Finally...Cigar Box Time!

At last October's Kingston stamp show I came home with some good buys including a cigar box that I bought from the Kingston Stamp Club consignment table. A quick peek revealed two things: it was quite full, and it had some GOOD stuff inside.

I decided that it would be the denouement of all the baggies and stock pages I had to go through. OK, I have a stock sheet of British Commonwealth and a stock sheet of French colonies to go through still. (I'm angry at the latter because I spent some time last month straightening out in my mind the French colonies: Afrique Occidentale Francaise, Affars and Issas and many, many more, and then that rogue stock sheet found its way to the top of the pile.) So that stock sheet is now officially delayed...

Most of the winter's stamps went to get soaked, sorted, and various dispositions like traders and donations.  The cigar box's turn had finally come! Before the sort began:

I did an initial sort, removing what I didn't want to keep. Then it was time to sort the British Commonwealth, a lot of South Africa, South-West Africa, Mauritius and more that I would be keeping for my collection! Lots of Denmark, Norway and some unusual US. 

I often use a Michaels lap desk for sorting. It has an edge around it and is high enough to reduce neck strain. Before (above) and after (below) - from top left: RSA/SWA, US, Denmark, Norway, everything else and at bottom right British Commonwealth new and B.C. older:

Not to mention the cigar box itself - a real work of art and surprisingly difficult to open. That's probably what kept it safe and sealed all these years until I purchased it for the princely sum of five bucks. I'm not going to count the stamps, nor estimate the number this 'stogie stow' contained. It was a ton o' fun! Thanks to the collector that squirrelled these away and put them on the consignment table!

Stamp Collecting Starter Packs

I'm really enjoying my membership in the North Toronto Stamp Club. And I don't even live in Toronto, north or south! In the March, 2024 NTSC newsletter, this article by Lisa Tam (below) caught my eye. We have several free sidewalk libraries in our neighbourhood, and these stamp collecting starter packs seem to be a good alternative to James Patterson and Dr. Seuss. I got in touch with author Lisa Tam and printed off four of the starter pack backing cards. I also put together four packs' worth of topicals and Canadian stamps for eventual placement in those little wooden repositories.

The finished product (below). I printed Lisa's backing card on paper instead of cardstock. I cut some orange card-stock, and used the clear self-sealing backs to form a four-layered sandwich which I stapled twice at the top. I think this makes a bright-coloured, inviting package:

On yesterday's neighbourhood walk, I 'seeded' the first neighbourhood library. I'll be interested to go on our next walk and see if it's found a new home! 

UPDATE: All four starter packs were taken from the free sidewalk library closest to our house over the past month. I put out about one per week, and the weather didn't allow us to walk for one of those weeks!

Thanks to Lisa for this great idea, and to Jean Wang for not only including in the NTSC newsletter which she edits, but also helping me get the in touch with Lisa for the downloadable pdf to print!