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Philately
- Functions
- Hobby and Research discipline
- Summary
'Philately', it was noted long ago, 'is the collection and study of any one or more countries or issues whereby definite conclusions are arrived at, in spite of the absence of official records'. Coined around 1862 by French collector George Herpin from two Greek words (philos + atelia), it means a love of not being taxed, a reference to the innovation of pre-payment.
Study, classification and publication were, and still are, the distinguishing characteristics of philately and philatelists over more amateur versions of stamp collecting and stamp collectors. Philately as a science – practised in a scientific spirit of research and understanding – originated in Paris, and was often referred to as the French school of stamp collecting. It went beyond the basic attractions of the hobby – the appeal of colour, design and shape, and the desire for completion – to the researching and documenting of all aspects of the stamp including date of first issue, make up of the sheet, aspects of the production process, watermarks on the paper and the measuring of perforations.
Bibliography
Books
- Who's Who in Philately, London. [ Details... ]
- The Royal Philatelic Society London 1869-1969, The Society, The University Press, Glasgow, 1969. [ Details... ]
- Brühl, Carlrichard, Geschichte der Philatelie, Georg Olms Verlag, Hildesheim, 1985. [ Details... ]
- Butler, A. Ronald, The History of the Roll of Distinguised Philatelists, British Philatelic Federation, London, 1990. [ Details... ]
- Earée, Rev. R. B., Album Weeds; or, How to Detect Forged Stamps, Stanley Gibbons Ltd, London, c.1906. [ Details... ]
- Mahé, Pierre, Les Marchands de Timbres-Poste d'Autrefois et Leurs Catalogues, Yvert et Tellier, Amiens, 1908. [ Details... ]
- Melville, Fred, The Complete Philatelist, The Philatelic Institute, London, 1924. [ Details... ]
- Pope, Elizabeth C., Opinions: Philatelic Expertising - An Inside View, The Philatelic Foundation, New York, 1983. [ Details... ]
- Smyth, J. H., Philately in a Nutshell, J. H. Smyth, Sydney, 1911. [ Details... ]
- Tyler, Varro E., Philatelic Forgers: Their Lives and Works, Robson Lowe, London, 1976. [ Details... ]
- Williams, L. N., Fundamentals of Philately, American Philatelic Society, State College, Pennsylvania, 1990. [ Details... ]
- Williams, L. N., Encyclopaedia of Rare and Famous Stamps, vol. 1 of 2, David Feldman, Geneva, 1993. [ Details... ]
- Williams, L. N., Encyclopaedia of Rare and Famous Stamps, vol. 2 of 2, David Feldman, Geneva, 1997. [ Details... ]
- Williams, L. N. and M., The Postage Stamp: Its History and Recognition, Penguin, Middlesex, 1956. [ Details... ]
Editorials
- '[On French philately and stamp collecting]', The Philatelic Record, vol. 8, no. 85, February 1886, pp. 1-3. [ Details... ]
- 'Philately and History', Stanley Gibbons Monthly Journal, vol. 17, no. 202, 30 April 1907, pp. 197-98. [ Details... ]
Journal Articles
- 'The Evolution of Philately: An Article Containing Some Sense and Much Nonsense', Stamp Collectors' Fortnightly, vol. 3, no. 61, 23 January 1897, p. 104. [ Details... ]
- 'Notable Stamp Exhibit - Philately Recognized as a Science', The Philatelic Record, vol. 21, no. 3, March 1899, p. 65. [ Details... ]
- 'When Philately was Young: "Notes and Queries" Makes a Further Enquiry into the Early History of Our Hobby', Stamp Collectors' Fortnightly, vol. 8, no. 202, 1902, pp. 153--54. [ Details... ]
- Anderson, P. J., 'Scottish Philatelic Literature 1863-1923', Stamp Collecting, vol. 21, no. 16, 19 January 1924, p. 412. [ Details... ]
- Anderson, P. J., 'Scottish Philatelic Literature 1863-1923', Stamp Collecting, vol. 21, no. 15, 12 January 1924, p. 394. [ Details... ]
- Crippa, A., 'Stamp Collecting and Philately', Stamp Collecting, vol. 22, no. 12, 21 June 1924, p. 269. [ Details... ]
- Imeson, W. E., 'The Prince of Pastimes: A Hobby or a Science?', Stamp Collectors' Fortnightly, vol. 10, no. 249, 24 September 1901, pp. 116-17. [ Details... ]
- Séfi, A. J., 'Some Wider Aspects of Philately', Philatelic Journal of Great Britain, vol. 32, no. 380, 10 August 1922, pp. 124-26. [ Details... ]
Journal Notes
- 'On the Increase of the Timbromanie', The Stamp Collector's Magazine, no. 11, 1 December 1863, p. 170. [ Details... ]
- 'Philately in the New Century', Stamp Collectors' Fortnightly, vol. 6, no. 153, 19 January 1901, p. 178. [ Details... ]
Letter to the Editors
- Anderson, P. J., 'Stamp Collecting and "The New English Dictionary"', The Philatelic Record, vol. 8, no. 89, June 1886, pp. 92-93. [ Details... ]
Newspaper Articles
- Hubert Haes, 'The Fiftieth Anniversary of Penny Postage', The Times, 11 January 1890, p. 12. [ Details... ]
Reviews
- The Editors, 'New Philatelic Publications', review of Hardy, W. J. and Bacon, E. D., The Stamp Collector (1898), Stamp Collectors' Fortnightly, 5 March 1898. [ Details... ]
Online Resources
- Vandervelde, Denis, 'Postal History or Postal Archaeology? Researching the Obscure', Seventh Stuart Rossiter Memorial Lecture, 2002, http://www.rossitertrust.com/rossiter_lecture_2002.html. [ Details... ]
Images
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- Title
- Some Wider Aspects of Philately
- Type
- Photograph
- Details
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- Title
- Stamp Collecting and "The New English Dictionary"
- Type
- Photocopy
- Details
Prepared by: Helen Morgan
Created: 22 March 2006, Last modified: 8 July 2006