Getting a kick out of a souvenir sheet that pokes fun at some collectors: U.S. Stamp Notes

by John M. Hotchner

I do not understand the lure of perfect gum on the side of the stamp that is not seen when stamps are put on album pages.

As collectors, we all get to set our own collecting standards, and I honor those for whom pristine gum is important. I just don’t understand paying a huge premium for the privilege. 

So, I got quite a chuckle out of the Nashua (New Hampshire) Philatelic Society’s 1981 exposition souvenir sheet making fun of the “full original gum” quest.

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The small print under the genuine original gum sample reads, “Although most philatelists think GUM’s purpose is to attach postage stamps to mail, unhinged collectors and dealers know better. Here is GUM for all to admire, freed at last from the encumbrances of a postage stamp!” 

This is one of a series of Nashua Philatelic Society humorous souvenir sheets. All four that I have found are from the 1980s, between 1981 and 1987. There must be more from those years, and I hope from beyond 1987.

Related posts:

Postage stamp gum – a very sticky subject

Self-adhesive stamp revolution sweeps world

Say goodbye to the lick-and-stick U.S. stamp