According to Linn's, "Sergio Sismondo, a globally respected stamp dealer, philatelic expertizer and prolific writer, died March 13 [2023] at the age of 80." He was an important contributor to the Scott Classic Specialized  Catalogue from its beginnings (1994) to the present day.   ..read more

Although this may be minutiae, there is nevertheless an interesting discussion on StampCommunity about a heretofore "undocumented" binder variation for the Scott Internationals. I'm not sure how to intelligibly describe it, so check out the message thread and its helpful photos: https://www.stampcommunity.org/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=81830 Unrelatedly, I'm not completely clear about when Scott started offering hinged post binders (as opposed to the much older spring backs). I know that someone sold on eBay a 1939 Big Blue that was hinged post. And the 1940 Scott Catalog, which would have been publi ..read more

Mike's Big Blue Collection - Parts 1 to 7 is the name of a new blog that will be of interest to Scott International Album collectors. His blog's description tells it all: "This blog will track an ambitious project to complete Scott's International Postage Stamp Albums Parts 1 to 7 (1840 to 1971). Only stamps that match the exact album description are included in the albums themselves. Supplementary pages (courtesy of Mr. Bill Steiner) are included for any stamps I have that were omitted from the Scott albums. I hope that this will serve as a useful reference for fellow collectors." Mike is tak ..read more

I've written about the Annual/Progressive Albums several times in the past. These were intended as supplements to the Brown Internationals between publication of the cumulative volumes. I became particularly interested in them because the last Brown issued by Scott stopped its coverage in mid-1938 or thereabouts, yet the Vintage Reproductions set includes a volume for 1939-40 to complete the first 100 years of philately. Where did that come from if Scott never issued a corresponding Brown? We can now say with confidence that Vintage used pages from the 1939-40 annual. Blog reader Dee recentl ..read more

The 2022 edition, number 28, will arrive this year in December. Primarily responsible were the familiar names of Donna Houseman, Bill Jones, and Sergio Sismondo. Based on an article in the November 15, 2021 Linn's, it appears that price changes account for the majority of what is new. Editorial changes new to this edition according to the Linn's article include: --on cover listings for Alexandretta, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Somaliland Protectorate, Syria and Zululand; --Algerian Parcel post stamps; --Editorial notes in Andorra for stamps that were authorized but not issued; --two French local st ..read more

This article by Paul M. Holland recently appeared in the September 20, 2021 issue of Linn's (pp 103-108) and is a succinct and entertaining introduction to collecting the world. My only complaint is that Linn's didn't include a warning that some of the author's photos may cause album envy. To someone unfamiliar with the lack of interest, even bias against worldwide collecting after WW II, the article might seem as unremarkable as it is informative. But when I began my blog in 2007, nothing like this piece existed in print. Basic information such as the difference between the current edition o ..read more

The 27th edition of the catalog is out. Editor this year is Donna Houseman assisted by Bill Jones. As in the past, Sergio Sismondo made major contributions. Among the new additions and enhancements this year are: --new on-cover listings for Alexandretta, Bahrain and Lebanon; --forerunners of French Andorra and Spanish Andorra appear for the first time; --a special article by Sismondo and 8 new major numbers and 10 minor numbers for India Scott 1-6; --local stamps of french Morocco; --Guatemala Official stamps with perforated initials; --Extensive updating of values for Aden; --Central Albani ..read more

This is the title of an article in the latest Kelleher's Stamp Collector's Quarterly, vol 6, #3. If you aren't familiar, the magazine features consistently well written and consistently well illustrated articles. I can imagine non-collectors paging through one in a doctor's waiting room. The premise of the article is easily discernible from the title, although not so obvious might be the collectors of the era who wanted nothing to do with "enemy" stamps. But I bring the article up as a reminder that we partly owe WWI for the Junior Intentional which, of course, become the Big Blue. Here is a ..read more

There has been a nice discussion on the Stamp Community forum about buying, maintaining, and repairing binders for the Scott International albums.  My two cents: 1) If your collection is actively growing, the binders will be subject to significant stress from use. I suggest going with pre-owned binders and using library book tape to keep them viable. When repairs are impracticable or your aesthetic sensibilities are compromised, replace with another set of used binders. Once your collection is approaching completion, then you can spring for new or pristine used binders. 2) An advantage of ..read more

I wrote back in 2017 about a summary of Michel catalog information for every worldwide stamp that you could sort by years, country, etc. The compiler has recently updated the information to use 2018/2019 catalog data. The website can be found at: https://www.germanstamps.net/ia-cost-comparison-ww/ Since Michel no longer makes the data available, this will be the last update. I think it is well worth visiting the site, and playing with the various filters. But, to get to the bottom line, based on Michel catalog data, there were 66,609 stamps issued between 1840 and 1940 with a total catalog ..read more