Acid-Free Paper in Stamp Album Pages


Acid-free paper used for stamp album pages. It's something no one in "the good old days" ever concerned themselves with, or even thought about. But most, if not all, commercial stamp album publishers emphasize the necessity of the acid-free paper they use.

Is acid-free paper really needed in stamp albums? Like many things in life, it all depends. It doesn't really matter for most stamp collections unless they're stored in hot, humid locations with very little air circulation. The grandchildren who inherit your stamp collection may notice some darkening on the edges of the pages if you use acid paper, but you'll be long gone before anything bad happens, as long as your collection is properly stored in an appropriate location.

Although damage from acid paper is possible if you store your stamp collection in a hot and humid attic or for long periods of time in a tropical climate without air conditioning, proper storage can usually prevent it. Store your stamp albums vertically (upright), not laying on their side. This allows them to "breathe," with air circulating among the pages. Don't keep your collection anywhere that's hot and humid, or you'll be taking a chance.

Choosing the Best Stamp Album


All right. You've begun your stamp collection, accumulating stamps wherever you find them, and maybe even making a stamp purchase or two. But right now, all your stamps are in a shoebox. What's a new stamp collector to do?

It's true, a shoe box will provide storage. But it's not the safest way to store your stamps, and it's not exactly the way you'd like to display them, either. Shoeboxes hold a ton of stamps, but when you use a shoe box, you run the risk of damaging your stamps: creases, bent corners, perforation damage and the like are all too common in shoebox collections. Your stamps will lose value as well as much of their beauty. Stamp albums are the solution, providing safe storage as well as a beautiful way to present your stamp collection.

Many types of stamp albums are available. You can begin with a "beginner's stamp album," but you don't need to stick with it forever: if you and your stamp collection require it, you can graduate from a beginner album to a nicer, more comprehensive stamp album. Your beginner stamp album may even consist of homemade album pages in a spiral or three-ring binder, but we suggest one of the albums printed by commercial album publishers: the paper used for the album pages is heavier in weight and better able to support the stamps without ripping, tearing or becoming dog-eared.

If you're buying a commercially-made stamp album, don't be misled by claims that any particular stamp album is "the best:" what's best for you may be a lot different from what might be best for a very advanced stamp collector. Good but inexpensive beginner stamp albums are available; most feature stamp illustrations to show you where to mount the stamps, and some even provide additional information about the stamps.

Keep in mind, while selecting a stamp album, that some types may present problems. The most notable of these problems is caused by double-sided album pages, meaning albums where stamps are intended to be mounted on both sides of each page, front and back. When the album is closed, the stamps on the front of one page have a tendency to become tangled with the stamps on the back of the facing page, and they may even tear off the page when pages are turned or the book is opened or closed. It's best to buy a stamp album designed for stamps to only be mounted on one side of each page. But these can be more expensive, so you may be forced to use a doubled-sided album for your collection. If that's the case, invest in some good-quality interleaving or plastic sheet protectors: they'll prevent stamps from tangling.

Your stamp album should consist of quality, fairly heavyweight, acid-free paper: flimsy paper just will not stand up, and an album made of lightweight pages will end up not being a whole lot better than a shoebox. If you have a specialty stamp collection or you just don't like the way commercially-printed stamp albums look, you can make your own stamp album pages, but make sure you use acid-free paper to protect your stamps from discoloration caused by chemicals in the paper itself.

Choosing the best stamp album is an individual decision, and you're the only person who can decide which one is best for you. But think before you buy, don't jump at the first album you see. But don't be too concerned if you make the wrong decision or if you decide to "upgrade" later - you can always use your album for temporary storage or for storing your duplicate stamps. Any stamp album is better than a shoebox!

Glassine Envelopes (or just "Glassines")


Glassine envelopes are an invaluable, indispensable tool for stamp collectors. Glassine is a thin, lightweight, semi-transparent or translucent paper-type material which is fairly resistant to moisture. It's used in stamp hinges and in glassine envelopes, and unlike regular paper, it contains no chemicals that would harm stamps.

Glassine envelopes are inexpensive, widely available from stamp suppliers and come in a wide variety of sizes. Sizes range from small enough to only hold a few stamps all the way up to large enough to hold booklets, covers and many souvenir sheets. Books made of glassine leaves are also available to store full sheets of stamps. Because glassine is semi-transparent, you can see what's inside without needing to take your stamps out of their glassines.

Along with stock pages or stock books (some of which incorporate glassine pockets and/or interleaving into their design), glassine envelopes are a great way to store stamps until they're mounted onto the pages of your stamp albums, although it's not recommended to leave them in glassines for, say, 50 years.

Taking Proper Care of Your Stamp Collection

There are a number of different ways that you can use to store or display your stamps. These methods include:

stamp albums
stock books or stock pages
envelopes
boxes (the famous shoebox, not recommended!)

We recommend that you use either stamp albums or stock books/pages.

Loose stamps are very fragile and they are too easily damaged in envelopes or boxes. If you do choose to use envelopes, you should use paper envelopes of archival quality to avoid problems. Glassine envelopes are ok for very short-term storage but they are not intended for long-term use and will eventually damage stamps.

But no matter how you keep your stamps, they should always be stored in a way that protects them from excessive heat and humidity. This means keeping your stamps in an air conditioned environment during hot weather. You may also want to consider de-humidifying the air if humidity is high.

Stamps also should always be protected from direct sunlight - strong sunlight can cause colors to fade.

Excessive heat - whether it originates from strong sunlight or the room is just too hot - can cause softening of the gum on stamps. This sometimes results in a stamp "licking itself" to whatever is beneath it. Heat can also cause other damage to the gum.

Albums, stock books and stock pages should always be stored upright (not flat and horizontal) as the weight of the pages can also cause stamps to stick down. Leaf through the pages of your stamp albums and stock books from time to time - this "airs out" the stamps and is very healthy for them.

Generally, you should use album pages that are designed for stamps to be mounted or hinged on only one side, not both sides. When stamps are mounted on both sides of an album page, they sometimes "grab" each other and become torn or dislodged when pages are turned.

Don't drink any kind of liquid - water, coffee, soft drinks, etc - when near your stamps. Liquids are the enemies of stamps, especially mint stamps. Any sort of liquid will either damage or entirely remove the gum from a mint stamp.