Postage Stamp Collecting - Family Education - Windows into the World mid 20th Century

 

Discovered this photo from 1959-60 with me at age 12-13, sitting with my mom, as she looks in the Scott Catalog, and I have a stamp tongs in my hand -  In 2017, I still had 1/3, 34 albums of stamps from my parents hobby from the 1930's to 60's -  I know how my fun and joy they had, writing in Esparanto starting in 1938, here in Minnesota, and learned from my mom, how to be focused and keep meticulous records if need be -  Looks like I am grabbing my dad's pipe that is filled with tobacco with my right hand, and my mom's stare and body language says it all!  

Here is a photo of Paul H Weaver MD and Peg Weaver working on their stamp collection at their Pelican Lake cabin. Likely in around 1960 when they were still active in collecting and writing people in many nations. In the early 1960’s, Peg began learning more about mushrooms and collection and identifying them and their stamp hobby waned.

Here is a photo of me Christmas of 1956, when I was 9 years old. I remember at that age being interested in collecting stamps and butterflies. By 1960 I had friend in a variety of countries I exchanged stamps with - Japan, New Zealand, Rhodesia, Australia to name a few. I remember being excited to find some stamps under the Christmas tree from special countries like China that I found very exotic, back in the day.

Here is the Temple of Heaven two colored series that I found to be special as a kid. According to the site:
http://www.philatelicdatabase.com/asia/temple-of-heaven-the-stamps-of-china/
"They were issued in 1909 to mark the first year of the reign of Emperor Hsuan Tung. He later became president and emperor of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo, a most interesting story which has been made into a successful movie called The Last Emperor."

This is the first page of my China Collection. Before Nixon Visited Mainland China in 1972, after I had stopped collecting stamps, the only stamps I could get were from Taiwan. These are stamps before the split in 1949.

Here are some Peoples Republic Stamps from 1959 my parents collected with kids with red scarves.