k doesn't collect Cinderellas

[khj]

First of all, I want to make it clear: I don’t collect cinderellas.

What are cinderellas? Supposedly, something that looks like a postage stamp but isn’t a postage stamp. But if you ask 10 different cinderella collectors what they consider to be cinderellas, you might get 5 varying answers. Some consider revenue stamps to be cinderellas. But some revenue stamp collectors might be insulted to be grouped together with “those fake stamps”. Some cinderella collectors feel including revenue stamps defiles the purity of the cinderella concept since revenue stamps have legal value. I wouldn’t consider selvedge to be a cinderella (I mean seriously, we’re talking selvedge, which towers stories above the level of even Graf Zeppelin stamps; how can you consider selvedge to be cinderellas?).

Rather than argue about what constitutes a cinderella, I find it easier to acquire them and then tell people these are examples of cinderellas that I don’t collect! Pretty smart, huh?

So, this thread is dedicated to showing examples of things I don’t collect that some may consider “cinderellas”. And remember, k doesn’t collect cinderellas.

Most cinderella collectors consider local post stamps to be cinderellas. But ask a bunch of local posts collectors, and a handful will say “sheesh, my stamps can actually be used to deliver things!”. If we’re going to show examples of local posts that I don’t collect, then of course, I have to start locally.

k doesn’t collect NASA Local Post. Here is an example:

SCCS FD-1-NLP(29Sep1967) 5¢ Edward H. White II, First Day - Mercury Series

For more examples of NASA Local Post that k doesn’t collect, please see k doesn’t collect NASA Local Post.

And remember: k doesn’t collect NASA Local Post, because they can send a man to the moon, but they can’t make k collect NASA Local Post.

[khj]

Now some of you may say, “wait a minute, k does collect Ryukyu Islands Christmas seals, I’ve seen them in his thread!”. Let me explain. Christmas TB seals are for a worthy cause, but that’s not the explanation. You see, Christmas seals tend to be very very sensitive. I can’t just blurt it out, they’ll get hurt. So I sort of pamper them by putting them along with my other stamps, until they are a little more mature. Is it wrong to show compassion?

In fact, I mentioned in my original thread the reason I acquired them:

This small lot of Ryukyu Islands Christmas Seals was sitting unsold. The dealer was more than happy to unload it at an additional discount. This was a mercy purchase.

Here’s an example of a Ryukyu Island Christmas Seal that has been hanging around in k’s stamp collection.

Ryukyu Islands #WX6A(1957), imperforate variety
2018 Scott catalog mint = $20 for pane

For the record, that basis for the design is not me hiding behind my uncle.  Although a sneak attack by me, is not beyond the realm of possibility.

These Ryukyus cinderellas are all grown now, they can handle the truth: k doesn’t collect Ryukyu Islands Christmas Seals, k just occasionally shows limited mercy, that’s all

For more examples of Ryukyu Islands Christmas Seals that k doesn’t collect, see Ryukyu Islands Christmas Seals.

[youpiao]

First of all, I want to make it clear: k doesn't collect cinderellas.

k boomer.

[khj]

There’s a place called Rattlesnake Island. I assume it’s called that for a reason. Sort of like “Woman Hollering Creek”. You’d think the name is related to what the name implies. I get yelled at enough at home, so there’s really no point for me to raft down the creek to find out if there really is a woman a’hollerin’. Likewise, I have a bayou with plenty of snakes behind my backyard, so there’s really no reason for me to go to Rattlesnake Island to confirm. Nevertheless, somebody felt the need to make cinderellas for Rattlesnake Island.



I, for one, not only will not visit Rattlesnake Island to confirm, but won’t even collect those Rattlesnake Island cinderellas, because k doesn’t collect cinderellas. Now, other Stamp Bears apparently do collect Rattlesnake Island cinderellas (hey, it’s a free country, theoretically). But for the sake of completeness and unblurred images, go to k doesn't collect Rattlesnake Island Local Post.

And remember: k doesn’t collect Rattlesnake Island cinderellas, because you can’t get k to visit a place or collect cinderellas just because you issue a cinderella for that place!

[khj]

Now, Rattlesnake Island really does exist (whether or not there are rattlesnakes there, is not my concern). What about a phantom local post for places that may no longer exist? Or worse yet, cinderellas for a phantom local post service for places that may not still exist? Welcome to the cinderella world of Colorado Ghost Post! Colorado is famous for ghost towns (actually, ahem, Texas has the most ghost towns at 511; Colorado isn’t even close with 99; not bragging here, just statin’ the facts). But go figure, somebody would set up something called Colorado Ghost Post!


The ghostministrators of Ghost Post are also very serious. They even have their ghostministrative paperwork. I guess they still suffer from the same problems of bureaucratic red tape.


For more examples, see k doesn't collect Colorado Ghost Post

And remember: k doesn’t collect Colorado Ghost Post cinderellas. Not because k is afraid of ghosts. Just because you show all the paperwork, it doesn’t make your cinderellas more real. k still doesn’t collect cinderellas.

[khj]

I have a confession to make. At one time, many many years ago, I did collect cinderellas -- but not intentionally, it was out of ignorance. Please allow me to explain. When I was young and just started collecting stamps, I saw some Christmas (TB) seals on Christmas cards mailed to us. I knew they weren't made by the post office, but I was young and easily excited. It looked like a stamp, so I figured it still counted as a stamp. So I kept it and collected them. I was ignorant. I realize that's not a good excuse, but just stating the history.

Later on, I learned these items were called cinderellas and not considered "real" stamps. Nobody likes to get fooled. So I was determined that no fakes/forgeries would be in my collection, except as space fillers. I also decided to hang on to my Christmas seals, not to collect, but as a reminder to me of my former ignorance and the need to increase my knowledge and be vigilant about keeping my collection pure.



For more examples of my folly, see k No Longer Collects US Christmas Seals

And remember: k no longer collects US Christmas Seals; k only hangs onto them as a reminder to repent of my follies.

[youpiao]

That's krazy.

[khj]

When I first heard of Crush Local Post, I admit it got me interested. I love Crush orange soda (hey, it's orange, right? in my universe, soda needs to be orange or black). So disappointed. Has nothing to do with soda. Just a whole bunch of politicized cinderellas. It's probably still debatable whether Cinderella was a socialist or a monarchist, but that's a discussion for another forum far far away (fortunately!).



For more examples of Crush (not the soda) Local Post, see k doesn't collect Crush Local Post. But be forewarned, some of the later issues are significantly political in content!

And remember: k doesn't collect Crush Local Post, because k tries to stay out of politics!

[khj]

So during the design & initial production process for a stamp, the team likes to look at how the initial stamp might look like, and then they make changes if they aren’t happy with the results. And so you have essays, die proofs, trial color proofs, plate proofs…

With the introduction of bicolor and multi-color stamps in the 20th Century, the production team sometimes likes to see what each plate/color looks like. And when the final design/printing is ready, they will make a series of stamps showing not only each plate/color, but the sequential printing stages of each plate/color in cumulative fashion. These are called progressive color proofs. The final result is the actual postage stamp, unless of course, the stamp is a cinderella. Yes, they make progressive color proofs for cinderellas, too!

Below is an example of a set of progressive color proofs for US Christmas Seals.

For more examples of progressive color proofs of US Christmas Seals, see k doesn't collect US Christmas Seal progressive color proofs

But remember, k doesn’t collect cinderellas, because no amount of proofs will convince me otherwise!

[khj]

Boltpost Local Post… ah, I’m thinking another one of the “daughter finds adorably cute” offerings from Disney, right?



Perfect for topical collectors of 3 big categories: Disney, dogs, lightning on stamps (LOS)

No, not a dog delivery service at all. Just a printer churning out wallpaper, and using Boltpost Local Post as an advertising gimmick -- at least I never read any service brochures/rules.



For more examples of Boltpost (-not-the-dog-my-daughter-finds-adorable) Local Post, see k doesn't collect Boltpost Local Post.

And remember: k doesn't collect Boltpost Local Post, because k has never owned another dog since his only one 40 years ago.

[khj]

Dragon Post… now there’s a name that should make you quiver! But I can’t imagine it being successful. I mean, can dragons catch COVID-19 or a cold? What if the dragon sneezes while delivering the mail? Talk about incinerating the neighborhood, not just the mail! Can you imagine the markings on any recovered mail? “PARTIALLY INCINERATED BY DRAGON FLAME”

I’ve only seen one Dragon Post cinderella. It’s on the same page as Boltpost Local Post, so I’ll stick it in that thread. Turns out the printer, Jordan Printery, produced quite a few cinderellas. So to see other cinderellas produced by Jordan Printery, see k doesn't collect Boltpost Local Post.

And remember: k doesn’t collect Dragon Post, because Bard lives in the neighborhood and Bard didn’t like Smaug, so I doubt Bard will like any other dragon.

[khj]

Bike Post… seems self-explanatory, right? But, I live in an area where the petrochemical industry has a strong presence. One guy from a far away state once commented in response to an online news article that Texas was often hazy skies cause by polluted air. I looked around, living less than 20 miles from major petrochemical plants, and was disappointed to find clear sunny blue sky. I posted what I saw, and the OP kindly apologized saying he was only repeating what he had read elsewhere. That’s when I realized, we’ve destroyed our reputation. So none of this “green” stuff. I want my mailman to drive stop/go in those gas-guzzling smoke-billowing postal trucks! We’ve got to restore our decades-earned reputation for pollution!

Bike Post is also printed by Jordan Printery. For other cinderellas produced by Jordan Printery, see k doesn't collect Boltpost Local Post.

And remember: k doesn’t collect Bike Post, because he supports the local postman and his gas-guzzling vehicles (I always know when the mail has been delivered because I can hear his noisy smoke-billowing truck).

[khj]

They’re known as Easterseals now. Before then, they were called Easter Seals. And before the 1960s, they were called something else that would probably be considered politically incorrect today, since they depicted crippled children. The early issues were pretty direct, and inscribed “HELP CRIPPLED CHILDREN” or something similar. Oops, I let the cat out of the bag. Since I’m geopolitically incorrect, I'll state it clearly -- they were called Crippled Children Seals in the early days. Here are some I don’t collect from the 1930s.


Whatever they are called, they are still cinderellas and you can see more of them at k doesn't collect Easterseals.

But remember: k doesn’t collect Easterseals, because you can change what you call them, but they’re still cinderellas, and k doesn't collect Cinderellas!

[khj]

So what do stamp collectors and sanitariums have in common? Both are full of crazy people! HA HA. OK, now that the obligatory bad joke is over…

Sometimes spelled sanitarium, sometimes sanatorium (you spell it color, I spell it colour, or is it the other way around?), they basically refer to something similar even though the word origins may actually be different. Sanitariums are actually not only for the mentally ill. The term is a generic term that refers to a facility that treats long-term illnesses or provides long-term care. So, depending on time frame, region, local usage... the facility may be a TB treatment/recovery center, nursing home, insane asylum…

Below is a page of local TB seals from Grace Lutheran Sanatorium, a facility on the west side of San Antonio. They began issuing annual Christmas seals in 1922.


For more TB seals issued by Grace Lutheran Sanatorium (San Antonio) and Lutheran Sanitorium (Wheat Ridge) that I don’t collect, please see k doesn't collect Grace Lutheran Sanatorium Seals.

And remember: k doesn’t collect Lutheran Sanitarium (or Sanatorium, make up your mind!!!) seals, because that would just be crazy.

[khj]

Not sure if kacyds has seen these, but I think he may find them interesting:

For more TB seals issued by Orleans TB Hospital, please see k doesn't collect Orleans TB Hospital Seals.
And remember: k doesn’t collect Orleans TB Hospital Seals, even if kacyds finds them interesting.

[kacyds]

Check this thread out khj, stampbears.net/thread/3508/louisiana-anti-tuberculosis-league

[khj]

I was on vacation during that time and missed that thread. Thanks for linking to it, Kris! Looks like you're only missing the 1935 and 1936 issues. As well as a whole bunch of 1938 printer's waste!

[coastwatcher]

Nov 29, 2020 20:49:06 GMT -5 khj said:

I was thinking about going on vacation during that time, but something came up at work and I couldn’t go, and missed that thread. Thanks for linking to it, Kris! Looks like you're only missing the 1935 and 1936 issues. As well as a whole bunch of 1938 printer's waste!

khj, This sounds much more like you! 

[khj]

I think you were right. The post timestamp 5 years ago is just prior to our normal vacation time. Those 2 weeks are usually busy fulfilling my meeting commitments and prepping things during my absence. I may have missed it because I was tied down (or recovering from Mad Science the week prior).

We didn't take our vacation this summer. During yesterday's meeting, some coworkers suggested they should provide me with a paid vacation. I thought that was nice of them. Then, this morning, I realized that we are all volunteers -- our pay is 0. So essentially, the paid vacation package is 0.

Then I thought about what happened when I was in grad school. Before I started my summer job at Motorola, I asked and was granted permission to take a 3 week trip to Asia. When I returned, I found out they gave my job to someone else! Apparently, being given permission to take a vacation and keeping the job are not synonymous.

As it turns out, the manager pulled some strings when he found out and they opened a new position for me that actually paid 25% higher. I got married 6 months later. Sometimes losing a job isn't such a bad thing.