I am not certain how available I will be as the weekend goes on, but I wanted to participate. So, here's an opener.
The US 1861 issue has attracted most of my collecting attention - so it isn't a surprise that I picked up a few 1 cent Drop Letters, etc. Essentially, a drop letter is an item dropped at the post office to be picked up by the recipient at the post office.
I don't recall buying this particular cover and I know it didn't cost me much at all. It's clean enough but nothing about it caught too much attention, so I sat on it for a while before researching it. Of course, I wanted to learn about Fairfield Seminary and you can see the results of my efforts on the page below:
I don't think it's that I regret the change in some of these cases. It's more that I feel like the past is deserving of some place in memory and I wonder if things like this are properly noted in some fashion. I guess that is part of why I am a postal historian (of sorts).
The wind came howling through Iowa today and I decided it was not a good day to be working outside. While I am glad that I am entering the 'off-season' on the farm, there are days when I actually miss walking behind the wheel hoe.
For those who do not know, a wheel hoe is a two-handled tool that has some sort of cultivating blade. The back of the top cover shows five people using two-wheeled wheel hoes to cultivate on either side of a crop.
Some of my best days on the farm have been those where the weather was not too windy and the soil was JUST RIGHT for cultivation. Wheel hoe work can be mildly strenuous, but not so much that it can't also be pleasant. You can listen to nature - or listen to music - or just be alone with your thoughts. All the while, you're getting real work done.
The soil and steel have a sound and a feel on days like this that is soothing. Sometimes you walk close enough to the crop that your leg brushes against its leaves. And, if you're lucky, that crop is basil (ok, you're lucky if you LIKE the smell of basil). Maybe a butterfly will land on the bill of your cap. The iced tea in the thermos tastes especially good and a little bit of sweat tells you that you're earning your keep. The 'cucumber frog' jumps out just in time to startle you a little bit and you notice a new hatching of lady beetles. It looks like the green beans will have their first picking by next week - our favorite veggie. Lightly steamed with some real butter. We've worked out here long enough. Maybe we'll just pick a potfull of beans even if they're a little small and go cook them up now.
The wooden pencil.
All I have to do is look at this cover and I can hear the sound of the pencil sharpener at the elementary school when I was a student there. I remember that there were times we would line up to take a turn sharpening pencils and I remember working desparately hard to use up every tiny bit of each pencil...
And, what good is a wooden pencil without one of those nice big rubber erasers? There wasn't a 'backspace' key to hit that made what you wrote go away when you made a mistake. A few seconds of scrubbing on the paper and you'd have all of these pills of eraser stubble that you could sweep off the desk with one quick swipe of the hand. But, oh, the frustration when you were overly aggressive with that eraser. A hole in the paper or perhaps the whole thing wrinkles up and then tears - ugh!
There were some moments in the classroom where everyone was pretty mellow and calm. Everyone was working on something and no one seemed inclinded to make a ruckus. I remember some of those times putting my head down on the desk next to whatever I was working on. There is a certain feel and smell that goes along with wooden flip top desks, paper, pencils and erasers. I realize only kids can do this because it requires a certain amound of flexibility and a ridiculous ability to see things a couple of inches from your face. But, the odd thing about it was that doing this had the odd effect of making you feel a bit like you had your own space, even though you were in a room with 23 other students and a teacher.
There you are - my Friday offering for the subject.
Thanks for starting us\off, Rob.
Remember everyone, that this is a broad topic. Evocative items can be like, well, here 's one example...
I was at Natstamp 98 in Canberra, not as an exhibitor, as my New Hebrides was then only two frames so I was not able to show at national class level. In fact I hadn't even exhibited then. I was looking through a Portland, OR dealers' stock, at a 1941 France Libre overprint cover and my friend Hubert said, "Don't buy that. I can sell you one for cheaper." So I spent my money on a nice Meister cover instead (and it still has a place in my exhibit).
Here is the 1941 France Libre overprint cover that Hubert sold me.
In early 2000 I had connected with another New Hebrides collector. We were each excited to find that we both has a Stolow cover. One was with British CDS and the other French. It soon became obvious to us both that there were more Stolow covers out there.
I saw an overprint cover on eBay addressed to Bayer, so I decided to "upgrade". It was my first manual snipe.
As you may guess, Bayer covers were just as plentiful as Stolow covers. When it comes to the first 3 overprint values on cover, the New Hebrides websiter shows 16 Stolow Covers and 18 Bayer covers, as well as covers to other New York dealers.
My current exhibitable cover of the first 3 overprints is below.
What has all this got to do with "evocative" you ask. Well, I found this cover last week and it evoked a lot of stuff, including the New Hebrides experiences explained previously.
An article was published in Linns Stamp News in 1999. It was to do with SIGCC "certificates" on eBay. Their origin was traced to Gregory Stolow of the J. and H. Stolow family of stamp dealers.
This cinderella takes me back to the days of my youth (early 1960's)
where my hard earned allowance was spent (wasted?) on comic books,
Aurora Monster kits and my favorite waste of money... Mad Magazine!
Can’t resist . . . non-stamp post here.
I blame oggilby! He started it!!
