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.

Postage stamps have evolved quite a bit since Great Britain’s 1840 Penny Black, the world’s first adhesive postage stamp. From simple designs featuring the monarch to works of art literally condensed to postage stamp size, hundreds of thousands of different stamps have been issued in the past 164 years—and the great majority of them remain reasonably priced for collectors. With so many stamps to collect from so many countries, a philatelist’s choices are virtually unlimited--which can be both a blessing and a curse, especially if you’re a newcomer to the art of stamp collecting. Interested in starting a stamp collection, but not sure where to begin? This is the guide for you. Expert Richard Sine fills you in on everything you need to know about selecting, finding, buying, presenting and caring for stamps. An internationally recognized collector and author on stamp collecting (he used to write the New York Times stamp column) he also has much wisdom to impart to collectors who’ve been at it for a while. A gold mine of expert advice and guidance, Stamp Collecting For Dummies is on how to: Start or diversify your collection Decide what to collect Catalog and organize your collection Handle, protect, store, and display stamps Identify rare and valuable stamps Buy stamps online and through auction houses Unlike most authors on the subject who tend to be pretty stuffy—to put it politely—expert Richard Sine focuses on the side of stamp collecting that’s enjoyable, educational, and fun. With humor, tons of interesting anecdotes about stamps and the men and women who love them, and loads of insider tips, he covers all the bases, including: Getting the biggest bang for you stamp-collecting buck Researching, locating and buying stamps through traditional sources and online Showing off your collection at exhibits Customizing your collection Housing your stamps and protecting them against the elements The ten keys to identifying and authenticating stamps Stamp Collecting For Dummies is your total guide to starting and building on a really cool stamp collection.

"This volume samples the history of art about fossils-and the visual conceptualization of their significance-starting with biblical and mythological depictions, extending to renditions of ancient life in long-vanished habitats, and on to a modern understanding that paleoart conveys lessons for the betterment of the human condition. Twenty-nine chapters illustrate how art about fossils has come to be a significant teaching tool not only about evolution of past life, but also about conservation of our planet for the benefit of future generations"--

A complete, illustrated guide to stamp collecting covers every aspect of collecting and trading postage stamps, from how to start a collection, to how to buy and sell, to insuring one's collection, and discusses the history of philately, worldwide sources of stamps, and helpful listings of dealer associations, clubs, shows, museums, and more. Original.

Many important editorial changes enhance the '2016 Scott specialized catalogue of United States stamps and covers'.

A perfect introduction for novices — and fun for all! — this mega-set provides everything a beginner needs: an illustrated album with room for over 1,000 stamps; a guide booklet that explains how to build and care for a collection; a catalog listing hundreds of historic stamps available for purchase; a magnifying glass; adhesive hinges for mounting stamps; and a starter pack of 25 real U.S. postage stamps.

Hunters, collectors, conservationists and art lovers will all want this book on their shelves. Dolin's research skills and Dumaine's knowledge of the stamp market come together perfectly to detail the history and collector values of the Federal Duck Stamp. With Everything from production figures and collector values to little-known facts that have remained buried for decades, Dolin and Dumaine show readers that the Duck Stamp program is not only one of the best conservation programmes in the world, it is also the richest art contest. This book crosses the boundaries of collecting, conservation, art and history. It will become the standard by which other books are judged.

The take-it-with-you collecting resource! At last, a guide you can really carry along to estate sales, garage sales, and flea markets, containing 1,000 color photographs and current pricing to make on-the-spot appraisals easy. • New to this edition! Feature chapters on Christmas stamps and Error stamps • 1,000 detailed color photos • Listings for all 4,250+ U.S. regular-issue and Airmail stamps from 1847-2010 • Accurate prices in Unused and Used condition • State-of-the-market report and advice on beginning a collection, including where to find stamps, judging quality, grading, and handling and storage About the Author Maurice D. Wozniak has been collecting stamps since the mid-1950s. After a 30-year career as a reporter and editor on metropolitan daily newspapers, Wozniak served for seven years as editor of the weekly Stamp Collector and The Stamp Wholesaler publications and Minkus catalogs for stamp collectors. He is currently president of the Wisconsin Federation of Stamp Clubs, an umbrella group of 30 clubs in the philatelic hobby, and a member of the American Philatelic Society and the Central Wisconsin Stamp Club. He is a freelance magazine writer on stamp collecting subjects.

Gahl Sasson's second book, Cosmic Navigator, is like a GPS for the soul. It combines Astrology, the map of where and who we are, with Kabbalah the navigation system that tells us how to get to our goal and avoid those traffic patterns and areas of gridlock in our lives. This three part text is the first book of its kind. Not only is it the first book to use Astrology as a resource for self help, it also weds the wisdom of ancient Kabbalisitic truths with the powerful archetypes of the zodiac to help you improve and change your life. The first part of the book introduces the basic concepts of Kabbalah and Astrology and how they work together. The second part teaches you how to interpret your own astrological chart as the road map of your life. The third and final part of the book, which is based on Gahl's twelve week workshop, walks the reader through the twelve signs and teaches them how to use each one to bring balance and success into their lives. Is your love life in need of more passion? Turn to the chapter on Scorpio and learn how to invoke that sexual mysterious energy. Do you need to be more assertive at work? Turn to the chapter on Aries and discover your inner warrior. Unlike other astrology books that simply offer stereotypical profiles, Cosmic Navigator teaches us how to take control of our astrological destinies.

The prehistory of modern passport and identification technologies: the documents, seals, and stamps, that could document and transform their owner's identity. Who are you? And how can you prove it? How were individuals described and identified in the centuries before photography and fingerprinting, in a world without centralized administrations, where names and addresses were constantly changing? In Who are You?, Valentin Groebner traces the early modern European history of identification practices and identity papers. The documents, seals, stamps, and signatures were--and are--powerful tools that created the double of a person in writ and bore the indelible signs of bureaucratic authenticity. Ultimately, as Groebner lucidly explains, they revealed as much about their makers' illusory fantasies as they did about their bearers' actual identity. The bureaucratic desire to register and control the population created, from the sixteenth century onward, an intricate administrative system for tracking individual identities. Most important, the proof of one's identity was intimately linked and determined by the identification papers the authorities demanded and endlessly supplied. Ironically, these papers and practices gave birth to two uncanny doppelg ngers of administrative identity procedures: the spy who craftily forged official documents and passports, and the impostor who dissimulated and mimed any individual he so desired. Through careful research and powerful narrative, Groebner recounts the complicated and bizarre stories of the many ways in which identities were stolen, created, and doubled. Groebner argues that identity papers cannot be interpreted literally as pure and simple documents. They are themselves pieces of history, histories of individuals and individuality, papers that both document and transform their owner's identity--whether carried by Renaissance vagrants and gypsies or the illegal immigrants of today who remain "sans papier," without papers.