Dr. Jonathan Cole's Stamp Collection
Dr. Jonathan Cole's Stamp Collection
Please email prior to purchase.
This item is currently for sale at Black Sheep Antique Center.
Because every house should be a museum.
A B O U T
Hundreds of loose stamps and stamps with envelopes from Dr. Jonathan Cole’s personal stamp collection.
D E T A I L S
Dr. Jonathan O. Cole was a psychotherapist, former Superintendent of Boston State Hospital and Chief of the Psychopharmacology Program at Harvard’s Teaching Hospital. Recognized by many to be the “father of clinical psychopharmacology in the United States,” he was also, apparently an avid philatelist.
Upon his death in 2009, somehow I stumbled upon his vast stamp collection. Envelopes filled with stamps from Rwanda, Gambia, Tanzania and Gambia, air mail from Istituto Di Clinica Psichiatrica in Rome, a letter mailed from Calcutta in 1977, and endless tiny stacks of stamps from all over the world, carefully clipped from envelopes and preserved.
A quick bit of research into Dr. Cole unveils a reference to the State’s investigation into his first wife’s death. Are there clues regarding the life of this mysterious man in his collection, or just more questions?
To frame, display + enjoy.
For use in projects or philately.
A puzzle for sleuthing.
C O N D I T I O N
Vintage condition.
Most if not all stamps are used and as such are slightly worn and inked.
Is there an Inverted Jenny among them?
P R E S E R V E
By incorporating into our aesthetic a combination of reclaimed, vintage, handmade, and timeless pieces, our aim is to reduce the amount of waste that ends up in the landfill -both now and in the future. And in doing so, we honor and respect the mono no aware; or the ‘empathy toward things.’
Our goal is to preserve things -both for environmental + historical reasons, but additionally to help shift the narrative surrounding what is considered beautiful + useful. Each time we discard an item from the past because it is no longer “perfect” we degrade true perfection. We miss out on what the nature of a loved + lived thing can speak to us. By surrounding ourselves with new, disposable, unstoried items, our lives are lived without depth + breadth. We omit from our lives the profundity of sensory narrative.
Read more of our design ethos HERE.
P H I L O S O P H Y
Our philosophy is one of slow design. Whether it comes to slowing down to take the time to grow something from seed, or taking the time to preserve what we have -from food to furniture to textiles- we make an effort to find beauty in everything that crosses our path. Our society leads us to believe that new is best. That wear and stains and patina are undesirable. But we like to think that age is part of what makes things beautiful. It’s where the stories are. With this mindset, wear transforms blemishes + imperfections to perennial love stories etched in time. The table with one different leg that once upon a time someone cared enough to repair. The quilt with the worn edges from a child soothing itself to sleep each night. The wooden floor scratched and worn from many lifetimes of walking and living and dancing…
We want to preserve things for as long as possible -both for environmental reasons + historical reasons, but additionally to help shift the narrative surrounding what is considered beautiful + useful. There is not an infinite amount of things from this era. There is not an infinite amount of resources on this planet. Each time we discard or cut up or disfigure pieces from the past we erase some of our treasured history.
Our intention isn’t to shame anyone who has discarded/repurposed/reworked historical items. In fact, some vintage and antique pieces are in such rough shape that they are past the point of loving as they are. Reworking them to save them from the landfill is vital. We each have a responsibility to the stewardship of historical items and the stories they contain.