The Archive at 30: Stephane Faucourt

Ron writes:

 Though I didn't know it until I read the below reminiscence, I guess I was one of Archive editor's Stephane Faucourt's first collecting friends. I am honored! Stephane has been an Archive editor for many years, and has contributed a host of interesting content focused on international collectibles, including a groundbreaking feature on Trilogo bubble variants. He has published a number of collecting books, which can be found on Amazon.

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Stephane writes:

Star Wars vintage collecting for me restarted in 1995 with tracking down the items that I had missed when I stopped buying "toys" a decade before. What began as a selfish and lonely journey soon opened to new horizons with the advent of the internet. I had started maintaining a small website with regular updates to share finds, and I eventually received an email from a guy named Ron Salvatore in October 1998. He presented himself as an editor of the SWCA and showed interest in the "odd" Meccano advertising which I had posted. After a few emails, Ron offered me to showcase some of my ads in the newest upcoming "Special Feature" on the Archive. What a prominent exposure! It was the start of a great friendship, which soon extended to Gus Lopez, Duncan Jenkins, Chris Georgoulias. and so many more within the collecting community. Soon I was making even more friends through forums, social networks, and live-events -- making friends all around the globe. Contributing to the community and educating myself were the incentives when, in 2006, I shared my knowledge by publishing my first book, Meccano to Trilogo. I was honored to become an editor of the SWCA myself and to have the autonomy to submit entries; they contribute to the Archive, a proven durable source of knowledge reachable by any collector with an internet connection!