Rectangles and squares of colors floated in our bathroom sink while a pair of tweezers placed on the sink waited for the glue to be released from the torn corner of the envelopes so that the stamp could be removed.
I would stand by the sink watching all the muted colors and images swirl around and around as my hand gently moved the water back and forth, thinking the motion made the glue dissolve faster.
As the glue dissolved I would take the tweezers and cautiously grab the corner of the stamp pulling the stamp off of the envelope corner, and placing the stamp face down on the edge of our porcelain sink to dry.
Perhaps this started my love of ephemera. I recently found two small stamp books that my father gave me when I was young to store my stamps inside.
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| I believe I was around seven years old when my father gave me these two booklets to store my stamps in. |
Each of these stamps helped carry a message to someone, a bill, an announcement, a friendly letter, or perhaps unfortunate news. No matter what was inside the envelope, because of these beautiful stamps the letter arrived.
This phase of stamp collecting didn't last long in my young life, but I am so grateful that my father gave me the opportunity to try.
Finding these two stamp booklets brought back sweet memories, and has given me the idea to introduce stamp collecting to my grandchildren.
What were some of the things you collected as a child that you still have today, I'd love to hear about your collections.
Hello Paulette. I have got my late brothers stamp album though I was never particularly interested myself as a child. It is fascinating going through it!
ReplyDeleteI read and collected Nancy Drew novels. I still have them, too. I also had a very small doll collection. My dad traveled overseas for business occasionally and would bring me a doll from each country he visited. That collection is somewhere in my house stored in my great grandmother's tiny black suitcase. Time to find it!
ReplyDeleteYou stamp books have little pockets. I had a collection of 4 in dolls that could be won on a punch board for only a quarter. It was an extra way of making a profit for the drive in that my parents owned. I have five of those dolls at one time but only have 3 left.
ReplyDeleteI've always been fascinated by unusual stones; a hobby that was shared by my Granny. I still have the stone we found in the 'crick' that was the exact shape and colour (though not weight!) of a brown hen's egg.
ReplyDeleteThanks for bringing back a happy memory!