User talk:Gwillhickers/American History on US Postage Stamps



Comments for 'American History on US Postage Stamps' draft page are welcomed.

Starting the 'American History on US Postage Stamps' page
User: Stan Shebs replied to Gwillhickers on May 10:

Hi, I've actually been pondering this page since you created it, thinking about how it should fit into the system of WP articles. It's a little difficult ...


 * Reply to Stan Shebs:

Hello again Stan,

Thank you for your prompt reply and insights. Yes, I had similar thoughts, reservations even, about introducing such a page.

I certainly would not, and could not, cover all of American history on a page with a philatelic theme as the U.S. stamps issues do not cover this subject topographically in its entirety, but they do cover it in a general fashion, and then some.

Covering a given stamp issue on the history page it corresponded with can only be done to a point as covering the stamp's history, artists, engravers and other related material on a given history page at any length would be venturing away from the historical subject of that page.

Currently there is no page in Wiki, that I know of, that covers the historical (or other) subjects of the stamp issues and the related history of the issue itself. At best, these things are dealt with in a cursory fashion in a manner that a stamp catalog might.

At this point my thoughts are to present the page as a general overview of American History on U.S. stamps where the stamp could appropriately be covered in conjunction with the history of the issue itself. Presently my intention is to cover the historical basics. ie.Columbus, Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War and so forth. Then from there editors could build on this structure with the lesser chapters of history as they occur topographically on the issues.

The page would serve as a reference to collectors and historians who would like to cross reference history and the stamps issues which highlight and/or commemorate the various chapters of history.

The page would also serve as sort of a central link between U.S. stamps and U.S. history, linking up in an unobtrusive manner with the various historically corresponding pages. For example, if one wanted to explore the subject of the American Civil War as it is commemorated on U.S. stamps they would have a reference at hand. They could easily go back and forth from stamp to subject and readily see how history has shaped these particular stamps, as many of the issues have images and various subjects that tie in with that history.

As topographical subjects go, American history is much more than just 'one of the topics' found on postage -- it is the theme that not only pervades most of the issues, it is also the very entity that has determined the government and the national effort that collectively has created these issues.

The page would also serve to bring collectors into the realm of history, and bring historians and those interested into the realm of philately, as both of these things has enhanced the other for myself. With that in mind, I am hoping to get this page launched, hopefully with the blessings and help from fellow collectors and historians of which there seems to be a fair number of here at Wikipedia. -- GWillHickers (talk) 15:37, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

User:Gwillhickers/American History on US Postage Stamps

Just for fun, stamp-wise
Hi! I used to hang out at this site a lot, but the interesting people quit. One popped back in today--can you answer this question? Or maybe you don't like trivia. I find a lot of history buffs do, though. Cheers! Yopienso (talk) 02:45, 26 March 2012 (UTC)
 * Somehow I missed this post. Thanks for the link. Trivia? I suppose it's okay depending on the topic. I will look into it first chance I get. Thanks! -- Gwillhickers (talk) 18:32, 23 April 2012 (UTC)