How to Start a Stamp Album

Obtain the Proper Tools and Supplies

• 1

  Choose the stamp album that best suits your collection. Many collectors start with a commercially preprinted album that contains images of the stamps to be collected in each placement space. These albums guide the new collector in stamp acquisition and often provide useful information such as catalog numbers and historical notes.

• 2

  Consider using a stock book or plain pages and a binder if you wish to organize your stamp album in a more creative fashion. Stock books have plastic pockets for stamps on each page, but no space for additional information. Plain pages should always be made of archival paper, and can be designed and decorated any way you like.

• 3

  Gather the tools for transferring your stamps into your album. You will just need a few simple tools to start with, including hinges or mounts for attaching stamps to pages, tongs for handling stamps without damaging them, glassine envelopes for organization of unmounted stamps and a storage box.

• 4

  Identify and categorize your stamps properly by obtaining specialized stamp collecting tools such as a magnifying glass, a perforation gauge and a watermark detector.

• 5

  Begin to acquire stamps based on your chosen category. You can use a catalog to help you identify and select stamps you would like to acquire. Catalogs can be found at your local library.

Transfer Stamps Into Stamp Album

• 6

  Soak used stamps off envelopes. Cut the corners containing stamps off the envelopes and place them in a shallow bowl of lukewarm water. As the stamps begin to loosen from the paper, carefully pull them off with tongs.

• 7

  Place the stamps face down on several sheets of paper towel. When they have lost most of their excess water but are not completely dry, place a piece of waxed paper on top of the stamps and a book on top of that to press the stamps and prevent curling. Leave them to dry for several hours.

• 8

  Attach used stamps (stamps with postmarks that were used as actual postage) or unused stamps (stamps that have already been attached with a hinge to an album) to the album pages using hinges. Hinges are small pieces of glassine paper that are folded and gummed on both sides.

• 9

  Affix the short side of the hinge to the stamp and the long side to the page. The hinge should be attached first to the stamp, 1/8 inch from the top, and then to the page. Be aware that hinges damage the stamps' gum.

• 10

  Use mounts for mint stamps (stamps in the same condition as when they were issued) that you do not want to damage. A mount is a plastic sleeve, open on both sides, with a gummed back, which attaches to the page. Mounts are more expensive than hinges, but provide better protection and do not damage the stamps' gum.