White powder on backs of old stamps in albums
Can anyone tell me what the small dots of white powder that sometimes
are found on the backs of (usually gummed?) stamps in old albums might be? I am working with a vintage 1950 album and occasionally encounter these--like tiny puffs of confectioner's sugar.. Can I just brush the powder off and mount the stamps (I use Showguard mounts for almost everything) or do they have to be cleaned in some special way to avoid damage to themselves and to nearby stamps in my new album? The most recent ones were on acid-paper Transcaucasian Republics stamps but I also found them on some non-acidic-paper Chile stamps from the 1940s. There's no sign of powder on the album pages around the stamps--the powder seems to have formed as some kind of chemical reaction between the stamps and the album pages. I do not find the powder on the hinges. Thanks in advance, Phil Atley |
White powder on backs of old stamps in albums
"Phil Atley" wrote in message
... Can anyone tell me what the small dots of white powder that sometimes are found on the backs of (usually gummed?) stamps in old albums might be? I am working with a vintage 1950 album and occasionally encounter these--like tiny puffs of confectioner's sugar.. Can I just brush the powder off and mount the stamps (I use Showguard mounts for almost everything) or do they have to be cleaned in some special way to avoid damage to themselves and to nearby stamps in my new album? The most recent ones were on acid-paper Transcaucasian Republics stamps but I also found them on some non-acidic-paper Chile stamps from the 1940s. There's no sign of powder on the album pages around the stamps--the powder seems to have formed as some kind of chemical reaction between the stamps and the album pages. I do not find the powder on the hinges. Thanks in advance, Phil Atley Usually it is talc powder, popular because it kept some skin dry during the humid weather. Can be brushed off stamps without any losses or danger. -- Victor Manta, PWO, AIJP ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Philatelic Webmasters Organization: http://pwmo.org/ Art on Stamps: http://artonstamps.org/ Romania by Stamps: http://marci-postale.com/ Communism on Stamps: http://reds-on.postalstamps.biz/ Spanish North Africa: http://www.sna-on.postalstamps.biz/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
All times are GMT +1. The time now is 02:54 PM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
CollectingBanter.com