Which of us didn’t go to school with a small classbook and during the breaks didn’t exchange stamps with friends? Many probably know this. After all, fashionable in the past hobby and today does not lose its popularity. And now there are his supporters around the world. These are philatelists.
Philately is a hobby that teaches
With the advent of the first postage stamp in England, a new area of hobby arose. The name to designate this new type of gathering - philately - was invented by the French collector Georges Erpen in 1864. The objects of philatelic collection include all postal materials and signs issued, printed or pasted during delivery in connection with their receipt and forwarding by the relevant authorities of individual postal enterprises. Almost immediately after the advent of postage stamps, the first enthusiasts and devotees of a tiny strip of paper appeared. Philatelists are people thanks to whom unique letters with the first stamps are preserved.
Philately as a way of life
Collecting stamps and interest in this hobby poses collectors some requirements. Philatelic knowledge is not only knowledge of the price list or catalog, but also history, as well as the development of philatelic terminology. Philately is not only a pleasure, but also a great benefit for every collector. A postage stamp is an important educational and cultural factor from which you can learn to know the life, history and changes taking place in the homeland and in other countries. An artistically executed postage stamp is a symbol of the country.
Philatelists are unique people, in a sense they can be called the keepers of history. And their hobby is more than just collecting stamps. This is a way of life. To gain insight into what is painted on postage signs, philatelists previously spent a lot of time in libraries and reading rooms, today they successfully work on the Internet: they look for information about the postage signs themselves and what is depicted on them. Yes, this lesson is tiring, time-consuming, but extremely important, because that's how history is learned.
What about collectibles
Absolutely all postal signs are collected by philatelists. Stamps, postcards, forms, date forms, envelopes and postcards with a printed return address, telegrams, draft stamps, their samples and samples, postal stamps and postmarks. Philately is a hobby for collecting almost everything related to the work of post offices.
At the same time, collectors often encounter fakes. Indeed, modern printing methods make it possible to almost perfectly fake characters and letterheads. Given this, philatelists have their own experts who scientifically study and issue certificates or guarantees of authenticity. Today, every self-respecting philatelist will not buy a brand without a guarantee or certificate.
Collaboration and knowledge sharing
Such collectors communicate closely with each other, exchange their exhibits. They are regularly found at meetings in philatelist clubs, at retreats, seminars and exhibitions. Few people know that many events and events, for example, sports, are accompanied by philatelic exhibitions. For example, the exhibition organized on the occasion of the Beijing Summer Olympics is widely known. After it, some collectors took away more “gold” than many athletes. The philatelists also present their exhibits at events organized on the occasion of the World and European Football Championships or athletics competitions.
Mutual assistance also exists between collectors. They know who they are interested in, who collects what the philatelist collects in an album — sometimes they will find something for themselves, share something with their comrades, another time they will advise where exactly to look for the “booty” of interest.
Without a doubt, today in many houses on the shelves are stored klassers filled with postage stamps, as a kind of memory of childhood and youth, of the interests of our parents. It's time to air these collections and show them to the younger generation.
Philately is not only a hobby, it is an education. Each image posted on the stamp contains some knowledge that inspires a deeper knowledge of it.