Philately is the study of stamps A postage stamp is adhesive paper evidence of a fee paid for postal services. Usually a small rectangle attached to an envelope, the stamp signifies the person sending it has fully or partly paid for delivery. Postage stamps are the most popular way of paying for retail mail; alternatives include postal stationery such as prepaid-postage envelopes, and related items. Philately is distinct from stamp collecting Stamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps and related objects. It is one of the world's most popular hobbies, with estimates of the number of collectors ranging up to 20 million in the United States alone which does not usually involve the study of stamps. It is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps.[1] For instance, the stamps being studied may be very rare or exist only in museums.
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Word
The word "philately" is the English version of the French word "philatélie", coined by Georges Herpin in 1864.[2]
Herpin stated that stamps had been collected and studied for the last six or seven years and a better name was required for the new hobby than timbromanie which was disliked.[3] He took the Greek root word phil or philo, meaning an attraction or affinity for something, and ateleia, meaning "exempt from duties and taxes" to form "philatelie".[4] The introduction of postage stamps meant that the receipt of letters was now free of charge, whereas before stamps it was normal for postal charges to be paid by the recipient of a letter.
The alternative terms "timbromania", "timbrophily" and "timbrology" gradually fell out of use as philately gained acceptance during the 1860s.[3]
Origins
The origin of philately is in the observation that in a pile of stamps all appearing to be the same type, closer examination may reveal different kinds of paper, different watermarks A watermark is a recognizable image or pattern in paper that appears as various shades of lightness/darkness when viewed by transmitted light , caused by thickness or density variations in the paper. There are two main ways of producing watermarks in paper; the dandy roll process, and the more complex cylinder mould process embedded in the paper, variations in colour shades, different perforations, and other kinds of differences. Comparison with records of postal authorities may or may not show that the variations were intentional, which leads to further inquiry as to how the changes could have happened, and why. To make things more interesting, thousands of forgeries have been produced over the years, some of them very good, and only a thorough knowledge of philately gives any hope of detecting the fakes.
A thematic philatelist might be interested in which subspecies of giraffe The giraffe is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant. The giraffe's scientific name, which is similar to its antiquated English name of camelopard, refers to its irregular patches of color on a light background, which bear a token resemblance to a leopard's spots. The average is represented on this 1925 stamp of Tanganyika Tanganyika was an East African territory lying between the Indian Ocean and the largest of the African great lakes: Lake Victoria, Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika. From 9 December 1961 to 26 April 1964 it was also an independent state. Once part of the colony of German East Africa , it comprised today's Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania with the.Types
Traditional philately is the study of the technical aspects of stamp production and stamp identification, including:
- The initial stamp design Postage stamp design is the activity of graphic design as applied to postage stamps. Many thousands of designs have been created since a profile bust of Queen Victoria was adopted for the Penny Black in 1840; some considered very successful, others less so process.
- The paper used (wove, laid, etc, and including watermarks).
- The method of printing (engraving, typography, etc).
- The gum.
- The method of separation In the early years, from 1840 to the 1850s, all stamps were imperforate, and had to be cut from the sheet with scissors or knife. This was time-consuming and error-prone . Once reliable separation equipment became available, nations switched rapidly. Imperforate stamps have been issued occasionally since then, either because separation equipment (perforation, rouletting).
- Any overprints An overprint is the addition of text to the face of a postage stamp or banknote after it has been printed (although some overprints are solely in the selvedge area of souvenir sheets). Overprints have been used for many purposes, including surcharge, commemoration, and control marks on the stamp.
- Any security markings, underprints or perforated initials 'perfins'.
- The study of philatelic fakes and forgeries In general, philatelic fakes and forgeries refers to labels that look like postage stamps but are not. Most have been produced to deceive or defraud. Learning to identify these can be a challenging branch of philately.
Aerophilately Aerophilately is the branch of philately that specializes in the study of airmail. Philatelists have observed the development of mail transport by air from its beginning, and all aspects of airmail service have been extensively studied and documented by specialists is the branch of philately that specializes in the study of airmail Airmail is mail that is transported by aircraft. It typically arrives more quickly than surface mail, and usually costs more to send. Airmail may be the only option for sending mail to some destinations, such as overseas, if the mail cannot wait the time it would take to arrive by ship, sometimes weeks. Philatelists have observed the development of mail transport by air from its beginning, and all aspects of airmail services have been extensively studied and documented by specialists.
Thematic philately Topical or thematic stamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps relating to a particular subject or concept. Topics can be almost anything, from stamps on stamps, birds on stamps, to famous physicians, to the history of England, also known as topical philately, is the study of what is depicted on the stamps. There are hundreds of popular subjects, such as birds, insects, sports, maps etc. Interesting aspects of topical philately include design mistakes and alterations, for instance, the recent editing out of cigarettes from the pictures used for US stamps, and the stories of how particular images came to be used.
Postal stationery A piece of postal stationery is a stationery item, such as an envelope, letter sheet, post card, lettercard, aérogramme or newspaper wrapper, with an imprinted stamp philately studies stationery items, such as envelopes, postcards, aérogrammes An Aerogram or Air Letter, also called an aérogramme, is a thin lightweight piece of foldable and gummed paper for writing a letter for transit via airmail, in which the letter and envelope are one and the same. Most postal administrations forbid enclosures in these light letters, which are usually sent abroad at a preferential rate and newspaper wrappers In philately a newspaper wrapper is a form of postal stationery which pays the cost of the delivery of a newspaper. The wrapper is a sheet of paper, large enough to wrap around a folded or rolled newspaper and with an imprinted stamp to pay the cost of postage which have an imprinted stamp In philately an imprinted stamp is a stamp printed straight on to a piece of postal stationery such as a postcard, letter sheet, lettercard, aerogramme or newspaper wrapper.
One of many covers flown on the Hindenburg LZ 129 Hindenburg was a large German commercial passenger-carrying rigid airship, the lead ship of the Hindenburg class, the longest (245 meters, 803.8 feet) class of flying machines of any kind and the largest airships by envelope volume (200,000 m³, 7,062,000 cubic feet). The airship flew from March 1936 until destroyed by fire 14 months later zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship pioneered by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century. It was based on designs he had outlined in 1874 and detailed in 1893. His plans were reviewed by committee in 1894 and patented in the United States on 14 March 1899. Given the outstanding success of the Zeppelin design, the term, featuring a variety of postal markings.Postal history Postal history is the study of postal systems and how they operate and, or, the collecting of covers and associated material illustrating historical episodes of postal systems. The term is attributed to Robson Lowe, a professional philatelist, stamp dealer and stamp auctioneer, who made the first organised study of the subject in the 1930s and concentrates on the use of stamps on mail. It includes the study of postmarks A postmark is a postal marking made on a letter, package, postcard or the like indicating the date and time that the item was delivered into the care of the postal service. Modern postmarks are often applied simultaneously with the cancellation or killer that marks the postage stamp as having been used (though in some circumstances there may be a, post offices A post office is a facility authorised by a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail. Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies. In addition, some post offices offer non-postal services such as passport applications and other government, postal authorities, postal rates and regulations and the process by which letters are moved from sender to recipient, including routes and choice of conveyance. A classic example is the Pony Express The Pony Express was a fast mail service crossing the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, from April 1860 to October 1861. It became the west's most direct means of east-west communication before the telegraph and was vital for tying California closely with the Union just before the American, which was the fastest way to send letters across the United States during the few months that it operated. Covers In philately, a cover is an envelope or package, typically with stamps that have been cancelled that can be proved to have been sent by the Pony Express are highly prized by collectors.
Cinderella philately is the study of objects that look like stamps but aren't stamps. Examples include Easter and Christmas Seals Christmas Seals are labels placed on mail during the Christmas season to raise funds and awareness for charitable programs.They have become particularly associated with lung diseases such as tuberculosis, and with child welfare. Christmas seals are regarded as a form of cinderella stamp, propaganda labels, and so forth.
Philatelic literature documents the results of philatelic study and includes thousands of books and periodicals.
Revenue philately A revenue stamp, tax stamp or fiscal stamp is a stamp used to collect taxes or fees on documents, tobacco, alcoholic drinks, drugs and medicines, playing cards, hunting licenses, firearm registration, and many other things is the study of stamps used to collect taxes or fees on such things as, legal documents, court fee, revenue/receipt, tobacco, alcoholic drinks, drugs and medicines, playing cards, hunting licenses and newspapers.
Maximaphily is the study of Maximum Cards. Maximum Cards can be defined as a Picture Post Card with Postage stamp on same theme and a cancellation with a maximum concordance between all the three.
Tools
Philately uses a number of tools, including stamp tongs or tweezers to safely handle the stamps, a strong magnifying glass and a perforation gauge (odontometre) to measure the perforation gauge of the stamp.
The identification of watermarks A watermark is a recognizable image or pattern in paper that appears as various shades of lightness/darkness when viewed by transmitted light , caused by thickness or density variations in the paper. There are two main ways of producing watermarks in paper; the dandy roll process, and the more complex cylinder mould process is important and may be done with the naked eye by turning the stamp over or holding it up to the light. If this fails then watermark fluid may be used which 'wets' the stamp to reveal the mark.
Other common 'tools' include stamp catalogues, stamp stockbooks and stamp hinges.
Organisations
Philatelic organisations sprang up soon after people started collecting and studying stamps. They include local, national and international clubs and societies where collectors come together to share their hobby.
See also
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Philately |
- List of notable postage stamps
- List of philatelic topics
- Postal history Postal history is the study of postal systems and how they operate and, or, the collecting of covers and associated material illustrating historical episodes of postal systems. The term is attributed to Robson Lowe, a professional philatelist, stamp dealer and stamp auctioneer, who made the first organised study of the subject in the 1930s and
References
- ^ Carlton, R. Scott. The International Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Philately, Iola WI: Krause Publications, 1997, p.196. ISBN 0873414489.
- ^ Herpin, Georges. "Bapteme" in Le Collectionneur de Timbres-Postes, Vol.I, 15 November 1864, p.20.
- ^ a b Williams, L.N. & M. Fundamentals of Philately. State College: The American Philatelic Society, 1971, p.20.
- ^ Sutton, R.J. & K.W. Anthony. The Stamp Collector's Encyclopaedia. 6th edition. London: Stanley Paul, 1966, p.232.
Suggested reading
- Phillips, Stanley. Stamp Collecting: A guide to modern philately. Revised edition. London: Stanley Gibbons, 1983. ISBN 0852590474.
- Sutton, R.J. & K.W. Anthony. The Stamp Collector's Encyclopaedia. 6th edition. London: Stanley Paul, 1966.
- Williams, L.N. & M. Fundamentals of Philately. State College: The American Philatelic Society, 1971.
- Youngblood, Wayne L. All about Stamps. Iola WI: Krause Publications, 2000. ISBN 0873419634.
External links
Categories: Auxiliary sciences of history | Philately | Philatelic terminology
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