Daily Thoughts 8/27/2009

Chart showing dissemination to the White House, State Department and Attorney General of dozens of secret FBI memos and reports on Alger Hiss, beginning with the report on the Hatch Act investigation of Hiss in 1942 and running through Hiss' resignation from the State Department in January 1947. Federal Bureau of Investigation: J. Edgar Hoover, Official and Confidential file #34 (FBI Reading Room, J. Edgar Hoover Building, 935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20004)

Daily Thoughts 8/27/2009

I took some time to go to the main library of the Queens Public Library to look at the Scott 2010 Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue. I had received a number of volumes of stamp books which were sent to me by my family. So, I spent several hours going through the multi-volume set looking at stamps to see if any of them were valuable. Very few of them were. Some of them cost as much as $2 each. So, they were not particularly valuable. But, they were fun to look at. There were stamps from lots of recognizable countries like Afghanistan, Togo, The Congo, The Cayman Islands, the United States, Canada, Germany, China, Monaco, Japan, and many other places. In addition, there were a few stamps from the Sheikdom of Sharjah, Umm Al Qiwain and Reunion three places I had never heard of. It was entertaining. Reunion is an island off of Madagascar. Prices are not listed in the Scott catalog. There are so many obscure countries in the world today.

It was very much like searching for a mythical pot of gold. I am not quite sure what to do with some of the stamps. I am wondering if I should just lock them in a closet somewhere or try and find someone who will trade them for comic books. Price guides are often inaccurate. They don't reflect what is often hard to find properly. I have spent quite a bit of time looking at The Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, 39th Edition. The comic book price guide misses many of the underground comics and independent comics. It also does not cover fanzines very well. Still it is the standard guide. It is kind of fun doing this. It appeals to minutiae.

There are so many different catalogs of antiques produced by a variety of companies. The two big catalog producers that are most popular are Warman's and Kovel's. Nostalgia has its place. It is fun to remember childhood sometimes. Unfortunately, real antiques are well outside my price range and I am not that fond of the kitsch you often find at garage sales and flea markets.

I am still reading my books each day.