posted 09-05-2023 08:11 AM            

Then I invested in an album system. I buy Prinz 4xD-ring binders (Montana cloth bound album and slipcover - grey for my space covers, closest to the black of space, versus blue for my postal local history collection and red for my Hiroshima collection). I use the Pro-fil pages (clear pockets on both sides, usually two pockets per page, sometimes single pocket per page; interspersed with black interleaves).

I now organise my collection by date of rocket launch. Thus, for example a Guernsey stamps FDC of the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing is filed under 16th July 1969, and a FDC from Mali issued on 24th November 1962 sits under the launch date for Telstar of 10th July 1962.

Any cover that doesn't have a specific launch date associated with it goes under the nearest date I'd classify as a relevant launch - e.g. any Fort Bliss Centennial FDCs all go together under the Bumper-4 launch date; and all my Soviet Union New Year cards with 'spacemen' go under Gagarin's Vostok 1 launch date.

And any covers relating to persons without a specific reference to a rocket launch are filed under their date of birth, for example the US Von Karman FDC goes under 11 May 1881.

I find that using this system, my collection splits automatically and nicely into four sections:

• Rocket Pioneers (by birth date)
  
• Early rocket mail (1930s by launch date)
  
• A4/V2 retrospective covers
  
• Rocket launches 1947-1972

posted 09-05-2023 02:38 PM               

My hodgepodge of shoeboxes and albums got a major reboot 25 years ago when we moved to a small, high-rise condominium. The main threat to my collection became water leaking from condo units above ours (Luckily that has yet to happen!). So, I went to loose-leaf notebooks for albums, using Light Impressions LockTop page protectors (they have a flap over the opening in the pocket making them a bit more water resistant) and a miscellaneous box made by Rubbermaid to resist water as well.

Albums (notebooks) are as follows:

• X15
  
• Lifting Bodies
  
• Flown Rocketplane Covers (a small album)
  
• Assorted other Muroc/Edwards covers
  
• Mercury and Gemini
  
• Russian Kniga covers (Vostok 1 - Soyuz 19) and unmanned Apollo tests (an eclectic combination, but added together they fit an album nicely)
  
• Manned Apollo/Skylab/ASTP

posted 09-06-2023 10:55 AM            

Can I ask: do you index your stuff? Either manually or digitally.

I found about a year ago I was missing out on eBay potential bargains because I had no quick way of finding out whether I wanted a cover that newly appeared on my saved sellers lists...