Appreciation of Printing: Stamps, an Inherited Love

Stamps ruled the collecting roost in the early half of the 20th century, going toe to toe with coin collecting. But the wheels began to fall off in the late 1970s, at the dawn of the video game and computer age. Fans of paper collectibles, ephemera and plain-old hobbyists also found a new target for their affection—sports cards and memorabilia. Children dropped their Liberty U.S. stamp albums and tore through their attics in search of a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle rookie card.