Ted, I don't recall the group I referenced being associated with UPU or any other official organization. Also, the WADP didn't arrive on the scene until 2002. I may be mistaken, but I thought the group I referenced was at work as early as the 1990s. The newsletters were nothing fancy at all. I kept them for a few years, but eventually discarded them. I should have kept one to help jog my memory!
Edit:
I found a couple of documents on my PC from the late 1990s. The group's acronym was PCSG, but I can't find the full group name and don't recall what that stood for!
"...a Catalog Number System has no meaning without images. In other words, if the PCSG wants to develop a license free Universal Catalog Number System it also has to find a solution for the images to make it a workable identification system."
I decided to focus on Gambia for this next installment, but had forgotten how much experimentation I did with these pages. So this will be the first of two installments showing the progression of the Gambia page designs.
The Gambia album pages were clearly among the very first I worked on and were initially produced for three-ring binders. These first two images are from 1996. They were on the front and back of a sheet of heavy paper I found last week. The original Adobe Pagemaker files for these are probably on one of the old 3½-inch floppy disks still sitting nearby in the bottom of a desk drawer. These pages were created before I ever imagined I might someday be printing with color.
This second set of pages was created in 1998, after I realized personal color printing technology was quickly becoming a reality. This set was also produced for three-ring binders, before I learned about the Lindner T-Blank albums and pages. These were produced with the CorelDraw software and they show I was experimenting with using the Philatelic Computing Study Group’s “Universal Catalog Number System.” That group was never able to finalize that system and disbanded a few years later. It is unfortunate we continue to struggle with multiple stamp numbering systems today.
This image shows the origin of the 1898 Bathurst cancel I used in the design of the page immediately above.
In retrospect, I am amazed by the amount of time I must have devoted to these album pages. However, I do recall how much I enjoyed the digital design, the research and the writing. That was quite a revelation and it changed my life. Gambia part two will follow later.
I intended to mention the rounded corners on those first two Gambia images. I don't remember what prompted me to buy a hand-held tool for cutting the page corners, but it may have been the fact that my old Leuchtturm plastic stock pages had rounded corners that I liked. This tool was much less expensive than the table models, but still does a great job. It's heavy duty, weighing 13 ounces!
Those older Gambia album page examples in my previous post were designed for 3-ring binders, but I was also beginning to work on Lindner T-blank page designs. This was still in the late 1990s. For Gambia, I created a set of 12 pages in CorelDraw that accommodated my collection through the Queen Elizabeth Coronation issue of 1953. These T-blank insert sheets measured 18.5 by 25 centimeters and were inserted behind the T-blank clear pocket portion of the pages. Four digital examples of sheets from that set are presented below. To display these here, I exported the pages from the original CorelDraw files to Photoshop format files and then used Photoshop to superimpose the scans of my stamps onto the digital pages to show how the pages appeared in the album.
The following two test pages were completed after the 12-page set. I was thinking about using these as introductory pages and then reconfiguring and combining the original first two pages into a new page three. This was one of those things that never rose to the top of my extensive to-do list.
This is the medallion I created from the embossed portion of the Queen Victoria stamp design.
Very Impressive album pages. I really like the way you were able to separate the Postmark from the stamp. Is this done by computer using some special program or did you do it the old fashioned way using a camera and photographic filters?
Harry, the postmark was created in Photoshop after scanning the stamp or cover. I've been using Photoshop for many years for various projects and I pulled maybe 15 to 20 postmarks from stamps and covers several years ago. It has been so long that I don't remember the process or specific Photoshop tools I used, but I do remember that experimentation was often necessary because different Photoshop tools worked best on different postmarks. The final step involving manual cleanup to remove noise that Photoshop couldn't filter out. (See the noisy scan of the Gambia 65a surcharge in the second image below.) The key was finding postmarks on brightly colored stamps. The more contrast between the postmark and the stamp, the better.
Something I have never tried is the free http://retroreveal.org/ tool. It often works well in identifying details on stamps, real photo postcards and documents that are otherwise difficult to read. I think this tool would work as well for separating postmarks from the background. There is an "Upload Gallery" in the menu on the tool's home page that may have some useful examples.
Tom
This is what the Bathurst postmark looked like before I adjusted it for use on the album page.
Tom, Thank you for the Information, I Have a Series of Issues that I need to Remove the Base Stamp from the Overprint to illustrate the different Types. The Problem Being the Stamp is Dark Blue and the Overprint Black. I will try the link sometime tonight and see if it works. Again Very Nice Job on those Album Pages and thank you for sharing your knowledge. Harry
Back in the 1980s, I bought a Gambia collection. The collection included a horizontal strip of three Queen Victoria embossed head stamps (Scott 6 and Stanley Gibbons 128). This design quickly became a favorite design of mine. However, I needed to begin disposing of stamps around 2000. I sold the strip of three on eBay in 2001, but still had the high resolution scan. In 2009, I experimented with the prospect of producing a small digital print of that strip to serve as an insert when I was selling higher value Gambia stamps. This original example measured (including the white border) 7-5/8 inches by 4 inches. All other designs that followed were smaller, including a smaller replacement print using this Gambia strip.
I had created other stamp prints in the interim, but it looks like I created this newer Gambia print in 2014. It measures 4¼ inches by 2¼ inches with the white border. Whereas I could print only two of the original prints on a sheet of paper, I could print eight copies of this new print on each sheet.
Given that I was having problems managing color on my computer monitor back when I originally scanned the strip, I don’t really have an accurate record of the original color. Other changes in this newer print included the addition of a faux frame and the gradient shading of the background. I had begun adding the faux frames in 2010 and began experimenting with the gradient shading a few months prior to creating this newer Gambia print.
With only one or two exceptions, these inserts have all been printed on glossy paper. The very early prints were on lighter paper while most prints have been on heavier, higher quality paper. I’ve created nearly 30 of these prints, but only four in the past three years. I’ll post some more later.
Belgian Congo Scott 10. This was another early example of a stamp print, probably also from 2010. It is also another of my favorite stamp designs. This print was probably the first design where I experimented with the gradient shading technique in the background. It was 7 inches by 5 inches and I don’t recall ever actually printing and using it.
Two years later, I produced a smaller version. I added a wide border and used this as a replacement design. The size is approximately 5½ inches by 4¼ inches.
This was another early example of a stamp print, probably also from 2010. It is also another of my favorite stamp designs. This print was probably the first design where I experimented with the gradient shading technique in the background. It was 7 inches by 5 inches and I don’t recall ever actually printing and using it.
Two years later, I produced a smaller version. I added a wide border and used this as a replacement design. The size is approximately 5½ inches by 4¼ inches.
The system wouldn't let me delete the duplicate post.
I produced this Falklands Islands mini print shortly after I listed my very small collection (mostly Scott 65-73, Stanley Gibbons 127-135) at BidStart in 2010. This is Scott 70/Stanley Gibbons 132. I don’t believe I made very many copies of this one. The size was 5½ inches by 4¼ inches. It was probably the first where I tried to create a faux picture frame.
Most of my mini prints were based on single stamps. In 2010, I also created small prints of three interesting postal cards. The print shown here measures about 5½ inches by 4 inches.
This was the only block of four I ever used to create one of these mini prints.
I had created a larger digital collage print using some of the Japan national parks sets and a souvenir sheet back in 2004. It was one of the images that American Philatelist used (in a much reduced size) in my 2011 "The Art of Stamp Collecting" article This mini print was cropped from that original.
This was the only instance, other than the Japan print, where I used part of a commemorative set for one of these prints. This one measures about 5½ inches by 4¼ inches.
Leona, posting your question here in this particular thread probably won't bring many replies. Tere are six different sections here in the forums for posting questions and comments. Most of the requests like yours are in the "Stamp Reviews" section rather than this "Chatter" section. You are more likely to get a response to your question if you start a new discussion in that "Stamp Reviews" section. Also, you are more likely to get help with your question if you include photos. Good luck!
I should have pointed out when I first started posting these mini stamp prints that I made no effort to standardize the print sizes or dimensions. I simply started with the stamp's size and shape, enlarged it in most cases, and then worked on backgrounds, mats and frames independently for each print. Although I've been including actual dimensions here for some of these, all of the JPG images shown here have been reduced from the actual sizes. In other words, there was no master plan. Each has been experimental to some degree. And, with that, here are a few more examples.
Edit to add: The Obock print was actually unused. I created the cancellation from another stamp or possibly a postal card. I don't remember now where it came from, but it seemed like a nice addition to the Obock print.
The following represent the last of these mini stamp prints that I'm posting here. I may have missed one or two, but I have shared most, if not all, of them here.
Comments
http://www.upu.int/en/activities/philately/wns.html
https://www.wnsstamps.post/en
Edit:
I found a couple of documents on my PC from the late 1990s. The group's acronym was PCSG, but I can't find the full group name and don't recall what that stood for!
"...a Catalog Number System has no meaning without images. In other words, if the PCSG wants to develop a license free Universal Catalog Number System it also has to find a solution for the images to make it a workable identification system."
The Gambia album pages were clearly among the very first I worked on and were initially produced for three-ring binders. These first two images are from 1996. They were on the front and back of a sheet of heavy paper I found last week. The original Adobe Pagemaker files for these are probably on one of the old 3½-inch floppy disks still sitting nearby in the bottom of a desk drawer. These pages were created before I ever imagined I might someday be printing with color.
This second set of pages was created in 1998, after I realized personal color printing technology was quickly becoming a reality. This set was also produced for three-ring binders, before I learned about the Lindner T-Blank albums and pages. These were produced with the CorelDraw software and they show I was experimenting with using the Philatelic Computing Study Group’s “Universal Catalog Number System.” That group was never able to finalize that system and disbanded a few years later. It is unfortunate we continue to struggle with multiple stamp numbering systems today.
This image shows the origin of the 1898 Bathurst cancel I used in the design of the page immediately above.
In retrospect, I am amazed by the amount of time I must have devoted to these album pages. However, I do recall how much I enjoyed the digital design, the research and the writing. That was quite a revelation and it changed my life. Gambia part two will follow later.
Tom
The following two test pages were completed after the 12-page set. I was thinking about using these as introductory pages and then reconfiguring and combining the original first two pages into a new page three. This was one of those things that never rose to the top of my extensive to-do list.
This is the medallion I created from the embossed portion of the Queen Victoria stamp design.
Something I have never tried is the free http://retroreveal.org/ tool. It often works well in identifying details on stamps, real photo postcards and documents that are otherwise difficult to read. I think this tool would work as well for separating postmarks from the background. There is an "Upload Gallery" in the menu on the tool's home page that may have some useful examples.
Tom
This is what the Bathurst postmark looked like before I adjusted it for use on the album page.
Again Very Nice Job on those Album Pages and thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Harry
Back in the 1980s, I bought a Gambia collection. The collection included a horizontal strip of three Queen Victoria embossed head stamps (Scott 6 and Stanley Gibbons 128). This design quickly became a favorite design of mine. However, I needed to begin disposing of stamps around 2000. I sold the strip of three on eBay in 2001, but still had the high resolution scan. In 2009, I experimented with the prospect of producing a small digital print of that strip to serve as an insert when I was selling higher value Gambia stamps. This original example measured (including the white border) 7-5/8 inches by 4 inches. All other designs that followed were smaller, including a smaller replacement print using this Gambia strip.
I had created other stamp prints in the interim, but it looks like I created this newer Gambia print in 2014. It measures 4¼ inches by 2¼ inches with the white border. Whereas I could print only two of the original prints on a sheet of paper, I could print eight copies of this new print on each sheet.
Given that I was having problems managing color on my computer monitor back when I originally scanned the strip, I don’t really have an accurate record of the original color. Other changes in this newer print included the addition of a faux frame and the gradient shading of the background. I had begun adding the faux frames in 2010 and began experimenting with the gradient shading a few months prior to creating this newer Gambia print.
With only one or two exceptions, these inserts have all been printed on glossy paper. The very early prints were on lighter paper while most prints have been on heavier, higher quality paper. I’ve created nearly 30 of these prints, but only four in the past three years. I’ll post some more later.
Belgian Congo Scott 10. This was another early example of a stamp print, probably also from 2010. It is also another of my favorite stamp designs. This print was probably the first design where I experimented with the gradient shading technique in the background. It was 7 inches by 5 inches and I don’t recall ever actually printing and using it.
Two years later, I produced a smaller version. I added a wide border and used this as a replacement design. The size is approximately 5½ inches by 4¼ inches.
Two years later, I produced a smaller version. I added a wide border and used this as a replacement design. The size is approximately 5½ inches by 4¼ inches.
I produced this Falklands Islands mini print shortly after I listed my very small collection (mostly Scott 65-73, Stanley Gibbons 127-135) at BidStart in 2010. This is Scott 70/Stanley Gibbons 132. I don’t believe I made very many copies of this one. The size was 5½ inches by 4¼ inches. It was probably the first where I tried to create a faux picture frame.
This was the only block of four I ever used to create one of these mini prints.
I had created a larger digital collage print using some of the Japan national parks sets and a souvenir sheet back in 2004. It was one of the images that American Philatelist used (in a much reduced size) in my 2011 "The Art of Stamp Collecting" article This mini print was cropped from that original.
This was the only instance, other than the Japan print, where I used part of a commemorative set for one of these prints. This one measures about 5½ inches by 4¼ inches.
Edit to add: The Obock print was actually unused. I created the cancellation from another stamp or possibly a postal card. I don't remember now where it came from, but it seemed like a nice addition to the Obock print.
Tom