Beyond The Scott Catalogue
By James Lee

Many collectors and specialists overlook what I consider to be the backbone of a solid philatelic library: auction catalogs, periodicals and journals. Long considered by some to be the orphans of philatelic literature due to their bulk and or magazine type format, they can be the most important facet of your library when it comes to researching your area of interest.

Before, I purchased my first cover in 1978 for my one cent 1861-67 postal history collection I had spent years assembling runs of Siegel and John Fox auction catalogs. These runs proved invaluable when I outlined what I wanted to include in my collection. Hours were spent going through the catalogs looking for examples of usages that I wanted for my collection. Over 80% of what I wanted for my exhibit was illustrated in these sales. Over the past 20 years I have been able to assemble over 200 covers for my collection and have acquired all but seven of the 140 covers that I had initially targeted.

Without the aid of the auction catalogs I would have never known the population of what I wanted to collect. Another benefit was the information provided by the prices realized which helped in establishing value when it came time to buy an item.

Periodicals and journals serve to provide a valuable resource for information about the area you want to collect. Remember, books have not been written about every topic and new information is constantly coming to light. Periodical and journal runs can be expensive so the next best thing is to acquire a copy of the index. As an example the U.S. Philatelic Classic Society's journal, "The Chronicle", has been indexed twice and a third is in the works. By using the index you can home in on the issues of interest and acquire them from the society or your favorite literature dealer.

Periodicals like Linn's, Stamp Collector and The American Philatelist are also an ongoing source of articles. The problem with journals and periodicals for most collectors is that they seem to spawn over the years and create large piles around the house. I suggest that you create a clipping file by subject. This will organize the information that you want to keep and reduce the stacks to the contents of a two-drawer file cabinet. This approach has also been known to save a marriage or two over the years!

If you are an APS member, the American Philatelic Research Library and its staff in State College, PA are a wonderful resource to be used.

When the light bulb goes on and the lightning bolt strikes with an idea for a new collection, contact your literature dealer first. I have provided numerous clients over the years with bibliographies for potential new collecting areas followed by the books, auction catalogs, periodicals and journals.

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