Throughout my 40+ years in the philatelic industry, I have been asked many questions of a philatelic, ethical or practical nature by my fellow philatelists: what should I collect next- proofs, back of the book, postal history; how is the stamp market now; should I get my stamps graded, and so on.

I have added this "topics and trends" feature to the website in order to address some of these issues from time to time.

Right now, one topic that has been at the forefront for me is that of postal history - why it often becomes Step 2 for a stamp collector and why I believe so strongly in its importance for our hobby. I will definitely be returning to this topic again. Today, with my first installment I will discuss how one person became so involved with Maine postal history.

Postal History from a Personal Point of View

History has long been one of the components of philately that can engage our imagination. From my youthful excitement as I added each President to my childhood collection of "Prexies", to having some mail cancelled by hand at the old post office in Colonial Williamsburg on a school trip, to my current passion, the postal history of Maine pre-Civil War, philately has helped me "see" the history of the United States.

Postal history, along with its parallel collectible, historical documents, is one way of gaining great insight into our country's early days- its origins and expansion, its development through interstate commerce, its international entanglements with friends and foes. Hence, you might become intrigued by the growth of your town, the usages of a favorite issue or the way mail was transported overseas, just to name a few possibilities. Once you have your own specialty you will enjoy countless hours researching your topic and experience the excitement of discovering pieces that can provide your own window into the past.

To illustrate, my collection largely concentrates on a rather narrow topic- letters, covers and documents originating from the Goodwin family whose ancestor, Captain Ichabod Goodwin built the 1742 home in which I currently reside.

This Captain Ichabod Goodwin served King George II in the French & Indian War and was wounded in the battle of Fort Ticonderoga. He and his wife Elizabeth (née Scammon) signed a deed in 1741 selling a piece of property in Kittery, Maine (figure 1). Could it be they sold the property in that year to help finance the classic Georgian colonial four over four (four rooms on each of two levels) which the family would then occupy for the next 216 years?

Figure 1

The next Goodwin to live in the home, from his birth in 1743 until his death in 1829, another Ichabod, had accompanied his father to the battle at Fort Ticonderoga and then followed in his father's footsteps, entering the army and rising to the position of Major General. A prominent citizen of what was then a part of the Colony of Massachusetts, this second Ichabod Goodwin was selected as a congressman to the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts (to show the support of South Berwick for its compatriots in Boston), fought in the Revolutionary War and served in numerous town institutions. The letter illustrated here (figure 2) discusses election results in 1810, and bears a scarce Berwick. Me straightline postmark.

Figure 2

A third Ichabod Goodwin, the general's great-nephew, who also lived in the home for part of his childhood, became governor of New Hampshire during the beginning of the Civil War. A letter he wrote to fellow Whig, Daniel Webster (figure 3) discusses a possible political appointee.

Figure 3

Handling these covers, letters and documents, history comes to life. It is easy to sit in the "best parlour" of the Ichabod Goodwin home and imagine the conversations regarding then current events such as the Boston Tea Party; Lafayette's trip to Maine; "Jefferson's" embargo that affected so much of New England commerce in the early 19th century, and on and on through the decades of the young United States.

Perhaps your own endeavors into postal history can open the windows of imagination for you into your chosen period of our country's history.