My Hobby

My Hobby :




The collecting of postage stamps soon after their invention in 1840 would have been a passing, had the postage stamps been linked with the post office which has spread networks of worldwide communication for the benefit of the common man. There is a story that in the early days of stamp collecting and enterprising young lady decorated the walls of her living room with a colorful array of postage stamps. But the conventional way of keeping stamps in those days was by sticking them firmly in albums. This simplicity approach did not appeal to the later generation. So some of them began cataloguing what stamps have been or being issued. Others began studying the production details of individual stamps. The study covered the purposes of the stamps, the selections of final design from among many submitted for inspections, the printing process, examinations of progressive color proofs. The trail printings, preparations of master die and the printing plate, examinations of the fish product and their actual use in the posts. These developments gave rise to that was called catalogue collections and the specialist collectors.


As collection of postal stamps is also a tribute to the work of the postal service. Some philatelists suggested the study of postal history with the help of pre-stamps covers which had gone through the post. Their study would throw light or tell the facts of posts operations, rates, route, modes and means of post transport, introductions and expansion of postal facilities and so on. This found a separate niche in philately under the name of posts history.


As philately became more popular and specialized, the prices of scarce material shot up beyond the resource of ordinary collector. Moreover, the continued examinations of thousands of copies of the same stamps bore many collectors. They devised a new way presenting stamps and other philately material by arranging them to explain and illustrate the time, decree and optical subject or tell a straight story. At first it was looked down upon as garish display of colorful stamps without regard to their origin, value or rarity. But now they have come round to accepting thematic as another bench of their hobby when stamps, philatelic knowledge and the master of the sect are combined into what may be called stamp essays and art.


Stamp coercing has, for any years, been as an ideal hobby for the young as it is inexpensive and educative and fosters friendship between its followers in differ part of world. The world body of philately has introduced a special category in philatelic display where emphasis is laid on neat and orderly arrangement of stamps. Thus stamps collection which originated as a past-time has become specialized. Philately is hence my interesting hobby, varied and popular My Hobby of the day.