wish some day to know who did this great work.  I have learned many things going to stamp shows or stamp browses that come to my area, and that is take your time and look into the odd corners of the show, take your time looking and asking for those odd items that people have tucked away. In those days when the snow is blowing, traffic is at a stand still; I take out this part of my collection history and look at the beauty of these small bits of history that grace the page. Somewhere you have those gems tucked away and only grace your eye when there is nothing else to do, but take the time and look at what you have and be glad you are collecting history.