Don Sundman Interviewed by "Esquire" Magazine

Donald Sundman (shown here), president of Mystic Stamp Company and co-author of 100 Greatest American Stamps, was interviewed by Esquire magazine recently about Forever stamps and  "is stamp collecting doomed with youngsters being raised on e-mail?"

In response to the question, "Were we idiots for not stockpiling Forever Stamps in 2007?," Don said, "The Forever Stamp is actually a great benefit for the customer. If you live long enough it'll cost a dollar — it wouldn't surprise me if we have a one-dollar stamp [to mail a first-class letter] in twenty years - so it's a mistake for the postal service, not the customer."

When asked if stamp collecting was doomed, Don said, "There are fewer young people collecting stamps than there were twenty years ago, and certainly fewer than fifty years ago. Back in the '30s and '40s before television, stamps were one of the few tangible items that gave you insight into foreign cultures and languages. Travel was rare, especially in rural areas, so stamps could give people a worldview. For a long time all the big winners on Jeopardy were stamp collectors, because stamp collectors have an intellectual curiosity about things."

He went on to say, "Stamps give you a reason to learn about history, to make connections. The story of communication is intertwined with stamps; it's real history and it's fun. Stamp collectors are like museum curators in a way."

To read the entire article, click here.