Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Brusden-White Publishing
https://www.brusden-white.com.au/
Rob
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Hi Rob
Thats great news,
I have been waiting for the new editions
I will order them on line
Horamakhet
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I wonder how Campbell Paterson can piublish the NZ Specialised for $200, and the ACSC is ~$125 per volume?
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Hi Dave
The very detailed content of the ACSC to the Campbell Paterson NZ edition will explain the difference, and it is best that monarchs are not in the same book, that way each book dedicated to each monarch allows the editors to concentrate on the stamps of that era. It also prevents the catalogue turning into a telephone book, the way the Campbell Paterson NZ edition looks like.
The ACSC is unique in the way it is constructed, and the information leaves nothing out. The cost may seem pricey to some people, considering it took 4 years to publish the catalogues and now the books are in colour, it is worth the money.
Rob
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Sadly, I disagree. Yes, the ACSC is a superb reference, but broken into:
Kangaroos
KGV
KGVI
QEII pre decimal
QEII decimal
Postage Dues
Postal Stationery
it's a VERY hefty price for any specialised catalogue. I don't know anyone who buys a new edition every time they're released. All of mine are out of date!
I'm not raining on the parade, and I will no doubt update when I can, but I wish they were a bit cheaper
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I was not going to say anything but will pile on now that Dave has broken the ice… and the following is not a slam on the ACSC but rather a general opinion about all catalog publishers.
Rant Start…
What the hell are they thinking when catalog prices are now pushing $1000 for a set? How many potential hobbyists learn the cost of the reference materials in our hobby and decide that stamp collecting is not for them? I fully understand the cost of hardcopy publishing and frankly you would be hard pressed to find a bigger capitalist than myself, but why have not more catalog publishers transitioned to digital? Many seem to be locked into some kind of paranoia about digital and the fear that people will rip-off digital content. (It is absurd to think this since a 12 year old knows how to scan a hardcopy catalog and share it.) What did these publishers do when folks got access to photocopy machines?
Catalog provides two basic types of content; identification information and value. Free sites like this one (and many others) are now greatly eroding the need to spend an arm and a leg on hard copy identification resources. Values, real market values, can also be gleaned from free online sources in the form of ‘sold’ auction searches.
My fear is that many of these hard copy catalog publishers are dying a slow death in front of our eyes. Philately and their efforts are a symbiotic relationship, the greater the number of hobbyists the more likely they make money. To be a successful stamp publisher moving forward you have to be willing to put your basic catalog online for ‘free’. You have to learn how to build profit centers with affiliate linking, banner advertising and slick value-add features which you can charge for. Of course you can still cash in upon specialized content but they have to understand they cannot compete with the entire internet.
Rant Stop
Don
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Hi Dave
After spending a few days in the isolation ward of the St. George Hospital at Kogarah, I'm still a bit light headed from the bad bout of influenza I caught.
Breaking the ACSC down into individual catalogues makes it easier to choose a particular stamps/s etc without having to go through an entire book to find the item, also it is full of information that would have been compromised if other items irrelevant to the particular stamps/s; for instance, a catalogue for Kangaroos, KGV side-faces, KGVI etc.
I must agree they are a little pricey, the books are printed 4 to 5 years apart, the QEII Decimal catalogues haven't been updated since 2002.
The last time the KGVI and pre-decimal QEII catalogues were published was back in 2015. It takes a lot of research to edit one of those catalogues, and of course being coloured increases the price.
I bought the 2015 edition when it first came out, now I'll buy the 2019 edition of the KGVI and QEII as some of my stamps have been included in the new edition, as well as seeing the new catalogue prices of my stamps.
As it is a specialists' catalogue it will not cater for every collector, also the ACSCs are not made in bulk but actually have a limited publication.
The Campbell Paterson NZ catalogue is a loose leaf binder where you just pay for the upgraded pages, the way the ACSC was in the early years of the publication. The NZ catalogue is a good source of information but I find the loose leaf binder a little bulky, but in the price range, yes, the ACSC is expensive.
Rob
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St George Hospital saved my life (literally) in 2002. I hope they've put you on the mend as well!
There's a small mountain, or at least a large hillock, of info the editors could remove, that is of virtually zero importance to most users. Does anyone really care where the six presentation copies went, as they will never be available to anyone? Are the essays of importance to most, for the same reason? The technical details at the start of each listing are verbose and could be pared back, etc etc etc
Why not release the full catalogue digitally online, with a registration fee of maybe $200, and encrypt it so it can't be downloaded (yet!). The data is all digitised anyway.
It's the 21st century, and we're still doing things the 19th century way.
I have dozens of digital catalogues from around the world, most of which were sent to me by well-meaning friends. I don't know the source, but it's clear that there is a demand for online references at a much-reduced cost
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"What the hell are they thinking when catalog prices are now pushing $1000 for a set? How many potential hobbyists learn the cost of the reference materials in our hobby and decide that stamp collecting is not for them? "
"It's the 21st century, and we're still doing things the 19th century way."
I agree that the cost is making folks grind their teeth. And things could be done differently. But I would not blame publishers alone.
It is good to remember that
1) amount of stamps/information increases year after year.
Back in 1990 Gibbons SOTW was 3 volumes, now it is 6 volumes. Entire Europe was fitted in 4 Michel (basic) catalogues, currently it is 8 volumes (and the number of specialized single country catalogs has gone through the roof). Number of issued stamps ever since has doubled and page count of catalogues has doubled. It is all more for work the publisher as well, and not so amazingly price of catalogues has doubled (+ inflation).
2) for publishers it's a business.
New catalog retail prices are largely a matter of balance in supply and demand. Any business owner knows that if they price too high nobody buys; if they price too low they will go bust. Possibly the only real route would be to get collectors and publishers to reach some kind of win-win business model (and that is what digital subscription based pricing models IMHO enable). But I think the major issue here is that most collectors are not just luddites, but also frugal. Some kind of more "organized" intervention (... cough... APS & other organizations... cough) would be required to get collectors actively involved (for example double the membership fees, but give everyone access to latest and greatest digital edition).
3) It's also good to remember that most folks start out small & by accident; not even knowing there are things such as catalogs. For them the 20$/€ simplified single-country catalog is more than fine for years and years.
-k-
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Hi Don
To buy a simplified set of SG catalogues will cost of the $1,000 mark and that’s just a set of catalogues that show no major varieties and very little information on everything else, to buy the complete collection of ACSC books will cost $760 direct from the publisher laden with a wealth of information one will not find in any catalogue catering for Australian stamps.
I think people still prefer hard copy books rather than digital, though I prefer both, in some cases older collectors do not like carrying iPads (if they have one), or look down onto a very small smartphone screen to view an item.
A book, one can produce immediately for perusal. I agree that stamp sites give a better understanding of real life value of a stamp (market and invoice value), I also give the catalogue value as well, just to be fair; but I do not believe that the hard-copy of some publishers will be fading away any time soon or in the future.
The ACSC will always be in demand with specialist collectors (such as myself), and I doubt will ever be online free, though I have seen many popular catalogues, such as the Stanley Gibbon’s catalogue being pretty much basic when it comes down to useful information.
Every time I replace my catalogues (whenever q new catalogue comes out), I always give away the former catalogue.
Though I’m only speaking about the ACSC I doubt the publishers would have any interest in competing against the internet, as the catalogue is only of a limited printing and mostly caters for those who collect varieties, shades, plate cracks, imperforate stamps, misaligned perforations, essays, proofs etc.
Rob
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Hi Dave
When I was in the St George Hospital, the doctor realised after I was put on oxygen that I had heart failure (and a leaking valve which I did not know), before I knew it there were 6 doctors and nurses around me, I was told my temperature was 39.5 and rising and my oxygen level was going down and my heart rate was erratic, not to good for someone with heart failure.
I had a very bad case of influenza A, and with someone with heart failure, it can be fatal, so I was monitored in an isolation room and multiple drugs pumped into me, there were times I just couldn’t remember anything.
My fiancée was extremely worried (they were becoming more concerned about her than me), but when she was told I was on the mend, like any loving partner, she whipped out her mobile and took a few selfies of herself in a mask and protective smock, and then she took a photo of herself in protective clothing with me attached to everything but the kitchen sink (my throat was too sore and I was too weak to protest, I was at the mercy of a selfie).
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There are the pros and cons in having a digital catalogue, but I prefer hard copy that I can access straight away without flattening batteries doing so. Also I can leave the book beside the computer and access both the book and go on-line to stamp club sites such as this one helping those who require it.
I always use the ACSC, I’m a specialised collector, and the ACSC is a specialists’ catalogue, it isn’t printed in large numbers and is a book that may be way out of the budget of some who collect average stamps.
Considering the years of work and time put into creating the ACSC, the pricing of the catalogue I would say is quite fair. The new KGVI catalogue has a new colour A4 format, and now incorporates Postage Dues and is 232 pages thick and is very much the same price as it was in 2015.
The new QEII 1952-1966 edition published at the same time is in full colour in the new A4 format, fully revised and incorporating new illustrations, and including Postage Dues, Australian /Antarctic Territory and Cocos (Keeling) Island issues, and is 276 pages.
The former 2015 edition is in black and white, and did not include the Postage Dues or the Australian /Antarctic Territory and Cocos (Keeling) Island issues, and the price difference shows little change.
We may be in the 21st century, but sometimes a little 19th century comes in handy.
Rob
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Hi Rob,
There is no doubt that these books have value. I love books myself and have a library full of them, but I recognize that I am also an old man. I have no heartburn with publishers pushing out new catalogs for the ever diminishing number of hard copy buyers; my opinion is that this (shrinking sales) is the reason that complete sets of catalogs from many of the publishers are now around $1000. And I think the death spiral of charging more and more to cover the higher and higher cost of lower and lower print quantities will continue.
They will milk this shrinking market for another 10-15 years and until this generation of folks who have traditionally gotten their info from books dies off. But the generations behind us clearly have no problems with digital publishing. But even more importantly, they have grown up with information being freely and instantly available to them. I covered this topic in a short article here http://www.stampsmarter.com/Learning/ID_InformationRift.html
I think a big part of our hobby not attracting new and younger people to it is our legacy of charging for access to philatelic information. For decades publishers and philatelic organizations charged for access to most all information. While making information access a profit center worked in 1960, it no longer works. You cannot compete with the entire internet, as free access to 24/7 information has become mainstream hard copy publishers are dropping out-of-business at an alarming rate.
By far the biggest population of new hobbyists we are seeing are the 30-60 year-olds who are inheriting collections. Over on the SCF we have an average of 5 new members each week who are this demographic. These are folks who are not really stamp collectors; I view them as ‘potential stamp collectors’. Obviously many of these kinds of contacts are not going to be turned into hobbyists, viewed cyclically they are people who are only seeking a free appraisal service. Viewed optimistically, they are a subset of the general population who have shown at least some interest in philately. But telling them to consider investing nearly $1000 on a set of SG or Scott world-wide general catalogs certainly does not fly with them. Telling them to go to the library does not fly with them.
What does fly with them are websites like this one or others which answers their questions instantly and with little cost. These folks are willing to trade their personal information by signing up for worldstamps.com (or whatever it is called) just so they do not have to drive to the local library or buy catalogs.
So while I totally understand the warm cozy feeling of curling up with a great hard copy book, legacy publishers who do not transition to online will continue to drop like flies. Al made a thread just the other week about F+W Media, the largest hobby magazine publisher, filing for bankruptcy.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/tonysilber/2019/03/11/fw-media-citing-debt-decline-and-mismanagement-files-for-bankruptcy-protection/#6a398d354355
When I saw your post I immediately went to the site and was mulling over the idea of a purchase. But when I saw the cost, when I could not easily determine the cost of shipping from their site; they lost the potential sale. If they had a digital solution, I am sure I would have made a purchase.
So now instead of me investing in costly catalogs on stamps from down under I will simply ask my buddy Rob and others on sites like this one for all the expert information I need!
Don
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Hi Don
You've made a valid point, I wouldn't mind a digital copy, but being old school, I find a hard copy very convenient. I'll be buying the KGVI edition on Monday and the pre-decimal QEII a few days later.
With these books I can keep up to date with the info asked of me, and yes Don, you and other collectors can ask me for any expert information relating to KGVI and Elizabethan stamps, and of Victorian and KGV if I have any current info to give.
It is a shame that catalogues are out of reach of many collectors, and I must admit I have seen catalogues sitting on the shelves of stamp shops for years without being touched.
And the same goes with the more recent Decimal Queen Elizabeth II, not many are being purchased; this is why the editors at Brusden White haven't updated the Decimal editions since 2002.
The most important of the ACSC editions are the pre-decimal issues, these books are always in demand and as a specialist collector, these books are a vital source of information of the stamps I have and any I intend to collect.
Of course I also have unlisted stamps, some which will be listed in the new KGVI ACSC; this will help Chris Ceremuga issue certificates of authentication for them.
Teenagers today are now using iPads instead of text books in school, a long way from the slates I used as a kid (I feel like one of the Flintstones).
"What does fly with them are websites like this one or others which answers their questions instantly and with little cost. These folks are willing to trade their personal information by signing up for worldstamps.com (or whatever it is called) just so they do not have to drive to the local library or buy catalogs. "
That is all one needs to do to get the right advice on their stamps.
Rob
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"...a long way from the slates I used as a kid (I feel like one of the Flintstones)."
Don
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I see no issue with high priced specialist catalogs but the catalog model based upon a printed set of books published annually is just putting itself out of business as has been said. Scott charges for online content but you do not get much savings for online vs printed.
When I look at recent catalog assignments in Linn's Scott catalogue updates section, I keep thinking who is going to buy all these new issues that take up a lot of space in the catalogue. You see endless listings of souvenir sheets with popular culture from countries whose main export seems to be stamps. Then you add who is creating album pages for these new issues.
I realize that the concept of free is common on the internet but the idea of paying for streaming content is now more common today than in the past.
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Hi to all
Digital and hard copies both have their places in specialist collecting.
It was because of a hard copy, a printed article in a stamp magazine, that lead me to recheck some stamps I have, and most people on this forum know, that possibly I may have located a very rare KGV stamp because of this article. This stamp is still under going the most comprehensive examination by some of the leading authorities in Australia. Which no matter which way the pendulum swings, I am greatful for that article being printed.
Will I be buying the new catalogues, yes indeed.
The more knowledge you accumulate, the more you are prepared in the subject you are pursuing.
Speaking as an Egyptologist, I have books that are hundreds of years old, with information that has now been lost, because of the destruction of artefacts, due to looting and wars.
I have copies of stamp magazines that I have picked up in opp shops (thrift shops overseas), re important auctions of famous collections. I also have digital access to archeological excavation records, that would otherwise not be available for research.
I have stamp reference books on rare postmarks of Australian state stamps, as some postmarks of early Australian state stamps can make a ten cent value of a stamp soar to thousands of dollars.
Also as a collector of rare books, I am aware of the value of the knowledge that has now been disregarded because of digital data. Yes there is a place in the world for both
An example is when my children are doing school projects they have access to items that are not in the public domain, and also artefacts.
Many friends have asked me if I can help their children with information for school projects, because they know I have access in my collections to information that is not available in digital print.
Some of the documents I have predate printing, personal letters, and hand written manuscripts in private collections are never going to be digitised, because of the danger to the fragility of documents.
I was able to let my children take rare artefacts or photos of those artefacts to their schools, again items that can not and will never be digitised.
Then there is the experience and knowledge on this forum that everyone freely gives, which in itself is a type of digital technology, and a very valuable source of information.
No matter how things change, I have taught my children to always appreciate the written word, and it gives my great joy, when they ask if they can consult my library for school assignments.
No matter how advanced digitisation takes place, it will never ever replace the written hard copy.
The number of times my children have been told by teachers "I did not know that about so and so, it is because the document exists in a private collection. So long as people share knowledge the written word will never be replaced by digitisation.
Only last week, hundreds of documents were rescued by someone, in a rubbish dump, that belonged to Winston Churchill, probably thrown away in the mistaken belief that they had been digitised.
I would rather have thousands of printed books, than spend too much time searching sometimes inaccurate computer data bases for information., but data bases do have their uses, if used correctly, and if the information is accurate.
Regards
Horamakhet
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"Speaking as an Egyptologist, I have books that are hundreds of years old, with information that has now been lost, because of the destruction of artefacts, due to looting and wars."
"No matter how advanced digitisation takes place, it will never ever replace the written hard copy"
Unless I am misunderstanding, these two statements contradict each other. The first statement is exactly why it is critical that knowledge be digitized. Another good reason is the ability to share knowledge worldwide. As I am sure you know, there are large amounts of rare reference works locked away with virtually ZERO accessibility to anyone. This is a moronic situation in a world that needs to share information. I know for a fact, for example, there are one-of-a-kind US philatelic references archived in libraries in Great Britain. Luckily these are slowly being digitized so that they are available to all.
The truth here is that no paper artifact will last forever, they will all eventually turn to dust. The future of information and knowledge is not paper. This is not about reminiscence or nostalgic feelings, it is about how information is moved from one generation to another for perpetuity. The world does not need anymore loses like the Library of Alexandria, it needs information to be stored digitally by multiple entities in disparate geographic locations.
Don
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There will always be a place for both hard copy and digital, as a technician (since 1976 - I'm probably being a little pedantic here), there is always the problem of batteries running flat or read-write errors when it comes to computers, even the humble hand-held iPad can fall foul of a red-write errors. Hard copies can end up being torn or something spilled on them.
But I would rather a hard-copy and while there are collectors seeking out the paper back they will always be published, I understand the amounts of money some catalogues tend to generate printing out new sheets every 6 - 12 months, but the ACSC is printed every 4 - 5 years, a long wait between the next printing.
The information in the ACSC is the most comprehensive ever seen in any publication printed about stamps, I know that the editions are broken down to specific stamp printings and by monarchy, and yes I grant that the editions are expensive, but by segregating stamps this way allows the editors to commit more time in adding all the regular and varieties in the one book along with vital in-depth information and illustrations of scarce to extremely rare issues.
This could not be done if all monarchs were placed into the one mix; the book would be too bulky and too heavy, and removing loose leaves constantly would be tedious.
I have two types of former pricing formats from the stamp dealer I buy my stamps from, both no longer used but is still a vital source of information concerning some of the stamps in their collection, one is in digital format and the other in paperback form.
Now all their listing is on their website.
Some businesses do well in converting to the digital world, many digitised novels can today be bought from Amazon to be read on the Tinder tablet.
But then there are publication houses such as Brusden - White who only print a limited number of ACSC editions, with the publication of catalogues of the Elizabethan decimals, none of these catalogues have been updated since 2002 (17 years).
Stagnant editions should be digitised and made cheaper so they can be utilised by collectors of more modern issues. But with the pre-decimal editions, they are always in demand and even if they are made into digital format, dealer and collectors alike who specialise in Australian Commonwealth stamps will always whip out their Brusden - White paper-back edition to the page they want in a matter of seconds.
Call me a fool, call me eccentric, call me old-fashioned, but I would rather have a paper-back than a disc (can get scratched) or digital download.
Rob
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Thanks Don, that image of Fred Flintstone really makes me feel old.
The old early 1960s slate we used in Primary school complete with slate pencil. The teacher used to use a special pencil to scratch permanent lines on the slate.
Rob
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Very interesting exchange regarding digital and hard copy (books) preservation of data. Recently I have been relying on an online version of the ISCC-NBS Dictionary of Colors (1955), presented by a man associated with the Texas Precancel Club. He had ALL the approximately 5,000 color names assigned to the 267 color centroids with hex codes, a very nice feat. And suddenly the site is gone. Another site has taken its place with totally unrelated (useless) data. I have searched extensively online for the data and --nada. (Color, and color names, is a subsidiary interest of mine, I am making color swatches to be used in Photoshop)
Which is to say digital information can disappear in the blink of an eye, and books can burn in a moment.
I value my palpable stamp catalogues, they are ... palpable. But I don't see a contest here. The benefits of a cheaper online edition of a catalogue seems to make a lot of sense.
As for preservation, both are vital backups to each other. Seems a shame they didn't have a digital backup of the Library of Alexandria . And lucky we are that monks took on the responsibility of backup in the Middle Ages.
Fortunately, I found a hard copy of The ISCC-NBS Method of Designating Colors and a Dictionary of Color Names on eBay, and I am now re-creating someone else's work re hex codes to names. Feeling a bit monkish.
Stamporama never fails to keep me intrigued.
Cheers!
Wine
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Re Digital versus paper
I understand both sides of the argument.
However, the reason some documents are locked away and only accessible to scholars is because of THEFT.
I myself have had a valuable set of books never returned to me by a suspossed trusted friend, who now lives overseas, and so does my set of books.
Many institutes require references, which are thoroughly checked before they will allow access to their collections. This is understood as well, as not all people are honest, and then their was the time when a world renowned scholar stole a few manuscript pages from the Vatican archives, and hence the far fetched stories that the Vatican is hiding information from the world. Not true, as if you come up with the required referrals and you turn out to be genuine, then they will let you in.
Many times have I found in rare book shops in Australia, articles that were stolen from my cousins' family libraries overseas, and I have been able to retrieve them, at a price, because the procedure for them to get them back is too costly and involved and takes years, and luckily the shops have not realised why they are rare.
I have then informed my cousins that I have found such and such an item, and they have told me to keep it safe.
A museum in Australia, has some items that were stolen from Beauly Castle in Scotland, which is my ancestral home, but try getting anything back from a museum.
Some museums are the most dishonest and dangerous places in the world, because they do not take good care of items.
The State Library of Victoria, about a decade ago, did a stock take, they found 44,000 very rare volumes had disappeared over a hundred years. (Probably an inside scam)
This Library was so regress in checking their stock, that they found that their valuable set of the Description of Egypt had had valuable coloured plates cut with a razor blade., Now they have put the set into the rare book room, whereas before it was in the general stacks.
A few weeks ago, I purchased on a web site some early letters pertaining to my family history, again stolen from their residences. These letters were written in the early 1830"s
My family relations in Europe are for that reason reluctant to have persons visit their libraries due to dishonest persons, who ruin it for all. Their libraries contain in total over all the libraries, many hundreds of thousands of books and manuscripts pertaining to important events in history. However they do allow persons who have been checked, to bring a digital camera, no flash, and a writing pad and soft lead pencils to make notes, and I do this sometimes as well.
Go to any university library in Australia, and you will find some rare books with pages underlined in red, or blue ink. Some people do not care if it is not their property, what they do.
Yes I will always want hard paper copies of works, because sometimes you find, particularly, in books, documents that have been hidden, because of the sensitive nature of the document.
I can go into my library at anytime I am home and become lost in the past, and I am also preserving for future generations of my family, valuable and historic information.
It gives me immense happiness, when my children ask to consult rare and out of print books, rather than sit in front of a computer, cutting and pasting, sometimes erroneous information.
Give me Dusty. smelly books anytime.
Horamakhet
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Horamakhet
This is the justification to digitize them. Library should contribute to project.
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Hi Angore
Digitizing books will not stop the vandalism, so restricted access is the answer, that way, they know who had the book last, and can make them pay for it.
Some persons will never learn to respect property.
Digital records can be hacked, and altered and destroyed and bugs put into them as well.
Any way this is deviating from what the forum is about, passing on information re stamps and helping those with research, so this will be my last comment that deviates from the subject of Philately.
Horamakhet
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Horamakhet,
There is no need to worry about the discussion being out of bounds.
Al
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There will always be a place for specialised information in print form. Yet I am at a loss to understand how Gibbons "Stamps of the World" can justify its existence.
In the value stakes listing the cheapest of each stamp devalues immediately every collection in the world which contains even one "better" variety stamp. Even as a worldwide collector I find collecting the simplified way as dull as dishwater.
I have a theory that the major customers for the WW catalogue are libraries, who mistakenly assume that collectors are going to research their collection using it.
My visits to the library are made to use the inter-library loan facility ( which these days has to be paid for , but it is still a bargain ). I never even look at Stamps of the World.
Malcolm
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When it comes to Australian pre-decimal stamps, Stanley Gibbons and Scott Catalogues fail miserably, with SG fairing only slightly better than Scott.
As a specialist collector the ACSC is vital for collectors such as myself who collect major varieties, cracked plates, proofs, plate numbers, imperforated sheet stamps, essays, thin papers, re-entries, shades, specimens etc.
The ACSC being separated into selected fields makes searching for information much easier and allows me to only buy the catalogues needed instead of buying a tome full of stamps that I have no interest in, and then searching throughout the book looking for the desired stamps/s, and then the information is scant.
Such books do not add major varieties, cracked plates, proofs, essays, thin papers, re-entries, shades, specimens etc.
The ACSC caters for the specialised collector, and the information within is paramount to the collector.
As the ACSC is not printed in bulk such as the SG or Scott catalogues, I find the hard copy very convenient and always at my fingertips.
Rob
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There are two new editions that have just been published - King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II 1952-1966, both in colour, they are a little expensive though.
Brusden-White Publishing
https://www.brusden-white.com.au/
Rob
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re: The new ACSC has finally arrived
Hi Rob
Thats great news,
I have been waiting for the new editions
I will order them on line
Horamakhet
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re: The new ACSC has finally arrived
I wonder how Campbell Paterson can piublish the NZ Specialised for $200, and the ACSC is ~$125 per volume?
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re: The new ACSC has finally arrived
Hi Dave
The very detailed content of the ACSC to the Campbell Paterson NZ edition will explain the difference, and it is best that monarchs are not in the same book, that way each book dedicated to each monarch allows the editors to concentrate on the stamps of that era. It also prevents the catalogue turning into a telephone book, the way the Campbell Paterson NZ edition looks like.
The ACSC is unique in the way it is constructed, and the information leaves nothing out. The cost may seem pricey to some people, considering it took 4 years to publish the catalogues and now the books are in colour, it is worth the money.
Rob
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re: The new ACSC has finally arrived
Sadly, I disagree. Yes, the ACSC is a superb reference, but broken into:
Kangaroos
KGV
KGVI
QEII pre decimal
QEII decimal
Postage Dues
Postal Stationery
it's a VERY hefty price for any specialised catalogue. I don't know anyone who buys a new edition every time they're released. All of mine are out of date!
I'm not raining on the parade, and I will no doubt update when I can, but I wish they were a bit cheaper
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re: The new ACSC has finally arrived
I was not going to say anything but will pile on now that Dave has broken the ice… and the following is not a slam on the ACSC but rather a general opinion about all catalog publishers.
Rant Start…
What the hell are they thinking when catalog prices are now pushing $1000 for a set? How many potential hobbyists learn the cost of the reference materials in our hobby and decide that stamp collecting is not for them? I fully understand the cost of hardcopy publishing and frankly you would be hard pressed to find a bigger capitalist than myself, but why have not more catalog publishers transitioned to digital? Many seem to be locked into some kind of paranoia about digital and the fear that people will rip-off digital content. (It is absurd to think this since a 12 year old knows how to scan a hardcopy catalog and share it.) What did these publishers do when folks got access to photocopy machines?
Catalog provides two basic types of content; identification information and value. Free sites like this one (and many others) are now greatly eroding the need to spend an arm and a leg on hard copy identification resources. Values, real market values, can also be gleaned from free online sources in the form of ‘sold’ auction searches.
My fear is that many of these hard copy catalog publishers are dying a slow death in front of our eyes. Philately and their efforts are a symbiotic relationship, the greater the number of hobbyists the more likely they make money. To be a successful stamp publisher moving forward you have to be willing to put your basic catalog online for ‘free’. You have to learn how to build profit centers with affiliate linking, banner advertising and slick value-add features which you can charge for. Of course you can still cash in upon specialized content but they have to understand they cannot compete with the entire internet.
Rant Stop
Don
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re: The new ACSC has finally arrived
Hi Dave
After spending a few days in the isolation ward of the St. George Hospital at Kogarah, I'm still a bit light headed from the bad bout of influenza I caught.
Breaking the ACSC down into individual catalogues makes it easier to choose a particular stamps/s etc without having to go through an entire book to find the item, also it is full of information that would have been compromised if other items irrelevant to the particular stamps/s; for instance, a catalogue for Kangaroos, KGV side-faces, KGVI etc.
I must agree they are a little pricey, the books are printed 4 to 5 years apart, the QEII Decimal catalogues haven't been updated since 2002.
The last time the KGVI and pre-decimal QEII catalogues were published was back in 2015. It takes a lot of research to edit one of those catalogues, and of course being coloured increases the price.
I bought the 2015 edition when it first came out, now I'll buy the 2019 edition of the KGVI and QEII as some of my stamps have been included in the new edition, as well as seeing the new catalogue prices of my stamps.
As it is a specialists' catalogue it will not cater for every collector, also the ACSCs are not made in bulk but actually have a limited publication.
The Campbell Paterson NZ catalogue is a loose leaf binder where you just pay for the upgraded pages, the way the ACSC was in the early years of the publication. The NZ catalogue is a good source of information but I find the loose leaf binder a little bulky, but in the price range, yes, the ACSC is expensive.
Rob
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re: The new ACSC has finally arrived
St George Hospital saved my life (literally) in 2002. I hope they've put you on the mend as well!
There's a small mountain, or at least a large hillock, of info the editors could remove, that is of virtually zero importance to most users. Does anyone really care where the six presentation copies went, as they will never be available to anyone? Are the essays of importance to most, for the same reason? The technical details at the start of each listing are verbose and could be pared back, etc etc etc
Why not release the full catalogue digitally online, with a registration fee of maybe $200, and encrypt it so it can't be downloaded (yet!). The data is all digitised anyway.
It's the 21st century, and we're still doing things the 19th century way.
I have dozens of digital catalogues from around the world, most of which were sent to me by well-meaning friends. I don't know the source, but it's clear that there is a demand for online references at a much-reduced cost
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re: The new ACSC has finally arrived
"What the hell are they thinking when catalog prices are now pushing $1000 for a set? How many potential hobbyists learn the cost of the reference materials in our hobby and decide that stamp collecting is not for them? "
"It's the 21st century, and we're still doing things the 19th century way."
I agree that the cost is making folks grind their teeth. And things could be done differently. But I would not blame publishers alone.
It is good to remember that
1) amount of stamps/information increases year after year.
Back in 1990 Gibbons SOTW was 3 volumes, now it is 6 volumes. Entire Europe was fitted in 4 Michel (basic) catalogues, currently it is 8 volumes (and the number of specialized single country catalogs has gone through the roof). Number of issued stamps ever since has doubled and page count of catalogues has doubled. It is all more for work the publisher as well, and not so amazingly price of catalogues has doubled (+ inflation).
2) for publishers it's a business.
New catalog retail prices are largely a matter of balance in supply and demand. Any business owner knows that if they price too high nobody buys; if they price too low they will go bust. Possibly the only real route would be to get collectors and publishers to reach some kind of win-win business model (and that is what digital subscription based pricing models IMHO enable). But I think the major issue here is that most collectors are not just luddites, but also frugal. Some kind of more "organized" intervention (... cough... APS & other organizations... cough) would be required to get collectors actively involved (for example double the membership fees, but give everyone access to latest and greatest digital edition).
3) It's also good to remember that most folks start out small & by accident; not even knowing there are things such as catalogs. For them the 20$/€ simplified single-country catalog is more than fine for years and years.
-k-
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re: The new ACSC has finally arrived
Hi Don
To buy a simplified set of SG catalogues will cost of the $1,000 mark and that’s just a set of catalogues that show no major varieties and very little information on everything else, to buy the complete collection of ACSC books will cost $760 direct from the publisher laden with a wealth of information one will not find in any catalogue catering for Australian stamps.
I think people still prefer hard copy books rather than digital, though I prefer both, in some cases older collectors do not like carrying iPads (if they have one), or look down onto a very small smartphone screen to view an item.
A book, one can produce immediately for perusal. I agree that stamp sites give a better understanding of real life value of a stamp (market and invoice value), I also give the catalogue value as well, just to be fair; but I do not believe that the hard-copy of some publishers will be fading away any time soon or in the future.
The ACSC will always be in demand with specialist collectors (such as myself), and I doubt will ever be online free, though I have seen many popular catalogues, such as the Stanley Gibbon’s catalogue being pretty much basic when it comes down to useful information.
Every time I replace my catalogues (whenever q new catalogue comes out), I always give away the former catalogue.
Though I’m only speaking about the ACSC I doubt the publishers would have any interest in competing against the internet, as the catalogue is only of a limited printing and mostly caters for those who collect varieties, shades, plate cracks, imperforate stamps, misaligned perforations, essays, proofs etc.
Rob
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re: The new ACSC has finally arrived
Hi Dave
When I was in the St George Hospital, the doctor realised after I was put on oxygen that I had heart failure (and a leaking valve which I did not know), before I knew it there were 6 doctors and nurses around me, I was told my temperature was 39.5 and rising and my oxygen level was going down and my heart rate was erratic, not to good for someone with heart failure.
I had a very bad case of influenza A, and with someone with heart failure, it can be fatal, so I was monitored in an isolation room and multiple drugs pumped into me, there were times I just couldn’t remember anything.
My fiancée was extremely worried (they were becoming more concerned about her than me), but when she was told I was on the mend, like any loving partner, she whipped out her mobile and took a few selfies of herself in a mask and protective smock, and then she took a photo of herself in protective clothing with me attached to everything but the kitchen sink (my throat was too sore and I was too weak to protest, I was at the mercy of a selfie).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are the pros and cons in having a digital catalogue, but I prefer hard copy that I can access straight away without flattening batteries doing so. Also I can leave the book beside the computer and access both the book and go on-line to stamp club sites such as this one helping those who require it.
I always use the ACSC, I’m a specialised collector, and the ACSC is a specialists’ catalogue, it isn’t printed in large numbers and is a book that may be way out of the budget of some who collect average stamps.
Considering the years of work and time put into creating the ACSC, the pricing of the catalogue I would say is quite fair. The new KGVI catalogue has a new colour A4 format, and now incorporates Postage Dues and is 232 pages thick and is very much the same price as it was in 2015.
The new QEII 1952-1966 edition published at the same time is in full colour in the new A4 format, fully revised and incorporating new illustrations, and including Postage Dues, Australian /Antarctic Territory and Cocos (Keeling) Island issues, and is 276 pages.
The former 2015 edition is in black and white, and did not include the Postage Dues or the Australian /Antarctic Territory and Cocos (Keeling) Island issues, and the price difference shows little change.
We may be in the 21st century, but sometimes a little 19th century comes in handy.
Rob
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re: The new ACSC has finally arrived
Hi Rob,
There is no doubt that these books have value. I love books myself and have a library full of them, but I recognize that I am also an old man. I have no heartburn with publishers pushing out new catalogs for the ever diminishing number of hard copy buyers; my opinion is that this (shrinking sales) is the reason that complete sets of catalogs from many of the publishers are now around $1000. And I think the death spiral of charging more and more to cover the higher and higher cost of lower and lower print quantities will continue.
They will milk this shrinking market for another 10-15 years and until this generation of folks who have traditionally gotten their info from books dies off. But the generations behind us clearly have no problems with digital publishing. But even more importantly, they have grown up with information being freely and instantly available to them. I covered this topic in a short article here http://www.stampsmarter.com/Learning/ID_InformationRift.html
I think a big part of our hobby not attracting new and younger people to it is our legacy of charging for access to philatelic information. For decades publishers and philatelic organizations charged for access to most all information. While making information access a profit center worked in 1960, it no longer works. You cannot compete with the entire internet, as free access to 24/7 information has become mainstream hard copy publishers are dropping out-of-business at an alarming rate.
By far the biggest population of new hobbyists we are seeing are the 30-60 year-olds who are inheriting collections. Over on the SCF we have an average of 5 new members each week who are this demographic. These are folks who are not really stamp collectors; I view them as ‘potential stamp collectors’. Obviously many of these kinds of contacts are not going to be turned into hobbyists, viewed cyclically they are people who are only seeking a free appraisal service. Viewed optimistically, they are a subset of the general population who have shown at least some interest in philately. But telling them to consider investing nearly $1000 on a set of SG or Scott world-wide general catalogs certainly does not fly with them. Telling them to go to the library does not fly with them.
What does fly with them are websites like this one or others which answers their questions instantly and with little cost. These folks are willing to trade their personal information by signing up for worldstamps.com (or whatever it is called) just so they do not have to drive to the local library or buy catalogs.
So while I totally understand the warm cozy feeling of curling up with a great hard copy book, legacy publishers who do not transition to online will continue to drop like flies. Al made a thread just the other week about F+W Media, the largest hobby magazine publisher, filing for bankruptcy.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/tonysilber/2019/03/11/fw-media-citing-debt-decline-and-mismanagement-files-for-bankruptcy-protection/#6a398d354355
When I saw your post I immediately went to the site and was mulling over the idea of a purchase. But when I saw the cost, when I could not easily determine the cost of shipping from their site; they lost the potential sale. If they had a digital solution, I am sure I would have made a purchase.
So now instead of me investing in costly catalogs on stamps from down under I will simply ask my buddy Rob and others on sites like this one for all the expert information I need!
Don
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re: The new ACSC has finally arrived
Hi Don
You've made a valid point, I wouldn't mind a digital copy, but being old school, I find a hard copy very convenient. I'll be buying the KGVI edition on Monday and the pre-decimal QEII a few days later.
With these books I can keep up to date with the info asked of me, and yes Don, you and other collectors can ask me for any expert information relating to KGVI and Elizabethan stamps, and of Victorian and KGV if I have any current info to give.
It is a shame that catalogues are out of reach of many collectors, and I must admit I have seen catalogues sitting on the shelves of stamp shops for years without being touched.
And the same goes with the more recent Decimal Queen Elizabeth II, not many are being purchased; this is why the editors at Brusden White haven't updated the Decimal editions since 2002.
The most important of the ACSC editions are the pre-decimal issues, these books are always in demand and as a specialist collector, these books are a vital source of information of the stamps I have and any I intend to collect.
Of course I also have unlisted stamps, some which will be listed in the new KGVI ACSC; this will help Chris Ceremuga issue certificates of authentication for them.
Teenagers today are now using iPads instead of text books in school, a long way from the slates I used as a kid (I feel like one of the Flintstones).
"What does fly with them are websites like this one or others which answers their questions instantly and with little cost. These folks are willing to trade their personal information by signing up for worldstamps.com (or whatever it is called) just so they do not have to drive to the local library or buy catalogs. "
That is all one needs to do to get the right advice on their stamps.
Rob
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re: The new ACSC has finally arrived
"...a long way from the slates I used as a kid (I feel like one of the Flintstones)."
Don
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re: The new ACSC has finally arrived
I see no issue with high priced specialist catalogs but the catalog model based upon a printed set of books published annually is just putting itself out of business as has been said. Scott charges for online content but you do not get much savings for online vs printed.
When I look at recent catalog assignments in Linn's Scott catalogue updates section, I keep thinking who is going to buy all these new issues that take up a lot of space in the catalogue. You see endless listings of souvenir sheets with popular culture from countries whose main export seems to be stamps. Then you add who is creating album pages for these new issues.
I realize that the concept of free is common on the internet but the idea of paying for streaming content is now more common today than in the past.
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re: The new ACSC has finally arrived
Hi to all
Digital and hard copies both have their places in specialist collecting.
It was because of a hard copy, a printed article in a stamp magazine, that lead me to recheck some stamps I have, and most people on this forum know, that possibly I may have located a very rare KGV stamp because of this article. This stamp is still under going the most comprehensive examination by some of the leading authorities in Australia. Which no matter which way the pendulum swings, I am greatful for that article being printed.
Will I be buying the new catalogues, yes indeed.
The more knowledge you accumulate, the more you are prepared in the subject you are pursuing.
Speaking as an Egyptologist, I have books that are hundreds of years old, with information that has now been lost, because of the destruction of artefacts, due to looting and wars.
I have copies of stamp magazines that I have picked up in opp shops (thrift shops overseas), re important auctions of famous collections. I also have digital access to archeological excavation records, that would otherwise not be available for research.
I have stamp reference books on rare postmarks of Australian state stamps, as some postmarks of early Australian state stamps can make a ten cent value of a stamp soar to thousands of dollars.
Also as a collector of rare books, I am aware of the value of the knowledge that has now been disregarded because of digital data. Yes there is a place in the world for both
An example is when my children are doing school projects they have access to items that are not in the public domain, and also artefacts.
Many friends have asked me if I can help their children with information for school projects, because they know I have access in my collections to information that is not available in digital print.
Some of the documents I have predate printing, personal letters, and hand written manuscripts in private collections are never going to be digitised, because of the danger to the fragility of documents.
I was able to let my children take rare artefacts or photos of those artefacts to their schools, again items that can not and will never be digitised.
Then there is the experience and knowledge on this forum that everyone freely gives, which in itself is a type of digital technology, and a very valuable source of information.
No matter how things change, I have taught my children to always appreciate the written word, and it gives my great joy, when they ask if they can consult my library for school assignments.
No matter how advanced digitisation takes place, it will never ever replace the written hard copy.
The number of times my children have been told by teachers "I did not know that about so and so, it is because the document exists in a private collection. So long as people share knowledge the written word will never be replaced by digitisation.
Only last week, hundreds of documents were rescued by someone, in a rubbish dump, that belonged to Winston Churchill, probably thrown away in the mistaken belief that they had been digitised.
I would rather have thousands of printed books, than spend too much time searching sometimes inaccurate computer data bases for information., but data bases do have their uses, if used correctly, and if the information is accurate.
Regards
Horamakhet
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re: The new ACSC has finally arrived
"Speaking as an Egyptologist, I have books that are hundreds of years old, with information that has now been lost, because of the destruction of artefacts, due to looting and wars."
"No matter how advanced digitisation takes place, it will never ever replace the written hard copy"
Unless I am misunderstanding, these two statements contradict each other. The first statement is exactly why it is critical that knowledge be digitized. Another good reason is the ability to share knowledge worldwide. As I am sure you know, there are large amounts of rare reference works locked away with virtually ZERO accessibility to anyone. This is a moronic situation in a world that needs to share information. I know for a fact, for example, there are one-of-a-kind US philatelic references archived in libraries in Great Britain. Luckily these are slowly being digitized so that they are available to all.
The truth here is that no paper artifact will last forever, they will all eventually turn to dust. The future of information and knowledge is not paper. This is not about reminiscence or nostalgic feelings, it is about how information is moved from one generation to another for perpetuity. The world does not need anymore loses like the Library of Alexandria, it needs information to be stored digitally by multiple entities in disparate geographic locations.
Don
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re: The new ACSC has finally arrived
There will always be a place for both hard copy and digital, as a technician (since 1976 - I'm probably being a little pedantic here), there is always the problem of batteries running flat or read-write errors when it comes to computers, even the humble hand-held iPad can fall foul of a red-write errors. Hard copies can end up being torn or something spilled on them.
But I would rather a hard-copy and while there are collectors seeking out the paper back they will always be published, I understand the amounts of money some catalogues tend to generate printing out new sheets every 6 - 12 months, but the ACSC is printed every 4 - 5 years, a long wait between the next printing.
The information in the ACSC is the most comprehensive ever seen in any publication printed about stamps, I know that the editions are broken down to specific stamp printings and by monarchy, and yes I grant that the editions are expensive, but by segregating stamps this way allows the editors to commit more time in adding all the regular and varieties in the one book along with vital in-depth information and illustrations of scarce to extremely rare issues.
This could not be done if all monarchs were placed into the one mix; the book would be too bulky and too heavy, and removing loose leaves constantly would be tedious.
I have two types of former pricing formats from the stamp dealer I buy my stamps from, both no longer used but is still a vital source of information concerning some of the stamps in their collection, one is in digital format and the other in paperback form.
Now all their listing is on their website.
Some businesses do well in converting to the digital world, many digitised novels can today be bought from Amazon to be read on the Tinder tablet.
But then there are publication houses such as Brusden - White who only print a limited number of ACSC editions, with the publication of catalogues of the Elizabethan decimals, none of these catalogues have been updated since 2002 (17 years).
Stagnant editions should be digitised and made cheaper so they can be utilised by collectors of more modern issues. But with the pre-decimal editions, they are always in demand and even if they are made into digital format, dealer and collectors alike who specialise in Australian Commonwealth stamps will always whip out their Brusden - White paper-back edition to the page they want in a matter of seconds.
Call me a fool, call me eccentric, call me old-fashioned, but I would rather have a paper-back than a disc (can get scratched) or digital download.
Rob
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re: The new ACSC has finally arrived
Thanks Don, that image of Fred Flintstone really makes me feel old.
The old early 1960s slate we used in Primary school complete with slate pencil. The teacher used to use a special pencil to scratch permanent lines on the slate.
Rob
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re: The new ACSC has finally arrived
Very interesting exchange regarding digital and hard copy (books) preservation of data. Recently I have been relying on an online version of the ISCC-NBS Dictionary of Colors (1955), presented by a man associated with the Texas Precancel Club. He had ALL the approximately 5,000 color names assigned to the 267 color centroids with hex codes, a very nice feat. And suddenly the site is gone. Another site has taken its place with totally unrelated (useless) data. I have searched extensively online for the data and --nada. (Color, and color names, is a subsidiary interest of mine, I am making color swatches to be used in Photoshop)
Which is to say digital information can disappear in the blink of an eye, and books can burn in a moment.
I value my palpable stamp catalogues, they are ... palpable. But I don't see a contest here. The benefits of a cheaper online edition of a catalogue seems to make a lot of sense.
As for preservation, both are vital backups to each other. Seems a shame they didn't have a digital backup of the Library of Alexandria . And lucky we are that monks took on the responsibility of backup in the Middle Ages.
Fortunately, I found a hard copy of The ISCC-NBS Method of Designating Colors and a Dictionary of Color Names on eBay, and I am now re-creating someone else's work re hex codes to names. Feeling a bit monkish.
Stamporama never fails to keep me intrigued.
Cheers!
Wine
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re: The new ACSC has finally arrived
Re Digital versus paper
I understand both sides of the argument.
However, the reason some documents are locked away and only accessible to scholars is because of THEFT.
I myself have had a valuable set of books never returned to me by a suspossed trusted friend, who now lives overseas, and so does my set of books.
Many institutes require references, which are thoroughly checked before they will allow access to their collections. This is understood as well, as not all people are honest, and then their was the time when a world renowned scholar stole a few manuscript pages from the Vatican archives, and hence the far fetched stories that the Vatican is hiding information from the world. Not true, as if you come up with the required referrals and you turn out to be genuine, then they will let you in.
Many times have I found in rare book shops in Australia, articles that were stolen from my cousins' family libraries overseas, and I have been able to retrieve them, at a price, because the procedure for them to get them back is too costly and involved and takes years, and luckily the shops have not realised why they are rare.
I have then informed my cousins that I have found such and such an item, and they have told me to keep it safe.
A museum in Australia, has some items that were stolen from Beauly Castle in Scotland, which is my ancestral home, but try getting anything back from a museum.
Some museums are the most dishonest and dangerous places in the world, because they do not take good care of items.
The State Library of Victoria, about a decade ago, did a stock take, they found 44,000 very rare volumes had disappeared over a hundred years. (Probably an inside scam)
This Library was so regress in checking their stock, that they found that their valuable set of the Description of Egypt had had valuable coloured plates cut with a razor blade., Now they have put the set into the rare book room, whereas before it was in the general stacks.
A few weeks ago, I purchased on a web site some early letters pertaining to my family history, again stolen from their residences. These letters were written in the early 1830"s
My family relations in Europe are for that reason reluctant to have persons visit their libraries due to dishonest persons, who ruin it for all. Their libraries contain in total over all the libraries, many hundreds of thousands of books and manuscripts pertaining to important events in history. However they do allow persons who have been checked, to bring a digital camera, no flash, and a writing pad and soft lead pencils to make notes, and I do this sometimes as well.
Go to any university library in Australia, and you will find some rare books with pages underlined in red, or blue ink. Some people do not care if it is not their property, what they do.
Yes I will always want hard paper copies of works, because sometimes you find, particularly, in books, documents that have been hidden, because of the sensitive nature of the document.
I can go into my library at anytime I am home and become lost in the past, and I am also preserving for future generations of my family, valuable and historic information.
It gives me immense happiness, when my children ask to consult rare and out of print books, rather than sit in front of a computer, cutting and pasting, sometimes erroneous information.
Give me Dusty. smelly books anytime.
Horamakhet
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re: The new ACSC has finally arrived
Horamakhet
This is the justification to digitize them. Library should contribute to project.
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Hi Angore
Digitizing books will not stop the vandalism, so restricted access is the answer, that way, they know who had the book last, and can make them pay for it.
Some persons will never learn to respect property.
Digital records can be hacked, and altered and destroyed and bugs put into them as well.
Any way this is deviating from what the forum is about, passing on information re stamps and helping those with research, so this will be my last comment that deviates from the subject of Philately.
Horamakhet
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re: The new ACSC has finally arrived
Horamakhet,
There is no need to worry about the discussion being out of bounds.
Al
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04:43:24pm
re: The new ACSC has finally arrived
There will always be a place for specialised information in print form. Yet I am at a loss to understand how Gibbons "Stamps of the World" can justify its existence.
In the value stakes listing the cheapest of each stamp devalues immediately every collection in the world which contains even one "better" variety stamp. Even as a worldwide collector I find collecting the simplified way as dull as dishwater.
I have a theory that the major customers for the WW catalogue are libraries, who mistakenly assume that collectors are going to research their collection using it.
My visits to the library are made to use the inter-library loan facility ( which these days has to be paid for , but it is still a bargain ). I never even look at Stamps of the World.
Malcolm
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re: The new ACSC has finally arrived
When it comes to Australian pre-decimal stamps, Stanley Gibbons and Scott Catalogues fail miserably, with SG fairing only slightly better than Scott.
As a specialist collector the ACSC is vital for collectors such as myself who collect major varieties, cracked plates, proofs, plate numbers, imperforated sheet stamps, essays, thin papers, re-entries, shades, specimens etc.
The ACSC being separated into selected fields makes searching for information much easier and allows me to only buy the catalogues needed instead of buying a tome full of stamps that I have no interest in, and then searching throughout the book looking for the desired stamps/s, and then the information is scant.
Such books do not add major varieties, cracked plates, proofs, essays, thin papers, re-entries, shades, specimens etc.
The ACSC caters for the specialised collector, and the information within is paramount to the collector.
As the ACSC is not printed in bulk such as the SG or Scott catalogues, I find the hard copy very convenient and always at my fingertips.
Rob
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