Stamp Collecting Albums - A Guide For CollectersStamp collecting album as the name suggests are books meant for collecting stamps. They can also be defined as books used for preserving and showcasing stamps, often loose-leafed, to allow for expansion after the stamps are put in place. The purpose of using such albums is to keep all the collected stamps in a very practical way and to store and display the stamps in a right manner. They protect the stamps from getting damaged, thereby helping to maintain the condition and increase the overall life of the stamps. Stamp collecting albums are used the world over for stamp collecting and it could be termed as a more or less universal means for keeping the same. They are used by both a beginner as well as someone with a world class collection. The difference between the two being in terms of the number of albums and variety of stamps possessed. It is a common practice to gauge the size of a collection by its number of albums. Stamp collecting albums range from worldwide albums to country specific albums. Worldwide albums concentrate on giving you space for common stamps of all countries, with a little extra space dedicated to each country for a few more stamps. On the other hand country specific albums concentrate on one country only, its history and every type of stamp known there. These albums go through the entire evolution of that particular country with regards to postage stamps. Stamp collecting albums are available in the plain and pre-printed form. Pre-printed albums are much more commonly used and are produced by many manufacturers. The reasons for their popularity being, the pages of the album are printed with a black and white picture of each stamp which is reduced in size, and thus identifying and making a match with a real stamp is much easier. Some pre-printed albums are also made more informative and user friendly. There is a specific paragraph on each page related to the stamp subject. The pages of Stamp collecting albums would most often be one sided. This does consume more space than a two sided one, but is much easier to handle and prevents stamps from catching on each other. Today's albums have padded covers to give the stamps breathing space and prevent the sticking of pages and oozing of gum. In short Stamp collecting album' have come a long way from one of the first albums, the Stanley Gibbons "V.R." in the early 1870s to the present day album makers such as Scott, Lighthouse and White Ace. |