23-09-2025, 04:24 PM
The participants really enjoyed Paul Fleet’s presentation on topical collecting yesterday! He explained how to get started picking a subject, how to find and research stamps, where to buy stamps, and how to organize them, and how to transform them into a custom album. His handout was very detailed and he brought lots of show and tell items - everything from an accumulation of stamps in an envelope to copies of his custom albums.
One participant has attended the program three times, not because she is a stamp collector, but because she loves the stories. She doesn’t own a computer. She doesn’t have internet at home. She goes to the library three or four times a week to read her email. After Paul’s presentation, she announced she was going to get a computer, and home internet, because then she could do research too.
Paul’s presentation reminded me of the first philatelic presentation I saw during the pandemic. Michele Bresso from the American Topical Association did a presentation on topical collecting for a Women’s Institute virtual group in Hampshire, UK. I had never heard of topical collecting and was captivated. Michele was working on an exhibit on the history of typewriters. She offered to send anyone interested in collecting topicals a gift of stamps from the ATA. I was astonished by the generous size of the envelope of stamps I received. Through Paul I experienced that excitement again yesterday.
Jim Gould brought in a one page topical exhibit on the History of Kingston, and yes, the exhibit included US pre-cancels! Jim succeeded in signing up a new member, and collecting the fee.
Guy Monette told the tale of the 1898 Canadian map stamp, and brought - and demonstrated - his stamp pillow.
The Kingston Stamp Club is putting on quite a show at St Andrew’s by the Lake!
One participant has attended the program three times, not because she is a stamp collector, but because she loves the stories. She doesn’t own a computer. She doesn’t have internet at home. She goes to the library three or four times a week to read her email. After Paul’s presentation, she announced she was going to get a computer, and home internet, because then she could do research too.
Paul’s presentation reminded me of the first philatelic presentation I saw during the pandemic. Michele Bresso from the American Topical Association did a presentation on topical collecting for a Women’s Institute virtual group in Hampshire, UK. I had never heard of topical collecting and was captivated. Michele was working on an exhibit on the history of typewriters. She offered to send anyone interested in collecting topicals a gift of stamps from the ATA. I was astonished by the generous size of the envelope of stamps I received. Through Paul I experienced that excitement again yesterday.
Jim Gould brought in a one page topical exhibit on the History of Kingston, and yes, the exhibit included US pre-cancels! Jim succeeded in signing up a new member, and collecting the fee.
Guy Monette told the tale of the 1898 Canadian map stamp, and brought - and demonstrated - his stamp pillow.
The Kingston Stamp Club is putting on quite a show at St Andrew’s by the Lake!
Janet MacDonald: I found an unexpected love for stamp collecting during a pandemic …