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About Ruskystamps
I
have had an interest in philately since I was a young
boy. Since 1992, I have been involved with a children's
charity with projects in Eastern Europe, including
Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, Romania, Russia, Ukraine and other countries of
the Former Soviet Union. As a result, I have become quite interested in 'most
things Russian/Soviet'.
A few years ago I started to collect Russian stamps
during my travels, and this has now become an on/off
interest of mine, buying through eBay but also street markets in
Kiev (Ukraine), Bucharest (Romania), etc. Overseas charity colleagues also collect for me.
My
'Perfect' Album
I wanted to eventually house all my stamps in a
one-country album system, rather than a stock book -
covering the Empire and Soviet Periods to 1991 - the
periods which most interested me, and especially what I will
call 'CLASSIC RUSSIA' from
1858-1959. What I wanted was an
album system which provided generous bordered spaces for
ALL
the stamps actually numbered in the Stanley Gibbons
Russia 5th Edition specialised
catalogue.
By the way, the new
Stanley Gibbons Russia 6th Edition
catalogue is now available - our colour Ruskystamps advert
is on the first page listing Russian
stamps - alongside the Russia #1
1858 Issue!
This meant covering stamp numbers SG1 -
SG6310 (including the 'A' and 'B' perf./ imperf.
types, miniature sheets etc). Most of the commercial
albums I considered did not cover this range - they were
TOO MINIMAL. My 'perfect' album would therefore still be
MUCH MORE INCLUSIVE compared to, for example,
Russian stamp listings in the American Scott catalogue
and Minkus, Davo, Lighthouse, Lindner Safe, Scott, KA-BE
Marino, Schaubek albums etc.
Individual Stamp Titles
In
addition to stamp set headings, I also
wanted TITLES TO INDIVIDUAL STAMPS, although I knew that this would mean a lot more
pages, with much less cramped page layouts than one
finds in the
mainstream commercial albums. Individual stamp
titles makes page browsing much more interesting and
helps to tell a more complete country and stamp history
- the Ruskystamps album includes some snippets of
interesting Russian and stamp history in the run of pages.
The Ruskystamps album places more emphasis on display
and information. All bordered boxes in a stamp set are
nicely spaced (wherever practical) to avoid overlapping of mounts, as well as
having an aesthetically pleasing presentation.
Proper
Album Sized Pages
I wanted a reasonably detailed album
printed on PROPER SIZED ALBUM
PAGES (i.e. larger than A4
or American Letter) but I was NOT interested in it including every stamp variation (e.g. colours, papers,
numerous perfs, faults, etc) that exist. I will never be
able to afford to buy these exotics - besides this, for
me, would mean crossing over from 'hobby' to
'addiction'. However, for those who want additional
pages for variations, we can oblige with blank 'matching
design' pages with the USSR crest.
* Pages are 240mm x 282mm with the exception of
EXPORT pages - this newly introduced range are aimed
at the US/Canada market - the pages are guillotined to
8.5" x 11" American Letter size and punched with 3 Holes
to suit most binders easily available in North America
etc.
DIY
Having researched all the commercial and one
privately-produced illustrated album options, I just
couldn't find what I was looking for - quite frankly
they all left a lot to be desired!!
In the end, I decided to produce my own album
using professional QUARK XPRESS
DTP software which I used when I ran a small publishing business.
If you are looking for a truly
superb quality Russia Stamp Album
but at a very
affordable price...this is it? Your
Soviet Russian stamps (becoming
quite sought after,
especially by Russian collectors)
deserve the best!
Page Sets
What I loosely (non-technically)
call the 'Classic'
period
1858-1959, I think covers by far the most attractive and interesting
of Russian stamps, and we offer this page year set as an
excellent starter set. Other page
sets to 1991, the end of the USSR,
are also available in sets at
attractive
prices. All page sets can be purchased via this
website by downloading our Order
Form and paying through PayPal or
easier still, through our
eBay
Store. Prices have been kept as low as possible
bearing in mind that this is
NOT my full time job, or a
commercial business, just a
'slightly paying' hobby!
Charity Donations With effect from 1 Jan 2006, 10% of all gross turnover from
sales of Ruskystamps album pages
with be given to support needy
children. These donations will be
channelled through a number of
Christian non-profit
charities (UK
and overseas) that I have personal
connections with (this is my full
time job!).
David Farndale
I have to confess
at also being interested in Russia
generally - you may be interested in
some of the following:
(click
on logo)
POBEDITELI
(ПОБЕДИТЕЛИ)
- a free and
non-profit Russian website project with the goal of
congratulating those who won the
Great Patriotic War (The Great
War) for the
Soviet Union. The project is aimed
at reminding people of what they
owe, to the soldiers in the past who
fought for Russia, and the deserved
recognition of surviving veterans
living today. It contains a
multimedia flash presentation of the
Eastern Front beginning from when
Germany declared war on the
USSR, and ending when Soviet and
Allied troops liberated
Berlin, marking the end of the
war in Europe.
Soldiers of
The Great Patriotic War - A must visit & A
Great Victory for Soviet Union!!
Page Last Updated
26/04/2009 |
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