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Hi,

I am shifting my stamp collection to a different apartment and need some suggestion on setting up my stamp desk.

Will a 4 ft x 2 ft table be sufficient for the deskwork? What kind of lights should I use?

I will use a cabinet to house the albums and stockbooks. If you show your stamp desk may be I will get some ideas.

Thanks!

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Always looking for Mint Definitive Sets, UPU 1949 stuffs and Socked on Nose cancellations

If you plan to have a catalog (or 2) open while you're working, then I doubt if 2' x 4' will be enough. Catalogs tend to have small print, and require the lion's share of the available lighting. But so does your album.

As for lighting, I always wanted a draftsman's lamp that adjusts up and down, and side to side, and takes a 100w bulb without catching on fire. But I never had one.



Big old-time wooden desks often had a hidden shelf, directly over the top drawers on each side, that would pull straight out and provide additional work surface.

Do you mean something like this?

I restored this old typewriter desk from the 30's or 40's where the working surface could be lifted up to reveal a typewriter and the sides extended outwards to create additional workspace. It had formerly resided in a workshop covered in grease and paint.

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Anyone else accumulating NWPI material for research?

Someplace close to a large window, natural light is very valuable for shades and watermarks, as well as checking for possible reperforations.

My pleasure. For $100 an hour I can come and consult in person for your stamp room, using my patented and time-tested stamp filing systems and methods.

As I have posted here before -

http://www.stampboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=3636

Over-neatness is never a good idea.

A certain amount of chaos always keeps life interesting.

Well it has for me over 30 years.

Glen

Glen wrote:

"Over-neatness is never a good idea.
A certain amount of chaos always keeps life interesting."

Now I understand why you occasionally can't find something that a customer ordered.

And I thought I was messy!

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Cheers,
Ian

Interesting TV show you were watching in the 3rd picture down Glen.

D.

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Visit my Website - http://WWW.DJMSTAMPS.COM for Australia & World Stamps, Collections and Accessories

It will seem an obvious point, but keep in mind if you're left or right-handed. Thus you'll want 'elbow-room' when handling tongs, and if you're going to work with a catalogue open beside you, think which way you want to look at it from, thus leave space clear for the book on that side.

(As a 'leftie', it would drive me crazy that some lecture rooms at my uni, with those built-in flip-top desktops on the chairs, only had writing surfaces placed on the right side of the chair. The big lecture halls would have the column of seats on the far left against the aisle fitted with 'leftie' desks--the most annoying, and downright stupid--thing would be to see some right-handed boob sitting in one of those seats, inconveniencing their writing ability. 200 seats to choose from, and they take one of only 10 that I can use. )

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Collecting Mongolia; Thailand; Indo-China; Mourning Covers; OHMS.
My online 'store': http://stampsfromaethelwulf.blogspot.com/

@doug: Even I have a fetish for those drafter's lamps. With LED lamps around I think I will get one of those. Not sure if I will find them locally.

@Kainnikanada: I like your stamp-place. I believe the table has got to be L shaped than | . There will be no computers on mine, so no problems there.

@revcollector: It is indeed near the window.

@Glen: That is kind of mindblowing or shall I say collector's paradise. But, there is one parameter to afford that monstrosity. One has to be single

@aethelwulf: Point taken about the elbow room. I think I will increase the depth to 2.5 ft so I can get more elbow space. Earlier this has caused me neck sprains. That is handling tongs with a hanging elbow.

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Always looking for Mint Definitive Sets, UPU 1949 stuffs and Socked on Nose cancellations

Desk? Looxury!! When I were porrywiggle, used ta have use floor.

Now I use every available flat surface, until the MOTH gets home from work.

An old (laminate-top) kitchen table, with shelving above, has done my Mum for over 30 years. Being a molly-dooka (left-handed), it means that she can set it up to suit herself where-ever she goes.

Does Glen KNOW he has a TV I had to look twice to find it in the photo...reminds me of those "Where's Wally" books the kids used to have

Seriously though, the above comments about natural lighting are important; particularly if you do have the daylight hours to work on your collections. This is by far the healthiest option for you (your eyes), but any artificial lighting should be as close to daylight as possible.

The other thing you might like to consider is whether you have the need for a black light (some-one else will tell you their real name )

I have a dining table over 3 feet wide and it's 6 feet long. I use recipe-cookbook stands (I have 3) for my catalogues and/or other reference books [they're perfect for this], and the chairs make great side-tables - easels (for maps, etc) - or whatever.

As a couple of members here can testify (camera's on the blink...gotta get a new one ), my computer desk holds some of my reference material - the day-to-day stuff - and the rest is housed in an old-fashioned "gentleman's wardrobe".

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FORESTS OLD, PASTURES NEW
(An expert is one who knows more and more, about less and less)

One of the best deals I ever did at auction was for a wooden rolltop desk. Made in the 1930's and presented to someone leaving after a number of years with the same company (or so the silver plaque says).

It has numerous small and medium size shelves to put all the stamp collecting bits and pieces in. It has a row of drawers down one side for the larger stuff.

This was made for a collector

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Tony

Glen, in your first image, what was in the "Hot and Fresh" box??