The stamp collecting has found new life in the digital age

Stamp collecting goes digital

Living along a remote stretch of Northern California's redwood coast, Oliver Seeler painstakingly tracks down stamps from around the world. But not just any stamps. He collects only those with images of bagpipes.

Seeler, the 60-year-old chief of the Albion-Little River Volunteer Fire Department, came to his hobby through his work selling bagpipes and bagpipe music. Pursuing such a niche might once have required a trip to a collectors' convention, or a chance find at a shop or show. Now, he uses auction sites, catalogues and other Web resources to identify stamps that can augment his collection, which he showcases on-line.

"The stamps are often difficult to find even after you have identified them," he said. "If you had to track them down by phone or by mail, it would just be prohibitive in terms of time and money."

After five years, his collection numbers 148 stamps, and has inspired a friendly rivalry. A little over a year ago, he received an e-mail message from a 41-year-old piper in Yorkshire, Sean Stewart, who had found Seeler's site and informed him about a bagpipe stamp from New Zealand that he had once seen. Their e-mail exchanges about finding that stamp transformed Stewart into an avid collector.

"Now we communicate almost daily," Seeler said. "We are always on the hunt for stamps." He added that their e-mail correspondence now numbers nearly 800 messages. "We compete with each other to see who can come up with the next bagpipe stamp." (At the moment, Stewart has 218 of the 240 bagpipe stamps that they have identified.)

Seeler and Stewart's intercontinental rivalry represents just one facet of how stamp collecting has adapted to the rise of the Internet. Many enthusiasts worry that the pastime may slowly fade in the blare of video games, satellite television and iPods. But for all its emphasis on paper, ink and glue, stamp collecting has found new life in the digital age.

The hobby's on-line dimension is striking because most collectors are from an older generation less familiar with computers and the Internet. Still, the lure of meeting other stamp collectors, locating that one elusive stamp for a collection, or showcasing entire collections has drawn many onto the Web.

Linn's Stamp News, a weekly publication for collectors, found that 44 per cent of its subscribers used computers for their collecting last year, compared with 34 per cent in 1996. (And the average age of its readers last year was 65.8.)

An unintended result of displaying stamps on the Internet is the creation of galleries by individual collectors to help document and preserve the images and history of stamps. There are hundreds of exhibits broken down by themes, like stamps of birds, or by region or period.

Many philatelists say they would never see the collections were they not displayed on the Web. "Some of the stamps on my website are quite valuable," said Ross Taylor, a collector of Victorian stamps who lives on the outskirts of London and maintains a site at imagesoftheworld.org/stamps/stamps.htm. "The stamps are in the bank - and before, I could not even view them unless I took them out of the bank."

While traditional places for collectors, like conventions and stamp shops, still exist, stamp clubs on the Internet are proliferating.

"Basically, you were on your own," said Lloyd A. de Vries, president of the Virtual Stamp Club (virtualstampclub.com), a site for enthusiasts, and secretary of the American Philatelic Society, the nation's largest stamp collecting organization. "I think stamp collecting is growing because in effect we've all suddenly discovered that there are more people like us out there to talk to."

Also gone are the days of cataloging a collection in a tattered spiral notebook. Specialized database software like Stamp Keeper Deluxe, Stamp Collector's Data Base and StampCAT allows philatelists to track their inventory. Some collectors simply turn to commercial databases or spreadsheet applications.

One great challenge for collectors is to identify the lineage of a stamp. Which historical painting was it based on? When was it released, and in what quantity? What variations of the stamp exist, either in denomination or in size? The Web has transformed this arduous research task into one that is usually far more manageable.

"People post images of their stamps and ask others for help to identify the history of a particular stamp," said William F. Sharpe, the secretary of the Philatelic Computing Study Group (pcsg.org), an association dedicated to improving the hobby through computer use. "Newsgroups are another way to gather this information."

Stamp dealers also digitize their collections and post the images on-line or provide catalogues on CDs. But collectors often have to search each dealer's website for a particular stamp, making it a time-consuming process.

Some entrepreneurs, however, are creating searchable databases that include the inventory of as many dealers as are willing to pay to be included. Such portals include Zillions of Stamps, PostBeeld and StampFinder. On-line auctions are increasingly important for buying and selling stamps. While there are many sites that specialize in collectibles, eBay is by far the largest source for stamps, according to stamp enthusiasts. Continue to learn more about Stamp Collecting, please visit Globe Technology.

Third Wave Digital Selected by Smithsonian Institution for Creative Services

The Smithsonian Institution has contracted with Third Wave Digital, an interactive exhibit and digital media creation firm headquartered in Macon, Georgia, to provide creative services for the National Postal Museum’s new web site. The National Postal Museum was created by an agreement between the Smithsonian Institution and the United States Postal Service in 1990.

Third Wave Digital was selected by the Smithsonian Institution to provide educational and entertaining information about postal history and stamp collecting in an intuitive, interactive, on-line format. The finished product also needed to adhere closely to the Smithsonian’s quality standards and be in keeping with the Postal Museum’s overall exhibit quality. Third Wave Digital responded with the development of an interactive, web-based, quiz game. The quiz game, entitled “Postmaster’s Challenge”, presents visitors with a popular game show quiz format complimented by postal images and custom graphics. The “Postmaster’s Challenge” can be played at www.postalmuseum.si.edu under the Activity Zone in the Game Room.

Bruce Falk, is a Smithsonian representative responsible for securing qualified vendors to provide creative services to the National Postal Museum. He first became aware of Third Wave Digital’s work while attending the 2003 American Museum Association’s MUSE awards competition. There, Falk previewed an award-winning web site designed and created by Third Wave Digital. The site, www.museumofaviation.com, won the Golden Muse award in the category of Self-Promotion and was selected over entries submitted from across North America. Falk contacted Third Wave Digital about creating a project with a similar creative flare and technological style. Concerning the final product, Falk said, “Without the full participation of all involved and the willingness and ability of the vendor, this project would not have happened! The Office of Contracting extends its heartfelt congratulations to Third Wave Digital who created this most addictive online trivia game!”

Third Wave Digital’s President, Bart Campione, commented on his company’s involvement in a project of this stature. “Being selected to work with the Smithsonian Institution is a real testament to the creativity and dedication to quality our team has strived for since our first day of operation more than a decade ago,” he said. “We’re pleased and honored to have had the opportunity to collaborate with the Smithsonian on this project.” Continue to learn more about Stamp Collecting, please visit Third Wave Digital.