It was 1975 and my teacher's husband came to school and showed us his stamp collection. I was really impressed
being the nerdy kinda person I was (and still am). I told our friend Kathy Wrights about it and then she brought out her stamp collection
and showed them to me. She had her stamps in mint condition and mounted, without hinges, and the album was so cool. I started collecting
then myself. Unfortunately, being a kid and on an extremely limited budget, I had to make due with used cancelled stamps. These I
put into my Minuteman album with hinges.
As things sometimes do, I always kept my stamp album but packed it away into the top of my closet. Then in the 90s
I decided to get back into it but, this time with only mint condition stamps mounted with Showgard mounts. This lasted a few months
and then once again went forgotten - or at least pushed back to a "I need to get those albums out again" thought that never had a
follow-up.
Then one day perusing eBay I discovered the vast sources of stamps that could fill in my collecting gaps (of
which there are many) for a reasonable price. This time I ditched the Minuteman albums and went with the American Heirloom albums.
These are not too shabby albums that won't break the bank. I've been off and on with the philately since then.
Since that time, I've quit purchasing on eBay and moved to HipStamp. They are much better than eBay and specialize in stamps.
References for the information on this site are many but, the main ones are:
Arago Smithsonian National Postal Museum
Jim's Stamp Album an awesome online stamp album
1847us.com a valuable resource
The Postal Service Guide to US Stamps (various editions).
colnect.com a valuable resource for all stamps US and Worldwide - collection connection
Conversion to BS-V4 Status
Finished - fully converted but still undergoing periodic tweeking and updates.