This is a guide to the collection and study of postage stamps and related materials such as stamp dealers, stamp auction, and more.

The most comprehensive introduction and guide to collecting U.S. stamps ever written. It opens the hobby to a new generation of collectors, and serves as a treasured reference for established ones. This book, which supplements and transcends a catalog, provides the reader with a vast array of information about United States stamps, as well as many practical tips and suggestions for collecting them. There s over 300 years of American history carefully written and designed to appeal to collectors of all ages, and levels of interest. Kirk House Publishers is pleased to present this unique resource as a salute to these fascinating and highly collectible tiny pieces of paper and to the men and women who collect them.

Discusses where and how to obtain stamps; tools, accessories, catalogues, and albums; identification of stamps; and the history of stamps. Includes a dictionary of terms.

For those who have inherited a stamp collection, want to start a collection, also for an advanced collector, beginning stamp dealer, advanced stamp dealer or wish to know if they have a one million dollar stamp in their collection -- Amazon.com.

Topical Adventures explores the spectrum of topical and thematic stamp collecting and exhibiting. The book is the 168th handbook produced by the American Topical Association, the largest organization in the world for topical stamp collectors and the foremost resource for information on all aspects of topical and thematic collecting. While many of ATA's books are tailored to specific topics, this is a general reference work designed to help a new topical collector get started, or provide a handy review for more experienced collectors when they are working on a project.Topical Adventures is organized into 8 concise chapters and is fully illustrated in color throughout the book. Sprinkled throughout Topical Adventures are vignettes from collectors on virtually every aspect of topical collecting and exhibiting. This organization makes the book easy to read and share. Written and edited by many accomplished topicalists, this book will be a useful to addition to any collector's library. Topical Adventures is a convenient reference collectors of all ages and experience levels will want to have as you acquire, store, display and exhibit your collection.

DISCOVER THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF AMERICA THROUGH ITS BEAUTIFUL AND DIVERSE POSTAGE STAMPS IN THIS EXUBERANT AND ALWAYS CHARMING HISTORY. In A History of America in Thirty-six Postage Stamps, Chris West explores America's own rich philatelic history. From George Washington's dour gaze to the charging buffalo of the western frontier and Lindbergh's soaring biplane, American stamps are a vivid window into our country's extraordinary and distinctive past. With the always accessible and spirited West as your guide, discover the remarkable breadth of America's short history through a fresh lens. On their own, stamps can be curiosities, even artistic marvels; in this book, stamps become a window into the larger sweep of history.

From America's leading experts, your ultimate Guide to Stamp Collecting Whether you've always wanted to start a stamp collection or already have the beginnings of one, this is the definitive guide to becoming a smart and savvy stamp collector, with information on everything from the history of stamps to surprising celebrity philatelists to the best way to remove stamps from envelopes. You'll receive priceless expert advice on: Finding and identifying stamps Caring for and exhibiting your collection Understanding collecting terms Verifying authenticity Using internet resources And much more!

In September 1847 coloured squares of paper were stuck to envelopes and used to send out admission cards to a fancy-dress ball on the tropical island of Mauritius. No-one at the party would have guessed that the envelopes bearing these stamps would one day be worth more than a million dollars. When a two pence 'Blue Mauritius' surfaced on the fledgling French stamp-collecting market in 1865 it gained instant celebrity. Then in 1903, when a perfect specimen, discovered in a childhood album, was bought at auction by the Prince of Wales, the Blue Mauritius gained super-star status. Even now, the stamps of 'Post Office Mauritius' remain synonymous with fame, wealth and mystery. Helen Morgan tells the fascinating story of the most coveted scraps of paper in existence, from Mauritius' Port Louis to Bordeaux, India and Great Britain, Switzerland and Japan, into the fantasies and imagination of stamp collectors everywhere.