USPS Christmas catalog

My mail of yesterday included a 2018 Christmas catalog of collectors' products offered by the U.S. Postal Service. I buy stamps online from the Stamp Fulfillment Center in Kansas City, MO. a couple of times a year so I am on their mailing list. The USPS used to mail out a quarterly catalog of stamps & philatelic items available, but I have not received one of those for a few years now, so I was surprised to receive this catalog. I have never received a Christmas catalog before. Maybe it is something new.

Graphically, it is nicely done. Lots of lavish color and succinct descriptions of the products which are portrayed as the perfect gifts for a stamp collector. These include note cards, framed stamps, portfolios of special issues, a pop-up book of the dragon stamp issue, sliding scrambler puzzles, t-shirts, calendars featuring stamps, an activity book for kids, first day covers, and Christmas tree ornaments. Not the items I buy, but obviously other people do or catalogs like this would not be published.

I looked for an online version at the USPS site, but couldn't find it. Surely, there is one though and I'll bet the Fulfillment Center would send a hard copy for the asking.

Don

The catalog

 

Cool! I looked on their site also, no luck.

No fair; I want one, too!!!

 

Probably won't happen. The post office marketeers undoubtedly know that you only collect 19th century stuff like newspaper stamps, and, -- chess books.

 

LOL! I am going to call the Postmaster General and tell him I am a friend of <DONSELLOS>. I don't mind a little name-dropping now and again.

Of chess books. I received three in the mail today! My wife was at the store so I was able to sneak them in. I do have to destroy the packaging as she's caught me a few times by looking in the trash.

Of stamp books. I am treating myself to Ashbrook's Special Services for Christmas.

 

Molokai:

A serious chess/philately-related question: Have you ever explored collecting Chess on Stamps? Seem like a natural for you. Do the images of chess boards and pieces on stamps depict classic (what to call them, strategies, moves or positions?), could one tell how the game was progressing by the placement of the pieces? I'm just kind of curious what this theme might offer to a chess aficionado who is also a stamp collector.

Don

 

Hello <DON>, It is a fairly active topical. There are a couple of websites and several books devoted to it. A local fellow did a Chess on Stamps newsletter for some years.

Most of the stamps depict players, some depict famous positions. Many commemorate a tournament or match. There are FDCs and quite a lot of supplementary material - pins and such. Autographs of famous players is also a collectible. I posted a Chess on Stamps thread here some time ago if you want to do a <Search> for it.

 

Molokai:

I did the search and read it. I don't remember it and not surprised that I didn't comment as my knowledge of chess is zero. However, I was impressed with your collecting efforts, both for the books and the stamps. The response to the post also surprised me. It generated a much larger response than anything we are posting these days. Lot more active Exchange then. Interest in the Exchange, apparently, has declined considerable in the last two-three years.

Don