Stamps are educational and provide some of the nicest - and most practical - ways of learning geography and history, politics and religion, and the everyday way of life in different parts of the world....
stamp collection
Last month while cleaning the store room, I discovered my father’s stamp book which was a part of his teenage years. Suddenly, I had a flash of memories when he used to proudly flaunt his stamp books to all his children, nephews and nieces. I smiled and suddenly had this epiphany: how fascinating stamps really are with all this social history documented on these little pieces of paper. I took all his books out and proudly captured those Instagram worthy images to show off my late father’s favourite hobby. I also realised where I got this habit of ‘flaunting’ from (eye rolling).
We admired our father for having such a unique hobby but we never wondered how amazing it was to collect stamps from almost every part of the world. It also required a massive amount of money and patience to spend on these pieces of paper and because of that, we thought stamp collection was useless. However, it is not and one needs to have a great deal of passion for it. No wonder my father’s stamp books are still stored somewhere in the corner of my house. Whenever I see them, I think about how we didn’t treasure our father’s pass-time which is so artsy and something worth telling people about. Moreover, it is sad how digitalisation has taken over and it is very critical to pass on such hobbies to the future generations. People spend more time with gadgets and social media rather than doing something which is better for their physical and mental growth all at once.
Starting stamp collection is a lot of fun, learning all about the stamps which have been issued by the countries of the world over the years. Postage stamps are miniature works of art - colourful, well-designed and superbly printed. Some of them commemorate famous people and events; others show animals and birds, flowers, railways, ships and aeroplanes, buildings and bridges, coats-of-arms and flags, space and sport.
Stamps are educational and provide some of the nicest - and most practical - ways of learning geography and history, politics and religion, and the everyday way of life in different parts of the world. Through stamps you can also learn about the postal services and a country’s postal history and transport systems, the interest and significance of postmarks, and the modern craze for ‘covers’ (postmarked envelopes), especially ‘first-day’ covers.
As everything has become digitalised and is available on the virtual platforms, you will be surprised to hear that stamp collection has also found a route in this to stay alive in this era. Globally, many traditional stamp collectors are making use of multimedia tools to keep backups of their collection and it also reduces the concern of safety and the fear of ruining the precious stamps. According to bbc.com, 32-year-old Graham Beck has set up his own YouTube channel, ‘Exploring Stamps’, to interact with fellow enthusiasts. To date, he has uploaded 70 videos which see him select a stamp at random and explore the history behind it, a journey that has taken him to an Icelandic volcano and the three Statues of Liberty in New York, Paris and Las Vegas.
This South African native, now based in New York, says it is the story behind the stamp that is resonating with the new breed of philatelists (as stamp collectors are known) rather than particular paper types and printing styles which often enthuse the old-school collector. “We need to capture the excitement of stamps - whether it’s through learning more about them on YouTube or using QR codes on stamp displays at exhibitions that can be scanned with your phone and linked to a video. It may all seem a bit gimmicky to the traditional collector but I am all for experimentation and encouraging more people to get into collecting.” Beck cites how the little-known world of competitive philately, that sees participants display their collections around the world at shows such as London-based Stampex, has been elevated by more accessible information online.
Even in the digital era, luckily stamp collection is making a comeback and is acquired as digital philately. There are people who are selling stamps online on different e-commerce websites such as ebay. While stamp collecting may not be as visible as it once was, what this reflects is more the fragmentation of our overall culture and the proliferation of other niche interests. In fact, like a lot of things in the age of the Internet, stamp collecting has found new audiences. Thanks to emerging overseas markets and the passionate interests of long-time philatelists at home, it could be argued that stamp collecting trends are more alive now than ever before.
